Gretchen Rubin — Experiments in Happiness and Creativity
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“I wish I could not wish.” – Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin (@gretchenrubin) is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages.
On her popular weekly podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft; they’ve been called the “Click and Clack of podcasters.” Her podcast was named in iTunes’s lists of “Best Podcasts of 2015” and was named in the Academy of Podcasters “Best Podcasts of 2016.”
Fast Company named Gretchen Rubin to its list of Most Creative People in Business, and she’s a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100.
Enjoy!
Gretchen Rubin — Experiments in Happiness and Creativityhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/0c836c2c-76aa-4a7c-9582-4305c6410e6b.mp3
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Want to hear another podcast that will improve your mindset and life? — Listen to this episode with Jocko Willink. Jocko might be the scariest Navy SEAL alive, and in this episode, he shares his thoughts on how to stop laziness and procrastination, behaviors that lead to failure, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
Discipline Equals Freedom -- Jocko Willinkhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/95fe892c-1309-421a-be21-7297b0698dd1.mp3
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Gretchen Rubin:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin
Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits–to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
Happier with Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft
Meditate on Koans by Gretchen Rubin
Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide by Gretchen Rubin
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life by Gretchen Rubin
Forty Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin
Profane Waste by Dana Hoey and Gretchen Craft Rubin
Harold and Maude
Scrivener
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Tim Ferriss
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander
The Loom of Language: An Approach to the Mastery of Many Languages by Frederick Bodmer and Lancelot Thomas Hogben
Treadmill Desks
Genuine Leather Weighted Bookmark
Inside Happiness Guru Gretchen Rubin’s Office, NBC News
Drowning in Clutter? Observe the One-Minute Rule. by Gretchen Rubin
Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Holes by Louis Sachar
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Gretchen Rubin on CreativeLive with Chase Jarvis
Four Tendencies Quiz
Fitbit Charge 2
DietBet
stickK
Happier Episode 149: Identify Your “18 for 2018,” the Problem of Clutter-Creating In-Laws, and an Instagram Project.
Happier in Hollywood
Happier Episode 71: Choose a Signature Color, and Ask “Am I an Alchemist or a Leopard?” Plus FOMO.
In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki
Seeing with Your Tongue by Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker
“Try This at Home” List
Harry Potter Paperback Box Set by J.K. Rowling
Tales of Magic Boxed Set by Edward Eager and N. M. Bodecker
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You: A Novel by Peter Cameron
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
A Collection of Essays by George Orwell
Samuel Johnson: The Major Works by Samuel Johnson
How (and Why) to Keep a Time Log by Laura Vanderkam
Manhattan Beach: A Novel by Jennifer Egan
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Show Notes
“I wish I could not wish.” Agree or disagree? [05:47]
How did Gretchen begin her career in law, and what made her move on to writing? [08:16]
What inspired Gretchen’s first book? [11:05]
Did Gretchen quit being a lawyer before or after selling her first book? [14:04]
In hindsight, what key lessons were learned by the process of writing and selling that first book? [16:29]
How did Gretchen decide on her next book, and what ties together her body of work? [21:47]
What is Gretchen’s note-taking system? What software does she use for composing a book? [25:25]
Why does Gretchen recommend Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language? [31:03]
What are the key ingredients to Gretchen’s home office? [34:42]
What small changes does Gretchen recommend for people hoping to increase personal well-being and happiness? [40:29]
End of day rituals and routines. [44:00]
Morning routines. [45:30]
Changes Gretchen has made in the past few years that have increased happiness and decreased anxiety and other negative emotions. [48:30]
How are Gretchen’s children’s literature groups organized? [52:46]
What qualifies a book for the young adult genre? [56:47]
How does Gretchen use accountability? [1:00:49]
Does Gretchen set new year’s resolutions? [1:10:38]
Gretchen’s theme for the year is delegation. How does she plan to act on this? [1:14:07]
Does Gretchen have a favorite failure? [1:16:21]
One of Gretchen’s most worthwhile investments of time, money, or energy. [1:21:40]
How did Gretchen start learning the basics of podcasting? [1:22:12]
How has Gretchen gone about turning her podcast listeners into a community? [1:24:34]
What would Gretchen’s billboard say? [1:28:29]
Quotes Gretchen finds inspiring. [1:29:33]
What “try this at home” episode of Gretchen’s podcast has had the strongest response to date? [1:40:30]
How does Gretchen regain focus? [1:43:43]
Short children’s and young adult titles everyone should try. [1:46:28]
Adult books Gretchen has reread the most. [1:48:16]
How many hours a week does Gretchen spend reading? [1:49:41]
Per Gretchen’s Four Tendencies, what is my tendency? [1:53:21]
“Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.” -Novalis [1:59:53]
People Mentioned
Elizabeth Craft
Jack Craft
James Rubin
Christy Fletcher
Stephen Hanselman
Winston Churchill
John F. Kennedy
Christopher Alexander
Philip Pullman
Louis Sachar
Louisa May Alcott
Chase Jarvis
Robert Louis Stevenson
Thomas Merton
Jalal al-Din Rumi
Samuel Johnson
Ed Cooke
Edward Eager
Elizabeth Enright
Susan Cooper
Roald Dahl
C.S. Lewis
Carl Jung
Jon Krakauer
George Orwell
Virginia Woolf
Flannery O’Connor
Robertson Davies
Jane Austen
Laura Vanderkam
Jennifer Egan
Novalis
Bozoma Saint John
Hafiz
Robert Frost
B.J. Fogg
