MOONSHOTS ARCHIVE

 

Episodes 0-200

 

We celebrate our 200th Episode with President John F. Kennedy demonstrating some of the most remarkable leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy overcame the fear and pressure that came from the threat of Nuclear War and found a peaceful solution for the world.

Join us as we examine clear thinking, objectivity, and remaining calm themes.

"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."
John F. Kennedy

 

Yvon Chouinard, a Moonshots favorite and the founder of Patagonia, gives Away the Company to Fight Climate Change. So let's revisit this pioneer and remarkable leadership through his story.

In Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard, the legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth.

 

Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author, widely recognized as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of all time and among the most influential scientists. He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His start in life was fraught with illness and according to his mother, at birth, he could have fit inside a quart mug.

He was born especially tiny but grew into a massive intellect that still looms large.

"My powers are ordinary. Only my application brings me success." Isaac Newtown by James Gleick

 

Angela Duckworth is the world’s leading academic in the study of grit: something she defines as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Is success all talent? What do successful people have that allows them to achieve their goals? The book Grit, teaches us that success is not all talent. To have talent is an essential factor and it will give you the edge over others who don't, but more importantly, you need the grit to see things through.

"Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint." - Angela Duckworth

 

Hello, listeners, members, and subscribers! The fourteenth Moonshots Master episode is here and we are leaping into Personal Transformation and Happiness! We start our journey with Tal Ben-Shahar who states that a happy life does not need to be happy all the time; instead, we should learn to embrace painful emotions and accept pain.

Helping us adopt new habits and practices to be happier today, we learn out loud with some of our favorites; Dan Harris, Dalai Lama, Neil Pasricha, and his top 3 tips to start with a happy mindset, and how to want nothing. Closing the Master episode on Happiness is Naval Ravikant and Joe Rogan, who both talk about why we all need to make happiness our priority and understand that Happiness is a Choice.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." Mahatma Gandhi

 

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health.

How small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere. Happiness is not the belief that we don't need to change; it is the realization that we can. Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we'll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.

 

Getting rich is not just about luck; happiness is not just a trait we are born with. Building wealth and being happy are skills we can learn. Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval’s wisdom and experience from the last ten years, shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews and poignant reflections and written by Eric Jorgenson.

So what are these skills, and how do we learn them? What are the principles that should guide our efforts? What does progress really look like?

 

What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha's, The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything—your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness. Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times–bestselling author of the Book of Awesome series and a Walmart executive. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life.

Every time you see him, he's laughing. And he makes everyone else around him feel like smiling. He's the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a hugely sought-after speaker and statesman. If you ask him if he's happy, even after so much loss, the Dalai Lama will give you an unconditional yes. What's more, he'll tell you that happiness is the purpose of life and that the very motion of our life is toward happiness.

How to get there has always been the question. The Art of Happiness is the book that started the genre of happiness books, and it remains the cornerstone of the field of positive psychology.

Can You Learn to Be Happy? If you feel like you’re floundering when it comes to finding meaning in life, look no further than Tal Ben-Shahar’s Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. He’ll give you some specific and actionable tips to increase your joy today.

Learn about this emotion in just 3 lessons:

  1. Happiness breeds success and all life goals point toward it.

  2. Balance your outlook on the present and future to get more joy in your life.

  3. Nurturing worthwhile relationships will make you happier.

Airbnb Inc. Co-Founder Joe Gebbia is stepping back from a full-time role at the home rental giant to spend more time with his family and explore new projects at the company that made him a billionaire.

The Moonshots Podcast leaps into the world of design innovation with the co-founder of Airbnb, Joe Gebbia. To celebrate his work and learn how to make design breakthroughs and discover the courage and curiosity it requires.

To me, 'design thinking' is another way of saying empathize with the customer. It's consideration for the person you're designing for. Joe Gebbia, Airbnb

Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights is not a conventional memoir. As he neared age 50, the Oscar-winning actor revisited the journal he kept for 35 years to see what he could learn from it.

Matthew McConaughey describes a greenlight as a sign you should continue with what you are doing. You may believe these signs come from the universe, God, or by chance. All that matters is you pursue this greenlight when it emerges.

“This is a book about how to catch more YESs in a world of NOs and how to recognize when a NO might actually be a YES. This is a book about catching green lights and realizing that the yellow and the reds eventually turn green.” – Matthew McConaughey

Hello members and subscribers! The thirteenth Moonshots Master episode is here and we are leaping into Leadership and Shared Vision!

As always we kick off with a slice of inspiration, and who better to get us started than Ken Blanchard who discusses how being a better manager starts with having a mindset that leans towards servant leadership, and our differentiation of vision and mission statements. We then have the heavy-weight champion, Simon Sinek, who breaks down the importance of having direction and introduces us to what a ‘Vision’ is.

Looking forwards, as we plan to adopt vision and mission statements, we have Weekdone and their breakdown of how to measure objectives with team members, helping us learn how to set good OKRs. Closing out the show is Simon Sinek who has 3 ways to stress test your vision, including resilience, being inclusive, and being service-oriented.

Our recommended reading list and downloadable frameworks are available to help you go even deeper into the topic, so you can create your vision and mission statements today:

What key lesson are you taking from the Master Series shows? Get in touch and let us know! Thanks for listening. That’s a wrap.

Dan Harris the Author of 10% Happier and Nightline anchor embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable. After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes.

10% Happier takes you on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America's spiritual scene and leaves you with a takeaway that could actually change your lives.

What will you learn? How to deal with stress more effectively, mindfulness, and how to meditate.

Jordan Peterson has crafted a modern understanding of how to pursue what is truly meaningful for you. We dive into our top 5 motivating and inspirational rules from Jordan Peterson, spanning both his books and popular global bestsellers Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life & 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Dr. Peterson has published more than a hundred scientific papers and authored books, advancing the modern understanding of antisocial behavior, play, emotion, creativity, competence, personality, and finding meaning in the chaos. 

Between the training and three attempts, Goggins did more than 67,000 pull-ups in nine months. But more than his physical endurance Goggins showcased the power of repetition.

  • He tried three times to accomplish this goal

  • Learning from each attempt

  • Never accepting he couldn’t meet the challenge

  • Not listening to the negative comments - that he didn’t have the physical strength to do it

Four pull-ups an hour doesn’t seem like much. Over time, it becomes increasingly more challenging to the muscles, but increasingly more empowering to the mind.

Small numbers grow through consistent repetition. Small numbers are boring and don’t seem useful in the grand scheme. But small numbers are a necessary step before getting to the large numbers.

“You have to callus your mind to overcome your doubts and failures and keep moving forward.” - David Goggins

When you’re up to your eyeballs answering emails, returning phone calls, attending meetings, and scrambling to get that project done, you can turn to this inspirational, motivating, and at times playful book, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier. In fifteen exercises, Do More Great Work shows how you can finally do more of the work that pushes you forward, stretches your creativity, and truly satisfies you.

The exercises are “maps”—brilliantly simple visual tools that help you find, start, and sustain Great Work.

Cal Newport doesn’t like the distractions of technology. In fact, Newport thinks that our focus on technology and how it dominates modern business is holding us back. His book, A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, takes a sledgehammer to how technology runs the modern enterprise and, ultimately, our lives.

The idea is not to jettison email but to make it smarter. Instead of the back and forth, you get collaborative tools. You don’t even need to be a business owner or work in tech to have some of the messaging resonate with you, and stay with you long after you have finished. A World Without Email invites you to scrutinize how useful these tools are in your lives and reflect on the best practices.

