Life Lessons from a top CEO. David Shelley is Group CEO of Hachette UK, the second largest British book publishing group. He's held that position since 2018, and will soon also add the CEO role for the company’s United States’ division, Hachette Book Group, to his roster. He will move to New York to take up the role in January. This conversation is all about what it takes to become and remain a top CEO, and the impact holding a position like that has on someone. In this episode, recorded live at the FutureBook Conference 2023, David talks about:Imposter syndrome and fear, and how scary situations become easier the more you expose yourself to themWhat an 'omnivert' is, and how to find the necessary balance between connection and solitudeBeing willing to take on bruising feedback and adapt accordinglyHow being a CEO does mean people treat you 'differently', and how to remain groundedHow to identify what will make the most impact at work, and the vital importance of saying noHow to make your diary work for youThe art of retaining perspective and putting passion before ambitionMy debut book - Champion Thinking: How to Find Success Without Losing Yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews from this podcast over the last five years, I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, happiness and lasting fulfilment are truly to be found.PRE-ORDER - https://www.simonmundie.com/bookYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We crave connection for a good reason. Research shows us that loneliness is on the rise, and that a lack of human connection can be more harmful to your health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Dr Rangan Chatterjee - physician and host of the 'Feel Better, live More' podcast - explains how the boom in podcasts reflects this need for connection. He also explains what other life-changing benefits he has experienced from podcasting - from mindfulness to focus and connectionMy debut book - Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews from this podcast over the last five years, I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, joy and fulfilment are truly to be found.https://www.simonmundie.com/bookYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We spend a third of our lives asleep - so why not use some of that time to learn, heal from past traumas and grow psychologically and even physically? Charlie Morley is a teacher of lucid dreaming, which is where you are asleep and in a dream, but you know that you are dreaming and can start to consciously direct your dream at will. It's a practice that has been used for thousands of years by Buddhists, mystics and shamans - and science has now caught up, proving the undoubted power lucid dreaming can provide. Charlie has been lucid dreaming for over twenty years and was authorised to teach within the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism in 2008. He is also a multiple best-selling author and teacher of shadow integration. In this episode we discuss:what's going on in the brain during a lucid dreamhow science has caught up and proven its efficacy - including in terms of physical benefits for athleteswhat the psychological benefits can be - from dealing with traumas to addictions and phobiasworking with your 'shadow' (parts of your unconscious mind normally out of reach in the waking state)what to do when you are in a lucid dream for maximum benefitthe key practices to start lucid dreaming tonightCharlie's website: https://www.charliemorley.com/My debut book - Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews from this podcast over the last five years, I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, joy and fulfilment are truly to be found.PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Thinking-Success-Without-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CG6G8LTXYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”People often talk about the importance of marginal gains, and improving by 1% in as many areas as possible. However, most of the top performers I have spoken to say by far the most important thing is consistent effort over a long period of time. But finding the fuel to maintain the necessary level of consistency is doing what you love.My YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to make sure you are in the right place at the right time - with the former intelligence officer turned entrepreneur, author and Farnham Street founder Shane Parrish. In this episode, Shane explains the art of 'positioning', and how to play life in 'easy mode' rather than 'hard mode', a skill used by the world's most consistent top performers. He identifies the barriers to clear thinking - Emotional, Ego, Social and Inertia - and explains how to 'get them before they get you'. He also explains why adopting some simple rules that you can identify for yourself can be life-changing, and save you energy and regret.Shane's NYT best-selling book is called Clear thinking: https://fs.blog/clear/His newsletter is here: https://fs.blog/newsletter/My YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/My newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success is not synonymous with happiness. So many high performers reach the top of the proverbial Everest only to discover that it did not provide the lasting satisfaction that it seemed to promise. One such person is Caitlyn Jenner, who won gold in the Olympic decathlon in 1976. However, the issues that were bubbling away under the surface were free to reassert themselves once the Games were over.My YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Communicating what we want to say for maximum impact is far from easy. It’s also not something many people work on. But Ros Atkins, creator of the hugely successful viral BBC videos 'Ros