30 December 2023

Alain de Botton on Happiness, Love and Relationships - The Diary of a CEO with Alain de Botton

00:00:00 Intro
02:17:00 What Mission Are You On?
04:48:00 Mental Illness and Where It Comes From
08:25:00 Is Happiness Something We Be Should Chasing?
14:14:00 How The Modern World Is increasing Suicide Rates
21:04:00 The Modern World Is Shining A Light On Our Own Wrong Doings
21:07:00 What Is Romantic Love
26:18:00 Why People Have Daddy Issues
29:57:00 How Do We Become Aware Of Our Own Destructive Cycles?
37:56:00 Conflict Resolution
40:49:00 True Love and Total Honesty
42:17:00 Sexless Relationships aand How To Navigate Them
46:12:00 Why Does Sex Matter?
52:26:00 How Do We Stop Our Partners Getting Bored Of Us?
55:19:00 Core Habits A Long Last Relationship Needs
01:05:08 Can We Ever Truly Heal From Our Traumas?
01:07:18 The Power Of Distance In A Relationship
01:11:54 Ads
01:12:47 Why Did You Write A Book Called The Therapeutic Journey
01:20:44 What Is Resilience?
01:22:42 What Do You Hope People Will Learn From This Book?
01:25:44 The Last Guest's Question

21 December 2023

How Sugar & Processed Foods Impact Your Health - Dr Andrew Huberman with Dr Robert Lustig

00:00:00: Dr. Robert Lustig
00:02:02: Sponsors: Eight Sleep, Levels & Aero Press
00:06:41: Calories, Fiber
00:12:15: Calories, Protein & Fat, Trans Fats
00:18:23: Carbohydrate Calories, Glucose vs. Fructose, Fruit, Processed Foods
00:26:43: Fructose, Mitochondria & Metabolic Health
00:31:54: Trans Fats; Food Industry & Language
00:35:33: Sponsor: AG1
00:37:04: Glucose, Insulin, Muscle
00:42:31: Insulin & Cell Growth vs. Burn; Oxygen & Cell Growth, Cancer
00:51:14: Glucose vs. Fructose, Uric Acid; “Leaky Gut” & Inflammation
01:00:51: Supporting the Gut Microbiome, Fasting
01:04:13: Highly Processed Foods, Sugars; “Price Elasticity” & Food Industry
01:10:28: Sponsor: LMNT
01:11:51: Processed Foods & Added Sugars
01:14:19: Sugars, High-Fructose Corn Syrup
01:18:16: Food Industry & Added Sugar, Personal Responsibility, Public Health
01:30:04: Obesity, Diabetes, “Hidden” Sugars
01:34:57: Diet, Insulin & Sugars
01:38:20: Tools: NOVA Food Classification; Perfact Recommendations
01:43:46: Meat & Metabolic Health, Eggs, Fish
01:46:44: Sources of Omega-3s; Vitamin C & Vitamin D
01:52:37: Tool: Reduce Inflammation; Sugars, Cortisol & Stress
01:59:12: Food Industry, Big Pharma & Government; Statins
02:06:55: Public Health Shifts, Rebellion, Sugar Tax, Hidden Sugars
02:12:58: Real Food Movement, Public School Lunches & Processed Foods
02:18:25: 3 Fat Types & Metabolic Health; Sugar, Alcohol & Stress
02:26:40: Artificial & Non-Caloric Sweeteners, Insulin & Weight Gain
02:34:32: Re-Engineering Ultra-Processed Food
02:38:45: Sugar & Addiction, Caffeine
02:45:18: GLP-1, Semaglutide Ozempic, Wegovy, Tirzepatide:, Risks; Big Pharma
02:57:39: Obesity & Sugar Addiction; Brain Re-Mapping, Insulin & Leptin Resistance
03:03:31: Fructose & Addiction, Personal Responsibility & Tobacco
03:07:27: Food Choices: Fruit, Rice, Tomato Sauce, Bread, Meats, Fermented Foods
03:12:54: Intermittent Fasting, Diet Soda, Food Combinations, Fiber, Food Labels
03:19:14: Improving Health, Advocacy, School Lunches, Hidden Sugars
03:26:55: Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

