Behind The Scenes Of The 10% Happier Podcast + A Sneak Preview Of Something Big

1. Establish Mindfulness as Foundational Habit

Cultivate mindfulness meditation as a foundational habit, as the ability to know what is happening in your mind and body is crucial for achieving other goals and navigating life.

2. Ground Yourself in Altruism

Actively return to altruism, compassion, and the desire to be useful as a grounding principle, as it is the ‘cleanest burning fuel’ and helps you be less harsh on yourself and others.

3. Keep Sight of Your Motivation

Continuously keep an eye on what motivates you, as this helps hard situations go down easier and leads to better decision-making.

4. Engage in Meditation as Community

Recognize that meditation is not a solo endeavor and actively seek or build a community (Sangha) to practice with, as this fosters shared experience and support.

5. Use Mindfulness for Habit Formation

Employ a mindfulness practice to enhance habit formation and impulse control, as self-awareness helps you ride impulses without giving into them, preventing derailment of new habits.

6. Define Your Team’s ‘Why’ Collectively

Gather your team for a dedicated session to collectively discuss and define ‘why’ you do what you do, filling a whiteboard with answers to foster shared motivation and purpose.

7. Openly Discuss Team Strengths & Weaknesses

Hold open discussions with your team about individual and collective strengths and weaknesses, including those of the figurehead, to establish a shared reality and manage dynamics effectively.

8. Distinguish Problems from Dynamics

Learn to differentiate between problems that can be solved and dynamics that must be managed, focusing on understanding and aligning on shared realities rather than forcing immediate fixes.

9. Create Operating Manual for Leader

For leaders or figureheads, develop an ‘operating manual’ for your team to help them manage you, outlining how you want to interact and what you need to personally handle versus delegate.

10. Define Leader Interaction and Delegation

Clearly define how a leader or figurehead should interact with the team and what tasks they need to personally handle versus delegate, to prevent becoming a bottleneck and ensure team health.

11. Manage Communication to Protect Leader’s Time

Implement strategies to manage communication flow to and from a leader, such as consolidating requests, to protect their time and prevent them from being inundated with constant messages.

12. Run Experiments and Observe Audience

When starting a new company or project, run a ton of experiments and carefully observe how the audience responds to each, using this feedback to pivot and refine your approach.

13. Research How Others Operate

Actively reach out to and have calls with people who run similar operations or shows to learn about their processes and how they do what they do.

14. Batch Similar Tasks for Efficiency

Bundle similar tasks together, such as recording all voiceovers or ad reads at one time each week, to improve efficiency and streamline workflows.

15. Participate in Structured Meditation Challenge

Join a structured meditation challenge, such as one offering daily guided meditations and live check-ins, to build community, share experiences, and ask questions.

16. Form Small Meditation Community

Create a small, intimate group of friends and fellow meditators (a sangha) to share and support each other in your practice.

17. Attend Family Meditation Retreats

Consider taking your family on an annual meditation retreat, even if children are young, for a device-free reset and to expose them to a grounded, present environment.

18. Document Your Business Journey

Start a column or diary, perhaps on platforms like Substack or LinkedIn, to document your experiences and insights while starting a new business.