The Art of Accomplishment

There is a moment when the body becomes foreign, when the timeline of your life no longer extends indefinitely but narrows into an unpredictable horizon. In this episode, Tara sits down with Michael Nagel, a beloved member of the AOA community, to speak candidly about what it means to love and be loved in the face of his cancer diagnosis. They discuss:

• The “psychedelic of mortality”—how the nearness of death transforms personal ...

Generosity is often relegated to a bit part in our lives, an incidental thing we appreciate when we notice it but not something we consider important to driving our happiness or success. What happens when we put generosity at the center?

In this episode of The Art of Accomplishment, Brett Kistler and Joe Hudson unpack the ways in which giving—whether of time, resources, or presence—is a direct line to our collective humanity and cha...

Our society glorifies self-reliance. We tell ourselves that it is the only way to survive in a world where no one is coming to save us and armor our hearts and mask our faces to avoid appearing weak or being disappointed when we show that we are in need.

In this episode, Joe and Brett deconstruct the mythology of self-reliance and ask: What does it mean to truly receive? How does our fear of vulnerability keep us from intimacy, from...

In this episode of The Art of Accomplishment, Brett and Joe provide a guide to productivity that challenges the notion of productivity itself. Drawing from personal anecdotes and experience, they explore:

• The distinction between working hard and working meaningfully.
• How dopamine and cultural norms fuel a false sense of accomplishment.
• Practical methods for aligning productivity with personal purpose and enjoyment.
• The role of refl...

Why do some teams thrive in harmony while others crumble under pressure? How can leaders align aspirations with action, transforming their workplaces—and themselves—into engines of meaningful success?  

Brett and Joe recorded a special episode of the podcast in front of a live audience to discuss the impact of workplace culture on decision-making, organizational growth, and personal fulfillment. The conversation dives deep into:

- Th...

Purpose is not defined by what we do, but by how we show up to life’s callings—whether in moments of fear, effort, or surrender. In this episode of The Art of Accomplishment, Joe and Brett lead us on a journey to uncover what it means to live with purpose. Not as something to be found, but as something to be recognized. Together, they unpack the myths surrounding purpose, challenging the notion that it is an external destination an...

In this episode of The Art of Accomplishment, Brett and Joe take us on a poignant journey through the inevitability of death and the profound ways it shapes the experience of life. At the center of their conversation is Brett’s brother, facing a terminal diagnosis, and the extraordinary lessons his life—and the process of his dying—have imparted.

Through anecdotes of BASE jumping, near-death experiences, and profound loss, Brett and...

“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future,” is a common expression that suggests who you surround yourself with will determine who you become and how you operate. Evidence suggests that there’s some truth to this.

In this episode of The Art of Accomplishment podcast, Brett and Joe explore the makings of effective support networks. Through the lens of BASE jumping, self-discovery work, business, and parenting, they discuss...

There’s an elephant in the room! Everyone KNOWS there’s an elephant in the room, and they keep glancing at it—except for one person who is highly committed to ignoring the elephant. The elephant is making a mess. It’s taking up all the air and space in the room, and it’s already crushed poor Bob. Yet instead of talking about the elephant in the room, people are afraid to mention that there’s an elephant. Some people get so uncomfor...

Most people never consider that fighting can be a useful and healthy practice for our relationships — and that “fighting well” is a skill that can be learned. We resist conflict until it builds up and we reach a breaking point, and then BAM! Our trauma runs the show and we risk re-traumatizing ourselves and others. 

In this episode, Joe and Brett talk about how to fight well. They explore how: 

• Healthy fighting can actually lead t...

What’s all this fuss about experiments? What’s so great about them, and how does one even go about it? Join Joe and Brett for a deep dive on experiments! Hear about Joe’s early experiences that led him to place experimentation at the core of his self-exploration work and what makes them so important to the work we do at AOA.

• The characteristics of effective experiments
• Why it’s more effective to approach them from a playful persp...

Joe’s favorite definition of pleasure is the noticing of sensations moving in the body—not just the good ones, but all of them. This week, Joe and Brett talk about pleasure and the role it plays in our lives. They discuss:

• The misconception that pleasure is separate from other emotions
• How allowing all emotions to be felt can lead to greater pleasure
• How embracing intensity plays an important role in pleasure
• How societal norms and...

Whether we put authority figures on a pedestal or want to stick it to them, authority issues abound in our society. Joe and guest host Alexa Kistler connect over their shared history with authority issues. Together, they breakdown what the impacts can be for both the authority and the person with authority issues:

• How it distorts your world
• How it affects business
• The pitfalls of being an authority
• Ways to approach handling authori...

We heard you! So many of you loved Joe and Brett’s last coaching breakdown that we are back with another. This time, they review a rapid-fire coaching session that starts out exploring jealousy but evolves into a deep dive into setting boundaries and fear of rejection. Together, they explore:

- Opening the heart to opposing viewpoints

- Feeling through fear of rejection

- Grieving lost love to find the love that is always present

Send ...

The desire to be seen is a primal human need, and under the guise of many names it drives our behaviors and shapes society. Tara Howley, co-founder of AOA, joins Brett for a conversation about the importance of being seen, why many of us fear it, and how shame colors our experience of it. They also explore the role of curiosity in resolving conflicts and deepening connections, and how our societal mores prevent people from being se...

What does it mean to be “enough” to have a relationship? In this episode, Joe coaches a woman grappling with feelings of inadequacy in relationships. Through their conversation, they uncover her underlying desire for control and fear of self-abandonment. Together, they examine her beliefs about love, worthiness, and connection.

Topics discussed:

• the importance of self-love
• surrendering control
• embracing vulnerability in relationshi...

Our idea of failure and how we respond to it dramatically shapes our identity and, consequently, how we live our lives. When we fear failure as an end-all-be-all rather than viewing it as an opportunity to learn and iterate, it can significantly hinder our personal growth, creativity, and ability to reach our full potential. In this episode, Brett and Joe explore the transformative power of embracing failure as part of life's journ...

We’ve all experienced passive aggression and can often spot it when it happens to us. Whether we’re on the receiving end or dishing it out, our unowned anger seeps out of us and gets displayed in sometimes unexpected ways. In this episode, Joe and Brett get into the nitty gritty of passive aggression—what it is, how it comes up, some of the myriad ways it can present itself, and the impact it has on our relationships and morale. Th...

What do you do when you feel stuck? How do you get unstuck? Are you really stuck, or do you feel stuck? What’s the difference? This week, Joe and Brett unpack a rapid-fire coaching session with a woman who felt stuck in her life. They explore the feeling of stuckness and its underlying patterns, discussing what they notice in her real-time expression and the freedom she discovers through her self-inquiry.

Watch the rapid-fire coachi...