08 December 2023

Esther Perel on Relationships and Sex

The Knowledge Project with Esther Perel

Shane and Esther discuss how the stories you tell yourself shape how you see the world (and what to do about that), the important conversations to have at the beginning of a relationship, the most common arguments couples have and how to prevent them, what to say to a partner if the relationship isn’t working out, the relationship between desire, love, and pleasure, and so much more. Plus, the conversation starts on an interesting note: Esther Perel shares stories about her parents surviving the Holocaust and how their experiences shaped her childhood and continue to shape her life today.


The Diary of a CEO with Esther Perel

00:03:02 Improving and Reviving People’s Relationships
00:06:17 The Impact of Childhood on Relationship Patterns
00:13:16 Navigating Couple Dynamics
00:24:41 Invest in Your Relationship
00:31:57 Reviving the Spark
00:34:51 The Words You Need To Use In Your Relationship
00:38:03 Transforming Conflict into Connection
00:46:36 Challenges of Connection in the Next Generations
00:49:27 Are Younger Generations Less Resilient?
00:51:19 Eroticism
00:56:44 Managing Expectations on Your Relationship
00:59:55 Romanticism in Relationships
01:02:17 The Power of Communication
01:06:25 Feminism, Gender Roles, and Sexual Dynamics
01:12:09 Are Couples Having Less Sex?
01:17:40 The Impact of Pornography on Relationships
01:19:42 Why Relationships Can Go Sexless For Years and How To Fix It
01:30:13 The Sex Game
01:35:56 The Real Reason People Cheat
01:42:41 Introducing New Things into Your Relationship
01:52:24 Actionable Advice for Couples

30 November 2023

7 Life Lessons I Wish I Knew Sooner - Mark Manson

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Lesson #1: People respect you only as much as you respect yourself
06:02 Lesson #2: You give power to those you blame
10:40 Lesson #3: The quality of your relationships dictates the quality of your life
17:31 Lesson #4: People aren't thinking about you as much as you think they are
23:39 Lesson #5: Nothing meaningful in life is easy
28:38 Lesson #6: Love occurs in proportion to your willingness to get hurt
34:36 Lesson #7: Be slow to judge. Everyone is doing their best

28 November 2023

Cultivating happiness, emotional self-management, and more - Dr Peter Attia with Arthur Brooks

Arthur Brooks is a social scientist, professor at Harvard University, columnist for The Atlantic, and bestselling author. In this episode, Arthur returns to the podcast to discuss his new book, Build the Life You Want. He delves into the nuanced concept of happiness, differentiating between momentary feelings and overall wellbeing. He explains the importance of understanding one’s personality pattern with respect to positive and negative emotions in order to better self-manage emotions. He delves into the three key elements of happiness, offering practical strategies for enhancing those specific domains through methods such as metacognition, transcendent experiences, discipline, minimizing self-focus while directing attention outward, and more. Through personal examples, Arthur demonstrates that one can actively track well-being levels and take intentional steps to cultivate happiness and enhance overall well-being.

Your Future Self Needs Your Help Today - Dr Maya Shankar A Slight Change of Plans with Hal Hershfield

Hal Hershfield is a psychologist who studies the emotional connection we have to our “future selves.” He talks with Maya about tactics we can use to strengthen this connection, and why it matters.

24 November 2023

The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating - David M. Buss

The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating - David M. Buss

A “drop-dead shocker” (Washington Post Book World) that uses evolutionary psychology to explain human mating and the mysteries of love If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question, we must look into our evolutionary past, argues prominent psychologist David M. Buss. Based one of the largest studies of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first work to present a unified theory of human mating behavior. Drawing on a wide range of examples of mating behavior — from lovebugs to elephant seals, from the Yanomamö tribe of Venezuela to online dating apps — Buss reveals what women want, what men want, and why their desires radically differ. Love has a central place in human sexual psychology, but conflict, competition, and manipulation also pervade human mating — something we must confront in order to control our own mating destiny.

