Why success and trust grow faster when someone is willing to go positive first There’s a podcast I keep returning to, and the subject is Peter D. Kaufman. He runs Glenair and edited Poor Charlie’s Almanack, so he’s spent a long time thinking carefully about how things actually work, not just in one field but…
And how disagreement, diversity of thought and honest debate help us find more useful answers Pick any topic. Climate policy. Whether pineapple belongs on pizza. The best way to raise children. Now watch what happens when two people who disagree try to talk about it. Within minutes, both sides are working harder to win than…
What his language reveals about staying confident, resilient and performing under pressure There is a phrase Joe Rogan uses to describe himself that has stuck in my mind. He calls himself a professional learner. Three ordinary words. But they reveal something important about how he keeps his nerve when hostility and pressure ramp up. I…
What a Breakthrough in AI Revealed About Why Confidence Can Be Consistent Meera had just finished presenting to the board. By any measure, it had gone well. She had answered questions clearly, stayed composed when pushed, and left the room with thanks from the chair. But walking back to her desk, one moment played on…
What drives David Goggins, Gordon Ramsay and Steven Bartlett: and why success may never feel like enough David Goggins has run ultramarathons on broken feet, smashed the world record for pull-ups, and trains for hours before most people are out of bed. He has been described as the toughest man alive. And yet if you…
Why You Become Your Parents Under Pressure, Even When You Swore You Wouldn’t Amara was halfway through a sentence when she stopped. She’d been telling her daughter to hurry up, which was fine, she told herself. They were late. The bag wasn’t packed. The shoes were somewhere. But it was the specific words she’d used,…
What a quiet start to my blog means, and how I hold my nerve while I find the path A few weeks ago, I pressed publish and almost nobody noticed. That’s the honest version of where I am with this blog. There’s a book here, three parts built over years of work with people under…
What children learn when adults stay calm enough to listen Sarah came to see me because she was worried about her son. Callum was thirteen, bright, and had strong opinions about most things. That had always seemed like a good sign. But something had shifted over the past year. Arguments with friends were getting more…
Break down the problem, act on the next step, and keep your thinking moving under pressure There is a scene near the start of Project Hail Mary where Ryan Gosling’s character wakes up on a spacecraft, alone, with no idea who he is or why he’s there. He can’t remember his name. He doesn’t know…
What the players revealed in the language they used under pressure Augusta National interviews its players before they have had time to think. Within minutes of finishing a round, sometimes on the course itself, they answer questions in front of cameras and microphones. Under that kind of pressure, on that stage, language is the most…
