Smart People Podcast

We have all heard the axiom, "It's better to give than to receive." And although it sounds good in theory, is it actually true? What about in the cut throat business of selling? Many people are arguing that the old days of pressure sales are gone and a new era is upon us, yet we are reluctant to believe it. If you've ever been in sales, you have probably felt the pressure of "convincing" someone to buy. Well this week you will learn not only how to improve your sales game, but to become successful in all areas of life while also adding value to the world. By following the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success, you can tap into the natural rhythm of a free-market economy and achieve your goals. Our guest this week is Bob Burg, a sought after speaker and best-selling author. One of his most popular books, The Go-Giver has sold over 250,000 copies. Bob Burg shares information on topics vital to the success of today’s businessperson. He speaks for corporations and associations internationally, including fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations. Bob regularly addresses audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000 — sharing the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President. The Go-Giver shot to #6 on The Wall Street Journal’s Business Bestsellers list just three weeks after its release and reached #9 on BusinessWeek. Since its release it has consistently stayed in the top 25 on 800ceoread’s Business Book Best Seller List. It’s an international bestseller and has been translated into 21 languages. It is Bob’s fourth book to sell over 250,000 copies. ____ "Nobody is going to buy from you because you have a quota to meet. They are going to buy from you because there is more value in doing so than in not doing so." - Bob Burg Quotes from Bob: What we learn in this episode: What are the keys to providing value? How can you become a better salesman? Should a boss aim for commitment or compliance? Why? What are the 5 laws of stratospheric success? Resources: The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea www.burg.com Twitter: @bobburg Bob recommends: How to Master the Art of Selling Think and Grow Rich As a Man Thinketh Psycho-Cybernetics The Magic of Thinking Big How to Win Friends and Influence People Peace, Power and Plenty -- This episode is brought to you by: Animoto: Visit Animoto.com/smartpeople and use promo code “SMARTPEOPLE” to get 15% off to receive 15% off an Annual Pro subscription! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Aspiration: At Aspiration, their investment strategies are built for the middle class. Signing up takes as little as $500 and five minutes of your time. You can sign up and find out more information at aspiration.com/smartpeople.

We all understand that technology is addicting. Every passing year, we become more dependent on our gadgets to get us through the day. And although it can seem like a harmless problem, this addiction has deadly consequences. Perhaps the best way to illustrate the problem is to examine the implications of using a smart phone while driving. Consider this - more than 3,000 teens die each year in crashes caused by texting while driving. That is 300 more deaths a year than drunk driving. Why do we still continue to use our phones in the car, despite the consequences? This week we interview Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Matt Richtel. Matt is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention. In the book, and this episode, Matt explains what technology is doing to our brains through the true story of a deadly car crash that was caused by texting a driving. We not only learn about the neuroscience, but we finally see the real life implications of our addictions. Matt Richtel is a novelist, cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times. He writes about technology, its impact on society, and how it changes the way we how we work, play, and relate to each other. His 2010 series, ‘Our Brain On Computers‘ focuses on how constant use of our devices impacts not only our behavior but our thought processes and even our neurology. His 2009 series about the dangers of multitasking while driving won the Pulitzer for national reporting. Matt joined the Times in 2000 and has written on range of topics, including Internet gambling, identity theft, corporate espionage, video games, mobile communications, the dot com boom and bust, and the pornography industry. He was a Loeb award finalist for his work on the Hewlett-Packard spying scandal and the winner of best project from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for his work on distracted driving. ____ "Social information is engrained in us. So when the phone rings, it is a piece of social information that is nearly impossible to ignore." - Matt Richtel Quotes from Matt: What we learn in this episode: What is happening in the brain when we text and drive? How does a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist decide what story to cover? How does Skinnerian Theory play a role in explaining our infatuation with our smart phones? Resources: A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention Twitter: @mrichtel https://mattrichtel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQY14n_Xe4 -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Aspiration: At Aspiration, their investment strategies are built for the middle class. Signing up takes as little as $500 and five minutes of your time. You can sign up and find out more information at aspiration.com/smartpeople.

