character

A bad date—where we know we won’t see the person again—can be frustrating since it wastes our time. But what’s even MORE frustrating? An amazing date with someone who just disappears after seeing us only once or twice.

It leaves us wondering: “What happened?? I thought we had real chemistry!”

In this episode, I explain exactly why someone pulls away after a first date… (and how you can tell the difference between someone who’s a keeper vs. someone who’s just telling you what you want to hear.) 

►► Pre-Order My New Book, "Love Life" at → http://www.LoveLifeBook.com

►► FREE Video Training: “Dating With Results” → http://www.DatingWithResults.com 

Just after my son was born I wrote a few things I thought he’d find helpful as an adult. One of them was:

"You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I’m telling you, you don’t. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does – especially from the people you want to respect and admire you."

Eight years later I still believe this to be true, and I might even double down.

.Talking about it.. VS. Being About it.

How to teach kids appreciation in life.

Can't figure out why my colleague doesn't seem to like me.

Should you take it easy in Jiu Jitsu training if you're physically superior?

Building trust in the Police force, along with accountability.

Rectifying a wrong professional decision. Getting onto a better path.

Sometimes the best you can do when learning about any topic is to memorize a few short stories -- quick, direct, and to the point, that you're likely to remember forever.

This episode shares 15 short stories that have stuck with me, and helped me contextualize so many things in life, work, and investing.

One other note: I have a new book coming out this November. It's called Same as Ever, and you can pre-order it here:  http://amzn.to/41CHgKM

The word test originally referred to an earthenware vessel in which metals were smelted to separate ore from dross. Like ancient vessels holding the heat of the refining fire, our task is to contain the tension of the test. Tests smelt fantasy from the ore of reality and force us to adapt. If a test feels arbitrary or unfair, we may be failing to dissolve the dross of inadequacy, limitation, or shame. Tests require us to develop the ego strength to put our courage, morals, and perseverance on the line—and withstand the ego wounding of failure. Ultimately ego itself is put to the test. Jung says, “Only if we know that the thing which truly matters is the infinite can we avoid fixing our interest upon futilities, and upon all kinds of goals which are not of real importance.” The archetype of the Self undergirds testing, first to help distinguish ego from unconscious, and then to relinquish ego’s illusion of supremacy.

 HERE'S THE DREAM WE ANALYZE:

“I’m in our living room hanging up laundry, when a large bird (maybe half my height) flies through the open glass door to our terrace and perches on a cupboard. It looks into my eyes, and I look into its eyes. At this point I think, I’ve got to tell my wife about this. I run into our bedroom and tell her about the bird. She looks through the doorframe, sees the bird, and says, “Oh, that’s a type of penguin.” I had thought it must be a hawk or an eagle. (In retrospect, it looked like neither of these, but was sort of lanky and cartoonish.) I reply, “Are you sure”? She says, “Yes, do you see how its mouth is open like that”? I look at the bird and see that its mouth is indeed open, in a strained, fixed, almost comical way. For whatever reason this was proof to me that it is, in fact, a penguin.”

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Hey folks, we need your help. Please become our patron and keep This Jungian Life podcast up and running: https://www.patreon.com/ThisJungianLife

 JUMP IN THE POOL - THE WATER’S FINE!

We’ve created Dream School to teach others how to work with their dreams. A vibrant community has constellated around this mission, and we think you’ll love it. Check it out: https://thisjungianlife.com/enroll/

 SOCIAL MEDIA: 

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 RESOURCES:

Enroll in the Philadelphia Jungian Seminar and start your journey to become an analyst: https://www.cgjungphiladelphia.org/seminar.shtml 

The ancient Greeks and Romans thought a lot about what it means to live a virtuous life. They believed that good character was essential for achieving both individual excellence and a healthy, well-functioning society. For this reason, they also thought a lot about whether virtue could be taught to citizens, and philosophers put this thinking into practice by attempting to educate the moral ideals of leaders.

My guest, professor of philosophy Massimo Pigliucci, explores what the Greco-Romans discovered about the nature and teachability of virtue in his new book: The Quest for Character. Today on the show, Massimo and I discuss how the ancient Greeks and Romans defined virtue, and what it meant to them to live with arete, or excellence. We then look at case studies of philosophers who tried to shape men into being better leaders, including Socrates teaching Alcibiades, Aristotle tutoring Alexander the Great, and Seneca mentoring Nero. Massimo explains how these field experiments turned out, and the takeaways they offer on the question of whether virtue can be taught. We end our conversation with the ancient insights that have been confirmed by modern research that can help us become better people.

