Podcast — 12 Geniuses

Life in 2053: The Dirty Little Secret of the Future with Brian David Johnson

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, futurist Brian David Johnson (aka BDJ) paints a picture of life in 2053 with an emphasis on what he calls “the dirty little secret of the future” and that is that life then will look a lot like it does today, but with far more advanced technology. He also talks about how each of us would benefit from having a teenager as a mentor, why being fearful of novel technology is natural, and how we can overcome that fear. BDJ wraps up the interview by talking about how some of the things we are doing today – like the way we interact with our devices and living in homes that are not filled with smart devices - will be looked at in 50 years with a sense of disbelief.

Brian David Johnson was Intel Corporation’s first-ever futurist. Currently, he is a professor at Arizona State University's Global Futures Laboratory and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. BDJ also works in a private practice with a broad range of groups, including governments, militaries, corporations, nonprofits and start-ups, to help them envision their future. BDJ holds over 40 patents and is the best-selling author of both science fiction and fact books: A Threatcasting Textbook, The Future You, WaR: Wizards and Robots, and 21st Century Robot.

“If you are fearful, let’s talk about it. Let’s get out there and say ‘well, what is the future you want? What is the future you want to avoid’ and start having those conversations, because you get to pick. You have that agency. And in that fear, that helps to push it away. It’s to see the opportunity, but at the same time there are some dark things there. That’s OK. Let’s talk about it now. Let’s not just be afraid and give up our agency for the future.” Brian David Johnson talking about how he helps people overcome their fear of technology and the changes technological advancement brings.

A Non-Obvious Look at Life in 2053 with Rohit Bhargava

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, futurist Rohit Bhargava paints a picture of life in 2053. Rohit talks about the growing desire for analog experiences that deepen human connection, innovative ways for ending loneliness, the future of virtual relationships, and how we will manage our authentic selves in a multi-versal world. Rohit also talks about the future of space exploration. He ends the conversation by talking about some of the things that we are doing today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief.

Rohit Bhargava is on a mission to inspire more non-obvious thinking in the world. He is the #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of nine books and is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original speakers on disruption, trends and marketing in the world. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur and founding two companies, he spent 15 years leading brand strategy at Ogilvy and Leo Burnett where he advised global brands on human behavior, marketing and storytelling.

“We are in a time right now when the Surgeon General just declared loneliness to be an epidemic and loneliness, in essence, is a lack of deep human connection with one another. And I think sometimes the more digitized something gets, the less human connection we feel to it. So, the appeal of analog is we regain that human connection.” Rohit Bhargava in “A Non-Obvious Look at Life in 2053 with Rohit Bhargava” talking about the trend of people choosing experiences that are analog over digital.

Life in 2053: Fusion, Quantum, and AI with Ufuk Tarhan

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, Turkish futurist Ufuk Tarhan paints a picture of life in 2053. In this conversation, Ufuk talks about the transformative nature of fusion energy, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and how these technologies will make life better for humanity over the next three decades. Ufuk goes on to talk about how a social scoring system like what is currently being used in China could be adopted in other parts of the world. She ends the conversation by talking about some of the things that we are doing today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief.

Ufuk Tarhan is a futurist, economist, best-selling author, and a keynote speaker. She is a popular blogger who is the only Turkish woman to appear on Forbes Magazine's "50 Most Influential Female Futurists" and "World's Top 100 Female Futurists" lists. Ufuk is the author of "The Future You Dream Of," a book about future planning for high school students, "T-Human," a winner of the Most Successful Innovative Business Book Award, which describes the successful human model of the future for everyone, and "Don't Leave Tomorrow's Job for Tomorrow," a book about next level for future forecasting for adults.

“Clean energy – very cheap and economic energy – will be possible for most of humanity. The clean energy sources like wind, solar, fusion, hydrogen will be normal for all of us. So that will open up very new and possible developments for all of us – like usage of quantum computers and supercomputers, and ultra lightspeed internet with almost zero cost.” Ufuk Tarhan in “Life in 2053: Fusion, Quantum, and AI with Ufuk Tarhan” discussing the technological advancements we can expect in the next 30 years.