Deep Work by Cal Newport is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive twenty-first-century economy.

Yet most of us have lost the ability to go deep—spending our days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there’s a better way.

Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite.

Hello members and subscribers! The twelfth Moonshots Master episode is here and we are diving into Critical Thinking and Opportunity Cost!

Getting us started on the journey is Brit Lewis from Mr Hancock, who talks about Trade-Offs and how an understanding of scarcity can help us grasp the number of possibilities around us. We then have a breakdown from Study.com which explains choice, Opportunity Cost definition and real-world examples demonstrating how every choice has a value.

Our recommended reading list and downloadable frameworks are available to help you go even deeper into the topic, so you can start adopting the practice of prototyping today:

What key lesson are you taking from this Master Series show? Get in touch and let us know!

For decades, Ken Blanchard's; The One Minute Manager® has helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. While the principles it lays out are timeless, our world has changed drastically since the book’s publication. The exponential rise of technology, global flattening of markets, instant communication, and pressures on corporate workforces to do more with less—including resources, funding, and staff—have all revolutionized the world in which we live and work.

Now, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson have updated The One Minute Manager to introduce the book’s powerful, important lessons to a new generation. In their concise, easy-to-read story, they teach readers three very practical secrets about leading others—and explain why these techniques continue to work so well.

As compelling today as it was thirty years ago, this classic parable of a young man looking for an effective manager is more relevant and useful than ever.

Atul Gawande is a renowned American surgeon, writer, and public health leader. He was a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and has written four New York Times best-selling books: The Checklist Manifesto, was Gawande's third book, The released in 2009. It discusses the importance of organization and preplanning (such as thorough checklists) in both medicine and the larger world. The Checklist Manifesto reached the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in 2010.

He is also a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He has won the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science, a MacArthur Fellowship, and two National Magazine Awards.

Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey is a practical guide to managing your attention – the most powerful resource you have to become more creative, get stuff done, and live a more meaningful life.

In Hyperfocus, Chris Bailey provides profound insights into how we can best manage our attention. He reveals how the brain switches between two mental modes – hyperfocus, our deep concentration mode, and scatter focus, our creative, reflective mode – and how the surest path to being our most creative and efficient selves at work is to combine them both.

Discover David Allen's powerful methods for stress-free performance at work and in life. Allen's premise is simple - our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective results and unleash our creative potential. From core principles to proven tricks.

Getting Things Done will teach you to - Apply the 'do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it' rule to get your in-box empty Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations Plan and unstick projects Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed Feel fine about what you're not doing.

Part Two: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, we look at how we must value and celebrate the differences in another’s perspective and commit to creating Win-Win situations that are mutually beneficial and satisfying to each party. How do we make these habits and ideas real? Teach, share and learn with others.

"To go for Win-Win, you not only have to be nice, you have to be courageous." -Stephen Covey

The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility.

Drawing on the stories of a wide range of people, including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bart Conner, he shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that this is the essential strategy for transform­ing education, business, and communities in the twenty-first century.

"The Element offers life-altering insights about the discovery of your true best self." --Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Jim Carrey, Film Star, Survivor, Inspiration. From humble beginnings to superstardom, he joins an elite group of comedians who have spanned the acting chasm to achieve phenomenal success. His book; Memoirs and Misinformation is a fearless semi-autobiographical novel, a deconstruction of persona. In it, Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon have fashioned a story about acting, Hollywood, agents, celebrity, privilege, friendship, romance, addiction to relevance, fear of personal erasure, our "one big soul," Canada, and a cataclysmic ending of the world-apocalypses within and without.

"None of this is real and all of it is true." - Jim Carrey

Elon Musk is unstoppable! He's the most prolific and productive CEO of our times - he's even a bit cheeky. That's why we love him at the Moonshots Podcast. With his recent purchase of Twitter, he is now involved in over five revolutionary companies. So, we ask, 'how does Elon do it?'.

Elon Musk is unstoppable! He's the most prolific and productive CEO of our times - he's even a bit cheeky. That's why we love him at the Moonshots Podcast. With his recent purchase of Twitter, he is now involved in over five revolutionary companies. So, we ask, 'how does Elon do it?'.

Elon Musk co-founded the electronic payment firm PayPal and founded the spacecraft company SpaceX. He also is the founder of The Boring Company, and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. And recently purchased social media giant Twitter.

Musk's recent purchase of Twitter for $44 billion was widely covered around the globe. What isn't perhaps known is Musk's ability to multitask and focus on one business at a time truly; when the world was discussing Twitter, Musk was working with his engineers at SpaceX on rock engine "valve leak solutions".

Walt Disney is famous for his ability to transform incredibly creative ideas into profitable realities. The process he used to brainstorm and develop theme parks and movies, has turned into a replicable process called “Disney’s Creative Strategy” by NLP expert Robert Dilts in 1994.

Disney’s Creative Strategy can be used to create new products or to solve problems. Its simple to use as an individual, as a team, or even as an organization. The strategy includes three roles or mindsets that each have a specific goal.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is written on Covey's belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions. In order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves, and in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.

We all want to succeed. And one path to success is identifying the habits that can help us on our journey.

You are a badass is a self-help book for people who desperately want to improve their lives but don’t want to get busted doing it.

In this entertaining how-to guide, bestselling author and success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bitesize chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word, helping you to Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want and create a life you totally love.

For the last 25 years, Jim Kwik has helped everyone from celebrities to CEOs to students improve their memory, increase their decision-making skills, learn to speed-read, and unleash their superbrains.

In Limitless, readers will learn Jim's revolutionary strategies and shortcuts to break free from their perceived limitations. They'll learn how to supercharge their brains with simple, actionable tools to sharpen the mind, enhance focus, and fast-track their fullest potential.

Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5am Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health, and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

Part manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, The 5am Club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.

Hello members and subscribers! The ninth Moonshots Master episode is here and we are diving into Critical Thinking and SECOND ORDER THINKING!

Helping set the scene for Second Order Thinking we think it only right to start with Howard Marks, who explains why if you think the same as everyone else you're not going to be a superior investor. We then have breakdowns, courtesy Yanis from Time Management and Productivity, of both Second Order Thinking and how it influences future actions, as well as Second Order Consequences and how every action has a consequence.

Now it’s time to truly understand the concept of Second Order Thinking, so we break down some thinking from Roman Krznaric of Big Think, who tells us that it is possible to utilise long term thinking and imagine the future if you retrain your brain. Swedish Investor then breaks down Howard Marks’ 3 chapters on risk, and how understand, recognize, and control it. Lastly, we have Taylor Benterud, who creates a great example of second order consequences for us, demonstrating some long-term thinking as a mental model with an agency model example.

Helping us adopt the practice and techniques of Second Order Thinking we get introduced to the concept of critical thinking with the TED-Ed channel which help us find the most useful information. We then have Jordan Peterson teaching us how critical thinking and writing are so interconnected. And finally, we have classic Moonshotter Adam Grant who emphasises the power of procrastination, and how it’s essential to leave yourself enough time to really think and grow.

Plus our reading list is full of tips, tricks and tools to help you harness your thinking, decision making and Second Order Thinking.

The most successful leaders all have one thing in common: They've read How to Win Friends and Influence People. As a salesman at one point in his life, author Dale Carnegie made his sales territory the national leader for the firm he worked for.

Carnegie eventually ended his sales career and taught public speaking. Even Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of the 20th century, took Carnegie's course at age 20.

