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Learn from history’s greatest.
Each week, Jonathan Watts dives into the lives and moments of the world's most extraordinary people, uncovering timeless lessons and unforgettable stories.
140 Episodes
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Diving into the greatest college basketball coach ever and his timeless teachings. ----- Sources Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden Wooden: A Coach's Life - Seth Devis ----- 3:30 - The lessons from his father 11:20 - The Pyramid of Success 16:52 - Wooden's most important block/quality 19:17 - A great idea from Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tzu 23:30 - Are you willing or eager to sacrifice 25:58 - Little things make big things happen 32:18 - Lead with love 35:20 - On being a great tea...
Diving into a short story on Franklin D. Roosevelt and the power a mission can have. ----- “When you’re a person who always has a goal, who always has a mission, the less time you have to think, ‘How do I feel today? Am I depressed today? Do I feel sorry for myself? Have I become a victim? Oh my god, I feel so bad about myself.’ I don’t have time for this crap. A lot of times, it’s people who don’t work enough. When you’re busy all the time, you don’t have time to think about this stuff...
Diving into some of the very best stories from a few baseball legends. ----- Sources: Baseball 100 - Joe Posnanski ----- Sources 0:00 - Brooks Robinson - An essay from a 13-year-old boy 4:34 - Justin Verlander and Ted Williams - The power of negative energy 13:25 - Ted Williams - Put it on the line 14:38 - The infectious joy of Enrnie Banks 19:00 - Derek Jeter - One hit at a time and loving the truth 25:05 - Ichiro Suzuki and Jeter - Small wins 26:30 - The unlikely path of Larry Walker&...
Diving into some of the very best ideas from one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Morgan Housel. ----- "People can be led to believe and defend almost anything, because the goal of a belief is often not to discover what’s true – it’s to justify past actions, or protect your reputation, or provide hope when it’s lacking, or to maximize your income, or to signal to others that you belong to the tribe." - Morgan Housel ----- Sources/Essays are linked in the time stamps below 1:15 - Why You B...
Diving into the life of craftsman and boatbuilder, George Pocock ----- “It’s a great art, is rowing. It’s the finest art there is. It’s a symphony of motion. And when you’re rowing well, why it’s nearing perfection. And when you’re nearing perfection, you’re touching the Divine. It touches the you of yous. Which is your soul.” - George Pocock ----- Sources Ready All - Gordan Newell and Dick Erickson Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown ----- Time Stamps 3:40 - Why be a craftsman 4:55 - Georg...
Diving into the single trait that was at the root of Thomas Edison's greatness. ----- Sources Thomas Edison - Matthew Josephson ----- Check out my books below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn
Diving into the biggest lessons and ideas from the two greatest soccer managers ever, Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola ----- Listen to the full epsiodes on Ferguson and Pep below. 124: The Leadership Genius of Sir Alex Ferguson 139: The Mastermind of Pep Guardiola ----- Time Stamps 0:00 - Trajectory > Results 6:55 - Be a _____ man 10:02 - Observe obsessively 12:00 - Stick like glue 14:05 - Understand the human condition 16:50 - Look for bad losers 18:30 - Excellence first, w...
Diving into the life and mastermind of soccer coach and legend, Pep Guardiola ----- "Each night when you are going to sleep, ask yourselves if you like football or not; ask yourselves if right then, you’d get up, grab the ball and play for a bit. If the answer is ‘no,’ then that is the day to start looking for something else to do." - Pep Guardiola ----- Sources: Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning - Guillem Ballague The Greatness of Pep Guardiola, in a Blade of Grass Inside the...
Diving into the life and creative genius of music producer, Rick Rubin. Part II focuses solely on Rubin's life and how he works. ----- Sources: The Creative Act - Rick Rubin In the Studio - Jake Brown ----- 2:00 - How Rubin operates in the studio 17:28 - Everything was unintentional 19:50 - Music was his drug 20:45 - Rubin, Kubrick, and creative supporting habits 23:30 - Future plans: law and philosophy 24:25 - Be around the game & scratching your own itch 28:35 - ...
