Good Life Project

John Durant wants to destroy the diet book industry... Not just because he found new levels of vitality without it, but because he believes human history can illuminate almost all that ails us. And there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution for anyone. A proponent of what he calls the "paleo lifestyle," he lives like a caveman in Manhattan. Okay, so he actually lives in an apartment, not a cave. But everything from how how moves and fuels his body to how he lives his life is built around the ability to bring things back to the basics. Question, of course, is why? Durant was working a full-time desk job and wasn't taking care of himself. Booze, bytes, processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle were taking a huge toll. Drawing on his background studying evolutionary psychology at Harvard, he started experimenting with stripping life back to it's ancestral essentials. It was a pivotal moment, leading to profound change in his body, health and life. He has since become a thought leader on the subject of ancestral health and the founder of Paleo NYC and Barefoot Runners NYC. Durant's book, The Paleo Manifesto, offers a roadmap for what he terms an "evolutionary approach to health." It has been praised for the way it weaves history, philosophy, and science to unlock the importance of practices like barefoot running, an emphasis on gut health, and reducing inflammation. In this week's episode we go deep into the impact your habitat, food, activity, job and relationships can have on every part of your life. We talk about whether the whole "paleo" movement is just the latest fad and what's behind it. We even get into a surprising, yet fascinating conversation about how the critters living in your gut can hijack your brain and make you behave in ways you never imagined possible. Thanks for tuning in and feel free to subscribe to our newsletter (below) for updates on Good Life Project. With Gratitude, JF

How do you stay motivated not just for days or weeks, but for month and years? Long enough to develop your craft, build a legacy-worthy body of work and stay deeply engaged and driven along the way. In an earlier episode, I mentioned something that I've since been asked about many times; the difference between being pulled from in front and being pushed from behind. Is that just about passion and purpose? Is it about grit? Do you just need to buck up and persevere? Be persistent? Or is long-term motivation really about something else? While conventional wisdom tells you that if you love what you do, you won't work a day in your life, we all know that logic doesn't often cut it. Maybe for a single, short-term pursuit. Or something with a fairly limited duration. But sustained motivation, motivation that fuels action for years or decades, that's about something else. Staying motivated and taking action involves going a few steps further. That's what I'm talking about in today's episode. In today's Jam Session we unpack a formula that helps to cultivate long-term, sustained motivation and also reframes motivation's role in building something great. As always, you can listen to the audio below. Or, hey, even better, never miss an episode! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter (below) or subscribe to the GLP Radio podcast using any of the links to the right. Now go do cool stuff! JF

Acclaimed novelist and memoirist, Dani Shapiro is a "writer's writer." She makes you want to be not just better at your craft, but better at life...through your craft. In her early 20's, a horrible car accident that led to family tragedy left Dani seeking answers and her own sense of spirituality. Writing became her coping mechanism, her way of processing and thinking and, eventually, her profession. It helped her better understand her relationship to a fast-paced world, to becoming a wife and mother and, in more recent years, reclaiming her sense of faith and spirituality on her own terms. Eight books in, Dani's built a vibrant career and a thriving, successful, creative life. Her latest book, Still Writing, has been described as a "love letter to a discipline," skillfully illuminating the journey of becoming one with her art form. In this week's episode, Dani gets us thinking about craft as life and thought and spirit, the changing face of the publishing world, the artful practice that helped her become who she is, and how creative people can both be of the world and of service to it. If you're a writer or an artist or maker, or aspire to any of those creative pursuits, you won't want to miss this conversation. You can also listen to the audio on  iTunes or Soundcloud, and be sure to subscribe by email (below) so you never miss an episode.