You don't have to be a comic book fanatic to love superheroes. And even if you've never picked up a comic book in your life, you've almost certainly seen a comic book movie. A recent surge in comic book movies has brought us blockbusters such as The Avengers, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and many more. Given the success of this genre of movies, we are honored to interview the man who has been credited with bringing comic books to the big screen, and has been dubbed "The Godfather of comic book movies", Michael Uslan. Michael is the owner of the Batman series, producer of the Batman movies, and was the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university. Michael Uslan is a film producer with numerous award winning projects to his credit. He is Executive Producer of all of the Batman features from Batman to The Dark Knight Rises and won an Emmy Award for TV's "Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?" He has been a speaker at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at the Smithsonian Institution. Michael recently teamed up with Stan Lee and the Smithsonian Institution to create a free online course titled the Rise of Superheroes. Take the course here! ____ "When I was in my twenty's, I bought the rights to Batman from DC Comics with my business partner, I quit my job, gave up all security, and rolled the dice. With Batman in my back pocket I went to Hollywood." - Michael Uslan Quotes from Michael: What we learn in this episode: How Michael turned a passion for comic books into a very lucrative career doing what he loved. What is the most disturbing comic book of all time? What is it like creating and producing the Batman movies? Why is the Smithsonian Institution teaming up with Michael Uslan and Stan Lee to create an online course on super hero's Resources: The Rise of Superheroes Course with Stan Lee and Michael Uslan - Free Trailer - The Rise of Superheroes The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople.

For many of us, the suburbs hold a magical place in our heart. We grew up in an environment where we knew our neighbors, we played outside, we didn't lock our doors, and the word "community" meant something. But despite how hard we try to relive those times, todays suburbs are a far cry from what we remember, and many of us are looking for a new type of neighborhood. This week we discuss what happened to the suburbs of the 80's and 90's, and what will our neighborhoods look like in the future. Our guest is Leigh Gallagher, Assistant Managing Editor at Fortune magazine, and author of the book, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream is Moving. We also talk to Leigh about new media vs. old media, the Kardashians, the job of an editor, and much more!  Leigh Gallagher is an Assistant Managing Editor at Fortune magazine, where she edits feature stories on a variety of subjects, oversees Fortune franchises including the magazine’s 40 Under 40 rankings and writes The Urbanist column on Fortune.com. She is also a co-chair of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, speaks regularly at Fortune and other business and economics conferences, and is a seasoned business news commentator, appearing regularly on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, CBS News’ Face the Nation, CNBC’s Squawk Box, CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, public radio’s Marketplace and a wide variety of other programs. She is also a co-chair of the Fortune U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership and a visiting scholar for the Business and Economic Reporting program at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. Before joining Fortune in 2007, Leigh was a senior editor at SmartMoney magazine and a reporter and writer for Forbes. Originally from the “urban burb” of Media, Pennsylvania, Leigh is a graduate of Cornell University and lives in New York. ____ "The new model of suburbs has put people in their cars all the time...That's a lifestyle that increasingly has failed to deliver on its promises." - Leigh Gallagher Quotes from Leigh: What we learn in this episode: How is the democratization of media affecting our culture? Is it good or bad? What are the responsibilities of the top editor for an enormous media brand such as Fortune? Where did the American Dream come from?  Why are people opting to leave the "typical suburb"? What will the new neighborhood look like? Resources: The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving www.endofthesuburbs.com www.fortune.com http://fortune.com/tag/fortune-live/ Twitter: @leighgallagher -- This episode is brought to you by: Highfive: Go to highfive.com/smartpeople to request your free trial and start meeting face-to-face with Highfive. Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Aspiration: At Aspiration, their investment strategies are built for the middle class. Signing up takes as little as $500 and five minutes of your time. You can sign up and find out more information at aspiration.com/smartpeople.