Diving into the life and creative genius of music producer, Rick Rubin. Part I focuses solely on Rubin's creative philosophies. ----- Sources: The Creative Act - Rick Rubin In the Studio - Jake Brown ----- 2:10 - Creativity is something you are, not something you do 4:05 - Developing a noticing habit 9:07 - Listening 10:38 - The beginner mind/the danger of wisdom 16:50 - Pursue excitement 19:12 - Balancing joy with seriousness 22:30 - Finding your rhythm 26:32 - Rules are li...
Diving into the life and genius of legendary filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick ----- Sources: Kubrick: An Odyssey - Robert Kolker Kubrick on Kubrick ----- Time Stamps 2:38 - Chess and creative supporting activities 4:15 - Get your reps 6:55 - “Get a hold of the camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.” 8:00 - What are you insanely curious about? 11:08 - Shoot your shot 14:23 - Doing the thing is the best education. “What I learned in that four-year period exc...
Diving into the unqiue approach and mindset of legendary Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw ----- Sources: Every Fifth Day: The Mentality That Drove Klayton Kershaw to Greatness ----- Time Stamps 2:00 - The five day cycle 12:45 - The game-day approach 20:35 - It's a 24/7 thing 23:57 - Do you want it 26:25 - Be intense in burst 27:45 - Relentlessness rooted in the struggle 29:30 - Software + Hardware 31:55 - The burden of expectations ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE....
Diving into the life and teachings of the great 19th century zen archery master, Awa Kenzo ----- Sources: Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awe Kenzo Zen in the Art of Archery - Eugen Herrigel ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE. Check them out below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagra...
I spent the last two weeks diving through all my past podcast episodes and filtering it through one idea: how do the greats think? How they think about their craft. How they think about time. How they think about risk. How they think about sacrifice. How they think about quality. And more. Enjoy a deep dive into the mind of the ambitious, the obsessed, and the greats. ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE. Check them out below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming C...
Diving into the intense work ethic of Danielle Steel, one of the great writers of the 21st century. ----- “There are no miracles. There is only discipline.” - Danielle Steel ----- 2:05 - Trying to make it/The early years 6:05 - How she got through the dry patches 7:20 - Tiger Woods, "I love this game to death. It's a drug I have to have." 8:28 - Make it a priority 9:50 - The thing she came up short in 10:55 - "I just had a need to write. It's a part of my soul." 11:05 - Her ...
Diving into the teachings and philosophy of Epictetus. ----- Sources: Discoures and Selected Writings - Epictetus ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE . Check them out below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn
Diving into the life and making of Marshall Mathers (Eminem), and behind the scenes of how he works and creates. ----- Sources: Not Afraid - Anthony Bozza ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE FOR PRE-ORDER. Check them out below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn
Diving into the leadership and coaching genius of the Sir Alex Ferguson. ----- "There was no resting on the status quo, even in the best times. The longer I stayed, the further I look ahead. There was no resting on the status quo, even in the best times…Regeneration was an everyday duty." ----- Sources: Alex Ferguon: My Autobiography Documentary: Never Give In Interviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqkcJgyTLQs youtube.com/watch?si=6vAgRjFEKpa8h27K&v=LsuT1pS0jZs&feature=youtu...
Diving into the early life of Martin Luther King, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the moments that made the man. ----- “At a certain point in every struggle of great importance, a moment of doubt or hesitation develops. If there is one lesson experience has taught us…it is that when you have found by the help of God a correct cause, a morally sound objective, you do not equivocate, you do not retreat—you struggle to win a victory.” ----- Sources Bearing the Cross - David Garrow ----- NEW BOOK...
Diving into the life, lessons, and story of Mary Kay Ash. ----- "To me, life is no brief candle. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations" ----- Sources: Miracles Happen - Mary Kay Ash ----- NEW BOOKS ARE LIVE FOR PRE-ORDER. Check them out below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories...
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