The single biggest dream-derailer is not what you think... Creation can be an all-consuming experience. It pulls us so voraciously that we're tempted to stop doing the one thing—actually three things—that enable us to do our great work in the first place.  These three practices transform the experience of creation from one of that has the potential to crush you and lead to suffering and frustration and turns it into a process defined by power and potential. Hint: I'm doing one in that picture to the left. Trust me, I know from experience. I've fallen in and out of these practices throughout the years. And every time I fall out, I pay the price. So do those around me, and so does the quality of what I'm trying to bring to life. What I realized is that if I want to put myself out there, if I want to devote myself to doing something extraordinary in the world, then I've actually got to exalt these creation and life-sustaining ideals. Watch the video to learn 3 Performance and Mindset Optimization Techniques that have helped me stay connected in a way that allows me not only get things done, but feel good doing it and do my best work. Thanks for tuning in to our latest GLP Jam Session and feel free to subscribe to our newsletter (below) for updates on Good Life Project. Or subscribe to podcast using any of the links to the right. With gratitude, JF

Adam Braun was on the fast track to huge money, then everything changed. A rising star at one of the world's leading consulting firms, Braun had everything planned out. He'd work for a few years in consulting, become a hedge-fund guy, make a ton of money, then retire and devote his life to service. But, sometimes plans were made to be broken. Taking a short sabbatical, he started a side-project called Pencils of Promise, building a school for kids in a developing part of the world dedicated to his grandmother. It was supposed to be one and done, something he'd return to later in life. But Adam's philanthropic inner voice would stop calling him. He went back to work, but continued to run PoP on the side, until it began taking more and more of his time. Before too long, his employers called him out. He was spending too much time on his non-profit side project and had to make a choice. You can guess which one he made. He walked away from his payday and walked into a life of pure service. But, his dad taught him something he'd never forget. "Brauns are different." Adam didn't play by other peoples' rules. And he didn't play small. So he didn't just launch a quest to build schools around the globe, he fundamentally transformed the way the "not for profit" model works, creating a new hybrid, the "for purpose" model. Pencils of Promise has now built over 200 schools and made a difference in countless lives. He's written about his remarkable journey in his new book The Promise of a Pencil. It's a powerful story of awakening and action, showing how one person can make a huge difference in a short period of time. Strongly recommended. Watch this week's episode to find out how Adam turned $25, a relentless will and a box of pencils into a global movement that is changing the lives of thousands of kids and families. You can also listen to the audio on  iTunes or Soundcloud, and be sure to subscribe by email (below) so you never miss an episode.

"For those who are inclined to become not just a craft person/artist, but an enterprise, the world of possibility is astonishing right now." Everyone's telling me "you've got to build a tribe, a platform if you want to thrive." But, whatever happened to the old "just be great at your craft and the world will find you" approach to building a business or body of work that pays your bills? That's what we're talking about on todays GLP Jam Session... It's true, the world is changing quickly; somewhere along the line, technology has given entrepreneurs and artists the opportunity to reclaim direct access to those they seek to serve. To build a large, engaged following. But, just because you CAN, does that mean you SHOULD? You can rail against it or you can roll with it. In this week's episode, we explore why you'd do either, why I choose craft + connection and what's it's allowed me to do. Hint, it's all about balancing your desire to do great work with your desire to earn enough to do only great work (or mostly). Thanks for tuning in to our latest GLP Jam Session and feel free to subscribe to our newsletter below for updates on Good Life Project. Psssst, we're also on iTunes! If you haven't yet, subscribe to the GLP podcast and never miss another episode. And I'd LOVE if you'd leave a quick review when you're there. With Gratitude, Jonathan