Life in 2053: AI, Moore’s Law, and Crypto with Futurist Kevin Kelly

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, futurist Kevin Kelly paints a picture of what life might look like in 2053. He discusses the implications to the world if Moore’s Law slows down, how AI will become a fundamental utility to how we work and live similar to how transformative electricity has been for humans, and what would happen if “crypto wins” and the internet, finance, and other elements of our economy become decentralized. Kevin believes generative AI tools like Chat GPT will function as “interns” that each of us will get to train and use as tools to help with work and manage our lives. Kevin wraps up the interview by talking about how some of our current behaviors – like eating the flesh of animals, having parents choose the names of their children at birth, and our ideas around intelligence and how the brain works - will be looked at in 50 years with a sense of disbelief.

Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His newest book is Excellent Advice for Living, a book of 450 modern proverbs for good living. He is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking and acting as a good ancestor to future generations. And he is founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. From 1984-1990 Kevin was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a subscriber-supported journal of unorthodox conceptual news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. Other books by Kevin include 1) The Inevitable, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, 2) Out of Control, his 1994 classic book on decentralized emergent systems, 3) The Silver Cord, a graphic novel about robots and angels, 4) What Technology Wants, a robust theory of technology, and 5) Vanishing Asia, his 50-year project to photograph the disappearing cultures of Asia. He is best known for his radical optimism about the future.

“We took taxis and added AI to it and that’s Uber and so we are now in this business of realizing that we can add it to almost anything that is already electrified or already powered. The next 10,000 startups are take X add AI. It’s a parallel of the electrification of the world where now we are going to do the cognification of the world.” Kevin Kelly in “Life in 2053: AI, Moore’s Law, and Crypto with Futurist Kevin Kelly” talking about how AI will be used as a disruptive force to the way humans live.

The Miraculous Mechanical Intelligence of 2053 with Mike Bechtel

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, Mike Bechtel paints a picture of life in 2053 with a focus on information technology. Mike describes how digital information will stream directly over our eyeballs, why artificial intelligence will be a fundamentally transformative technology – like the wheel or electricity - that we can’t imagine living without, and the reasons that blockchain will be essential for establishing trustworthy information. Mike wraps up the interview by talking about how some of our current behaviors – like our approaches to education and aging – will be looked at in 50 years with a sense of disbelief.

Mike Bechtel is a managing director and the chief futurist with Deloitte Consulting LLP. Mike helps clients develop strategies to thrive in the face of discontinuity and disruption. His team researches the novel and exponential technologies most likely to impact the future of business, and builds relationships with the startups, incumbents, and academic institutions creating them.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Mike led Ringleader Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2013. Before Ringleader, he served as CTO of Start Early, a national not-for-profit focused on early childhood education for at-risk youth. Mike began his career in technology R&D at a global professional services firm where his dozen US patents helped result in him being named that firm’s global innovation director. He currently serves as professor of corporate innovation at the University of Notre Dame.

The Good Future: Life in 2053 with Gerd Leonhard

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, Gerd Leonhard paints a picture life in 2053 with a focus on how humans have the power to create lives enhanced by food, water, and energy abundance. He calls this “The Good Future.” He reminds us that the future is not about what is possible…it is about what we want. Among the topics Gerd discusses are uploading our brains to the internet, quantum computing, nuclear fusion, climate change and the technologies that will be created to manage it, and how movements will drive politicians to make the changes necessary to enable this good future to happen. Gerd finishes the interview with a discussion about what humans are doing today, including our use of fossil fuels, the way work is currently structured, and the importance of nation states, that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief.

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Gerd is one of the world’s leading futurists and the author of Technology vs Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine. With the motto “People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity,” Gerd is an outspoken critic of unregulated exponential technologies. He uses his influence and platform to help people “imagine and create a better tomorrow” and was named one of Wired UK’s 100 Most Influential Europeans in 2015.

Life in 2073 with Futurist Glen Hiemstra

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, futurist Glen Hiemstra paints a picture of life in 2073 with an emphasis on the continued growth of cities around the world, the near-complete electrification of transportation, the augmentation of labor through intelligent machines, and the growth of the global middle class. Glen also shares three potential scenarios for the evolution of global governance and how the space exploration happening today will it will set the stage for a space economy in the decades to come.

