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A podcast that explores ways to live a good life - thrive at work and in life, connect with a deeper purpose, strengthen relationships, and fulfil potential. Creator and Host Sharad Lal is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker and coach who works with leading organisations like Google, Unilever, J&J, P&G; having supported over 20,000 people in discovering their potential and purpose.
104 Episodes
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After releasing an episode every second week since November 2021 - we’re taking a short break from How to Live. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with incredible guests, thinkers, founders, scientists, and leaders, all exploring the same question: how do we live a good life? Now, it feels like the right moment to pause, reflect, and recharge, so we can come back in February with fresh stories and new insights for the next chapter. While we take this short break, I wa...
Reinvention for 23-year-olds with nothing to lose is relatively easy. At 40, it's brave. Here's how to do it well. At 23, Nick Francis left the BBC, drove a Mini to Mongolia, and stumbled into building a creative business now in 9 countries. Back then, it didn't feel brave. No mortgage. No kids. Nothing to lose. As Nick says: "If you quit your job in your 40s, with kids and responsibilities - that's brave." Here's what struck me: midlife reinvention isn't about starting over. It's about start...
Eating healthy ✅ Working out ✅ Blood tests normal ✅ …but still not feeling good? Low energy. Brain fog. Mood swings. The missing piece might be your gut. Gut isn't just about digestion. It's our "second brain." 95% of serotonin (our "happy" chemical) is made there. Poor absorption can leave us tired, anxious, or unfocused - even with a perfect diet In the latest How to Live episode, I sit down with Functional Medicine Coach Jo Brownlow. We unpack: What gut health really means&nbs...
Layoffs don’t just take our jobs. They can scramble our judgment. Here’s how to get both back. An entrepreneur on my podcast told me this story: “When I went bankrupt, I begged a friend, who had built a unicorn, for a meeting. He gave me 30 minutes. But the moment we sat down, I could tell he wanted to leave. Six months later, after I’d worked on myself, I went back with clarity and energy. This time, he introduced me to people and offered support. What I learned was simple: if you go to peop...
Episode 100: What started as a passion project has turned into a full career pivot! Four years ago, I hit record on the first episode of my podcast. I had no big plans. Just one question I couldn’t stop thinking about: How do we live a good life? So I started How to Live. Shared what I’d learned. Stayed curious. Kept listening. Then something magical happened. I got a message from my old BCG boss, Dean Tong. We hadn’t spoken in 15 years. He’d stumbled upon the podcast. We met. Talked about St...
"How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?" Many of us find ourselves trapped in patterns we claim to hate - overworking while craving balance, tolerating bad bosses, accepting toxic work cultures. This question cuts right to the heart of it. It's not about blame. It's about awareness. The word complicit cuts deeper than responsible, because it asks us to look inward, without self-attack. This question comes from Jerry Colonna - former JP Morgan partner, co-foun...
"Chase passion, not pension" - but how do you actually figure out what you love? Robin Speculand nailed this. At 34, he was making VP money at Citibank — but still didn't know what his "passion" was. So he did something most of us never do: He stepped off the treadmill and took time to reflect. On a beach, he asked himself: What have I truly enjoyed?What gave me energy? What problems do I see that others miss?That's when it clicked. Every company had a strategy. But 9 out of 10 fai...
𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. We're taught to "man up" and handle everything alone. When we struggle, we don't reach out. When friends share problems, we jump straight to solutions. We think asking for help is weakness. We think giving advice is helping. But here's what we miss: We never build emotional safety nets. Women often do this instinctively. They listen first. They create space. They support before they solve. The result? Deeper friendships. Stronger teams. And, as research shows, better leade...
Be interested, not interesting. 𝐈𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. Most high performers approach networking like a performance. Say something clever. Be impressive. Stand out. But being interesting takes energy. It puts pressure on you. And it often keeps things at the surface. There's a better way: Be interested instead. Ask thoughtful questions. Listen deeply. Let others do what they love most - talk about themselves. It's lighter. It's more huma...
Most people stay stuck because they’re waiting for clarity. Big mistake. When you’re 15–20 years into your career, the destination will never be what you imagined anyway. What’s really keeping you stuck isn’t a lack of direction. It’s fear. Fear disguised as “being strategic.” Fear disguised as “waiting for the right moment.” Fear disguised as “needing more information.” But here’s the thing: You don’t overcome fear by thinking your way through it. You overcome it by moving through it. The pa...
