Former #1 Poker Player on How to Get What You Want Out of Life
Plus: the science of lasting wellbeing, and the 12 psychological tools behind almost every self-help strategy that actually works.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
How can you just do things?
Why do some people seem to create opportunities wherever they go while others spend years waiting for the right break? According to Cate Hall — lawyer turned poker player turned drug addict turned CEO of a $3B foundation — the difference isn’t luck. It’s the ability to question assumptions, reject the default path, and realize the world is far more malleable than it seems.
In this episode, Rufus and Cate explore what it really means to become a high-agency person — a.k.a. someone who just does things. Together, they unpack why ambition isn’t the same as agency, how fear of embarrassment and an obsession with hard work hold us back, and why curiosity, unconventional thinking, and expanding your “surface area for luck” are the keys to creating extraordinary opportunities.
Cate’s new book, You Can Just Do Things, is out now. Check out our conversation on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or watch it on YouTube.
Book Bite of the Week
How can you achieve true tranquility and authenticity?
Lasting wellbeing isn’t about finding the perfect advice or transforming your life overnight. It’s about practicing small evidence-based habits that fit your unique life. Matt Bloom is a social psychologist and emeritus professor of business at the University of Notre Dame where, for almost thirty years, he studied the wellbeing of people who work in the helping and healing professions. He is cofounder of Ritual, a mobile app that offers a living library of evidence-based wellbeing practices.
Check out five key insights from his new book, Lasting Wellbeing: Science-Based Practices for Tranquility, Authenticity, Meaning, and Joy on the Next Big Idea app.
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This Week on the Next Big Idea Daily Podcast
What are the best tools to improve your life?
You don’t need hundreds of self-help ideas—you need the right techniques. Nearly every effective approach to personal growth can be traced back to just 12 core strategies that give you a practical framework for improving your life.
Below, Jeremy Stevenson and Spencer Greenberg share five key insights from their new book, The 12 Levers: The Complete Psychological Toolkit For Improving Your Life. Jeremy is a clinical psychologist. Spencer is a psychology entrepreneur and mathematician who is founder and CEO of ClearerThinking.org.
Pick up a copy of their book on Amazon or listen to their big ideas on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This edition of Book of the Day is sponsored by Fora, a travel agency platform designed for entrepreneurs who want to build and scale their own travel business. Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/idea
🎉 Happy Publication Week! 🎉
The following Next Big Idea Club Must-Read authors get to celebrate the publication of their books today--congratulations to them all! 📖 Join us in reading and discussing these exciting new releases:
Trevor Harley, Head in the Clouds: How the Weather Affects Our Minds and Mental Health
Annie Jacobsen, Biological War: A Scenario
Cal Flyn, The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness
Spencer Greenberg & Jeremy Stevenson, The 12 Levers: The Complete Psychological Toolkit For Improving Your Life