When you think about professional blogging, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Mommy bloggers of course! The term "mommy blog" has become part of our common lexicon due to the insane success of so many mothers turned bloggers. And this week we are fortunate to interview the queen of mommy blogs, Deedra Determan. Deedra created a blog initially targeted towards moms in her local community and quickly turned it into a 7-figure business with national reach. In this episode Deedra teaches us how to start small, find your niche, create a profitable business, market on a zero dollar budget, and much more.  Deedra has 20+ years of marketing experience starting on the agency side at Ackerman McQueen Advertising Agency to 10 years in the television industry launching news at KOKI Fox 23 making it one of the top Fox affiliates in the country. She went on to launch niche websites for moms including 918moms.com, 405moms.com, and MoneySavingQueen.com with over 100,000 moms visiting the websites each month. After one year from launching, she sold the websites to Griffin Communications. Determan then followed her true passion in launching D2 Branding, an innovative marketing firm igniting brands to be the market leader in their industry through marketing, public relations, social media, advertising, strategic partnerships, sales, website creation, search engine optimization, content creation, video production, graphic design, and more! Deedra is also a mentor at Thrive15.com. "You can be passionate all day long, but until you realize what your revenue streams are going to be, passion will only take you so far." - Deedra Determan Quotes from Deedra: What we learn in this episode: Your business doesn't have to be huge, just find your niche How to start small, find your market, and pivot How to find your revenue model for your business or blog Resources: Thrive15.com Sales Training with Deedra https://www.thrive15.com/mentors/deedra-determan Twitter: @deedradeterman -- This episode is brought to you by: Highfive: Go to highfive.com/smartpeople to request your free trial and start meeting face-to-face with Highfive. Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople.

For most of us, we don't need to know about how to get media coverage...until we need to get media coverage. You could come up with the most brilliant business idea, or write the next best seller - but if no one talks about it, it's just another particle out there in an atmosphere full of noise. But how do you get coverage? How do you convince a powerful media outlet to cover your story? It turns out, there are very specific tricks that you can use to give yourself the best shot of becoming the next new headline. Listen up this week and learn how to become a media darling (or at the very least how not to waste money on PR firms). This week our guest is Conrad Egusa. Conrad is an entrepreneur and the Founder of Publicize, which is a PR firm focused on startups. The company's mission is to change the way startups approach PR. He has been featured on publications including The Financial Times, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch.Conrad is a guest writer for VentureBeat, and he is currently a Mentor at The Founder Institute, ANDI (Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia), and the Spanish accelerator Zarpamos. He is also the Co-Founder of ESPACIO, which is a coworking space/entrepreneurial center in Medellin (coverage on TechCrunch is here: http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/11/espacio-medellin/). Conrad is the Co-Owner & Chairman of Colombia Reports (www.colombiareports.co), which is the largest English news publication in South America. Colombia Reports was founded in March 2008 and is frequently cited by the New York Times, BBC, CNN and Fox News. Conrad has consulted for Y Combinator startups, global brands (Intercontinental Hotels Group), and leading internet businesses. "You have to make your story and your company as interesting as possible through using social proof." - Conrad Egusa Quotes from Conrad: What we learn in this episode: Do press releases actually get you earned media? Why is the PR world still operating on an old model? How do you create a good PR strategy for your business? What is the best way to reach out to a media person to get earned media? Resources: http://www.publicize.co/ http://techcrunch.com/contributor/conrad-egusa/ LinkedIn - Conrad Egusa -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Aspiration: At Aspiration, their investment strategies are built for the middle class. Signing up takes as little as $500 and five minutes of your time. You can sign up and find out more information at aspiration.com/smartpeople.

Alexandra Horowitz - The mysteries of human perception. In this episode we speak with author and cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz on what it means to be attentive. In her most recent book, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes, Alexandra shows us how to see the spectacle of the ordinary. In this book, Alexandra goes on a series of eleven walks with experts on a diverse range of subjects, including an urban sociologist, the well-known artist Maira Kalman, a geologist, a physician, and a sound designer. She also walks with a child and a dog to see the world as they perceive it. What they see, how they see it, and why most of us do not see the same things reveal the startling power of human attention and the cognitive aspects of what it means to be an expert observer.  Alexandra Horowitz teaches psychology, canine cognition, and creative nonfiction writing at Barnard College, Columbia University. She earned her PhD in Cognitive Science at the University of California at San Diego, and has studied the cognition of humans, rhinoceros, bonobos, and dogs. For seventeen years she shared her home with an unwitting research subject, Pumpernickel, a wonderful mixed breed. Now her Dog Cognition Lab studies the behavior of owned dogs to keep discovering what they see, smell, and know. "The problem is we are not focusing that well anymore on the things we deem important. There is too much distraction at once." - Alexandra Horowitz Quotes from Alexandra:  What we learn in this episode: What is attention? What does it mean to be attentive? How individuals view the world and their environment differently. Why do we feel so disconnected from strangers? How does the human animal respond to cognitive overload? Resources: On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes http://insideofadog.com/author.php https://psychology.barnard.edu/profiles/alexandra-horowitz Twitter: @DogUmwelt -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. WealthFront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way. Visit wealthfront.com/smartpeople to to get your first $10,000 managed for free.