What if the journey to creating world-class art, athleticism, business and life was a smooth, easy, straight line? That's the fantasy held by so many who live into the intense and often jagged lines that define the creative life. Thing is, much as we might day-dream about a path less-challenged, it's those very jags, the way we move through them and what they teach us that both nourish our growth as people and creators and make what we end up creating that much more compelling. This is what we're talking about in today's conversation with renowned curator, historian and author, Sarah Lewis. Sarah currently sits on the faculty of the Yale School of Art as a critic in both the Photography and Painting/Printmaking Departments. She has served on President Barack Obama's Arts Policy Committee and was selected for Oprah's 2010 "Power List." She is also an active curator, having held positions at both the Tate Modern and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. What I love about Sarah, too, is her deep interest in the immensely personal experience of striving to create a world-class body of work. To become a master. She's written extensively about this in her beautifully-crafted and meticulously-researched new book, The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery. Two thoughts shared by Sarah during our wide-ranging conversation that really resonated: "Success is a mark that we've hit that lets the world around us state that we've made it, but mastery is a much more internal judgment that often times is never met with satisfaction until the very end of one's life. It's a journey and success is often an event." "When you tense up in life, you lose access to the inner resources that you actually need to discern what's in front of you, what is in your grasp."  Check out the video, listen to the audio and be sure to subscribe either by email (below), iTunes or Soundcloud so that you never miss an episode. With gratitude, JF P.S. - Are you ready to embrace your potential? Make 2014 your breakout year. Immerse yourself in 6 life-changing days in Costa Rica and 7-months of personal and business elevation training with the 2014 Good Life Project Immersion.

Back today with another GLP Jam Session. Today, I'm answering one of the most frequently asked questions of me... How do you get so much done and still have a life? Every time someone asks me that, I kind of chuckle. Because in my mind, I don't. I see where I'm going and what I want to create and how much more I could be doing and I feel like I need to find new ways to produce more. That said, I've also become aware that I tend to put a lot of things out into the world on a pretty consistent basis. And, I realized, there's one thing I learned waaaaaay back in my mega-firm lawyer days that's served me well on the productivity side of things. And, funny thing is, I learned it largely because I worked in a different tower than the partner I was on a project with and he didn't ever turn on his computer. It's not a system or book. And it's a bit counter-intuitive. I call it my "Hair-on-fire-minus-one" method. You can learn about it in this week's GLP Jam session. Check out the video, listen to the audio and be sure to subscribe either by email (below), iTunes or Soundcloud so that you never miss an episode. With gratitude, JF +++ Are you ready to embrace your potential? Make 2014 your breakout year. Immerse yourself in 6 life-changing days in Costa Rica and 7-months of personal and business elevation training with the 2014 Good Life Project Immersion.

Joanne Wilson drinks in life, and offers up wisdom. A well-known angel investor with a strong focus on women owned businesses, she's also a lifelong entrepreneur, blogger, foodie, wife and mom. She's funded and advised a wide range of ventures, including Food52.com, Blue Bottle Coffee, Daily Worth, New York Mouth, Kitchen Surfing and many others. To her, there's a seamless dance between business and life that informs both her lens on entrepreneurship and her approach to life and success. In this week's episode, we explore her journey, and dive deep into a host of topics, from the myth of having it all to whether the mindset of entrepreneurship is trainable or not and the need to take breaks. We also explore that taboo territory of family and entrepreneurship and whether you can build a giant, scalable business while also keeping all other parts of your life functioning at that same level. And why you'd even try. One of my favorite quotes from the conversation: "Athletes need to take a break from their muscles, entrepreneurs need to take a break from their brains." Join us for this conversation. And if it resonates, feel free to share it with your friends. Especially those makers and entrepreneurs who could use a bit of a mindset reset. Watch the web-show above or listen to the GLP Radio version below, on SoundCloud or iTunes. With gratitude, Jonathan

Noah Bradley's illustrations make you feel like you've just stepped into another world. They're vast, rich, stunning and he's built a great career as a well-known artist. His work is commissioned regularly and he's deep into his own collections. Well, of course he is, I mean the guy went to two of the top art schools in the country. He had access to the best teachers, facilities and mentors. he was bound for greatness, right? Not so fast... That may all be true. But then, why did he write an article that's exploded online telling aspiring artists not to go to art school? What does he suggest in it's place? If not from the education and connections he made in art school, how did he get where he is? And how does he define doing good work and living a good life in the arts? These are the questions we explore in this week's Good Life Project. Watch the web-show above or listen to the GLP Radio version below, on SoundCloud or iTunes. With gratitude, Jonathan

