In this episode of the It’s Not What It seems podcast, you’re going to hear from the one and only, Seth Godin. Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker, but most importantly, he’s a teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, which now has over 7,000 blog posts, he has written 18 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), and most recently This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an educational conversation with Joe Sweeney. Joe is the Executive Director of How I Decide, the foundation dedicated to bringing decision skills and critical thinking to youth education. His favorite part of the work is finding new participants in the field of decision education for youth, connecting them with others, and supporting their collaborations. Prior to working with the team and partners at How I Decide, Joe was an independent school leader, software entrepreneur, and award winning teacher. He currently invests the balance of his professional time teaching research methods and mentoring doctoral students at the Strategic Leadership program at Jefferson University. Joe is a fellow of the Systems Wisdom Institute, a member of the American Psychological Association, and a member of the Society of Judgement and Decision Making…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an interesting conversation with Martin Gurri. Martin is a geopolitical analyst and student of new media and information effects who spent many years in the CIA looking at these subjects. Following his time at the CIA, Gurri’s research focused on the mode of forces powering the transformation of new media, and has churned out countless articles, studies, and blog posts on the topic, including co-authoring Our Visual Persuasion Gap. Martin’s blog, The Fifth Wave, pursues the themes first elaborated in his book, The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in Our New Millennium, which is the main topic of our conversation today. Martin has conducted global analysis to identify real trends that have led us to where we are today. And in this episode we’ll talk about how we can move forward…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I’ll talk about a 3-step process that I’ve dubbed “The Hope Model.” This model is based around the story we’ve all been implicitly instructed to follow our entire lives. It’s what the world might consider a “successful” or “good” or “worthy” life. This article will you show you don’t have to rely on that standard narrative. It’s really just the power of hope propelling us forward as we enter each new phase of our life. We hope for specific outcomes at each stage, and without this hope, we become truly, profoundly lost. However, the Hope Model will provide a way for you to always find hope. No matter who you are. No matter what stage of life you’re on. No matter what you’re looking to do with your life. You can rely on the Hope Model…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an awesome conversation with Jay Baer. Jay is a 7th-generation entrepreneur and has created five multi-million dollar companies. He is currently the President of Convince & Convert, a consulting firm that helps the world's most iconic brands like The United Nations, Nike, 3M, and Oracle use technology to win new customers, and keep the customers they've already earned. He’s been in the digital marketing space for over 25 years consulting for more than 700 companies…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an eye-opening conversation with Tyler Cowen. Tyler is the Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and also Director of the Mercatus Center. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1987. He was recently named in an Economist poll as one of the most influential economists of the last decade and several years ago Bloomberg Businessweek dubbed him “America’s Hottest Economist.” Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of its “Top 100 Global Thinkers” of 2011. He also co-writes a blog called Marginal Revolution, runs a podcast series called Conversations with Tyler, and most recently authored, Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an entertaining conversation with Bradley Tusk. Bradley is a venture capitalist, political strategist, and writer. He’s the founder and CEO of Tusk Holdings, which is the world’s first venture capital fund to work with and invest solely in high growth startups facing political and regulatory challenges. Previously, Bradley served as campaign manager for Mike Bloomberg, as Deputy Governor of Illinois and as Communications Director for Senator Charles Schumer. He’s also the author of the book, The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics and regularly writes a column for The Observer…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I’ll talk about how to thrive in times of uncertainty. Most people spend a lot of time and energy trying to “resolve” uncertain situations even though some of the best experiences and lessons come when we don’t know what’s just around the corner. It makes sense that we want to know what’s coming and try whatever we can to put ourselves in environments where we feel like we can predict the future. But in reality, that’s pretty much never actually possible. Sure, it’s scary not knowing what’s in store, but embracing the unknown can produce some of the best outcomes…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have a spiritual conversation with don Miguel Ruiz Jr. Miguel Jr is a teacher and author of the book don Miguel Ruiz’s Little Book of Wisdom: The Essential Teachings. Maybe the name sounds familiar. He is the son of don Miguel Ruiz, author of the iconic book, The Four Agreements, which has inspired and impacted millions of people around the world…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have a wide-ranging conversation with my first repeat guest, Annie Duke. Annie and I had so much fun during our first conversation (Episode #4) we decided to do it all over again. Annie is a retired poker professional, bestselling author, corporate speaker, and decision strategist. As a former professional poker player, she won more than $4 million in tournament poker. She has won a World Series of Poker bracelet, the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, and the NBC National Poker Heads-Up Championship. She’s written five books, four on poker and strategy, and most recently she published her first for general audiences, Thinking in Bets: How to Make Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts…

In today’s episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an essential conversation with Greg Mckeown. Greg is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He also collaborated on the writing and research of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. He has taught at companies that include Apple, Google, Facebook, Salesforce.com, Symantec, Twitter, and VMware. He was recently named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He’s a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review…

In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I’ll talk about 12 things I do every single day that help me embrace my imperfections. The world wants us to blend in rather than stand out. The world is begging us to be relevant rather than remembered. This overwhelming pressure rests on the idea of perfection. From what I’ve seen though, the most successful and creative people in the world are remembered not because they achieved perfection, but instead because they’ve learned to embrace their imperfections in meaningful ways. They say, success leaves breadcrumbs. Well, success has many definitions. But it’s my hope these breadcrumbs will inspire you to embrace your imperfections, and take pride in doing things just a little differently…