It has been called “the great destroyer” and “the evil.” The Pentagon refers to it as “the pervasive menace.” It destroys cars, fells bridges, sinks ships, sparks house fires, and nearly brought down the Statue of Liberty. Rust costs America more than $400 billion per year—more than all other natural disasters combined. Journalist Jonathan Waldman traveled from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to meet the colorful and often reclusive people who are fighting our mightiest and unlikeliest enemy. He went into an abandoned steelworks with a brave artist, and then he nearly gets kicked out of Ball Corporation’s Can School. Across the Arctic, he followed a massive high-tech robot that hunts for rust in the Alaska pipeline. On a Florida film set he meets the Defense Department’s rust ambassador, who reveals that the navy’s number one foe isn’t a foreign country but oxidation itself. Through all of these adventures, Jonathan (Jonny) uncovered more about the destructive nature of rust and the implications on our society than anyone ever has, and in this episode we ask him all about it! His newest book is titled, Rust: The Longest War. Jonathan has written for Outside, The Washington Post, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, and the Utne Reader, and also worked as a forklift driver, arborist, summer-camp director, sticker salesman, climbing instructor, and cook. Before landing in the book world, he put in time at a newspaper, a website, a magazine, a radio show, a TV production company, and a couple science museums. He studied writing at Dartmouth and Boston University’s Knight Center for Science Journalism. "We need to re-engineer engineering. Engineers are busy fixing all of the problems we don't have, but they're ignoring all of these problems we do have." - Jonathan Waldman Quotes from Jonathan:  What we learn in this episode: Why is a soda can the most engineered object on earth? What are the dangers of plastics and why are they used in almost everything? Why is rust one of the most costly items in our national defense budget? Resources: Rust: The Longest War jonnywaldman.com -- This episode is brought to you by: Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. WealthFront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way. Visit wealthfront.com/smartpeople to to get your first $10,000 managed for free.

Time Management. We all need it. We all could be better at it. Personally, I need to be much better at it. When we recognize that we could be better at something, in Smart People Podcast fashion, we reach out to leaders in the field. This week we discuss time management with Lee Cockerell. Lee is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. During his time at Disney, Lee led a team of 40,000 Cast Members (employees) and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village, and the ESPN sports and recreation complex. Lee's book, Time Management Magic: How To Get More Done Every Day And Move From Surviving To Thriving, walks you through how to organize your schedule and how to get things done. Want to learn from Lee on Thrive15? Use our link for a free 30 day trial! Quotes from Lee:  What we learn in this episode: How Disney created their magic What it means to run Disney from top How to organize your schedule and prioritize Resources: Time Management Magic: How To Get More Done Every Day And Move From Surviving To Thriving  http://www.leecockerell.com/ Twitter: @LeeCockerell -- This episode is brought to you by: Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management service. WealthFront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way. Visit wealthfront.com/smartpeople to to get your first $10,000 managed for free. Davinci Virtual: Davinci Virtual offers friendly live receptionist services, killer business addresses and fully loaded meeting spaces – anywhere you need themGet a risk-free trial right now at davincivirtual.com/SMART and make it happen.

Alex Korb - The most common psychological disorder in America. It affects more than 1 in 10 Americans and is the cause of more than half of the suicides committed each year. More people suffer from this disorder than coronary heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS...combined. It strains our healthcare system as we seek out treatments and cures. It affects every aspect of life and can leave sufferers feeling alone, isolated, misunderstood, and helpless. It is depression. Depression is the most common mental disorder in the United States. Its prevalence is often masked by the fact that sufferers don't always talk about it with family and friends. Further, there is prejudice against depression as a disorder, with some people even feeling that it isn't a real condition. Depression can feel like a downward spiral, pulling you into a vortex of sadness, fatigue, and apathy. But there are ways to cope and recover. Depression is one of the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. In our episode this week we speak with Neuroscientist Alex Korb, PhD. Alex is the author of the book The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time. Alex Korb, PhD, is a neuroscientist who has studied the brain for over fifteen years, starting with an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Brown University. He received his PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he wrote his dissertation and numerous scientific articles on depression. He is currently a postdoctoral neuroscience researcher at UCLA in the department of psychiatry. Outside of the lab, he is a scientific consultant for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, and is head coach of the UCLA Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. He has a wealth of experience in yoga and mindfulness, physical fitness, and even stand-up comedy. "The emotions that we experience are all in contrast to each other. The more capable you are of experiencing despair, the more you can experience joy." - Alex Korb Quotes from Alex:  What we learn in this episode: What are some of the proven methods of improving depression? Why does anxiety and depression still exist? How have we not "evolved past" these types of destructive tendencies, behaviors, and characteristics? Does "shock therapy" work as an effective treatment for depression? What exactly is the nervous system? And is it possible to strengthen the nervous system? Resources: The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time facebook.com/prefrontalblog http://alexkorbphd.com/ Twitter: @prefrontalblog -- This episode is brought to you by: Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management service. WealthFront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way. Visit wealthfront.com/smartpeople to to get your first $10,000 managed for free. Davinci Virtual: Davinci Virtual offers friendly live receptionist services, killer business addresses and fully loaded meeting spaces – anywhere you need themGet a risk-free trial right now at davincivirtual.com/SMART and make it happen.