Fortunately for us, all the same lessons were packaged into the now-famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Episode 170: Daniel H. Pink: 'Regret is not dangerous or abnormal, it is healthy and universal, an integral part of being human', Daniel H. Pink writes in his provocative and eye-opening new book. The Power Of Regret. 'Done right, it needn't bring us down; it can lift us up.'

Drawing from research in social psychology, neuroscience, biology, and more, as well as from more than 10,000 people in 35 countries around the world who responded to his World Regret Survey - the largest of its kind ever conducted - Pink challenges the idea of regret being a drag on our self-esteem and outlook. In fact, understanding how regret actually works and using those insights to reframe our perspective of it will help us reclaim regret and bring greater meaning to our lives.

Chris Voss's definitive playbook for any negotiation situation, by the FBI's former lead hostage negotiator.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a kidnapping negotiator brought him face-to-face with bank robbers, gang leaders, and terrorists. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most - when people's lives were at stake.

Robert Greene is an American author who has written best-selling books on Strategy, Power & Seduction. In his bestseller, The 48 Laws of Power, he illustrates the tactics, triumphs, and failures of great figures from the past who have wielded - or been victimized by - power.

The perfect book for taking back your power, in work, in relationships, the 48 Laws apply everywhere. For anyone with an interest in conquest, self-defense, wealth, power or simply being an educated spectator. The distilled wisdom of the masters - illustrated through the tactics, triumphs and failures from Elizabeth I to Henry Kissinger on how to get to the top and stay there.

Wry, ironic and clever, this is an indispensable and witty guide to power.

Hello members and subscribers! The eighth Moonshots Master episode is an under-considered topic in Personal development and transformation: FINDING YOUR PURPOSE.

To prove the value of knowing your purpose, we hear from all-time great Moonshotters. Kyle Maynard explains why we should find our purpose and how making excuses is what makes you incapable of success. We then hear from Dan Millman who says we all need to learn to enjoy the journey of your life, and not let our ego drive our emotions. Breaking down the illusion of originality, we have Elizabeth Gilbert stating that authenticity and action shouldn’t be limited by what’s been done before.

Now that we're ready to understand the full value of knowing our purpose, we listen to Mark Manson and The Diary of a CEO discuss why we all need to figure out what you want in order to disregard the less important stuff. Two Moonshot heavy-weights break down rethinking cycles together, with Adam Grant and Shane Parrish discussing keeping your sense of identity separate from ego. Staying true to his purpose, we have Matthew McConaughey telling the story of what happened when he started saying ‘no’ to Rom Coms (and money).

In our final part we learn actionable frameworks and behaviours to help us make habits today. We hear from Simon Sinek and how you must start with a clear message in mind - in life and work - accessible via the golden circle. We then have Tim Tamashiro breaking down his ikigai and helping us know how to create ours. Lastly we realise there are no excuses for starting today, as Ryan Holiday explains how Marcus Aurelius always made time to think clearly and journal.

Mark Manson says most of us struggle throughout our lives by giving too many f’s in situations where f’s do not deserve to be given. Finding something important and meaningful in your life is the most productive use of your time and energy.

This is true because every life has problems associated with it and finding meaning in your life will help you sustain the effort needed to overcome the particular problems you face. In his book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, we can say that the key to living a good life is not giving a f’s about more things, but rather, giving a f- only about the things that align with your personal values.

Reed Hastings is an entrepreneur and philanthropist and is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Netflix. He is also on the board of the social networking website Facebook and several non-profit organizations.

Reed's first book is out in September 2020: "No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention", in which Reed reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind one of the world's most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies.

You can read the 2009 Netflix Culture Deck online.

Paul Graham is a programmer, writer, investor, and co-founder of the influential startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y Combinator. In 1995, he and Robert Morris started Viaweb, the first software as a service company. Viaweb was acquired by Yahoo in 1998, where it became Yahoo Store.

Y Combinator is an American technology startup accelerator launched in March 2005. It has been used to launch more than 3,000 companies, including Stripe, Airbnb, Cruise, PagerDuty, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart, Dropbox, Twitch, Flightfox, and Reddit.

Paul is the author of On Lisp, ANSI Common Lisp, and Hackers & Painters. He has an AB from Cornell and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard.

Dyson has become a byword for high-performing products, technology, design, and invention. Now, James Dyson, the inventor, and entrepreneur who made it all happen, tells his remarkable and inspirational story in Invention: A Life.

Famously, over a four-year period, James Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner that would transform the way houses are cleaned around the world. In devoting all his resources to iteratively developing the technology, he risked it all, but out of many failures and setbacks came hard-fought success.

Hello members and subscribers! It’s time for our seventh Moonshots Master episode, and we are tackling a huge topic: ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

To get us started we hear from some of the most well-known and highly regarded entrepreneurs and authors out there. Darren Hardy kicks us off with a breakdown of what it means to be an ‘Exception’ and how it takes guts to succeed. We then hear Steve Jobs’ entrepreneur story and how he battled against settling for less. Continuing our journey into inspiration Warren Buffet motivates us by stating how he ‘tap dances to work’.

Now we are inspired. It's time to learn the hard truths about being an entrepreneur, and who better to share wisdom than Elon Musk who had to contend with criticism from his heroes. Helping us understand the value of starting on day one with a single-minded framework we hear from Michael E Gerber who prepares us for scale with the story of Ray Kroc and McDonald’s. Helping us analyze and understand why some businesses fail and others don’t, we learn from Bill T. Gross and his study into the reason for success being timing and teams.

To help us grab the opportunities and learn from the documented mistakes made by others, we hear from three entrepreneurial authors. First up we hear from Moonshots royalty Simon Sinek who says to start with WHY to inspire action. Next, we hear from Tim Ferriss who gives us 5 tips for starting a kick-ass business. Closing out the show we have some very practical tips from Eric Ries on how to utilize a lean methodology to define - and release - a Minimum Viable Product.

What is the E-Myth? It is the myth that if you are good at doing “something,” you can turn that “something” into a profitable business. But, being good at something is.not.enough.

The E-Myth Revisited explains why 80% of small businesses fail, and how to ensure yours isn't among those by building a company that's based on systems and not on the work of a single individual.

Michael Gerber advocates doing a lot of thinking on the front end to prevent you from maneuvering yourself into a situation you can’t get out of.

66% of small businesses fail, and it’s not for the reasons you think. So why do they fail? That is what Darren Hardy set out on a mission to discover in The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster.

What he found was startling. All the previously reported reasons and assumptions for the failure rate (capital, location, credit, inventory management, and competition) were wrong.

Failure was not due to outside factors--they were internal. They weren't economic--they were emotional. The unexpected and terrifying emotional roller coaster an entrepreneur experiences is the greatest factor in why most quit and ultimately fail.

In Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard, the legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth.

From his youth as the son of a French Canadian handyman to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

Dame Zaha Hadid born October 31, 1950, died March 31, 2016. She was also known as the “Queen of the Curve” for buildings such as the Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan with its gently sloping and yet zany curves. She was an Iraqi-born British architect known for her radical deconstructivist designs. In 2004 she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Only rarely does an architect emerge with a philosophy and approach to the art form that influences the direction of the entire field. Such an architect is Zaha Hadid who created and set new boundaries for the art of architecture.

Forget everything you think you know about exercise. International model and fitness expert Roger Frampton has developed a revolutionary new approach to movement, designed to get your body working in the way it was designed to.

Just 10 minutes of training per day can help you work towards unlocking your body’s full potential. ‘ The Flexible Body: Move better anywhere, anytime in 10 minutes a day guides you through a series of positions, stretches, rolls, and balances that retrain your body to move like it once could.

Food. We all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?

Michael Pollan's premise In Defense of Food is a simple seven-word summary; 'Eat food, not a lot, mostly plants.' The rise of nutritionism and industrialization means the Western diet has changed for the worse. We're suffering from over-nutrition, so we need to stand up for "real food," and reclaim good health and natural ingredients.

Michael Pollan explores the age of nutritionism and asks how we went from eating food to consuming nutrients, and why this is a problem. Then it looks at why a typical Western diet has damaged our health and made us more overweight than ever before. And finally, it provides basic food rules on eating better, and with more enjoyment.

Hello members and subscribers! It’s time for our sixth Moonshots Master episode, and here we are breaking down the number one business skill: the ART OF COMMUNICATION.

To inspire us on the importance of communicating well, we hear from Sharon Ellison who helps us identify if we are being defensive in our communication. We then delve into a Moonshots-favourite as Cal Newport breaks down the limitations of email and electronic communication. Sir Alex Ferguson then communicates the importance of saying ‘well done’ and positive communication to teams, rounding out how we utilise encouragement.

Helping us comprehensively understand the power of communication, we hear from William Ury who’s passion for good listening enabled him to work with the President of Venezuela. Cal Newport then breaks down the overwhelming effect of smartphones complicating communication and what he means by the ‘hyperactive hive mind’. Lastly, Julian Treasure gives us 5 practises to listen better.

To help us develop daily habits that cultivate good communication, we have practical tips from 3 thought-leaders. First, we hear world champion public speaker Dananjaya Hettiarachchi’s 4 essential body language tips. Simon Sinek encourages us to manage effective confrontation using the ‘FBI’ framework (Feelings, Behaviour, Impact). Finally, Julian Treasure provides us 5 simple exercises to do every day that can encourage conscious listening.

All living creatures need sleep. The question is: why? In Why We Sleep, neuroscientist and sleep expert Dr. Matthew Walker presents groundbreaking discoveries about sleep and how it affects all aspects of our physical, mental, and emotional health, including our creativity and longevity.

So why should you sleep, and how can you improve your quantity and quality of sleep? Unfortunately, most people in modern societies are sleep-deprived, and we don’t even realize it because we’re so used to operating at suboptimal levels. It’s time we understand and unlock the transformative power of sleep.

In a career spanning 15 years, Patrick McKeown has since also become a bestselling author and expert on the topic of optimal breathing for improved health, well-being, and fitness.

His book ‘The Oxygen Advantage’ is based on 4 years of scientific research and tailors breathing exercises for anyone seeking to improve their fitness and sports performance. ‘The Oxygen Advantage can revolutionize how we train, by addressing dysfunctional breathing patterns and simulating high altitude training through specific breath-holding exercises as devised by Patrick.

To supplement the show, we also recommend listeners to conduct the Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT) to determine their relative breathing volume, as well as practise Patrick’s 1-hour workout to truly improve their breathing.

In Episode 155: let's talk Tim Ferriss, a listener favorite and his 4 Hour Work Week. Forget the old concept of retirement and all of those deferred-life plans–there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times.

Whether your dream is escaping the rat race or earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management. The 4 Hour Work Week is the blueprint.

Episode 154: Listener Favorite: We take inspiration from Admiral William H. McRaven and his best selling book, Make Your Bed. In 2014 he addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas, in a video which immediately went viral.

He shared 10 life lessons he had learned during his Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his long Naval career, but also throughout his life. In Make Your Bed, he builds on these principles by sharing inspiring tales from his own life and those around him in the military, explaining how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves for the better.

Hello members and subscribers! It’s time for our fifth Moonshots Master episode, and here we are breaking down the CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE.

Opening up our minds to the concept, we get inspired by a series of motivational speakers, telling us to focus on you every day. We re-visit the very well-regarded Admiral William H. McRaven, who reminds us to start singing when we’re up to our necks in mud. We then hear from Robin Sharma, who reminds us to simply embrace confidence every day.

Now we’re all inspired, the next section helps us learn about the Circle of Influence, and who’s better to teach us than Stephen Covey himself. Mr Covey breaks down the Inner circle for proactive people (circle of influence), as well as the Outer circle for reactive people (circle of concern).

Now we understand the influence and mindset towards our circles, let’s work on how to make this reflection a part of our habit every day. We listen to Janis from Time Management, who has some actionable tips to stay focused. We also learn from Fearless Soul, and how we are responsible for who we agree to spend time with. Closing out the show, we hear again from Stephen Covey, who has some powerful mindset tips for us, encouraging us to remember that we can choose to carry your weather with us.

In The Millionaire Next Door, William D. Danko skews the myths about how (and where) most millionaires live, and what it takes to become one. Their extensive research identified the sometimes surprising characteristics and habits shared by many millionaires. For instance, millionaires are often bargain shoppers (they buy used cars and off-the-rack clothing), pay only a small percentage of their wealth in income taxes, and shun the lavish lifestyles we often associate with being rich.

The book explains how to determine what your net worth should be, according to your age and income, and how you can build wealth over time and become a millionaire—if you have the discipline.

Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the best-selling financial books in history. It tells the story of a boy with two fathers, one rich, one poor, to help you develop the mindset and financial knowledge you need to build a life of wealth and freedom. The two dads are a parable for two different approaches to wealth: Poor Dad recommends getting a secure job with good benefits and retiring with a pension. Rich Dad recommends amassing assets that make money for you, becoming financially literate, and practicing independent thinking.

In his book, learn how to achieve financial independence, why it’s a terrible idea to see your home as your biggest investment, and how to overcome the biggest mental blocks to becoming wealthy.

Think and Grow Rich has been called the "Granddaddy of All Motivational Literature." It was the first book to boldly ask, "What makes a winner?" The man who asked and listened for the answer, Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world's winners himself.

The most famous of all teachers of success spent "a fortune and the better part of a lifetime of effort" to produce the "Law of Success" philosophy that forms the basis of his books and that is so powerfully summarized in this one. Napoleon said his philosophy can help people succeed in any line of work, to do and be anything they can imagine.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't is a management book by Jim C. Collins that describes how companies transition from being good companies to great companies, and how most companies fail to make the transition. The book (buy on Amazon) was a bestseller, selling four million copies and going far beyond the traditional audience of business books.

Collins identified several key characteristics in companies that made the leap from good to great.

Collins found that the main reason certain companies become great is they narrowly focus the company’s resources on their field of key competence.

Hello members and subscribers! It’s time for our fourth Moonshots Master episode, and here we are breaking down the fundamentals of HABITS.

Beginning our journey we hear from the powerhouse of habits, Charles Duhigg, and get inspired to master our own behaviours. We then hear from the GOAT himself, Tom Brady, and how he continues to be at the top of his game through habitual design. We’ll also hear from Tim Ferriss and his findings through a lifetime of researching the perfect way to start your morning.

Fully inspired, let’s get into understanding habitual thinking with Daniel Kahneman, who encourages us to control our fast and slow thinking. Stephen Covey - the absolute master of habits - helps us understand to cultivate self-mastery. Finally, James Clear reveals an experiment that teaches us to celebrate the process and systems of progress, rather than the end-goal.

Closing our deep-dive into habits, we hear from Charles Duhigg on how we can create habits by altering our behaviour. We also dig into Robin Sharma’s three phases of building habits. And closing out the show we hear from Stephen Covey again, who reveals that the trick to building good habits is to focus on continuous improvements, every single day.

Ryan Holiday’s first book of an exciting new series on the virtues of ancient philosophy explores the most foundational virtue of all: Courage.

In Courage Is Calling (buy on Amazon), Ryan Holiday breaks down the elements of fear, an expression of cowardice, the elements of courage, an expression of bravery, and lastly, the elements of heroism, an expression of valor. Through engaging stories about historic and contemporary leaders, including Charles De Gaulle, Florence Nightingale, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Holiday shows you how to conquer fear and practice courage in your daily life.

In a world in which fear runs rampant—when people would rather stand on the sidelines than speak out against injustice, go along with convention than bet on themselves, and turn a blind eye to the realities of modern life—we need courage more than ever.

Bestselling author and award-winning adventurer Ross Edgley has been studying the art of resilience for years, applying all he has learned to become the first person in history to swim around Great Britain, breaking multiple world records. Now Ross focuses on mental strength, stoicism, and the training needed to create an unbreakable body.

In The Art of Resilience (buy on Amazon), Ross uses his amazing endurance feats, where he managed to overcome seemingly insurmountable pain, hardship, and adversity, to study the performance of military, fitness specialists, and psychologists to uncover the secrets of mental fitness and explore the concept of resilience, persistence, valor and a disciplined mindset in overcoming adversity.

This groundbreaking book represents a paradigm shift in what we thought the human body and mind were capable of and will give you a blueprint to become a tougher, more resilient, and ultimately better human – whatever the challenge you face.

Why do we hurt, feel self-doubt and constantly struggle throughout life? What does it take to overcome all the obstacles? The bottom line is that hardship is a part of life, but only by facing up to it and learning to tackle all of life’s challenges will we achieve our full potential. So how do you do that? With resilience.

Author Eric Greitens, in his correspondence with fellow Navy SEAL veteran Zach, tries to find the qualities, practices, and training needed to become resilient against the harder parts of life. His search took him through history, philosophy, and beyond. Ultimately, it seems the ancient struggle we face as humans has a solution that’s equally ancient.

Angela Duckworth is the world’s leading academic in the study of grit: something she defines as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Is success all talent? What do successful people have that allows them to achieve their goals? The book Grit (buy on Amazon), teaches us that success is not all talent. To have talent is an essential factor and it will give you the edge over others who don't, but more importantly, you need the grit to see things through.

"Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint." - Angela Duckworth

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (buy on Amazon) is a self-help book by Carol Dweck, designed to help you understand and change a fundamental mindset to impact all aspects of your life and reach your full potential. Why do some people fall apart in face of setbacks, while others turn their failures into success? Why are some people obsessed with proving themselves, while others can laugh at and learn from their mistakes? The key difference is in their mindset.

"It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest." C.D

Hello listeners! In our third Moonshots Master episode, we provide a comprehensive breakdown of TEAMWORK.

Subscribe today to our Master Series!

First up, we find inspiration in our quest for great teamwork! We hear from the master, Grant Cardone, and how nobody starts anything successful by themselves. We then bathe in Patrick Lencioni’s passion for teamwork, and how it is the greatest competitive advantage. We also delve into Google’s enormous research program, Project Aristotle, on teamwork and why some teams are successful.

Now we’re inspired, we get into team behaviors. We listen to Simon Sinek on how anyone can be a leader, before digging deeply into Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a team.

We close the show by learning about the design and strategy of good teamwork. We learn about Dr Meredith Belbin’s Team Roles and responsibilities breakdown, and Bruce Tuckman's Form, Storm, Norm, Perform, before closing out with Tyler Waye’s belief in the value of perseverance and how good teams stick together.

Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, in his practical and often very amusing book; Creativity; A short and cheerful guide (buy on Amazon) he shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing.

John Cleese believes everyone can be more creative, and in this guide, he shows us how to become more creative, overcome blocks, and how to refine and action a promising idea.

“Creativity is the ability to come up with a better way to do anything." - John Cleese

Elizabeth Gilbert: Big Magic: Whether we are looking to write a book, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion. In Big Magic (buy on Amazon), Elizabeth has written as a template; lessons in how to unleash your creativity.

She digs deep to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. She offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear.

Elizabeth Gilbert is best known for publishing the international bestseller Eat, Pray, Love, which was turned into a movie with Julia Roberts. Eat, Pray, Love is Gilbert’s memoir of the year she spent traveling the world, where she found her spirituality in India and ultimately fell in love again in Bali. Big Magic, discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow: If you’ve felt hours fly by like moments or marvelled at a sunrise you’ve experienced flow. In fact, it’s a state we experience surprisingly often, at work, at home and at play. Mihaly’s Flow (buy on Amazon) explores how we can experience enjoyment in our lives by controlling our attention and strengthening our resolve. This is achieved by being immersed in an activity or subject that makes us neither anxious, nor bored. In this “flow state” we lose our self-consciousness, selfishness and sense of time.

Using goal-setting and immediate feedback, we can achieve a state of flow that improves our relationship with work, increases our self-worth and gives our lives meaning

“The best moments in our lives occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult or worthwhile.” Mihaly

Dan Millman's book; Way of the Peaceful Warrior (buy on Amazon) is a rare story with the power to transform lives. It conveys piercing truths with drama, heart, and humor and speaks directly to the universal quest for fulfillment and happiness, for finding our place in the world. Way of the Peaceful Warrior is a part-fictional, part-autobiographical book based upon the early life of the author Dan Millman.

It is a story for all times that can inspire joy, expand perspectives, and remind us of the deeper truth we already know, that real freedom lies within us right now.

Hello listeners! In our second Moonshots Master episode, we provide a comprehensive breakdown of FIRST PRINCIPLES.

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We get inspired by some new as well as familiar superstars who maximise their problem-solving ability through the use of First Principles.

Once fully inspired around First Principles thinking we get into case studies and hear from legends including Peter Thiel who tells us to do one thing better than anyone else.

Lastly, we find out how to make First Principles a daily habit with the help of Dreamlet, Garry Tan and Ozan Varol on how to think like a rocket scientist today.

With a Nobel prize for economics, when Daniel Kahneman does something, it’s worth paying attention to. In his book Thinking Fast And Slow (buy on Amazon) he reveals how our minds are tripped up by error and prejudice (even when we think we are being logical), and gives us practical techniques for slower, smarter thinking. It will enable you to make better decisions at work, at home, and in everything you do.

It shows you where you can and can’t trust your gut feeling and how to act more mindfully and make better decisions.

Charlie Munger is one of the greatest investors of all time. Plenty of people have called him a “learning machine.” The phrase ‘Latticework of Mental Models’ comes from Berkshire-Hathaway’s Charles Munger, who spent most of his life working out ways to, for lack of a better term, think better.

Munger has come to the conclusion that in order to make better decisions in business and in life, you must find and understand the core principles from all disciplines.

You have to learn all the big ideas in the key disciplines in a way that they’re in a mental latticework in your head and you automatically use them for the rest of your life. – Charlie Munger

This is what he calls Elementary Worldly Wisdom, and using his system of Mental Models can help you succeed in almost any endeavour.

Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien’s The Great Mental Models (buy on Amazon): Is designed to upgrade your thinking with the best, most useful, and powerful tools so you always have the right one on hand. Mental models help you improve your decision-making, productivity, and how clearly you see the world.

The old saying goes, "To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." But anyone who has done any kind of project knows a hammer often isn't enough. The more tools you have at your disposal, the more likely you'll use the right tool for the job — and get it done right.

The same is true when it comes to your thinking. The quality of your outcomes depends on the mental models in your head. And most people are going through life with little more than a hammer. Until now.

Upgrade your mental toolbox!

A lot of people think that Albert Einstein’s greatest ability was his mathematical mind, but Einstein’s greatest skill was the ability to sift the essential from the inessential — to grasp simplicity when everyone else was lost in the clutter.

Problems are an integral part of everyday life. So is problem-solving. But where people differ is in their ability to solve problems. Problem-solving has a synonym today, especially in the corporate world — fire fighting. Up to 70% of employees’ time is spent ‘fire fighting’. They spend more than six hours a day grappling with problems that should not exist. Imagine what organizations can achieve if hundreds or thousands of employees get these hours daily to work on something constructive!

Some problems should be solved. Some problems should be left alone. Some problems should not exist at all.

Hello listeners! In our first Moonshots Master episode, we are diving into MOTIVATION.

Subscribe today to our Master Series!

We revisit some of our most popular superstars who have harnessed the power of motivation to their success, including David Goggins, Lady Gaga and Gary Vee .

As we explore models and frameworks that help us understand what drives us, we explore the Self-Determination Theory [hyperlink to RoninOwl YouTube clip], and Daniel Pink’s secret to motivation. We get inspired by scientific journals such as Ryan & Deci’s Intrinsic Motivation so we can harness the concept that motivation is a drive we all have power over if we choose to take ownership.

Lastly, we look to the future and determine how we can make motivation a habit we exercise each day, with James Clear and Jordan Peterson.

In Episode 136 we do a Cal Newport deep dive. Similar to his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success (buy on Amazon) in a Distracted World which refers to studying for focused chunks of time without distractions such as email and social media.

Cal challenges the belief that participation in social media is important for career capital, suggesting instead that career capital is a function of creativity, impact and control, or autonomy. Cal's been an advocate for "digital minimalism" and refers to the role email and chat play in what he calls "the hyperactive hive mind".

Cal Newport doesn’t like the distractions of technology. In fact, Newport thinks that our focus on technology and how it dominates modern business is holding us back. His latest book, A World Without Email (buy on Amazon): Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, looks to take a sledgehammer to how technology runs modern enterprise and, ultimately, our lives.

The idea is not to jettison email but to make it smarter. Instead of the back and forth, you get collaborative tools. You don’t even need to be a business owner or work in tech to have some of the messaging resonate with you, and stay with you long after you have finished. A World Without Email invites you to scrutinize how useful these tools are in your lives and reflect on the best practices.

In Episode 134, we look at Joe Rogan, the American comedian, podcaster, and UFC color commentator's unique and unconventional passion and approach has a lot to teach us. Joe embodies and is a big believer in mental models to achieve your goals, including discomfort is the way to happiness and pain is what builds character. And our personal favorite; the best thing in life is to work hard and you get what you deserve.

In Episode 133 we take a look at our rising star Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The scholar and former options trader who has devoted his life to problems of randomness, probability, and uncertainty.

We dive into his book, Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder (buy on Amazon) and discover how to approach the world in the face of uncertainty and what lessons can we take from his work to ensure robustness, to set ourselves or your business up for potential positive and negative events.

Drawing on nearly two decades of teamwork and sporting successes, in her book; Wolfpack (buy on Amazon), Wambach shows us what teamwork looks like, what leadership stands for, and how you can achieve bigger goals, overcome any obstacles in your way, and unleash your true potential.

Abby Wambach has scored more international goals than any other player in history. Cristiano Ronaldo has 85, Abby has 160. Abby Wambach inspires the next generation to find their voice, unite their pack, and change the world.


"Make failure your fuel". Abby Wambach

Part 2: Rules 7-12. Beyond Order, by Jordan Peterson (buy on Amazon) is presented as a counterweight to 12 Rules for Life (buy on Amazon), in part 2 we explore Rules 7-12 and how to apply these to our day-to-day lives. The prescription includes: assume responsibility for your situation, dig deep to discover your capacity for self-discipline, and work hard to make things happen!

'Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens.' Jordan B Peterson.

Beyond Order, by Jordan Peterson (buy on Amazon) is presented as a counterweight to 12 Rules for Life (buy on Amazon), offering a dozen new rules organized around the idea that as well as fighting the chaos that constantly threatens to engulf our lives, the book, Peterson writes, is an attempt to explain “how the dangers of too much security and control might be profitably avoided”. The prescription includes: assume responsibility for your situation, dig deep to discover your capacity for self-discipline, and face life’s inevitable awfulness as unflinchingly as you can.

The main difference is a less individualistic approach, with more focus on friendship, marriage, and parenting, as if Peterson’s trials had underscored for him the degree to which we can only make it through life together.

Part Two: Rules 1 -12: 12 Rules for Life; Jordan Peterson’s book has become for some, almost a religious text, with the ‘rules’ serving as the 10 Commandments of modern life. 12 Rules for Life (buy on Amazon) frames a set of life principles to live by.

In part two we dive into the second half of his book to dive into rules 7-12, including; "Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t", and "Tell the truth — or, at least, don’t lie."

In 12 Rules for Life; Jordan Peterson’s book (buy on Amazon) has become for some, almost a religious text, with the ‘rules’ serving as the 10 Commandments of modern life. Are these the guiding principles by which we now structure our existence? It certainly is for some, and that’s worth thinking about.

12 Rules for Life frames a set of life principles to live by. Learn why you should stop telling lies to others and yourself, why you should stop doing things you know are bad for you, and how to pursue what is truly meaningful for you.

Dan Millman’s book: The Way of the Peaceful Warrior (buy on Amazon), Blends fact and fiction as he recounts his day's training as a college gymnast in his bid to become a World Champion, along with all the hardships he faced.

The fiction format of the novel magnifies the impact of the lessons contained within, allowing us to envision our own personal transformation whilst tapping into our deep, primal urge for immersive storytelling. Drawing parallels with Siddhartha, which effortlessly combines timeless wisdom with a compelling narrative, this book is a joy to read, taking the reader on a profound spiritual journey.

Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights (buy on Amazon) is not a conventional memoir. As he neared age 50, the Oscar-winning actor revisited the journal he kept for 35 years to see what he could learn from it.

“This is a book about how to catch more YESs in a world of NOs and how to recognize when a NO might actually be a YES. This is a book about catching green lights and realizing that the yellow and the reds eventually turn green.” – Matthew McConaughey

Think Again (buy on Amazon) is a book about the benefit of doubt, and about how we can get better at embracing the unknown and the joy of being wrong. In the end, learning to rethink may be the secret skill to give you the edge in a world-changing faster than ever.

Good teachers introduce new thoughts, but great teachers introduce new ways of thinking. - A.G Think Again

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (buy on Amazon) is a self-help book by Carol Dweck, designed to help you understand and change a fundamental mindset to impact all aspects of your life and reach your full potential. Why do some people fall apart in face of setbacks, while others turn their failures into success? Why are some people obsessed with proving themselves, while others can laugh at and learn from their mistakes? The key difference is in their mindset.

"It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest." C.D

The Power of Now (buy on Amazon) by Eckhart Tolle teaches us that every minute you spend worrying about the future or regretting the past is a minute lost, because really all you have to live in is the present, the now, and gives you actionable strategies to start living every minute as it occurs. Eckhart published The Power of Now in 1997, which eventually went on to become a New York Times bestseller after Oprah Winfrey fell in love with it and recommended it.

"Your life is now. Realise that the present moment is all you have. Make NOW the focus of your life." E.T

Part Two: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (buy on Amazon) by Stephen R. Covey, we look at how we must value and celebrate the differences in another’s perspective and commit to creating Win-Win situations that are mutually beneficial and satisfying to each party. How do we make these habits and ideas real? Teach, share and learn with others.

"To go for Win-Win, you not only have to be nice, you have to be courageous." -Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (buy on Amazon) by Stephen R. Covey is written on Covey's belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions. In order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves, and in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.

We all want to succeed. And one path to success is identifying the habits that can help us on our journey.

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions". Stephen Covey.

The most successful leaders all have one thing in common: They've read How to Win Friends and Influence People (buy on Amazon). As a salesman, Dale Carnegie made his sales territory the national leader for the firm he worked for. Carnegie eventually ended his sales career and taught public speaking to share his success. Even Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of the 20th century, took Carnegie's course at age 20. Fortunately for us, all the same lessons are packaged into the now-famous book.

"The rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage". Dale Carnegie.

Dale Carnegie’s bestseller, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (buy on Amazon), has been helping people overcome the worry habit since 1948. Dale Carnegie offers a set of practical formulas you can put to work today, formulas to last a lifetime!

"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment." Dale Carneige.

Satya Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft. His strengths lie in his learnings both personally and professionally. That empathy is the path to success in both leadership and business, and performance matters every day. And like many successful people, he is passionate about knowledge and learning something new.

“Have a growth mindset", Satya Nadella

Christine Lagarde may be the “rock star” head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but she was also the first woman to become finance minister of a G8 economy and is the first woman to head both the ECB (European Central Bank). Christine Lagarde dishes out advice on all aspects of life – including her very own secrets to success.

"I’ll find my way - and if I don’t, I’ll make it". Christine Lagarde

Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer announced that he would step down as the CEO. We recognize the accomplishments of an extraordinary entrepreneur. How Bezos taught us you need to innovate internally first and look at Jeff’s leadership traits; be bold, learn and be curious. "It was never about the books".

Tom Brady is without a doubt an incredible athlete and one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all-time. He’s an inspirational reminder of the power of the journey and how healthy habits lead to big results. Whether you're a Brady fan or even a sports fan. We can all learn from Tom Brady.

“The biggest challenges end up being the best things that happen in your life”, Tom Brady.

In our final episode on Ryan Holiday, we look at his best-selling book, Stillness Is The Key (buy on Amazon). We look at tools to harness the power of slowing down your body and mind for fewer distractions, better self-control, and above all, a happier and more peaceful life.

In our series on Ryan Holiday. We take key learnings from his book, The Obstacle Is The Way (buy on Amazon). The book shares the collective wisdom from some of the greatest men and women who have ever lived, in order to help you accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share: overcoming obstacles.

In Episode 112: Part 2 of 4, Ryan Holiday, Ego Is the Enemy (buy on amazon) argues that often our biggest problems are not caused by other people or circumstances. Instead, our problems stem from our own attitude, selfishness, and self-absorption. In other words, introducing ego into a situation often prevents us from being rational, objective, and clear-headed.

In Episode 111: We start our 4 part series on Ryan Holiday with his book The Daily Stoic (buy on Amazon). A unique blend of practical wisdom that has been inspiring the most successful among us for centuries, from Roman Emperors to Barack Obama. The Daily Stoic widens our view on the Stoic philosophy and shows that it can be applied to any problem

In Episode 110: We look at No Excuses (buy on Amazon), the story of Kyle Maynard's battle against the odds. Born without arms or legs. No Excuses is his inspirational autobiography that shows how a positive can-do attitude gives someone we might see as disadvantaged the advantage over life.

Join us for our final Rising Star series, where we take a look at 2020, and some of our biggest rising influencers today with James Clear and the power of habits in Atomic Habits (buy on Amazon).

Join us for our Rising Star series, where we take a look at 2020, and some of our biggest rising influencers today with David Goggins. The toughest man alive! (buy on Amazon) and his book Can't Hurt Me (buy on Amazon).

Join us for our Rising Star series, where we take a look at 2020, some of our biggest rising influencers today with Wim Hoff, the IceMan himself, and how the breath knows how to go deeper than the mind.

Join us on our Rising Star series, where we take a look at 2020, some of our biggest rising influencers starting with Michelle Obama and daring to own your story. Her story, her inspiration, and her why.

Tony Hsieh, was a “visionary” developer of online shoe retailer Zappos. He famously cultivating communities where he instilled the importance of shared values and how to make crazy ideas a reality. His motto was to align your company around your people and above all - always be yourself.

In Episode 104: Collaborative Intelligence (buy on Amazon), by Markova and McArthur, is a guide to developing your own personal form of intelligence by utilizing your unique ways of thinking. We'll learn how to identify and build on your strengths as well as those of others while adjusting your communication accordingly.

In Episode 103: Abby Wambach, drawing on nearly two decades of teamwork and sporting successes, shows us what teamwork looks like, what leadership stands for, and how you can achieve bigger goals, overcome any obstacles in your way, and unleash your true potential in her book - Wolfpack (buy on Amazon).

In Episode 102: Patrick Lencioni's, The Ideal Team Player (buy on amazin), presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself.

As it turns out, they have three qualities or virtues in common: they are humble, hungry, and smart.

In Episode 101: Patrick Lencioni's, the Five Dysfunctions of a Team (buy on amazon) describes the many pitfalls that teams face as they seek to "grow together". Exploring the fundamental causes of organizational politics and team failure. Much like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the five dysfunctions are stacked like a pyramid.

Without building a strong foundation on the bottom, there is no achieving the higher-level goals at the top.

In our 100th Episode, we mark our centenary show by taking a look at what really makes a ‘Moonshots’ thinker. We'll shine a light on past shows and ask ourselves: 1. What lessons do we learn. 2. How have we used these lessons in our own lives.

Innovators, we'll celebrate are Lady Gaga, Simon Sinek: Start with Why, Brené Brown: Gifts of Imperfection, Michael Jordan, Elon Musk, and David Goggins.

In Episode 99: We discuss Extreme Ownership (buy on Amazon) from Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Extreme Ownership challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win. How to apply their learnings to any team, family or organization.

Tim Ferriss shares the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure book—a compilation of tools, tactics, and habits from the world's best mentors. In Tribe of Mentors (buy on Amazon)  he gives us 130 of the best to learn from!  When facing life's questions, who do you turn to for advice? We all need mentors, particularly when the odds seem stacked against us. Through short, action-packed profiles, he shares their secrets for success, happiness, meaning, and more. 

Episode 97: Tim Ferriss: Tools of Titans (buy on Amazon). Join us as we discover the tools, tactics, and ‘inside baseball’ you won’t find anywhere else from Tim Ferriss's interviews with almost two hundred world-class performers. We look at the most common lessons 'winning your mornings' and consistent themes and habits of the highly successful.

Tim Ferriss’s: The 4-Hour Chef (buy on Amazon) isn't just a cookbook. It's a choose-your-own-adventure guide to the world of rapid learning. Featuring tips and tricks from chess prodigies, world-renowned chefs, pro athletes, master sommeliers, supermodels, and everyone in between, this is a guide to mastering cooking and life. The 4-Hour Chef is a five-stop journey through the art and science of learning.

In Episode 95: let's talk Tim Ferris and his 4 Hour Work Week (buy on Amazon). Forget the old concept of retirement and all of those deferred-life plans–there is no need to wait and every reason not to. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race or earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management. The 4 Hour Work Week is the blueprint.