You’re running faster. You’re winning. But are you running in the right direction? The success script teaches us to outrun others. Outrun, Outwit, Outlast. But it rarely asks: Is this the race you want to win? Bhavna Toor followed that script. She rose fast in New York finance. But eventually, she realized she was running the wrong race - without ever choosing it. Mindfulness helped her pause. Reflect. And choose her own path. Mindfulness did not stall her ambition. It pointed it in the right...
Your annual health checkup is a good start. But it’s not enough. You’re in your 40s. Your doctor says you're fine. Your weight looks fine. But your energy is low. Your sleep is off. Something just feels… off. Amanda Lim sees this every day. She’s a Harvard-certified coach and co-founder of Singapore’s first Metabolic Clinic, advising companies like Google, PayPal, and Medtronic. Her message? You can look lean and healthy, and still be metabolically unwell. In Singapore, many people look...
Founders (and leaders) are addicted to solving problems. It’s their crack cocaine. That’s what startup scaling coach Rob Bier, author of Smooth Scaling and coach to 40+ startups including six unicorns, told me. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Fixing things feels good. It proves we’re still valuable. Still sharp. Still in control. But the addiction comes at a cost. It blocks us from building teams that solve problems without us. And it traps us in an old identity—ju...
Most career transitions are treated like cliff jumps. You quit the job. Burn the bridges. Bet everything on your dream. Shiv Choudhury chose a different path. When he left BCG to build a billion-dollar business, he didn’t go all in. First, he faked an app. It didn’t even work. But it taught him one thing: customers wanted what he was offering. That was enough to move to the next stage. He calls it “pre-to-typing.” 👉 A way to de-risk big moves by testing the most important assumption before yo...
Which of These 6 Success Traps Is Holding You Back? After my article on The Success Trap in Esquire resonated with so many, I’ve gone deeper in my latest How to Live podcast. Working with thousands of senior leaders at Google, Unilever, and HSBC, I’ve identified 6 fear-based identities that block evolution: 🧠 The Solver – Fixes everything, but fears being dispensable → micromanagement 🎯 The Perfectionist – Sets high standards, but fears not being good enough → delays 🔥 The Workho...
You Can Only Make So Many Good Decisions - Are You Using Them Right? In 1987, we made 100s of decisions daily. Today, we make 35,000. Here's the problem: we can only make a finite number of quality decisions each day. By evening, when we're making important business decisions during work calls or spending time with our children, we've already used up our good decisions quota. The result? We default to the easiest and safest options - not the best ones. No amount of coffee, Red Bull, or ...
When scaling a cause, should you pick passionate volunteers or capable ones? Most instinctively say passion. But Uma Thana Balasingam’s journey scaling Lean In Singapore to 7,000+ members tells a different story. Here’s the hard truth she discovered: Passionate people don’t always make great leaders. When she and her co-founder started delegating leadership roles to their most committed volunteers, they hit a wall. Leading a movement isn’t just about heart - it’s a skill. Managing complexity,...
When resources are limited, how do you still access the best? Afeef Hussain wanted his team - and his country Maldives - to learn from the world’s top minds. But bringing in world-class speakers and trainers isn’t cheap. So instead of saying, "We can’t afford them," he asked, "How can we make it work?" His solution? Leverage what he had. He invited top experts - leaders like Stephen M.R. Covey and other global thought leaders - to experience the Maldives, offering them world-class hospitality...
Forget six-packs - in your 40s, fitness is about feeling good, not looking good. Let’s face it - most of us in our 40s aren’t hitting the gym for six-packs or beach bodies anymore. The idea of chasing aesthetics just doesn’t feel exciting or meaningful. But here’s the twist: strength training and fitness aren’t about looking good- they’re about feeling good. When you feel strong and healthy, everything changes. You’re more productive at work, more present with your family, energised for your ...
Feeling stuck? You might be looking in the wrong place. When we hit a crossroads, our instinct is to look outward - more advice, more inspiration, more answers. But here's the plot twist: the most powerful guidance system isn't out there. It's your own story. Our lives leave breadcrumbs - moments that light us up, decisions that felt right in our bones, and work that made time disappear. These aren't random. They're clues to what's next. In the latest episode of How to Live, I sit down with...
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