Category Archives: Career

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541: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking with Jon Acuff (an Encore Presentation of Episode 365)

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Today’s guest makes his fourth visit to the podcast. That puts him in very elite company. Jon Acuff joins Jeff Goins and Todd Henry as the only guests to have appeared as many times.

jon acuff

If you think that must mean I like his work, well, you’d be right. Previous books I’ve featured from Jon include:

Start, Do Over, and Finish, all three excellent books, and Soundtracks is no exception.

Jon says that “Overthinking is when what you think gets in the way of what you want.” Jon says the solution to overthinking isn’t to stop thinking but to change the soundtrack to something better – more positive, more encouraging, and ultimately, more productive. Once we learn how to choose our soundtracks, thoughts become our best friend, propelling us toward our goals.

Get the book that Seth Godin calls, “A simple, powerful, and generous book, one that you’ll remember every day for the rest of your life.” Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking, is out now!

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Jon and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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538: Efficiency Unleashed: Harnessing AI in the Workplace with Jeff Frownfelter

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Today marks a first ever and a second ever. Let’s take the second, first.

Today’s episode marks only the second time in the history of Read to Lead where the guest is not promoting a book but is, rather, here simply because of their expertise in a specific area.

Jeff Brown

And the “first” is that it’s the first time I’ve ever invited on a guest that I attended high school with!

That was a long time ago. In fact, we graduated 40 years ago this year.

My guest is Jeff Frownfelter. Jeff has spent virtually his entire career in IT, even before they were calling it that. He is also someone who, because of his coding expertise, has taken quite naturally to using AI in his every day life.

Jeff is well ahead of his IT peers when it comes to his AI use. This gives him an advantage. One that you, too, need to consider for the sake of your work.

AI won’t likely replace you and your job in the future. But it’s quite likely that someone using AI will.

I felt who better than my long-time friend and fellow graduate, Jeff, to help us better understand why we should be using AI in our every day work, and how to actually go about it.

Keep scrolling for more on this episode, or click the play button to listen to the episode now.

Listen to This Episode

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536: Celebrating 11 Years: The Most Influential Books of the Read to Lead Podcast

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Welcome, welcome, welcome! You’re listening to the Read to Lead Podcast, and I’m your host, Jeff Brown. Today is an incredibly special day because we’re celebrating 11 years of this podcast! 🎉

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of speaking with some of the brightest minds and discussing some of the most transformative books out there.

So, in honor of our 11th anniversary, I thought it would be fitting to look back at 11 of the most influential books I’ve read since starting this journey. Each of these books has left a lasting impact on me and, I hope, on you too.

Let’s dive right in, shall we? For a complete list of the books, just scroll down.

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534: How to Live Future Ready with Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt

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Wouldn’t you love to sit down and have a chat with the person who was Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist? I know I would. Wait?!

frederik pferdt

That just happens to describe my guest today. His name is Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt. And his new book is called What’s Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready.

Rather than bracing for what happens next, Frederik argues that you can be making what happens next. You can respond to unexpected challenges, big and small, by turning them into opportunities with a “future-ready mindstate”.

Frederik’s book engages your personal sense of discovery, providing dozens of thoughtful exercises and illustrations, real-world practices, and provocative insight from people who have adopted a future-ready mindstate to craft exceptional futures for themselves.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Frederik and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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533: How to Get Better at Anything with Scott H. Young

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I’m a sucker for a well-researched book, especially when that book is on the topic of learning effectively.

scott h. young

My guest today wrote a book you may have heard of. It’s the Wall Street Journal bestseller called Ultralearning. It’s a book that I often recommend to students of my Note-Making Mastery course.

His name is Scott H. Young, and Scott’s got a new book out called Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery.

Scott says that when we’re able to learn from the example of other people, practice extensively ourselves, and get reliable feedback, rapid progress results.

Yet, when one, or all, of these factors is inhibited, improvement often becomes impossible. Using research and real-life examples, Scott breaks down these elements into twelve simple maxims.

Whether you’re a student studying for an exam, an employee facing a new skill at work, or just want to get better at something you’re interested in, Scott’s insights will help you do it better.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Scott and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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