Resources Related to the Episode

• AoM article and podcast on practical wisdom
• AoM articles on temperance, justice, and courage
• AoM Article: What Is Character?
• AoM Podcast #771 on Alcibiades and the rise and fall of Athens
• AoM Podcast #746: The Confucian Gentleman
• Plato's Meno and Protagoras
• AoM Podcast #445: How to Close the Character Gap (With Christian Miller)
• Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
• Sunday Firesides: Relationships Over Willpower

Connect With Massimo Pigliucci

• Massimo's Website

Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the state of American politics and civil society. They discuss the hyperpartisanship of the Left and Right, what Trump has done to the Republican party, the breakdown of trust in institutions, the “new catastrophism” enabled by social media, the problem of populism, and other topics.

If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.

If you truly feel like you had a once-in-a-lifetime connection, it can feel like you'll never get over a past relationship. Sometimes we can still idealize a relationship from years ago because we feel like we'll never replace that person. And then we get locked in a story: "I can never move on from this because that's the strongest chemistry I'll ever have".

In this episode, Matt, Stephen, Audrey and Jameson talk about how to change the story you tell yourself, what it takes to finally move on (and the importance of being sober about the person's flaws), and how to rethink the past so you don't get trapped in it.

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Join our next Virtual Retreat! - Claim Your Limited Time Summer Self-Care Discount ($100 OFF the usual price!) for The Virtual Retreat at MHVirtualRetreat.com. Offer ends August 7th!

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Email us! You can get in touch with the show and give your feedback/thoughts at podcast@matthewhussey.com

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Follow Matt on Insta @thematthewhussey

Follow Stephen on Insta @stephenhhussey

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►► FREE guide to download: “Top 5 Reasons Why Men Disappear” → WhyHesGone.com

In today's episode, Andy answers your questions on how you can tell if your bitch voice is creeping into your head, why first impressions are often overrated, and how to recognize signs of complacency so that you can overcome them.

“Today, we are supercompetent when it comes to efficiency, utility, speed, convenience, and getting ahead in the world; but we are at a loss concerning what it’s all for,” Leon Kass writes in his 2017 book “Leading a Worthy Life.” “This lack of cultural and moral confidence about what makes a life worth living is perhaps the deepest curse of living in our interesting time.”

Kass spent more than 30 years as an award-winning teacher at the University of Chicago, where he gained a reputation among students for his commitment to the big questions of human existence and the study of classic texts. And he’s written books and essays on marriage, sports, ethics, friendship, romance, the philosophy of food, biblical wisdom and more. In many ways, Kass’s career represents a lifelong effort to grapple with the biggest question of all: What does it mean to live a meaningful life?

This conversation, between Kass and the New York Times Opinion columnist David Brooks, is an attempt to answer that question. Along the way, they discuss the difference between choosing a career and discovering a vocation; the key ingredients of a successful romantic relationship; how to distinguish between superficial friendships and life-altering ones; why finding the right job is less about searching within ourselves and more about committing to something beyond ourselves; Kass’s view that the most distinctive thing about individuals isn’t their race, gender or class but “the ruling passions of their souls”; and what the biblical Exodus story can teach Americans about how to live together more harmoniously.

Mentioned:

Founding God’s Nation by Leon Kass

The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Book Recommendations:

Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

The Hebrew Bible, especially Genesis and Exodus

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

This episode is guest-hosted by David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, whose work focuses on politics, culture and moral formation. He currently serves as chair of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. and is the author of several books, including “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.” You can follow him on Twitter @nytdavidbrooks. (Learn more about the other guest hosts during Ezra’s parental leave here.)

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Ezra Klein Show" at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Alison Bruzek.


If we don’t have freedom, we don’t have anything. In today’s episode, Andy talks about the real American mandate that we should implement to protect the freedom and the future of America and the 3 practical daily steps we need to take as our obligation towards the greatest country on earth.

Todd Simkin calls on experiences from his lengthy career in financial services and educating traders to help Shane understand how to make better decisions. Simkin breaks down all the influences that go into how and why we make decisions, why financial decisions are different than inter-personal ones, the strategies involved with teaching other people to make better decisions, what he looks for when he’s hiring, the value of asking the right questions, and so much more.

Simkin is Associate Director at Susquehanna International Group, a privately held trading and technology firm. During his 25 years with the company he has held a variety of roles, including responsibility for SIG’s firm-wide education and trader development, where he taught the company’s new traders what questions to ask and what criteria to weigh before making hugely impactful decisions for the firm.

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