Glen Hiemstra started his career as a college professor at Whitworth University, the University of Washington, and Antioch University, Seattle. For the last 40 years he has been working as a professional futurist. He is also an author, keynote speaker, and consultant to business, professional and government organizations. The founder of Futurist.com, he serves as Futurist Emeritus on the Futurist.com Think Tank. The site is regularly visited by people from over 120 nations. Glen has also served as a Technical Advisor to future-oriented television programs and he still advises and appears in documentaries. He is the author of Turning the Future into Revenue and co-author of Strategic Leadership, and of Millennial City.

“Space is full of resources - from water to minerals of all kinds to hydrogen…we just haven’t ever thought of that being accessible to us. Imagine a future 50 years from now where that is pretty easily accessible to us…it is quite feasible to think of a future in which tens of thousands of people by 2073 will be living and working in low-Earth orbit, between here and the moon, on the moon, on Mars, on certain moons of other planets, and so on.” Futurist Glen Hiemstra talking about the potential of space exploration over the next 50 years.

The Making of a World-Class Surgeon with Dr. Michael Maddaus

When Michael Maddaus came home from school as a boy, he never knew what would be on the inside of his apartment door. It could have been his intoxicated mother, his abusive stepfather, or any degree of chaos in between. As he got older, he avoided being at home. Instead, he stole cars, experimented with drugs and alcohol, and escaped his home life in any way he could.

After 24 arrests as a juvenile, his options were becoming clearer - prison or worse. Maddaus joined the US Navy for a reprieve. When he got out a few years later, a fortuitous encounter with a mentor changed his life forever. With the mentor’s guidance, Michael Maddaus, the juvenile delinquent, transformed into Dr. Michael Maddaus, the world-class surgeon.

In this interview, Dr. Maddaus talks about his difficult youth, how it helped him develop his resilience, and how that resilience prepared him for life as a surgeon. Dr. Maddaus also talks about how to create a Resilience Bank Account™ and he gives some very emotional advice for young people who may be struggling to find their way in life.

After Dr. Michael Maddaus completed seven years of clinical surgical residency and three years of research, he joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota medical school. Over a 20-year career, Dr. Maddaus developed a robust clinical practice in complex and advanced minimally invasive surgery of the lungs and esophagus. He also became a full-time professor and vice chair of the Department of Surgery where he held the Garamella-Lynch endowed chair. Then, he stepped into his role as program director of the Department of Surgery’s general surgical training program. Now Dr. Maddaus coaches physicians to turn their demanding schedules into fulfilled lives.

The Resilient Runner with Helene Neville

Helene Neville was told by a doctor she needed to go home and get her affairs in order. She didn’t have long to live. That was 25 years ago. The mother of two young sons ran from that diagnosis and has been running ever since. Helene has survived three brain surgeries and recurring lymphoma. She has endured chemo, radiation, and, most recently, nearly two years in bed. Yet, she keeps running. When she was first told she was dying, she signed up for and completed the Chicago Marathon. Since then, she has become the first person to run across every single state in America amassing nearly 14,000 total miles…and she did it alone! This summer, she plans to run across much of Canada from Thunder Bay to Victoria, British Columbia. Helene’s remarkable story epitomizes what it means to be resilient.

In this interview, Helene talks about how she has overcome decades of life-threatening illnesses, why she pushes herself to accomplish her amazing athletic feats, and she shares stories about the people who have helped her on her journeys. Helene also reminds us that what connects humanity is much stronger than the issues that threaten to divide us. Helene demonstrates what is physically and mentally possible to those needing hope and inspiration.

Helene Neville is a survivor of three brain abscesses, three brain surgeries, and recurring lymphoma. She completed a quest to run across every state in America to inspire the nation to “Rethink Impossible.” Along the way, she found that there is more right with humanity than she ever imagined. She has run across all 50 U. S. States in eight segments - California to Florida, Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico, Florida to Maine, eastern Maine/Canadian Border to Ocean Shores, Washington, Wyoming to West Virginia to Las Vegas, Nevada, the perimeter of Oahu, Hawaii, Anchorage to The Dalton Highway, The Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. When she is not running, Helene is a nurse and professional speaker who has spoken in 50 states, over 300 hospitals, cancer centers, prestigious institutions, schools, corporations, and TedX.

Standing Up to Bullies with Devin Moore

When Devin Moore was a 14-year-old student, three classmates posted horrifically racist images of his likeness on social meda. Devin was stunned, angry, and feared for his safety. Fortunately, Devin has a loving family that helped him through that situation. Five years later, Devin just finished his first year of college and has been spending his free time helping young victims of bullying.

In this interview, Devin shares his experience as a victim of bullying and how he worked to overcome the trauma from that situation, he discusses the negative outcomes of bullying with an emphasis on cyberbullying, and he provides advice for bullying victims and parents of victims about where they can go to get help.

Devin is the founder of Race to Speak Up, an anti-bullying organization, where he educates youth about bullying prevention and empowers them to stand up for each other. Devin is the author of Devin Speaks Up!, a children’s anti-bullying book that stresses the importance of being okay with being different and speaking up to someone you trust about being bullied. As the host of Humanity Rising’s podcast Race To Speak Up, Devin interviews activists, business leaders, and entrepreneurs about how they create positive changes in their communities.

The Heart of Boxing World Champion Jamal "Shango" James

On August 8, 2020, Jamal “Shango” James became the World Boxing Association Welterweight Champion. The win gave Shango the same title and belt previously held by boxing icons like Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In this interview, Shango discusses the incredible physical and mental resilience required to make a living as a professional boxer. A native of Minneapolis, Shango shares how he endured the pandemic that disrupted his career and the social unrest when George Floyd was murdered just blocks from where he lives and trains. He talks about what it was like to become a world champion winning the WBA Welterweight title and he candidly shares how he felt when he lost the title 15 months later. Shango also talks about his commitment to helping young people and how representing his family and community fuel him to pursue the title again. A new father, Shango closes the interview with how he would like to help his son develop resilience as he grows up.

When he was just aged five, Jamal “Shango” James made his first visit to a boxing gym. From that day forward, he was hooked. As an amateur boxer, he fought more than 100 bouts and turned pro winning his first match on May 22, 2010. He went on to win his first 20 professional bouts and has amassed a 28-2 professional record. In August of 2020, after months of waiting through the pandemic for his first chance at a title fight, Shango became a world champion with his victory over Thomas Dulorme in Los Angeles. While boxing has been a huge part of Shango’s life, he also writes musical lyrics and mentors young people at the Circle of Discipline gym where he trains.

Surviving in the Amazon with Ky Furneaux

Ky Furneaux spent much of her early childhood running wild in small rural towns around South Australia, having adventures and riding her horse through the bush with a freedom that only small country towns allowed. When she was 19 years old, a car accident fractured a vertebra in her spine. When she was told she would never be physically active again, a resilience emerged that she didn’t know she had. She has been using it ever since in her career as a stunt double in films and as a survivalist in the wild.

In this interview, Ky talks about the accident that changed her life and how she developed the resilience that assisted in her recovery. She also discusses some of the amazing survival challenges she has conquered as a participant on Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid” series. During a 21-day, solo trip in the Amazon, Ky consumed just 1,000 total calories while burning more than 40,000. She shares her methods for overcoming these grueling physical and mental obstacles while convincing herself to keep moving forward. Ky closes the conversation with simple, practical, powerful advice for people who want to further develop their own resilience.

Ky Furneaux is an Australian outdoor guide, TV host, survival expert, professional speaker, and stunt double who has appeared in over 100 films and TV productions. She is co-author of Survive: The All-In-One Guide to Staying Alive in Extreme Conditions with Emily Sullivan. She has also written When the Grid Fails: Easy Action Steps When Facing Urban and Natural Disasters, The Superwoman's Survival Guide: Conquering the Unexpected in the Office, on the Town, or in the Great Outdoors, and Surviving the First 36 Hours: What to Do to Ensure Rescue which is scheduled to be published in August of 2023. Ky also works with young people to help them develop their confidence and resilience.

