All Episodes
Displaying 31 - 60 of 453 in total
The Empty Cup Mindset
In the mid-19th century, a physician named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was working as an assistant in Vienna General Hospital when he noticed something curious.The hospital h...
Dear Parker: A Letter to a 17-Year-Old Reader
Last week, I got an email from a reader that stopped me in my tracks:Dear Mr. Bloom,My name is Parker and I am 17. I am reaching out because I would like some advice.I...
The Motivation Triangle: The Science of Progress
In this episode, I explored a framework from Nir Eyal's new book, Beyond Belief, called the Motivation Triangle. Most people think motivation is about behavior and ben...
How to Break Your Phone Addiction (3 Painfully Simple Steps)
Six weeks ago, I shared an embarrassing confession on my phone addiction.It all began at my Think Week retreat in January, when I pondered a single question:If you ...
AI Negativity Bias: Why You Only Hear About AI Doom
I feel like I need to say something...Over the last few weeks, it seems like I can't go ten minutes without having a new "AI Doom" story hit my feed.The extraordinary ...
The Most Powerful Paradoxes of Life
It's tempting to view the world in black and white.Everyone wants you to do that. It's easier to do that. It's more comfortable to do that.But the world is more comple...
The Paradox of Effort
Carlos Alcaraz is a tennis phenom.The 22-year-old is the number one player in the world, having won 25 singles titles and 7 Grand Slams in his career. He is the younge...
The Anti-To-Do List: A Major Life Hack
In the 19th century, a German mathematician named Carl Jacobi developed an interesting insight:Many hard math problems become easier to solve when you flip them around...
The Noise Bottleneck: The Subtle Trap of More Information
This is one of my favorites:"If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs." - Derek SiversHumor aside, it's a critical idea for m...
Solomon's Paradox: Why You Can't Take Your Own Advice
In the 10th century B.C., a young king was called upon to settle a seemingly impossible dispute.Two women stood before him with a single child, both claiming to be its...
The Doorman Fallacy
In his 2019 book, Alchemy, legendary British advertising executive Rory Sutherland offered an interesting lens on the perils of automation:Imagine you are the owner of...
The Think Week Playbook: A Step-by-Step Guide
The Think Week (or Day) is a ritual that will change your life.The concept was first popularized by several world-renowned entrepreneurs and innovators in the 1980s an...
The Dangers of Survivorship Bias
In the early days of World War II, the U.S. military was losing too many of its planes in battle. To stem the tide, analysts started mapping the bullet holes on the re...
Are Low Expectations The Key To Life?
The late investor Charlie Munger was known for his prolific wisdom.Perhaps his wisest insight of all came when he was asked to reflect on the source of his own happine...
The Pygmalion Effect: How Expectations Create Outcomes
In an ancient poem written by the Roman poet Ovid, a sculptor named Pygmalion grows disillusioned with the women of his society.Rather than compromise on a relationshi...
9 Reflections From My "Think Week" Retreat
Two weeks ago, I went on a “Think Week” retreat.The plan for the retreat was simple:3 daysLimited connectivityUnstructured schedule, no meetingsQuestion prompts as cat...
The Archimedes Principle: The Science of Sudden Insight
In the 3rd century B.C., a man named Archimedes steadily built a reputation as one of the greatest scientific minds of the era.Archimedes, who lived in the powerful Gr...
How to Thrive (A Science-Backed Approach)
In your life, there will always be someone standing on the side of the road waiting to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Telling you to change. To be realistic. To ...
How I’m Breaking My Phone Addiction In 30 Days
I have an embarrassing confession to make…I’ve developed an unhealthy addiction to my phone.Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing for me to admit. I’m someone who self-ide...
Amara’s Law: The Invisible Force That Shapes Your Life
In 1978, an American futurist named Roy Amara offered a reflection on the progression of technology:“We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short ru...
The End of History Illusion
In 2013, a group of Harvard researchers conducted a study with over 19,000 people.They asked two simple questions:How much have your values, preferences, personality, ...
The Real AI Risk Nobody Told You About
Most writing about AI falls into one of two broad conversations:Speed: How fast things are moving and changing. The transformative (and perhaps destructive) potential ...
The Hidden Cost of Ambivalent Relationships
I read an interesting study a few years ago that fundamentally changed the way I think about relationships.Researchers wanted to examine how different types of socia...
The Boat-Dragging Problem
When you hold on too long, something that served you can begin to own you.Every year, when the calendar turns, most people ask themselves a series of simple questions:...
35 Life Lessons From 35 Years
I just turned 35 years old.I’m not a big birthday celebration guy, but every year, I use the day as a spark for reflection—to zoom out and consider what I've learned a...
The False Timelines of Life
Today is my 35th birthday.I want to open up about something personal. Something that will resonate with a lot of you.It's about timelines. More specifically, the false...
Why Everyone Says You’re Doing It Wrong
There’s a quote I return to whenever it feels like the world is against me:“If you absolutely can’t tolerate critics, then don’t do anything new or interesting.” - Jef...
6 Intentions For 2026
Welcome to the final day of 2025. Happy New Year!As this very well may be the final newsletter you read (or listen to) in 2025, I want to use this opportunity to set t...
The Energy-Output Curve
Steve Jobs once described the difference between good work and great work with a simple image:“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not ...
The Djokovic Rule: Do You Like Hitting The Ball?
In 2015, tennis legend Novak Djokovic was asked about the drivers of his exceptional on-court success.His response was simple:"I can carry on playing at this level bec...