249 Kevin Kelly on Living and Working at the Intersection of Passion, Purpose, and Profitability
Release Date: 12/08/2023
261 The Best of Season 15
Behind the Brilliance
Season 15 of Behind the Brilliance delivered a mix of leading voices in psychology, entrepreneurship, and life design. This special recap distills the most powerful insights into one place highlighting big ideas and useful tools on happiness, resilience, and building a life and business on your own terms. Guests include Tal Ben-Shahar, Ellen Hendriksen, Jodi Wellman, Rand Fishkin, Chris Guillebeau, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Elaine Pofeldt, Rae Wynn-Grant, Ahad Khan, and Sieva Kozinsky. The episode also includes a listening guide to match your interest with the relevant episode. The recap...
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260 Chris Guillebeau on Escaping Time Anxiety and Building a Self-Directed Life
Behind the Brilliance
, bestselling author and creator of The Art of Nonconformity, joins Lisa to explore what it really takes to build a self-directed life. He shares his unconventional path from high school dropout and aid worker in West Africa to global traveler, author of nine books, and entrepreneur. Chris unpacks the philosophy behind his work—why you don’t have to live your life the way others expect—and introduces the concept of time anxiety, the tension between the fear of running out of time and the paralysis of endless choices. The conversation covers everything from the psychology of...
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259 Sieva Kozinsky on The Path from early failures to Enduring Ventures: lessons on fear, focus, and the long game
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW In this episode of Behind the Brilliance, entrepreneur and investor Sieva Kozinsky joins the show to share his journey from first-generation immigrant beginnings to co-founding Enduring Ventures, a holding company that acquires and grows businesses for the long game. Sieva opens up about the fear that fueled his early ventures, the lessons learned from failed startups and pivots, and why fundraising can sometimes blind founders to what really matters. We dive deep into the psychology of selling a company, the art of negotiation with founders, and how legacy is built (or...
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258 Rand Fishkin on Escaping Status Anxiety, Rebuilding Identity, and Building a Business That Doesn’t Break You
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW What happens when you build the company of your dreams, only to realize the dream came with tradeoffs you didn’t see coming? In this candid conversation, Rand Fishkin — cofounder of Moz and SparkToro — shares the pivotal moments that shaped his career: turning a $39 side experiment into a multimillion-dollar SaaS, raising venture capital for the wrong reasons, walking away from a $40M acquisition offer, and rebuilding his identity after leaving the company he founded. Along the way, Rand unpacks the philosophy he lives by now: designing work around the life you want, not the...
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257 Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant on Reinventing Yourself When the Life You Built Stops Working
Behind the Brilliance
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is a wildlife ecologist, storyteller, and nature show host whose path to success defies every traditional metric of merit. In this candid conversation, Rae shares how she went from struggling in math and science classes to earning a PhD and becoming a leading voice in wildlife conservation. We explore the pivotal role that belief, representation, and access played in shaping her journey from her first exposure to nature through television, to a transformative study abroad trip to Kenya, to an unexpected pivot from lions to black bears. Rae also opens up about hitting...
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256 Jodi Wellman on the Mortality Math That Puts Your Life in Perspective
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Most of us are running on autopilot, checking boxes, chasing goals, and pushing toward some imagined finish line without stopping to ask if this is how we really want to spend our lives. In this conversation, Jodi Wellman, author of and founder of the 4,000 Mondays framework, makes the case for using mortality as a tool, not a threat. She shares why contemplating the end of life can snap us out of numb routines and guide us toward choices that create more vitality, meaning, and joy right now. We talk about why achievement can feel hollow, how to spot the “dead zones” in your...
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255 Elaine Pofeldt on Building Wealth Without a Team or a VC Check
Behind the Brilliance
Elaine Pofeldt, former Fortune Small Business editor, uncovered a hidden economy of one-person businesses quietly earning 7 figures and spent years interviewing the entrepreneurs behind them. In this conversation, she reveals the surprising industries dominating this space, why professional services often outperform tech, and the frameworks that actually work for building sustainable solo wealth. From starting smart while keeping your day job to using AI as your secret weapon, Elaine breaks down the real strategies behind million-dollar one-person businesses. No hype, no hustle culture...
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254 Harvard Psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar's Guide to Being Happy with an Imperfect Life
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, Harvard-trained psychologist and author of multiple bestsellers including Happier, joins Lisa to explore the psychology and habits that lead to happiness in modern times. He uncovers the myths that keep successful people miserable and why our pursuit of the next achievement isn’t the answer. He shares his personal journey from academic achievement to profound unhappiness, breaks down the difference between experiencing emotions and being consumed by them, and offers a counterintuitive approach to emotional health through passive observation. The conversation...
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253 Anne-Laure Le Cunff on Using Brain Science to Design a Better Career
Behind the Brilliance
SUMMARY Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs and author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, joins Lisa to reveal her unconventional career journey from Google engineer to startup founder to neuroscience student to successful entrepreneur with Ness Labs. Growing up outside Paris with parents who prioritized financial security, she landed a dream job at Google with the status and paycheck that signaled success. But she soon realized that the ladder she was climbing was leaning against the wrong wall. This conversation explores cognitive scripts that keep us...
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252 Kajabi CEO Ahad Khan on Work-Life Integration, Values-Driven Leadership, and the Future of the Creator Economy
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Ahad Khan, CEO of Kajabi, shares how his Midwestern roots shaped his approach to building software for "regular people," his experiences navigating investment banking, startup acquisitions, and the creator economy. Ahad reveals his philosophy on people-first decision making, the power of work-life integration over balance, and why choosing character over compensation has been the thread connecting every major career move. The conversation explores the evolution of the creator economy, the challenges of remote leadership, and practical strategies for staying present as both a CEO and...
info_outlineTHE SHOW
Kevin Kelly is a modern creative pioneer. He was a polymath before it was cool. His career as a writer, founder, photographer, and editor extends across industries and continents. A world traveler and lifelong learner, Kevin’s ideas such as 1000 True Fans have inspired a generation of builders and artists to exercise full agency over their creative pursuits.
Kevin was on a short list of dream guests I’ve long held for Behind the Brilliance, and our conversation did not disappoint. He was candid and thoughtful as we covered a wide range of topics including career and life design, religion, decision making, unpopular opinions, and much more. This is an excellent listen for the dreamers, doers, and builders who want to hear the embodiment of integrating passion, purpose, and profit with thoughtful optimism.
Behind His Brilliance: Luck + Not caring what others think
Say hi to Kevin on X (Twitter): @kevin2kelly
THE GUEST
KEVIN KELLY | AUTHOR + CO-FOUNDER, WIRED
Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His newest book is Excellent Advice for Living, a book of 450 modern proverbs for good living. He is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking and acting as a good ancestor to future generations. And he is founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a subscriber-supported journal of unorthodox conceptual news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. Other books by Kelly include 1) The Inevitable, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, 2) Out of Control, his 1994 classic book on decentralized emergent systems, 3) The Silver Cord, a graphic novel about robots and angels, 4) What Technology Wants, a robust theory of technology, and 5) Vanishing Asia, his 50-year project to photograph the disappearing cultures of Asia. He is best known for his radical optimism about the future.
TOPICS COVERED
-the decision making framework Kevin developed over 5 decades of his career
-the inception and growth of WIRED
-why pursuing a range of interests can be more valuable than specializations (with important caveats)
-Kevin’s religious conversion and how it changed his life
-important reflections on leveraging and time management
-how a trip to Asia changed Kevin’s life
And much more!