Raising Resilient Children with Dr. Ann Masten

Dr. Ann Masten is a professor at the University of Minnesota who has been studying resilience in children and families facing adversity for more than 40 years.

In this interview, Dr. Masten shares the factors that contribute to positive development of children, how the pandemic put children at risk during the lockdown and in the months since, and what children who live through stressful circumstances can gain by enduring those hardships. Dr. Masten addresses the downside of “helicopter” or “snowplow” parents who are overly protective and remove obstacles in the way of their children. She also discusses how bullying, social media use, and climate change are challenging young people in ways that previous generations never experienced.

Dr. Ann Masten is a Regents Professor, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She studies competence, risk, and resilience in development, with a focus on the processes leading to positive adaptation and outcomes in children and families whose lives are threatened by adversity. The goal of her work is to inform science, practice, and policy seeking to understand and promote human adaptation and resilience. She is the author or co-author of many articles on the subjects of childhood resilience, development, and motivation. She is also the author of the 2014 book “Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development.”

Never Give Up with Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Rodgers

In 1972, Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers was recognized as the best college football player in the country and winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. As a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his teams won two college football national championships. Johnny went on to play six years of professional football before an injury stopped the man that defenders couldn’t. Undeterred, he left behind pro sports and used his relentlessness to become a successful entrepreneur and supporter of young people in his community.

In this interview, Johnny discusses the importance of resilience for him as an athlete. He shares how he overcame an injury that ended his career after six seasons of professional football and how resilience, grit, and a never-give-up attitude have helped him succeed in life decades after his professional athletics career ended. Johnny even talks about how his mindset helped him overcome a weeks-long COVID-19 hospitalization that many people around him thought would take his life.

Johnny Rodgers played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. He played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes and in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers. As a member of the Alouettes, he was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 1973, a three-time CFL All-Star, and helped his team win the Grey Cup league championship in 1974. As a high school athlete, Johnny excelled in track & field winning a national title in the long jump, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, he was an all-star basketball player, and he was nearly untouchable on the football field. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. When his football career ended, Johnny started the largest magazine in San Diego history and has gone on to pursue numerous other entrepreneurial endeavors and community projects including co-founding The Jet Award which creates opportunities for youth through character, educational, and social development.

Warrior Toughness - Mind, Body, Soul with FLTCM David Isom

In this interview, Fleet Master Chief David Isom discusses the Navy SEAL selection process, the endurance required to survive “Hell Week,” the daily dangers of being a member of a SEAL team and how the stress of that danger is managed, and how the US military approaches resilience at an organizational level. He even talks about his role in the planning and rescue of Private Jessica Lynch when she was a prisoner of war in Iraq.

Fleet Master Chief David Isom assumed his current duties as Command Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in June of 2022. He previously served as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Operations Command Pacific; Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Operations Command North; Command Master Chief, Naval Special Warfare Group TEN; and Command Master Chief, Special Reconnaissance Team TWO. His other assignments include Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Joint Special Operations Command, Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron ONE, and SEAL Team ONE.

Master Chief Isom's assignments have included a full range of duties in Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Teams at Theater Special Operations Commands, and across the joint environment. His combat and operational deployments include Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as deployments throughout the Pacific and the Horn of Africa.

The 200 Year Life with Sergey Young

The topics of aging and life extension are getting a lot of attention in the media. Sergey Young believes we are on the brink of a Longevity Revolution, with new scientific discoveries and exciting technological advances now making it possible to reverse aging and treat previously incurable diseases. In this episode, Sergey talks about how humans will be able to extend life to 150 years and beyond.

In this discussion, Sergey and host Don MacPherson talk about what life extension will look like over the course of the 21st century, some of the remarkable healthcare innovations that seem like they are out of science fiction novels, and the societal implications of radical life extension.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Sergey Young has made it his life’s mission to help people live long, healthy, and happy lives. As part of that mission to make longevity affordable and accessible to everyone, he founded the $100 million Longevity Vision Fund, one of the few longevity-focused funds in the world. He is also an Innovation Board Member at the XPRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded Peter Diamandis, and Development Sponsor for the Age Reversal XPRIZE. Sergey’s goal is to live to 200 years old and to find an affordable way for everyone else to do the same. Sergey is author of the book “The Science and Technology of Growing Young.”

