Happy Podcast!

From Barely Surviving a Life-Changing Injury to Authoring Multiple Best Sellers and Inspiring NBC's Hit TV Show 'The Irrational': A Conversation with the Resilient and Remarkable Professor Dan Ariely

I truly enjoyed my conversation with Professor Dan Ariely of Duke University. Dan is an award-winning, bestselling author of multiple books and the star of an excellent documentary film. Beyond this, he served as inspiration for the NBC TV show The Irrational, which was just renewed for a second season and is loosely based on his extraordinary life. He is also a source of inspiration for many, especially people with disabilities. After surviving a devastating explosion as a teenager that left him with third-degree burns over 70% of his body and the loss of the use of seven of his fingers, Dan could have given up on life. Instead, he has become a brilliant success story, embodying resilience more than anyone I know. He also shares his story of self-acceptance, including his decision to embrace a unique appearance due to the accident that left only half of his face growing facial hair, which he highlights with his signature half-beard. It is a privilege to call Dan my friend, and it was a pleasure to interview him for this podcast.

An enlightening conversation about our relationship with money with Harvard MBA, financial genius, and recovering workaholic, Manisha Thakor.

I had a blast talking to Manisha Thakor, the author of a new book, "MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your Enough.” Both her book and our interview focus on creating an emotionally healthy emotional relationship with money. She explains how the key to financial well-being isn't just about the numbers on our bank statements, but also about our mindset about money and how it fits with the rest of our life. Manisha's thought-provoking book offers insights about the intricate relationships between money, emotional well-being, physical health, and genuine contentment. We touch on many of the pearls of wisdom from her book during our conversation, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with her and to share this awesome interview with you.

Inspirational and Fun Conversation with Yale Professor Zoe Chance about her book on the Power of Influence, with a Focus on Making Good things Happen & Sparking Joy

Today I had the fun and enlightening experience of talking to the highly awesome author and marketing professor, Zoe Chance. Zoe teaches an MBA course called Mastering Influence and Persuasion at Yale. I personally would love to take this course from Zoe, but I'm not at Yale. Fortunately, for me and everyone else, she has an AWESOME new book titled “Influence is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen,” and I had the joy of listening to it on Audible before talking to Zoe about her work. Her book is not just about influence, it is also about sparking joy and making sure you are following your own passions and dreams rather than someone else’s. I felt grateful both listening to Zoe’s book and recording our conversation for this podcast. If you enjoy this interview half as much as I did, you will likely be listening with a big smile on your face.

An Uplifting Conversation on Post Traumatic Growth with Psychologist, Author, and PTG expert, Dr. Edith Shiro.

I had a delightful conversation with clinical psychologist and author Edith Shiro! That's right, I actually enjoyed discussing her work onTRAUMA! In this interview, we discussed the potential transformational silver lining of trauma, which is the focus of her book, The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Path to Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). During our chat, Edith shared her extremely helpful framework for dealing with trauma. Her book offers hope for not only healing from trauma, but even emerging better and stronger with a clearer sense of than before. Her wisdom and warmth were apparent throughout this interview, and I hope her insights help you on your journey to greater happiness!

Awesome Advice for Increasing Happiness and Reducing Fear from Evolutionary Biologist and Author Dr. Rebecca Heiss: This Episode was Game-Changing for Me (and Super Fun Too!!!)

I laughed and was moved by my fun and INSIGHTFUL conversation with evolutionary biologist, author and FEAR expert Dr. Rebecca Heiss. Many of us worry about failing at what we try to do, but few of us think of the pain of REGRETTING all the things we wanted but were afraid to try. Confession time—FEAR has played a huge part in my life, and I have paid a big price for it! However, Rebecca’s research-based wisdom and advice truly inspired me! I have been more courageous just from what I learned in my conversation with her! As Rebecca said during the interview, when we fear less, we make room for more! We quoted Denzel Washington, Marilyn Monroe, Jim Carey and more! We also laughed quite a bit and exchanged both science-based and silly-fun tools we use to increase happiness. If you enjoy this interview half as much as I did, you will LOVE it!