The Better Questions

"Every book you see on the shelf is the product of a writer saying, 'That's good enough.'"

Without any formal training, Marguerite Imbert became a chef, a writer for The Michelin Guide and author of the Amazon bestseller, Not A Cookbook. She teaches recurring writing workshops that focus on therapeutic writing and how to become your own project manager.

Together we answer ...

"What we typically think of as thoughts are actually answers to the questions we ask ourselves."

Dr. Marilee Adams is the author of "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life" and founder of the Inquiry Institute, which teaches participants how to create the futures they want using resources like the Choice Map.

What stood out to you in this episode? Tag @thebetterquesti...

"Making a decision can be way more important than the result of the decision."

Benjamin Russack is a marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and host of the podcast "Look, Just Tell Me What To Do."

We begin with an honest examination of what it's actually like to be a therapist, then shift into discussing listener questions, including:

- How can I make decisions without regrettin...

"Where is your life on auto-pilot? A lot of times auto-pilot is protecting us from looking at the things we need to change."

Jess Janz is a writer and artist who calls herself a gatherer of words and questions.

In Part Two of our conversation, we look at why naming what you want can feel uncomfortable, how to stop intellectualizing feelings, and how to overcome a resistance to change.

"The times that I feel not creative are usually because I am away from myself, or because I'm avoiding speaking or admitting the truth to myself."

Jess Janz is a writer and artist who calls herself a gatherer of words and questions.

In Part One of our conversation, we examine the intersection between creativity and finances, and how monetiz...

"Ambivalence is more dangerous and worse for your health and relationships than toxicity. The research is very clear on this — it takes so much more energy to be in ambivalent relationships."

Vanessa Van Edwards is the author of the bestselling book Captivate, which has been translated into 17 languages and examines how people tick by decoding their body language and behavior patterns. Her new book Cues studies ...

"Ideas themselves are an act of artistic expression — you don't have to follow through on all of them." 

Laura Maya is the author of Tell Them My Name, a travel memoir that questions the stressors of "normal" life by viewing different cultures through new eyes.

A self-described "multipotentialite," Laura has rejected the idea that you need one passion or purpose to define you, and has instead built a life by combining mu...

"Look around: all of your clutter used to be money; all of your money used to be time."

Money is one of those topics (like health) that affects each of us, whether or not we're interested. However, it can be a particularly loaded topic due to all the emotions attached to our financial stories, so uncovering our ingrained beliefs around money can be both enlightening and overwhelming:

I like to think of this podcast as a place for critical thinkers and deep feelers — Jackie Endres is the definition of both.

In today's episode, Jackie joins me in the studio to examine an array of questions submitted by listeners, including:

How much does your nature/nurture experience limit your capacity to change? (3:12...

"It's okay to withhold trust and make it be something earned; it's also beautiful to give somebody a ton of trust from the start and let them have something that they can lose."

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Sam Lamott is the host of the How To Human podcast (which has reached over a million listeners...

"I have this critic inside that is so abusive... but what's its motivation? It doesn't want me to get attacked from the outside so it's willing to attack me from the inside. That's when it's time to invite the critic to the table and say, 'I know you want me to make great work, but you can't speak to me that way — you're in my house.'"

Sam Lamott describes himself as a "single dad, college drop-out, ex-meth head who came out ...

"Learn how to enjoy your own company. Then when you meet other people, you'll come from this rich, deep place of having already experienced the beauty of your own friendship because you gave it to yourself first."

Kat Vellos is the author of "We Should Get Together: The Secret To Cultivating Better Friendships." Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes and TEDx.

"Everything we do or don't do can be explained by whether it serves our self-image. We spend most of our energy promoting the image we want to project, maintaining the image we've already built, or hiding the image we don't want others to see."

Dr. Kyra Bobinet is an expert in behavior change and design thinking. After earning her Masters at Harvard and her medical degree at UCSF, Kyra kept hearing the same question from her patie...

Dr. Bina Patel is an expert in conflict resolution. She conducts leadership training for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, and corporations worldwide. We talk about how to spot toxic leadership in the workplace, why some people will never change their mind, and how to ask questions that connect rather than divide.

If you're e...

"So often, we design our lives unintentionally, or by default. Since our future self is still a stranger to us, still a theoretical self, the design process acts as the bridge between the action you take today and the future you want." 

Tracy DeLuca is the founder of How Might We Design, a consultancy that helps companies and individu...

"We become our most powerful when we combine our passions and skills, allow them to commingle and play with each other. Because I think we're so fractured... when we blend our different strengths into a life statement for ourselves, we become more whole."

After earning her Ph.D in Cognitive Psychology at Princeton and being voted "Most Inspirational Professor" while teaching cognition and creativity, Dr. Michelle Chappel left it al...

"I'm not crippled by being wrong... I'm only right 4 out of 10 times, but that's more than enough to be successful."

Gary Vaynerchuk is a 5-time New York Times bestselling author and one of the earliest investors in companies including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo and Uber. 

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