
Leaving a Legacy: What do we actually get remembered for - Lessons on family and life - [Storied Recipe]
2025-12-19 | 42 min.
How to nurture the best in people with consistency and be remembered for what matters. This is going to be a different episode about a cake my nan used to make. But isn't just a story about cake. It's about the difference between control and nurture. My school thought resilience came from forcing kids to clear their plates (even if they ended up vomitting). They were wrong. My Nan knew that real strength comes from consistency. She made me the same pineapple upside-down cake every time I visited for a decade. Even when she went blind, she kept creating. She was an entrepreneur, an artist, and the village baker. She taught me that you don't build character by breaking someone's spirit. You build it by showing up. By paying attention. By finding the one thing they can stomach and giving it to them again and again. Nurture over control: You get more out of people by supporting their quirks than forcing compliance. Consistency is love: Showing up the same way for years builds more trust than grand gestures. Create despite limits: My Nan went blind and kept making things; focus on what you can do. Listen to learn how a simple cake became a masterclass in leadership and love. SPONSORS 👨💻 NordLayer Security across your business 28% off: GROWTHMINDSET-28 http://nordlayer.com/growthmindset 🌳 Acorns Invest for your money goals $5 sign up bonus: PSYCHOLOGY www.acorns.com/psychology NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 --- UPGRADE to Premium: 🏖️ Ad-free listening 🤘 Support the show 🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content 💬 Community Discord GrowthMindset.Supercast.com Growth Mindset Psychology: Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. 📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset) 🛜 Website - Growth Mindset CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast (and my nan) 01:31 The Pineapple Cake Story 05:26 School Trauma and Food Struggles 14:11 Nan's Kitchen and Family Memories 19:48 Nan's Artistic Legacy 20:47 Family Artistry and Career Paths 21:14 The Cathartic Power of Music 21:59 Grandmother's Systematic Creativity 22:42 Connecting Through Art and Conversation 24:23 The Pineapple Cake Connection 28:48 Reflecting on Grandmother's Legacy 32:34 Passing Down Family Recipes 37:15 Cultural Differences and Cake Talk 38:15 Final Thoughts and Farewell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Regret Minimization Framework: How to make life decisions
2025-12-16 | 26 min.
A boat is safe in the harbor. But that is not what boats are built for. We tend to view our lives as a single, continuous narrative. But in reality, we are a series of temporary selves, each with a distinct beginning and end. The teenager who dreams of adventure is not the same as the retiree who seeks comfort. When we defer our dreams, we aren't saving them for later; we are denying them to the person we are right now. This episode explores the "Regret Minimization Framework"—a tool for navigating the uncertainty of the future. We discuss the difference between "peak experiences" and "plateau experiences" and why wisdom lies in knowing the difference. The question isn't how much money you leave behind, but how much life you leave unlived. Actionable Takeaways: Time Bucketing: Allocate specific experiences to the specific decades of your life where they belong. The Cost of Inaction: Recognize that the safe choice often carries the highest hidden cost—regret. Live with Urgency: Embrace the impermanence of your current self to fuel meaningful action today. Decide today which version of yourself deserves to be fully realized before it's too late. SPONSORS 👨💻 NordLayer Security across your business 28% off: GROWTHMINDSET-28 http://nordlayer.com/growthmindset 🌳 Acorns Invest for your money goals $5 sign up bonus: PSYCHOLOGY www.acorns.com/psychology NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 --- UPGRADE to Premium: 🏖️ Ad-free listening 🤘 Support the show 🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content 💬 Community Discord GrowthMindset.Supercast.com Growth Mindset Psychology: Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. 📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset) 🛜 Website - Growth Mindset CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction: Facing Mortality 01:10 The Concept of Dying in Installments 02:03 The Death of Future Selves 03:16 Jeff Bezos and the Regret Minimization Framework 04:58 The Death of Peak Experiences 06:26 The Value of Plateau Experiences 10:12 The Death of Who You Could Have Been 13:19 Life Satisfaction U-Curve 13:58 Living Intentionally and Strategically 15:22 Time Bucketing and Peak Experience Mapping 17:06 Personal Examples and Reflections 18:32 Stoic Wisdom and Living with Urgency 20:25 Final Thoughts on Regret Minimization 21:32 Conclusion and Call to Action Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cognitive Rigidity: 5 Lessons to build a flexible mind - [Cognitive Biases #6]
2025-12-12 | 44 min.