29 October 2023

The Love Expert: Why Women Are Addicted To F**k Boys & Why You Should "Have A 'Boring' Relationship Instead!" - The Diary of a CEO with Logan Ury

Are we our own worst enemies when it comes to romance? What if instead, we dated like a scientist, using equations and analysis, rather than feelings and attraction to find love.

In this new episode Steven sits down with dating coach and behavioural scientist, Logan Ury.

Logan is a behavioural expert, dating coach and Director of Relationship Science at the dating app, Hinge. She is also the author of the book, ‘How To Not Die Alone’, which outlines the scientific theories she uses with her clients to help them find love.

In this conversation Logan and Steven discuss topics, such as:

Why Logan is a dating coach and her work with Hinge
How she helps people get out of their own way and find their dating blindspots
The ways that modern dating is very new for history
Researching the dating habits of Gen Z
Hiring a dating coach for herself
How Logan found her husband at work
Attachment theory and its importance for dating
How you can change your attachment style
The negativity bias and how our brain runs on ancient software
Why you should go for a securely attached person who may seem boring
The reasons that securely attached people are the heroes of the dating world
Why people are so addicted to f**k boys
The importance of taking a break during a fight
Understanding our dating patterns and how we can change them
The secretary problem and the maths of when to stop looking and choose someone
Digital Body Language and how it impacts dating
Why people confuse ‘ick’s’ for dealbreakers
Why you should overcome your ‘ick’s’
The 3 most common dating tendencies and unrealistic expectations
Why the dating environment is so important
How to date like a scientist
Why you shouldn't try to be perfect on a date
Vulnerability as a magnet for connection
The post date 8 checklist
Why you should ignore the spark and focus on the slow burn
What things matter less than people think for relationships and what do they underestimate
Why you need to be able to fight well in a relationship
The tips and tricks to a dating profile
Why vulnerability is strength
The difference between a maximiser and a satisfier

A Brand New Way to Understand and Treat Mental Health Problems - Dr Rangan Chatterjee with Dr Chris Palmer

Dr Chris Palmer is Director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital, Massachusetts and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

He shares some of the profound insights he's gained over almost 30 years as an academic psychiatrist. He combines years of clinical, neuroscience and metabolic studies into one unifying idea: that mental disorders are not caused by a chemical imbalance. Instead, they are metabolic disorders of the brain, caused by dysfunction in our mitochondria.

It’s a theory that connects physical, mental and emotional health, and it’s the topic of his excellent new book, . Chris doesn’t deny the roles trauma, psychological and social factors can play in poor mental health. But he explains the link between these factors and our metabolism, and how diet and lifestyle interventions can help. Excitingly, Chris explains that making changes to our diet and lifestyle actually offer far more hope for long-term remission than existing treatments, which generally aim to only reduce symptoms.

As Chris reveals, his own experience with trauma and mental illness is what drives him to try and help millions of people around the world who are still suffering. Chris is advocating for a transformation in the way we view and treat mental health. And, if that happens, it won’t just help ease an epidemic of depression, anxiety and other conditions – it also has the potential to address all of the chronic diseases that are underpinned by metabolic dysfunction.

Supercharge Your Longevity - Modern Wisdom with Dr Gabrielle Lyon

Dr Gabrielle Lyon is a functional medicine physician and Founder of the Institute of Muscle-Centric Medicine.

Most health advice focuses on shedding excess weight. But what if your longevity, healthspan, resilience and quality of life was more determined by gaining muscle than losing fat? This isn't a bodybuilder's coping strategy, it's new science backed by mountains of data.

Expect to learn why the quality of your life is a direct correlation to your muscle health, whether it's more dangerous to be over-fat or under-muscled, whether exercise is more important than nutrition, Gabrielle's favourite hacks for getting more protein in every day, whether protein timing matters, if it's possible to achieve this with a plant-based diet and much more...

Why Is Modern Dating Such A Mess? - Modern Wisdom with Sadia Khan

Sadia Khan is a relationship coach and a speaker

Dating in the modern world is more fraught than ever. Men and women are finding themselves confused and lost as they try to make sense of a mating landscape which becomes ever more difficult to navigate.

