“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”
– James Clear
My guest today is James Clear, an author and speaker who specializes in habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning, just to name a few. In addition, his website receives millions of visitors each month, and he has hundreds of thousands of subscribers to his popular email newsletter which you can find at JamesClear.com. On top of all of his writing, James is also an accomplished speaker having spoken regularly for Fortune 500 companies, and much of his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
In short…James is one of the world’s foremost experts on habits and the impact of small behaviors on your health & well-being.
In today’s interview we do a deep dive into James’ brand new bestselling book Atomic Habits. We talk about how good and bad habits form in the first place, and how to break down seemingly impossible goals (losing weight, breaking bad habits, moving forwards in your career, etc) so you can make small but continuous improvements every single day.
If you’re ever wanted to make any kind of positive change in your life but you weren’t sure where to start, or even worse you just can’t make yourself give up bad habits, James is THE guy to get you where you want to be.
Here’s What You’ll Learn:
- How to get 1% better each day
- Retouching a painting, upgrading a portion of yourself (through behavior)
- Creating goals that actually have actionable steps
- Rapid transformation is not achievable for most people
- How to deny to intrusive desire to slack off 1% every day
- Breaking down the phrase “atomic habits”
- Conquering habit formation by preparing for the “plateau of latent potential”
- Observing how your expectations influence your behavior
- How to build a habit based on identity rather than just outcomes
- Ways in which your descriptions of your habits can make them impossible to change
Useful Resources Mentioned:
Our Generous Sponsors:
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Guest Bio:
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James Clear is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter at JamesClear.com. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Through his online course, The Habits Academy, Clear has taught more than 10,000 leaders, managers, coaches, and teachers. The Habits Academy is the premier training platform for individuals and organizations that are interested in building better habits in life and work. You can learn more at habitsacademy.com
Show Credits:
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Elyse Rintelman. The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).
Note: I believe in 100% transparency, so please note that I receive a small commission if you purchase products from some of the links on this page (at no additional cost to you). Your support is what helps keep this program alive. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Zack Arnold
Zack Arnold (ACE) is an award-winning Hollywood film editor & producer (Cobra Kai, Empire, Burn Notice, Unsolved, Glee), a documentary director, father of 2, an American Ninja Warrior, and the creator of Optimize Yourself. He believes we all deserve to love what we do for a living...but not at the expense of our health, our relationships, or our sanity. He provides the education, motivation, and inspiration to help ambitious creative professionals DO better and BE better. “Doing” better means learning how to more effectively manage your time and creative energy so you can produce higher quality work in less time. “Being” better means doing all of the above while still prioritizing the most important people and passions in your life…all without burning out in the process. Click to download Zack’s “Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Creativity (And Avoiding Burnout).”