Clay Clark - Entrepreneur of the Year. For many of us, starting a business is the only thing that feels right. The idea of a cubicle, a demanding boss, and a 9-5 schedule is downright depressing. We feel as though we were born to do things our way, to make our own path, and to build our own future. If this sounds like you, you don't want to miss this episode! This week we speak with Clay Clark, Founder of Thrive15.com. Thrive15 is the world’s premier online education platform that helps entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and “in-trepreneurs” (entrepreneurial-minded people who work within an organization) learn how to start or grow a successful business. Thrivers have unlimited access to the ever-growing, entertaining, and gamified library of 15-minute training courses taught by millionaires and everyday entrepreneurial success stories. Clay is also an author, consultant, speaker, and disc jockey... yeah, that's right. Clay Clark is the former "U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year" who has been described by the folks at Yahoo as the "Jim Carey of Entrepreneurship." He was "Metro Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year" at the age of 20 and the "U.S. Chamber National Blue Ribbon Quality Award Winner" at the age of 27. As the result of his tireless tenacity and honey badger work ethic, he's been able to found or co-found several successful companies including: DJ Connection, Elephant in the Room Men's Grooming Lounge, Thrive15.com, etc. while finding the time to co-produce five children. Clay once ran for mayor and lost.  "No matter what job you have right now, you need to do the following three things: over deliver, build your network, and learn." - Clay Clark Quotes from Clay:  What we learn in this episode: What does Clay mean when he says we all hit 'jack-assery' at approximately 21 years old? Who should consider being an entrepreneur? What are Clay's keys to success? Resources: www.thrive15.com http://www.makeyourlifeepic.com/

Dr. Michael Gazzaniga - Left Brain vs. Right Brain. We often hear that if we're creative we must be "right-brained" but if we're logical we must be "left-brained". Science tells us that each hemisphere controls certain cognitive functions, so it only makes sense that there is a dominant side that gives us our tendencies - but is it true? Are we either "left-brained" or "right brained"? Or better yet, what happens when you disconnect the two regions from each other entirely? For over 40 years, our guest this week has been studying patients who have had their left and right brain disconnected via surgery, and he is here to set the record straight.  Michael Gazzaniga, is one of the leading researchers in cognitive neuroscience and is the worlds top expert on split-brain research. Michael is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience. He received a Ph.D. in psychobiology from the California Institute of Technology, where he worked under the guidance of Roger Sperry, with primary responsibility for initiating human split-brain research. In his subsequent work he has made important advances in our understanding of functional lateralization in the brain and how the cerebral hemispheres communicate with one another. Gazzaniga founded the Centers for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis and at Dartmouth College, the Neuroscience Institute, and the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, of which he is the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. Gazzaniga was a member of U.S. President George W. Bush's Council on Bioethics. He was also the Director of the Law and Neuroscience Project, a project to study the intersection of law and neuroscience. "The brain is built for us all to make decisions to achieve goals." - Michael Gazzaniga Quotes from Michael:  What we learn in this episode: Is there such things as left brain and right brain people? Why can our brain function fairly normally when it is essentially cut in half? What is split brain research? What happens when our brain is split in the middle (split brain surgery), disconnecting the left and right hemisphere? Resources: Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gazzaniga -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management.