Expect to learn why Sadia’s Instagram has been banned 3 times, why nice guys have such a hard time in relationships, whether men and women can actually be friends, whether hot women tend to be crazier, how to stop being a jealous partner, whether body count actually matters, why married couples cheat, what Love Island is doing to our view of romance and much more...

06 October 2023

How to Improve Your Brain Health as You Age - Dr Rangan Chatterjee with Dr Tommy Wood

In this clip, Dr Tommy Wood explains why cognitive decline in later life is not inevitable and the steps we can take now to keep our brain healthy at any age.

05 October 2023

The Terrifying Impact Of Single-Parent Households - Modern Wisdom with Melissa Kearney

Melissa Kearney is a University of Maryland economist professor, and an author known for her research in the field of economic demography. Declining marriage and birth rates frequently dominate discussions about the future of society, but what is the impact of separated parents on the kids who grow up in these homes? Melissa has spent years assessing the data, and her findings are absolutely terrifying.

Expect to learn how single-parent households are massively worsening class divides, what happens to kids who grow up with only one parent, what is driving the decline in American marriage rates, what Melissa is hearing from both men & women who don’t want to marry, just how many of the problems we’re seeing in the modern world are downstream from single-parent households, whether the decline in marriage and birth rate are at all correlated, what can be done about this issue and much more...

00:00:00 Response to Melissa’s Book
00:02:27 What Has Been Happening to Marriage Rates?
00:07:46 How College Degrees Are Influencing Childbirth & Marriage Rates
00:14:52 Are Women Misjudging What Men Want?
00:25:30 Why Are Declining Marriages a Bad Thing?
00:30:20 Differences in Kids Raised in Two-Parent & One-Parent Homes
00:41:35 Cohabiting Vs Marriage
00:50:25 The Lack of Substitute Father Figures for Boys
00:58:30 Consequences of Eroding Chivalrous Norms
01:08:24 How Many of Societal Problems Are Due to Single-Parent Households?
01:10:10 The Connection Between Marriage Rates & Birth Rates
01:20:25 Melissa’s Interventions to Increase Marriage Rates
01:28:30 Where to Find Melissa

How to Raise Successful Kids Without Over-Parenting - Julie Lythcott-Haims


By loading kids with high expectations and micromanaging their lives at every turn, parents aren't actually helping. At least, that's how Julie Lythcott-Haims sees it. With passion and wry humour, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford makes the case for parents to stop defining their children's success via grades and test scores. Instead, she says, they should focus on providing the oldest idea of all: unconditional love.

02 October 2023

Lying - Sam Harris

Lying - Sam Harris

In Lying, author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie. He focuses on "white" lies - those lies we tell for the purpose of sparing people discomfort - for these are the lies that most often tempt us. And they tend to be the only lies that good people tell while imagining that they are being good in the process.

26 September 2023

8 Clear Signs Someone Is Gaslighting You - Charisma on Command


0:26 - #1: They attack your sanity
0:53 - #2: They rewrite the past
2:09 - #3: They minimize bad behavior
3:01 - #4: They normalize bad behavior
3:40 - #5: They use empathy hijacking
4:35 - #6: They regularly deflect blame onto you
5:59 - #7: They project their negative qualities onto you
6:53 - #8: They make your emotional reaction the problem

Arguing with your wife and raising sons - Nick Freitas

00:00 - The Worst Advice Young Husbands Are Given 
00:29 - How do you argue with your wife effectively? 
00:44 - Rule #1: You Are Talking To The Person You Love
02:56 - Rule #2: Emotions Don't Trump Reality 
06:44 - Rule #3: The Secret Sauce To Winning 

00:00 - Intro 
00:31 - The Three Stages Of Growing Up 
00:38 - Their First Lesson 
01:18 - What Just Happened To My Little Boy? 
02:36 - When Things Began To Change 
02:59 - Necessary Challenges 
03:45 - Sacrificing For That Which Is Noble 
04:47 - The Lesson Taught By Example 
05:14 - Before You Know It... 
05:40 - The Final Stages Of Preparation 
05:50 - It's His Alone To Earn 
06:25 - The Hardest Part Of Being A Father 
07:20 - One Of My Earliest Memories 
08:35 - Legacy 
09:05 - When I Get Tired

20 September 2023

What Everyone Needs To Know About Cancer - Dr Rangan Chatterjee with Prof Thomas Seyfried

How lower carbs can lead to better cancer related outcomes.

