From the Stoics to Shakespeare, from Gandhi to Nelson Mandela - wisdom is something that seems to transcend societies and cultures. We might hear that a certain person is “wise” or even “wise beyond their years”. What exactly does this mean? Can we zero in on the essence of wisdom and learn to become wiser? Can doing so help us manage life’s uncertainties? Can it make us happier?
Meet Charles Cassidy. Charles researches and promotes “evidence-based wisdom”. As Charles puts it, “psychologists are finding that societies do share an agreed understanding and conception of wisdom”. Through his site (www.evidencebasedwisdom.com), Charles takes the emerging research in this fascinating field, and “translates” it so that we can use it.
Based in London, Charles joined me on the All Things Risk podcast for a wonderful conversation that covered:
- What wisdom is;
- Wisdom and decision-making;
- Wisdom and “convincing” others who many disagree with us;
- Compassion and being generous;
- What the key components of wisdom are;
- Wisdom and uncertainty management;
- Does more experience equate to more wisdom?;
- Can wisdom be measured?;
- Wisdom, meditation and mindfulness;
- Short-term practices that can make us wiser “in the moment”;
- Is wisdom a state or a trait?;
- We have Artificial Intelligence (AI), can we have Artificial Wisdom (AW)?;
- Can becoming wiser make us happier?
- And more
Show notes:
Evidence-based wisdom:
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History – The Destroyer of Worlds
The Wisdom Scorecard – Test your wisdom level
How to have better political arguments – TED talk by Robert Willer
Negotiating the Impossible by Deepak Malhotra
Moral Tribes by Joshua Greene
Influence by Robert Cialdini
Give and Take by Robert Grant
Future Babble by Dan Gardner
The Stag Hunt and Nash Equilibrium
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
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My guest on this week’s episode doesn’t get awestruck very easily. Neville Johnson is a Hollywood lawyer in California, USA. He has represented a number of celebrities, artists, actors, and writers, particularly against the bullying tactics of large companies over royalties. His clients have included the Beatles, amongst other.
However, there is one individual with whom Neville has worked that left a huge impression on him. That person is the late and legendary UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) basketball coach John Wooden. Neville wrote two books about Coach Wooden and spent a considerable amount of time with him, former players, family members and colleagues. Neville’s first book is an authorised biography of John Wooden while the second is a book of some of Wooden’s most profound sayings.
John Wooden was one of the most successful coaches in the history of any sport. His teams won 10 national championships in the span of 12 years, included seven in a raw. At one point, his teams did not lose a game in three years. Wooden’s former players include Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.
Counterintuitively, Wooden never talked about winning. To Wooden, winning was the by-product of the process of hard work and diligent practice he instilled in his teams. In fact, he was more than a basketball coach. John Wooden was a teacher, psychologist, philosopher, poet and purveyor of timeless wisdom.
Neville and I discuss some of that wisdom on this fabulous episode. We cover:
- What is was like working with John on the two books;
- Wooden’s famous Pyramid of Success;
- How Wooden had an influence on Neville’s own work as a lawyer;
- Success versus winning;
- Some of Neville’s areas of legal expertise, particularly privacy law;
- Neville’s other books;
- Neville’s music
- Much more!
Show notes:
Neville’s authorised biography of John Wooden The John Wooden Pyramid of Success: The Ultimate Guide to Life, Leadership, Friendship and Love
Neville’s book Woodenisms: The Wisdom and Sayings of Coach John Wooden
John Wooden’s great Ted Talk The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding
Neville’s poetry book What Took You So Long
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Having meaning and purpose in our lives is vital. This not only makes us happier, but it also makes us more resilient. An organisation with a very strong sense of purpose is better able to withstand headwinds and any crises that may arise. Similarly, we as individuals become more resilient in the face of uncertainty if we can connect our activities to a deeper sense of purpose.
What do we do however, when we don’t know what that purpose is? How do we find meaning when it seems elusive?
Meet this week’s guest, Gleb Tsipursky. Gleb is a scholar (he is a professor at Ohio State University in the USA in history and decision sciences). However, he isn’t an academic that has permanently set up shop in the ivory tower. He is also an entrepreneur, author, speaker and activist. He has written a book entitled Find Your Purpose Using Science.
We get into a number of the strategies and practices in the book. These are science-backed ways that can help us develop our sense of purpose. However, there is more to Gleb than this and we also get into some other very interesting areas including:
- “Socialist Fun” in the Former Soviet Union - Gleb was born in Moldova and did a piece of research around leisure in the USSR;
- Decision-making – This is another area where Gleb has done research and has some great insights – and it is also a favourite topic on All Things Risk. You can even get a free copy of his decision-making tip sheet (see below);
- Post-truth politics – Gleb started something called the Rational Politics Project as part of his NGO Intentional Insights.
I am hugely appreciative of Gleb joining me for this great episode of All Things Risk!
Show Notes:
- Email Gleb at gleb@intentionalinsights.org and get a free copy of his decision-making tip sheet by mentioning you heard him on All Things Risk;
- Gleb’s book Find Your Purpose Using Science;
- Gleb’s website;
- Gleb on Twitter
- Intentional Insights;
- Gleb’s monograph Socialist Fun;
- The Blue Zones;
- Big 5 Personality Test;
- “Post-Truth”
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Did you like what you heard? Subscribe to the All Things Risk podcast, leave a rating or review, and share it on social media:
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Introversion and extroversion are misunderstood. What is introversion and how does it relate to risk-taking? I offer some thoughts in this latest in-betweenisode.
Show notes:
Introversion-Extroversion test: https://www.psychologytoday.com/tests/personality/extroversion-introversion-test
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
Susan Cain's TED talk "The Power of Introverts": https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts
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Did you like what you heard? Subscribe to the All Things Risk podcast, leave a rating or review, and share it on social media:
Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on:
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