How to master cognitive flexibility by understanding the biases that keep you stuck. In WWI, generals sent horses against machine guns. Cognitive Rigidity mean they couldn't reimagine the battlefield. In this episode, I break down the five mental traps keeping you stuck. We look at why you value your own bad ideas more than good ones (The Endowment Effect) and why you can’t stop scrolling TikTok instead of working (Hyperbolic Discounting). We even cover why Einstein—the genius of flexibility—eventually got stuck in his ways and rejected quantum mechanics. Actionable Takeaways: Reimagine the tool: Don't ask what it is, ask what it could be to overcome functional fixedness. Question the crowd: The Bandwagon Effect offers safety, not truth; dare to be the outlier. Respect the future: Overcome the urge for immediate gratification by empathizing with your future self. Choose to see the world differently and open the door to possibility. SPONSORS 👨💻 NordLayer Security across your business 28% off: GROWTHMINDSET-28 http://nordlayer.com/growthmindset 🎓 MasterClass Learn from the best, to become your best Up to 50% off code: GrowthMindset www.MasterClass.com/GrowthMindset NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 --- UPGRADE to Premium: 🏖️ Ad-free listening 🤘 Support the show 🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content 💬 Community Discord GrowthMindset.Supercast.com Growth Mindset Psychology: Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. 📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset) 🛜 Website - Growth Mindset CHAPTERS 00:00 A Personal Story of Cognitive Rigidity 03:48 Defining Cognitive Rigidit 04:54 Functional Fixedness 09:37 Overcoming Functional Fixedness 11:01 The Endowment Effect 15:07 Overcoming the Endowment Effect 16:32 The Bandwagon Effect 20:29 Understanding Hyperbolic Discounting 25:14 Einstein's Personal Struggles and Successes 29:26 The Zeigarnik Effect: Unfinished Tasks and Obsession 33:55 Relationships and Social Media: The Open Loop Trap 38:32 Einstein's Journey: Genius and Cognitive Biases 40:51 Embracing Growth and Self-Acceptance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Illusion of Control: 7 Ways we lie to ourselves that even defeated Napoleon - [Cognitive Biases #5]
2025-12-09 | 36 min.
How the mind blinds us to reality by showing us what we want to believe. We don't see with our eyes; we see with our stories. In 1951, psychologists proved that fans from opposing teams physically saw different fouls during the same game. This is the power and danger of perception. It is the tension between what is real and what we believe is possible. When a doctor gives a patient a placebo, the patient heals not because of medicine, but because of the story of the medicine. In this episode, we explore the cognitive biases that shape our culture and our work. From the "Baader-Meinhof" phenomenon to the tragedy of Napoleon’s retreat, we examine how our perceptions limit our possibilities. Actionable Takeaways: Change the narrative: Use the Placebo Effect to create positive outcomes through the power of expectation. See the system: Recognize how the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon highlights opportunities you previously ignored. Reframing value: Use the Contrast Effect to understand how relative comparison dictates the worth of your work. Go make a ruckus by changing how you choose to see the world around you. SPONSORS 👨💻 NordLayer Security across your business 28% off: GROWTHMINDSET-28 http://nordlayer.com/growthmindset 🎓 MasterClass Learn from the best, to become your best Up to 50% off code: GrowthMindset www.MasterClass.com/GrowthMindset NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 --- UPGRADE to Premium: 🏖️ Ad-free listening 🤘 Support the show 🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content 💬 Community Discord GrowthMindset.Supercast.com Growth Mindset Psychology: Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. 📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset) 🛜 Website - Growth Mindset CHAPTERS 00:00 The Historic Football Game 01:35 Selective Perception in Politics 02:26 Reality Distortion Fields 04:13 Napoleon's Rise and Fall 05:58 The Exposure Effect 09:06 The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon 11:26 The Placebo Effect 15:57 The Illusion of Control 19:04 Napoleon's Russian Campaign 21:29 The Clustering Illusion 25:34 The Contrast Effect 30:03 Reflections on Cognitive Biases 33:09 Closing Thoughts and Call to Action Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why You Make Bad Decisions: Confirmation Bias and the 7 Sins of Lazy Thinking [Cognitive Biases #4]
2025-12-05 | 25 min.
How to make smarter decisions that improve your life by understanding your mind and it's hidden psychology. We are all storytelling creatures, desperate to fit the world into a narrative that makes sense to us. Thus, we build echo chambers not because we are stupid, but because we are afraid. The Confirmation Bias is a shield against the discomfort of being wrong. The Availability Bias shapes our worldview based on the loudest stories, not the most important facts. This episode reviews 7 cognitive biases the explore the friction between what is comfortable and what is true. Learning helps us build tools for the art of long-term thinking in a short-term world. Audit your inputs: Step outside your algorithmic feed to find the friction of opposing views. Reframe the risk: Turn "Black Swan" surprises into "White Swan" predictions by analyzing the unsexy data. Choose commitment: Overcome the paralysis of infinite choice by making a "good enough" decision and sticking to it. Go make a ruckus by choosing to think clearly today. SPONSORS 👨💻 NordStellar Security across your business 20% off: BLACKFRIDAY-20 (valid before 10th Dec) 10% off: GROWTHMINDSET-10 nordstellar.com/growthmindset NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast RSS feed - https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/682b3b86696b5d1232d698a8 --- UPGRADE to Premium: 🏖️ Ad-free listening 🤘 Support the show 🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content 💬 Community Discord GrowthMindset.Supercast.com Growth Mindset Psychology: Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. 📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset) 🛜 Website - Growth Mindset CHAPTERS 00:00 The Confirmation Bias 04:14 The Availability Bias 07:08 The Neglect of Probability Bias 09:12 Black Swan vs. White Swan Events 11:00 The Hindsight Bias 13:47 The Outcome Bias 16:15 The Paradox of Choice Bias 18:56 The Time Discounting Bias 21:10 Becoming More Rational Thinkers 22:14 Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement