Life Changing Lessons From 100 Of The World’s Greatest Minds | E104

Wow. We've now recorded more than 100 episodes of The Diary of a CEO, and I've had some of the most amazing, inspiring, and life-changing conversations with some of the world's most accomplished experts, business people, psychologists, athletes, you name it. So this week we're gonna do something a little different, something many of you have requested for a long time, and something I've always wanted to do. This week we're gonna look backwards. This week I'm gonna share with you the key moments, the actionable, life-changing, epiphany-inducing moments from the last 100 episodes that had a lasting impact on me, that changed my life. So without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. (instrumental music) We hear this, uh, phrase, um, a lot, which is, "Find your passion."

Yeah.

And I almost feel that it's- it's in many respects quite harmful because it- that question is kind of loaded. It- it- it assumes a singular passion for a start.

Yeah.

It- it assumes that you can discover it like an Easter egg, and then, and also, um, the- the context in which that question usually sits in implies that once you find it, then it's, you know, then it's the- the- the ... it's a kind of unlimited, like, happiness and orientation forever.

Yeah.

And then that's yours, and it- it ... I just feel like sometimes language can be harmful because it- it simplifies very complex things, and sometimes multifaceted, plural things, you know? So, I wondered if that, you know, that phrase, uh, "Find your p- find your passion," was something you, um, you felt similar about or you ... yeah.

(laughs) Yeah, I do. I mean, yeah, uh, uh, it's true that passion can be a significant multiplier of human potential.

Mm-hmm.

So, you know, if people are passionate and engaged in a business, they can direct their energy in a- in a worthwhile and meaningful manner. So- so- so it's- it's worthwhile, but you're right, uh, that, you know, there's a big difference between passion, a big difference between happiness and joy. Um, some are in the moment. At home I think joy is in the moment, and I think happiness is something, um, that we continually- continually adjust towards. Um, you know, passion can be a significant multiplier of human potential, particularly in the workplace, so it does have a place. It is something which is useful to understand. And then ultimately, it always comes down to personal introspection and self-awareness for me, and I think that, um, we need to work harder at understanding ourselves, and when we are constructing a mindset which is conducive to performance. So we optimize our potential when we're in a particular state of mind, and that state of mind might be passion, it might be relaxation, it might be enthusiasm, might be enjoyment. But we need to almost get to know ourselves and know that, um, there are certain things which enable us to do others. At home, I want people to work backwards and understand what that looks like. Maybe we can gain some more consistency. I say to a lot of sports people and to a lot of business people that consistency of mind gives you consistency of play, and I'm convinced of it. You know, the more consistent we can be in our thinking, we understand, um, the building blocks, the component parts to success, you know, t- the more success we can have.