Forgive for Good with Dr. Fred Luskin

Do you know someone who has been hurt in the past and can’t let it go? They aren’t able to move forward with their life. Or maybe they wanted something really badly, but they didn’t get it. Either way, they are stuck.

This episode is for that person. Dr. Fred Luskin is the author of the book “Forgive for Good.” He is also the director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects. In this interview, he discusses why forgiveness is a key component of resilience. Dr. Luskin shares how grievances are formed, how to overcome them, and why we live happier healthier lives when we forgive others and ourselves.

Dr. Luskin is the director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects, a senior consultant in health promotion at Stanford University, and a professor at the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, as well as an affiliate faculty member of the Greater Good Science Center. In addition to “Forgive for Good,” Dr. Luskin is the author of “Forgive for Love: The Missing Ingredient for a Healthy and Lasting Relationship” and co-author of “Stress Free for Good: 10 Scientifically Proven Life Skills for Health and Happiness” along with Dr. Kenneth Pelletier.

Turning Disruption into Opportunity with Dominic Bowen

If you are a leader for long enough, your organization is going to face a crisis. It might be a massive weather event, a war that interrupts your supply chain, a cybersecurity breach, or another type of disruption. How prepared you are and how you respond to that crisis will determine if it’s devastating or an opportunity.

Dominic Bowen has been working in crisis situations for two decades. A former member of Australian special forces, he’s done humanitarian work after earthquakes and tsunamis, and now he helps organizations prepare for the certainty of the next unexpected challenge.

In this conversation, Dominic discusses the big disruptions - like tsunamis, hurricanes, and military conflicts - that can interrupt any high-functioning organization and the small disruptions that are blind spots for most companies. He also shares what leaders should be thinking about in terms of business continuity and how effective crisis management can lead to unplanned opportunities.

Dominic Bowen is an experienced leader and risk professional, the head of the international operations desk at Europe's leading risk management consultancy, and host of The International Risk Podcast. Dominic has established successful operations in some of the world’s most challenging environments, including Ukraine, Yemen, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Philippines, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Haiti, Liberia, and Nepal.

Building Grit with Shannon Huffman Polson

Being able to bounce back from adversity is a critical skill in being successful in business and in living a healthy, fulfilled life. In general, resilient people have better mental and physical health, are more productive, have a greater sense of purpose, and experience greater success. In this episode, Shannon Huffman Polson discusses the challenges she faced as a pioneer in military aviation. Shannon also shares what she has learned about developing resilience that anyone can apply in the face of disappointment, defeat, and adversity.

Shannon was one of the first women to pilot an Apache attack helicopter in the United States Army. She is also the author of the book “The Grit Factor” which helps people define their story and core purpose, gather and practice the skills to develop grit, and own their uniqueness while leading in difficult times.

At age 19, Shannon became the youngest woman ever to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. She went on to reach the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilimanjaro. She is the founder of The Grit Institute, a leadership institute committed to whole leader development, and host of The Grit Factor podcast. She also teaches on the faculty of the Tuck School's Leadership and Strategic Initiative Executive Education Program.

Leading with Gratitude with Chester Elton

Research indicates that showing gratitude helps us improve our health, handle adversity, and create stronger relationships. In this interview, Chester Elton, who co-wrote the book Leading with Gratitude, shares how expressing gratitude can also lead to extraordinary business results. He discusses some of the myths about gratitude that are holding leaders back and Chester shares the most powerful gratitude practices that can both help you create a grateful life and excel in the workplace.

Chester and his co-author Adrian Gostick also wrote the book “Anxiety at Work” - one of 14 books they have written together. Chester closes this interview with an overview of what leaders can do to mitigate anxiety at work and create an environment that is safe to discuss mental health challenges.

Chester Elton has spent two decades helping some of the world’s most successful businesses engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. He is co-author of multiple award-winning New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling leadership books including All In, The Carrot Principle, The Best Team Wins, and Anxiety at Work. His books have been translated in more than 30 languages and have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

12 Geniuses Podcast

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