Atkins on...' is truly a master of the craft, and in this episode he shares some of the key techniques and outlooks that make him stand out. Ros has identified the ten elements of what makes a good explanation as well as the seven steps you need to take to communicate what you want to say with clarity and impact, and we dissect them in this conversation.Ros has written an outstanding new book, called The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence – which is highly recommended for anyone wanting to sharpen up their communication skills in any area of life and learn from the best in the business.Ros has hosted coverage of many major stories around the world for BBC News, including the death of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama's first election victory and inauguration as well as the football World Cups in Germany and South Africa. He created and hosted Outside Source live from the BBC newsroom, covering all the biggest international stories in a highly original and innovative way. He is now the BBC’s Analysis Editor, and continues to make his outstanding viral videos for the BBC.His book is here: https://geni.us/TAOEBOOKHe is @BBCRosAtkins on twitterMy YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How you do anything is how you do EVERYTHING. What matters is what you do today. That’s the message Stoic author Ryan Holiday emphasises in this bitesize episode.Ryan has written a number of best-selling books on stoicism, including The Obstacle is the Way. He described stoicism as 'the most practical of all philosophies', and he explains that - in his view - it is important to understand that it is our actions that define us, and every moment is a chance to do and be our best. That doesn’t mean we will always succeed – but it does mean we can try.My debut book, 'Champion Thinking: How to Find Success Without Losing Yourself', published by Bloomsbury, is now available for pre-order: https://shorturl.at/joMX3YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Website: simonmundie.com (and newsletter) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The power of skillful conversation - from the personal to the global level.This week's conversation is with professor Shane O'Mara, a neuroscientist of the top order who is professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College Dublin. He is also the author of Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversations Shapes Our World. Shane explains the role that conversation and memory has in our ability to envisage a better future.We talk about lots in this episode including the difference between the narrative self - the 'story of me' made up of memories, beliefs and the like - and the 'aware self', which experiences the present moment directly. Most people identify with the former and not the latter - but is that really wise?Shane also explains how countries are created by conversations, and are ideas rather than real entities, and he shares some powerful and proven conversational tools to bridge gaps, break down walls and dissolve the propensity some people have to dehumanize 'the other'. We also discuss the Hard Problem of Consciousness.Shane's new book: Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds Shane's newsletter: BrainPizzaMy YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The power of letting go of the need for a specific outcome to go your way.We are halfways through the Strictly Come Dancing season 2023, so what better time than now to revisit my conversation with glitterball favourite and former Strictly champion Kevin Clifton. Kevin was runner up on four occasions while on the show, which triggered some of his old competitive wounds, before finally lifting the trophy with his now wife Stacey Dooley. How? Clearly the chemistry didn't hurt - but nor did his change in outlook and willingness to surrender rather than feel the need to achieve a specific outcomeMy debut book, 'Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself', is now available for pre-order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Thinking-Success-Without-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CG6G8LTXYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Website: simonmundie.com (and newsletter) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Embracing the right type of failure with the groundbreaking pioneer of psychological safety, who was voted the most influential international thinker in 2019. Professor Amy Edmonson's work has transformed the culture of leading companies, universities and organisations around the world - and her thinking can change your life too.Amy argues that we need to embrace failure - as long as it is the right kind of failure. She differentiates between intelligent failure, complex failure and basic failure. We need to embrace the former, and avoid the latter two.Professor Edmonson explains exactly what psychological safety is, how to foster it and how important it is - and how it fits in to intelligent failures.My debut book - Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews from this podcast over the last five years, I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, joy and fulfilment are truly to be found.PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Thinking-Success-Without-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CG6G8LTXYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Treating people as you want to be treated with boxing legend Carl Frampton, Northern Ireland’s first two weight World Champion. Carl grew up in Belfast, in the loyalist area of Tigers Bay. The next housing estate across was the New Lodge which was Republican. As a child, he witnessed tension and traumatising scenes. Carl is a very humble and level headed guy, and he takes pride in