Laura Roeder - Social media is for real. To be honest, I wasn't a believer. I think social media often times just adds to the noise. But after speaking with our guest this week, I realized that what I think doesn't really matter. Social media is here and it's a necessity for any business these days. Even more importantly is the specific way you interact on social media, what you share, how you share it, and what your strategy is. Love it or hate it, it's time to step up your social media game. This week we interview entrepreneur and social media expert, Laura Roeder.  Laura is a social media marketing expert who teaches small businesses how to become well-known and claim their brands online. She is the creator of LKR Social Media Marketer and Creating Fame, and is also the author ofFacebook Fame: The Facebook Marketing Bible For The Small Business. In 2011, Laura Roeder was honored at The White House as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. "You're probably not going to have new information tomorrow that you don't have today - so just get started. You don't have any assurances it's going to turn out well, but you have to keep moving forward." - Laura Roeder Quotes from Laura:  What we learn in this episode: Laura makes Chris a believer in social media - why? How to get over the fear of being "too young" in business and entrepreneurship. Some great tidbits on social media Resources: Edgar Social Media Tool lkrsocialmedia.com Facebook Fame: The Facebook Marketing Bible For The Small Business @LKR -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople.

Edward Humes - Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. Have you ever thought about how much trash you create? Honestly, have you ever stopped to consider how many trash bags you go through, how many trips to the curb you take, or how much food you throw out? Probably not...most of us don't. But the sad truth is the average American produces 102 tons of garbage across a lifetime and $50 billion in squandered riches are rolled to the curb each year! Although we have become extremely efficient with keeping trash out of site, unfortunately that has kept it out of mind, and it's creating a massive problem. This week we speak with Pulitzer Prize-Winning author, Edward Humes about trash - what's in it, how much we pay for it, how we create so much, what's wrong with it all and how we fix it. Edward's amazing book, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, is raising awareness of trash consumption and is sparking nationwide action. Edward Humes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and non-fiction writer. He received the Pulitzer Prize for specialized reporting for investingative stories he wrote about the US military for the Orange County Register. He is the author of 13 nonfiction books, and a contributing writer for Sierra Magazine, California Lawyer and Los Angeles magazine, among other publications. He is married to journalist and author Donna Wares and lives in Southern California. "There is a reason we call it waste - you are throwing stuff away that has value. You are wasting it." - Edward Humes Quotes from Edward:  What we learn in this episode: Why did Walmart choose to make reducing waste a top priority throughout the company and what were the effects? Germany and Austria send only 1% of the their trash to landfills, while America sends nearly 70%! What happened when MIT students place tracking devices in random articles of trash throughout Seattle? The results are shocking. What is the story of our garbage? Where does it come from and where does it go? Resources: Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash http://www.edwardhumes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Garbology -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management.

Technology is revolutionizing the way we work and live, and we can accomplish more in an hour than previous generations could in a week - but it comes at a price. Many of us are overwhelmed and exhausted, stressed out by the numerous demands on our time. We work 12 hour days, eat food on the run, get less sleep, and yet somehow we often don't feel like we got anything accomplished. And for these reasons, the subject of productivity has developed a cult-like following. People want to hack this and quick-fix that. But how do we achieve truly extraordinary productivity?  Join us this week as we tackle the topic of productivity with Kory Kogon. Kory is FranklinCovey’s Global Practice Leader for Productivity focusing her research and content development around time management, project management, and communication skills. She is one of the authors of the Wall Street Journal bestseller The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity. Kory has been featured on Inc.com and on its “Productivity Playbook” online series, Fast Company.com, Forbes.com, and in Investor’s Business Daily. She has also appeared on NBC’s TODAY with Hoda Kotb and Billy Bush. Utah Magazine honored Kory as one of the “Top 30 Business Women to Watch” in Utah. In 2012 Kory earned a Certificate of NeuroLeadership Foundations from the NeuroLeadership Institute, of which she is an ongoing member. "Time management, project management, and communication skills are the three core competencies in the 21st century for knowledge workers." - Kory Kogon Quotes from Kory:  What we learn in this episode: How to tackle your overloaded email inbox How does the modern employee disengage from work when they are always accessible? How to be more productive The thinking brain vs. the reactive brain Resources: The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity www.thefivechoicesbook.com www.thefivechoices.com http://franklincoveyspeakersbureau.com/speakers/kory-kogon.php -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople.