In This Episode: Sure, it’s cool to hear stories of famous (and completely obscure) people who exhibit Uncommon Sense — the ones I talk about here. But there’s one other thing you need to know about every one of them: they’re definitely not perfect, and that’s important to know because neither are you, and I’ll tell you why that doesn’t matter.
Podcasts
093: The Best Books were Never Written
In This Episode: I still feel his pain, and I will until I die. But strangely, feeling that pain led me to resolve, not fear. That taught me that my pain could be a good teacher.
092: Leaving a Better World is More Complicated Than You Think
In This Episode: It used to be that humans thought they were special because we can think. We might be a little special, but we’re not as far above other animals than what we want to believe. And the implications of that are profound.
091: Don’t Die in the Next Five Years
In This Episode: The title — Don’t Die in the Next Five Years — is an unofficial motto of an organization my wife and I joined, and we went to our first conference with them as members last week. They say this because of coming advances in medicine in the next several years, and we got a glimpse into some of those advances, including some things that aren’t even published yet in medical journals, that were mind-blowing. This episode is my first report on what I learned.
090: Rescuing Uncommon Sense
In This Episode: A story in This is True struck me as an astonishing example of Uncommon Sense, so I thought I’d tell you about it to see some really out-of-the-box thinking, and provide some practical advice that could save your life. Here’s a hint: no one thinks they’re going to get lost and need rescue. Yet there are tens of thousands of rescues every year in the U.S. alone. What will increase your odds of being safe? Uncommon Sense.
089: The Deserved Death of “Doctor Knows Best”
In This Episode: “Doctor knows best,” the saying went. While delivered as reassurance, its real meaning was much more sinister, as I’ll explain. This is the story of the final nail in that idiom’s coffin because really, it was a lie all along. The crazy thing is, that didn’t happen all that long ago.
088: The Fruits of Her Labor
In This Episode: It’s said women and minorities have to work a lot harder to compete in business, and I believe it. But how might they actually do that? Well, they apply Uncommon Sense — and we can all learn from a good example.
087: I Got the Moderna Vaccine
My ‘Reaction’ So Far
In This Episode: Two days before Christmas, I got a phone call: “Can you be here at 2:00?” asked Rebekah, our small county’s (only) Public Health nurse. Yes, I said, and by 2:30 Rebekah had injected my wife and me with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
086: Beating the Vaccine Scare-Mongers
In This Episode: Now that the coronavirus vaccine is rolling out, there are several important things to watch out for, which may take a little Uncommon Sense to fully get past the scare-mongers.
085: The Triple Win
In This Episode: What makes a business work? I mean in the sense of the triple win: employees being happy, the customers being happy, and the owners making a decent return, or better!, on their investment. I’m going to tell you about a guy who applied Uncommon Sense, and figured it out.
084: Why You’re So Tired
In This Episode: Even before Covid-19, a lot of us were pooped — wrung out, over capacity. And with Covid, a lot of us are even more tired. This episode doesn’t just talk about why, but how to build your resilience to the stressors of this crazy year that’s not over yet.
083: Coming Together
In This Episode: Whose “fault” is it that the United States is divided like never before? Wait: it’s too easy to point at Donald Trump, or even to the “right” or the “left,” because there is fault all around. By applying the Uncommon Sense of a foreign observer, and without being partisan, let’s explore what both sides can learn from this election so we can move forward.
082: You Don’t Need Willpower
In This Episode: You really don’t need willpower, and relying on it for change is a recipe for failure. So how can you succeed at the things you want to change without it being so danged hard? Well, a psychologist who has studied willpower says there’s a much, much, better, and easier, way.
081: Breathe Easy
In This Episode: There’s a technique that can keep you calm, or even alive in an emergency, that’s so easy to learn you’re already doing most of it right now. You’ll be amazed at what it can get you through when you learn the rest of it, and I’ll tell you how.
080: The Eight Secrets to a (Fairly) Fulfilled Life
In This Episode: The title of this episode — The Eight Secrets to a (Fairly) Fulfilled Life — isn’t mine, as I’ll explain, but it’s the distillation of one man’s writing, and this is going to summarize his summary.
079: The Key to Success
In This Episode: The fear of failure is central to most of our lives. We worry about failing in business ventures, in personal relationships, and in our dreams. But what happens when you apply Uncommon Sense instead and embrace failure? Because that’s actually the key to success, and I’ll tell you how.
078: Tapping a Deeper Mind Power
In This Episode: What if there was a way to use your mind to reduce stress, increase emotional health, boost your attention span, help preserve your brain as you age, even help control pain? There is a way, and it’s actually easy to do.
077: 7 Things to Stop Doing
(& What to Do Instead)
In This Episode: Want a happier, more-fulfilled, and less-stressed life? Here are seven things to stop doing immediately — and what to do instead — that are pretty easy to do right away.
076: Leading Yourself Down a Path
In This Episode: Having vague, preconceived, and uninformed notions and, worse, acting upon them, isn’t just the opposite of Uncommon Sense, it can actually cause harm. How do you avoid that trap?
075: Leveraging Thinking Tools
In This Episode: A profound bit of advice isn’t necessarily usable just for the situation it’s created for. In fact, that may be what makes it profound, because sometimes you end up with a nice tool for leveraging your Uncommon Sense. This episode offers a great example of that.