uniting people, wherever they're from, and whatever they believe. Beyond superficial differences - he is keen to emphasise we are all the same and that developing peace is possibleMy debut book - Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews from this podcast over the last five years, I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, joy and fulfilment are truly to be found.PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Thinking-Success-Without-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CG6G8LTXYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/Sign up to my newsletter: simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just how accurate is the reality we experience through our sense perceptions? That's a big question - and we're about to explain why it is important.We tend to be convinced that that world we experience through our senses is the world as it really is. We also believe we are billions of separate beings - which fosters a sense of tribalism and a distrust of "the other". But, professor Donald Hoffman says science shows that the chance that we see reality as it actually is - is zero. It may look like there are cars, houses and separate people - but that is how we experience reality when it is filtered through the human mind. Space & time are not fundamentally real - they are like a VR headset we have put on. Furthermore, he says cutting edge mathematics and science show that there are not billions of separate beings, but there is one infinite Being - and we are all avatars of that.Professor Donald Hoffman is a renowned cognitive scientist whose work is truly groundbreaking. This conversation will have you question your view of the world, yourself and what's really important in life. The implications are profound. Not least because if we are all avatars of one Being - that means that if I hurt you, I am simultaneously hurting myself.The key lessons from this episode will be posted on my YouTube page which you can find here: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeLifeLessonsWATCH: You are NOT who you think you are - with professor Donald Hoffman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGMIQ7po6AII am delighted to announce that my debut book - Champion Thinking: How to find success without losing yourself - is available for pre-order now. Drawing on some of my favourite interviews - I want to challenge our ideas about 'success', and where peace, joy and fulfilment are truly to be found.PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Thinking-Success-Without-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CG6G8LTXYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flow is a peak state when we perform at our best, and feel great too. While success is not synonymous with happiness, flow is.So, how do you get in flow? Here is a tried and tested four-step formula from the Flow Research CollectiveYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. With the World Cup nearly finishing, we are revisiting of my favorite conversations with World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, and the theme is Leadership.YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you of you, don't make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: He does not know my other faults; else, he would not have mentioned only these." - EpictetusDon't hide your flaws and show off your strengths - the wiser option is to do the opposite.YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks. With the World Cup in full flow, I am using the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite conversations with World Cup winners and legends. Today's episode is with Dave Alred - 'the coaches coach', who was Jonny Wilkinson's mentor at the height of his World Cup winning powers. The them of this episode is managing pressure.YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our early social connections, with parents and caregivers in particular, are the most profound shapers of how we experience the world and our place in it. Dr Bessel van der Kolk - one of the world's leading trauma researchers and author of the best-selling book The Body keeps The Score - reveals that how secure we feel in our early relationships even has a bigger impact on our development than particularly traumatic incidents.Full episode: https://www.simonmundie.com/blog/trauma-dr-bessel-van-der-kolkYouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Life Lessons podcast has a simple mission: to have discussions that reveal something important about life and how best to live it. My guests range from the biggest sporting names on the planet, as well as neuroscientists, world-renowned philosophers, and psychologists – right through to Buddhist monks.With the World Cup in full flow, over the next few weeks I am going to use the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite conversations with World Cup winners and legends. Today's episode is with former World Cup winner and England captain Lewis Moody.YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can’t all be better than average – there just isn’t room at the top for everyone.Striving for the top is a nice idea, but the other side of it is: if we become anything other than ordinary, we feel that we have failed somehow.This goal-orientated outlook is widespread. But, is it really important to be remembered as a high achiever or 'Champion'? Isn't it more important to be a kind, caring individual who treats his friends and family well? That's what broadcaster and author Konnie Huq is here to suggest.YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeSimonMundieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/For the 'Mundie on Monday' newsletter - head to simonmundie.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.