The moment you decide to do anything that steps outside the bounds of what's been done before, you'll be criticized. The moment you offer anything to the public with a strong voice, people will disagree. The moment you stand in your own truth, others will seek to layer theirs on top of yours. I struggle with this all the time. Sometimes with grace, other times not. Question is, what do you DO about that? Do you just ignore them? Do you jettison the naysayers from your life (contrarian spoiler alert - no)? Do you cave to every opinion and surrender your own lens, autonomy and future? Or is there a better way? This is where we're going in today's Good Life Project Jam Session. FYI - If you're new to our Jam Sessions, they're shorter, quicker, single idea conversations that we've been mixing in with our longer conversations this year, where we can answer specific questions in a more focused way. You can watch the episode above or listen to the full GLP Radio audio version below. Be sure not to miss an episode, too, subscribe by email below or on SoundCloud or iTunes. With gratitude, Jonathan +++ Quick note - For those who've been waiting patiently, we've just opened enrollment for the 2014 GLP Immersion. And we've completely rebuilt the program and format. To shortcut to the details (for my #ShortAttentionSpan friends, lol), just scroll the video to the 17-minute mark.

By her early 20s, Vani Hari was on 9 prescription medications. Her body was falling apart, she had little energy, her skin was a mess and she was scheduled for a surgery. Until she finally decided to make health her number one priority. Her starting point? Food. She realized quickly that what she put into her body was massively implicated in what her body was giving her back. So she became a food crusader and nursed herself backed to health. But what Vani discovered about the food we're eating, along the way, so shocked her, that she decided to take her crusade beyond a single person and mount a revolution. That launched her career as a food activist and led to the creation of the now massively popular FoodBabe.com. With a global audience in the millions, Vani now appears regularly on network television and her campaigns to hold large corporations accountable have sparked real change. According to Vani: "The goal of food babe is to get people woken up BEFORE they get sick" Join us in this week's episode as we explore Vani's incredibly powerful journey. And we see how, in a stunningly short period of time, one person, one voice really can make a huge difference. You can watch the episode above or listen to the full GLP Radio audio version below. Be sure not to miss an episode, too, subscribe by email below or on SoundCloud or iTunes. With gratitude, Jonathan

Do you have to give up your life to build something epic? Could doing so actually sabotage, rather than fuel your vision? That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Jam Session. I get a lot of questions every week, so we're going to do a little experiment, rotating these short and sweet, six to 10-minute"Jam Session" episodes into the line-up so I can answer your questions. Today, we're answering this question: I've been told that, in order to build anything worthwhile, I need to work like crazy and eliminate anything non-productive in my life. But I love to watch my favorite shows an hour a day on TV. And I feel really guilty doing that. Can I be a real entrepreneur (you could easily insert artist, maker, writer, designer or anything "body of work" worthy) and still take time to just kind of chill? There is so much angst, existential and real, and so much emotion wrapped up in this question. Oh, and judgment. What, it's okay to spend hours on social sites because it's "research" and "relationship-building," but that hour in front of Scandal, somehow that's worthless? Contrarian alert! You may be surprised by how I answer this question. In this quick hit GLP Jam Sesh, I explore: The "all work all the time" myth How to cultivate artistic or entrepreneurial genius What are "dots," why they're important and how watching TV might be...gulp...good for entrepreneurs Big takeaway + today's shareable: "Genius does not come from living in a cave." Click to tweet You can listen to the full GLP Radio [audio-only] episode below, subscribe over on SoundCloud or listen and subscribe on iTunes. To get behind the scenes info and stay up to date with every episode subscribe to weekly e-mail updates in the form below. With gratitude, Jonathan

Pam Slim is an enigma... How can one person be so genuine, so deeply kind, so gentle, loving and accepting of people from any walk of life, and at the same time be a total badass, MMA black belt, flourishing entrepreneur, leader, career and life sage and author? Once you meet her, you get it instantly. There's a wisdom, an energy about Pam that fills a room and says "how can we all not be everything and more?" Whether it's mixed martial arts, entrepreneurship or helping gang prone kids find purpose, Pam Slim is here to inspire greatness and awareness. And she does this not with hyperbole or facade or grand promises, but from a place of deep grounding, practicality and humility. Over her career, she's worked with everyone from hippie software engineers to large investment firms, and the last decade or so has seen her emerge as a respected entrepreneur, sought-after keynote speaker and trainer and author who's here to make a bigger difference. Her new book, Body of Work, dives deep into a set of questions I think about on a near-constant basis. Ones that can define both what you do with your life and how you serve others. What am I building, and how? Who am I serving, and why? What will I leave behind? In this week's episode, we dive into Pam's colorful journey from California kid, capoeira devotee and activist to corporate consultant and then entrepreneur who leads with a huge heart and a desire to make a real difference and help others do the same. In her words: "Living a full color, full contact life, embracing the richness and diversity of life. The good the bad the hard. Dealing with emotional aspects that enable full experiences and doing the work". Show Notes: The Ethical Dilemma of Consulting on Employee Retention and Shifting to Authoring Escaping from Cubicle Nation Her Career Path: Development Work in Latin America, San Francisco Exploratorium, Hippie Software Training Commune, Corporate Consulting for Large Investment Firm and a Capoeira Side Hustle On the Mindset Shift of Self Identifying as an Entrepreneur How Capoeira Led the Path to Community Activist Details of Capoeira = The Art of Fighting while Smiling Using Capoeira as a Tool to Unlock the Power of Disadvantaged Gang Prone Youth The Similar Struggle of Corporate Leaders and Gang Prone Youth - Finding their Vision Building a Navajo/Anglo Family Addressing Good vs. Bad of Entrepreneurship vs. Corporate Taking the Time to Understand our Parents Community Development Work Stories of How People Thrive in the New World of Work Learning Specific Tools: The Power of Story, Quickly Conceptualize and Create Things, How to Identify People to Learn From   You can listen to the full GLP Radio [audio-only] episode below, subscribe over on SoundCloud or listen and subscribe on iTunes. To get behind the scenes info and stay up to date with every episode subscribe to weekly e-mail updates in the form below. With gratitude, Jonathan

Michael Gebben spent 7 years building a video company that was the envy of everyone in his field. Until, one day, he woke up to the realization that he'd built a cage of his own making. And given up so much of his life in the name of something that didn't really mean a whole lot. So he hit reset, and over the last three years, rebuilt his life and his career around what matters and even launched a new inspirational Youtube channel. He has profoundly changed his metrics for success. Yes, money matters. But what matters more, he's discovered, is meaning and service and people. Living and building a path defined by a willingness to act on the fire that burns inside you. To be able to look back without regret at never having tried the thing you were most called to do. And as you'll discover in the first few minutes of our conversation, that's given him the opportunity to do something magical. To start each day walking with his grandpa and get to know him in a way he'd never imagined possible. To share in his grandpa's stories and wisdom and to help share his own renewed joy for life with his grandpa. But that's the the beginning for this aspiring world-changer. Join us for an inspiring story of awakening, action and connection. Topics covered include: The Power of Consistent Actions Over the Long Run How Morning Rituals Cultivate a Happy Workflow Reframing Success Measured by Shared Steps with Grandpa How Repetition and Consistency Creates Real Impact on Behavior Change Becoming Comfortable with the blend between the Day to Day Growth and the "Hockey Stick" Growth You can listen to the full GLP Radio [audio-only] episode below, subscribe over on SoundCloud or listen and subscribe on iTunes. Don't miss a future episode and be sure to stay up to date and go behind-the-scenes with us. Subscribe to our weekly email updates below. With gratitude, Jonathan