In Episode 94: We tap into some serious inspiration with David Goggins. The toughest man alive! and his book Can't Hurt Me (buy on Amazon), and look at how his astonishing life story reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

In Episode 93: We end our series on Malcolm Gladwell with his book, David & Goliath (buy on Amazon), and learn how and why some people overcome personal challenges to achieve amazing results and what lessons can we learn from stories of ADVERSITY to achieve our goals. 

In Episode 92: Gladwell's third book, Outliers (buy on Amazon), we examine what sets high achievers apart - from Bill Gates to the Beatles - a person's environment, in conjunction with personal drive and motivation, affects his or her possibility and opportunity for success. Join us on a journey through the world of “outliers”, those people/groups who break the norms.

In Episode 91: We look at how Malcolm Gladwell's book 'Blink’ (buy on Amazon), changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

In Episode 90: We dive into a new series on Malcolm Gladwell, starting with his breakthrough bestseller, The Tipping Point (buy on Amazon), that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. 

Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Part 2: We delve into his book "skin in the game” (buy on Amazon), a phrase we've often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect and what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. 

Part 1 of our 2 part series on Nassim Nicholas Taleb. We dive into his book, Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder (buy on Amazon) and discover how to approach the world in the face of uncertainty.

Episode 87: We take inspiration from Admiral William H. McRaven and his best selling book, Make Your Bed: Little things that can change the world and your life (buy on Amazon). In 2014 he addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas, in a video which immediately went viral. 

In episode 86 we round out our series on Habits with Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter and the author of The Power of Habit (buy on Amazon), about the science of habit formation in our lives, companies and societies.

In Episode 85, we are digging into James Clear one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation (buy on Amazon), to learn how to maximise our time, and form positive habits.

In this week’s Episode #84 we explore the ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof, and what it takes to have absolute control over your body and mind.

In episode 83, we explore the wisdom of Esther Wojcicki & T.R.I.C.K; lessons for radical results, based on Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration & Kindness.

In an action-packed episode 82, we are delving into some of Gary Vee’s secrets to staying motivated and becoming successful by working as hard as you possibly can.

We re-visit one of our favourite innovators of all time, Elon Musk. Join us as we learn what motivates Elon, and how he navigates the naysayers as well as the celebrators.

Our final 'sports innovator' in the series is Joe Rogan, whose unique and unconventional passion and approach has a lot to teach us.

It's game, set and match in the second episode of Mike and Mark's 'Sports Innovator' series, as they get inspired by Serena Williams.

Beginning our 'Sports Innovator' series, Mike and Mark hit the court with Michael Jordan and listen to some of the most inspirational clips and mental models we can learn from 'His Airness'.

Completing our Adam Grant series, Mike and Mark explore 'Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy (buy on Amazon)', and the ways in which we can cultivate resilience.

Continuing our series on Adam Grant, Mike and Mark reach into Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World (buy on Amazon) to uncover what does it take to be a truly original thinker.

Starting our journey into Adam Grant - celebrated author and professor - Mike and Mark begin a three-part series with Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success (buy on Amazon), in Episode 75.

Finishing our 'Media Innovation' series, Mike and Mark turn the telescope to Netflix co-founder, Reed Hastings in Episode 74.

Continuing our 'Media Innovation' series, we deep dive into Mark Cuban in Episode 73 and listen to his techniques at staying successful, and being ahead of competitors.

Hello Moonshots listeners! We are proud to share a very special edition, episode 72.5!  We have created a podcast and course platform, BottomUp.io, that we would like to introduce to all our listeners. It's normally exclusive to our clients, but we've now made them available to one and all due to the current isolation situation Check out this exclusive episode, which also features a secret gift!

Beginning our 'Media Innovation' series, we are delving into Bob Iger in Episode 72. Join Mike and Mark as they go through Bob's career at Disney, and discover what we can decode about being our best versions.

Robert A. Iger is Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company and Chairman of the Board of Directors. During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Iger expanded on Disney’s rich history of unforgettable storytelling with the acquisitions of Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), Lucasfilm (2012) and 21st Century Fox (2019), as well as the landmark 2016 opening of Disney’s first theme park and resort in Mainland China, Shanghai Disney Resort.

Over his 15 years leading the Company, Mr. Iger built Disney into one of the world’s largest and most admired media and entertainment companies.

Completing our current 'Women In Innovation' series, Arianna Huffington is the innovator of Episode 71. Mike and Mark discuss some of Arianna's biggest advice from her amazing career. Arianna Huffington is a prolific author and international media mogul who started the award-winning news platform The Huffington Post.

Continuing their 'Women In Innovation' series, Mike and Mark learn lessons from Melinda Gates as they listen to some of her most inspiring talks in Episode 70. For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. 

Join Mike and special guest Mark Pearson-Freeland as they listen to some of Michelle Obama's incredible speeches, and apply Michelle's greatest insights to their own experiences.

In Episode 68, we re-visit a true titan of innovation. We were saddened when he passed away earlier this year. We previously delved into Clayton in Episode 39. We are joined by a very special guest, Mark Hatch - Speaker, Writer, Advisor and Consultant in Exponential Innovation, Advanced Manufacturing and the Maker Movement.

“Great By Choice” analyzes what makes the world’s best companies thrive in even the most uncertain and chaotic times, by distilling nine years of research and great stories into three actionable principles.

Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't is a management book by Jim C. Collins that describes how companies transition from being good companies to great companies, and how most companies fail to make the transition.

Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations.

Braving The Wilderness challenges common notions about what it means to belong. In this episode we look into the links of feelings of unbelonging to feelings of anger and unrest. Brené Brown uses a potent combination of scientific research and storytelling to reveal what it means to truly belong. This includes remarkable tales of pain and suffering that show just how far people are willing to go to gain a sense of belonging.

Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives. In this episode we unpack Brené Browns expertise on Daring Greatly and how we can find the courage to be vulnerable.

Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we'd no longer feel inadequate. In this episode we pick Brené Browns expertise on The Gifts Of Imperfection and what we can do to accept it and succeed.

Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. In this episode we take a look at Cal Newport’s breakthrough approach to acing assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals the proven study secrets used by real straight-A students across the country.

In this episode we dive into Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You discussing his long-held belief that "follow your passion" is not good advice. Not only is the cliche flawed-preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work-but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. After making his case against passion, Newport sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving what they do.

Most of us know that addiction to digital tools is costing us both productivity and peace. But giving them up completely isn't realistic. We're addicted to texting, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter not because we're stupid or shallow, but because they provide real value in the form of connection, community, affirmation, and information. In this episode we dive into Cal Newport’s philosophy and plan for a mindful, intentional use of technology that maximises its benefits while minimising its drain on our attention, focus and time.

Cal Newport is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the author of six self-improvement books. He also writes the Study Hacks blog focused on academic and career success. This series we will deep dive into his work starting with his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

2018 wasn’t such a great year for our tech giants, from Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica debacle to Google’s sexual misconduct investigations, last year was rocked by scandal within the tech industry. In this Moonshots episode we look into theses scandals and how they are likely to influence 2019, as well as, what can we learn from these events and how they shape the future. 

Dame Zaha Hadid born October 31, 1950 and died March 31, 2016, was an Iraqi-born British architect known for her radical deconstructivist designs. In 2004 she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She was also known as the “Queen of the Curve” for buildings such as the Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan with its gently sloping and yet zany curves.

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures, 532 of which were completed. His majestic buildings and innovative Prairie style pushed the boundaries of architecture and interior design for nearly seven decades.

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