17 September 2023

Don’t chase happiness. Become antifragile - Big Think with Tal Ben-Shahar


Antifragility is the idea of putting pressure on a system, or human, the system or human actually grows bigger and stronger. 

Antifragile systems are all around us. One example of this is our muscular system. We go to the gym to lift weights. By doing so we are putting pressure on our system to help it grow stronger. The human body is an antifragile system. 

From a psychological perspective, antifragility comes in the form of PTG, or post-traumatic growth. After we experience a stressful event, we learn and grow to become more resilient. 

14 September 2023

Do You Actually Need A Father To Raise A Child? - Modern Wisdom with Dr Anna Machin

Dr Anna Machin is an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford University, a researcher into the role of fatherhood across time and an author.

The modern world has made dads surplus to requirements in many ways. The deadbeat dad is such a meme in sitcoms and cartoons now that it’s no surprise men don’t feel they have a role in child rearing. But just how important are fathers to the development of boys and girls? And what don’t we know about their impact?

Expect to learn how fathers saved the human race when babies heads got too big, whether it’s normal for dads to not feel love for their baby when it’s born, the most important ways dads can bond with their kids, whether dads are more important to girls’ or boys’ development, what pushback Anna got for writing a pro-father book and much more…

Male Inquality - Big Think with Richard Reeves

Boys and men are falling behind. This might seem surprising to some people, and maybe ridiculous to others, considering that discussions on gender disparities tend to focus on the structural challenges faced by girls and women, not boys and men.

But long-term data reveal a clear and alarming trend: In recent decades, American men have been faring increasingly worse in many areas of life, including education, workforce participation, skill acquisition, wages, and fatherhood.

Gender politics is often framed as a zero-sum game: Any effort to help men takes away from women. But in his 2022 book Of Boys and Men, journalist and Brookings Institution scholar Richard V. Reeves argues that the structural problems contributing to male malaise affect everybody, and that shying away from these tough conversations is not a productive path forward.

01:35 Men in education
07:26 Class matters
07:53 Men in the workforce
10:54 Men in the family
13:00 Deaths of despair

Is marriage dying? - Big Think with Richard Reeves

Marriage in the U.S. has fundamentally transformed over the past century. In general, women have far greater legal and economic power in marriages than they did just decades ago, and while it was once difficult for women to file for divorce, today women do so at twice the rate of men. What’s more, gay marriage has been legal in all 50 states since 2015.

Still, other aspects of marriage in the U.S. have remained remarkably unchanged. As journalist and Brookings Institution scholar Richard Reeves points out, a college-educated woman today is about just as likely to get married as her mother was — and even a bit more likely to stay married.

But the same is not true for Americans on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. As Reeves notes in this Big Think video, it’s important for all humans to have strong and meaningful relationships, whether within the context of marriage or not. The question is how to best ensure that the most people can build those relationships.

What the sexual revolution has done to modern families - Big Think with Richard Reeves, Judith Butler and more

How has the sexual revolution reshaped our understanding of relationships and family? After the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s began upending traditional norms, Americans started seeing greater personal freedoms and a more flexible understanding of relationships, sexuality, and family roles. 

One lasting impact is that marriage is now based primarily on choice rather than societal expectations, and men are no longer always expected to be the head of the household. 

But despite the clear benefits of increased egalitarianism and personal liberty, the sexual revolution arguably came with trade-offs. As journalist Louise Perry notes, one example is that far more children are being raised in broken homes today than they were decades ago, even though nearly every conceivable metric shows that it’s better for children to have married parents.

12 September 2023

How To Quickly Get Out Of A Mental Rut - Charisma on Command

Forget "I'll be happy when...". If you can't be happy when pursuing a goal you won't be happy when you achieved it.

Expectations cause a lot of unhappiness. Often we suffer because we believe a thought that argues with reality. Reality has no concept of that something "should" have happened or someone "should" have behaved a particular way. This is simply our own personal belief, that is creating a happiness gap between reality and our imagined reality.

You don't know your future. If you are pained by external things, it is not that they disturb you, but your judgement of them that disturbs you, and it is in your power to wipe out that judgement.

The story of the Chinese farmer:

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbours came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.”. The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”. The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbours then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.”. The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbours came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”.

0:00 - Intro
0:16 - #1: Unmet desire
4:12 - #2: Isolated upward comparison
7:26 - #3: Expectations

How To Argue With Someone Who Won’t Listen - Charisma on Command

Harvard negotiator explains how to argue - Big Think with Dan Shapiro

05 September 2023

How To Persuade Anyone Using Psychology - Charisma on Command


00:00 - Intro
00:16 - #1: Social proof
02:38 - #2: Scarcity
04:41 - #3: Consistency
06:27 - #4: Reciprocity
08:11 - #5: Authority
09:53 - #6: Liking
10:15 - #7: Risk Mitigation
10:59 - Only persuade for genuine good.

03 September 2023

5 Essential Tips for Long-Lasting Productivity - Ali Abdaal



00:00 Intro
05:16 Shift your mindset
06:22 Turn things into a game
07:42 Bring others on board
09:39 Set the appropriate stage
11:37 Decide if you're working on the right things

22 August 2023

11 August 2023

Good Michael Lewis books for students to read on contemporary financial history

The 2007 credit crunch: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

The government debt crises that followed after the credit crunch: Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour

The high frequency trading companies exploiting trading on exchanges and other electronic venues: Flash Boys

The Unseen And Horrifying Knock On Effect Of Dating Apps On Our Society - The Diary of a CEO with Scott Galloway

Cognitive Biases Explained

21 Mind Traps : The Ultimate Guide to your most common Thinking errors - Escaping Ordinary

Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building - Claire Hughes Johnson

A very good guide to to being a good people manager in the workplace. I think this is also useful for students about to start in the workplace, it gives them an idea of what organisations and managers in those organisations are optimising for.

Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson

Another useful piece for students about to start in the workplace:

TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking: Tips and tricks for giving unforgettable speeches and presentations - Chris Anderson

One of the best guides to teach you how to develop and deliver the best presentations and talks:

TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking: Tips and tricks for giving unforgettable speeches and presentations by Chris Anderson

02 August 2023

Hip, knee, ankle, and foot: common injuries, prevention, and treatment options - Dr Peter Attia with Adam Cohen

For those who are interested in learning more about hip and knee issues:

30 July 2023

The Science of Regret - Dr Maya Shankar A Slight Change of Plans with Daniel Pink

... and also The Science of Our Inner Voice - Dr Maya Shankar A Slight Change of Plans with Prof Ethan Kross:

11 July 2023

The Story of the Mexican Fisherman

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.  Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna.  The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos.  I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part.  When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire.  Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

29 June 2023

The Secret Power of Unsent Letters - The School of Life

A great approach to stop ruminating. Write out a structured note on the issue and all your thoughts about it.

... and a lot more detail on The Science of Our Inner Voice - Dr Maya Shankar A Slight Change of Plans with Prof Ethan Kross:

28 May 2023

The basics of preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia - Dr Peter Attia

Dr Peter Attia has his own podcast that goes into a lot of detail on the subjects of preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia through exercise, diet and sleep. Here is a podcast where he discusses them on another presenter's podcast and thus you get a good high level summary

23 January 2023

The secret to a happy life - lessons from 8 decades of research - Robert Waldinger

The happiest and healthiest people are those who have warm connections with others, says psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, who leads the Harvard Study of Adult Development -- one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted. Exploring the crucial link between social bonds and quality of life, he shares wisdom and insights into how to identify and strengthen the relationships that impact your well-being most.

The point on the importance of good relationships echoes the points in Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari.

... and as a full interview with Robert Waldinger, on the The Diary of a CEO, where he talks through the study ...