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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

The hidden pattern behind successful products | Mark Pincus (Founder of Zynga)

Mark Pincus founded Zynga—the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker—and has arguably created more hit consumer products than anyone in history. At Zynga, eight of 10 major game launches became massive hits, reaching over a billion players. Over the past five years, Mark has been synthesizing everything he’s learned about building successful consumer products and turning it into a book, Life at the Speed of Play, which comes out on June 23. This is the first interview he’s done about the book.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. His “Proven, Better, New” framework: copy what’s proven, make it better so that 10 out of 10 people say “f*ck yes, I’ll use this”—then add something new2. Why being less ambitious is the path to the most ambitious ideas3. His rule of thumb that your instincts are right 95% of the time, but your ideas are wrong 75% of the time4. “Kill hope before hope kills you”5. How to raise kids in the age of AI—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and moreVanta—Automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-common-pattern-behind-successful—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Mark Pincus:• X: https://x.com/markpinc• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpincus• Website: https://www.lifeatthespeedofplay.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Mark Pincus(02:46) The Proven Better New framework overview(07:29) Earning the right to innovate(08:30) What “better” really means(12:03) Quick summary of the framework(12:40) Examples of the framework in action(13:30) How to use proven correctly on your platform(15:13) The moral arbitrage of copying(23:55) Be less ambitious(28:25) The Bolt.new story and staying humble(33:15) Kill hope before hope kills you(37:00) Using AI as a failure machine(40:08) Why Zynga’s games succeeded (it wasn’t virality)(48:36) The future of consumer social apps(57:05) How to know if your product is a B+(1:01:25) Distribution in the age of AI(1:15:39) Make everyone a CEO(1:18:18) Stay close to the metal(1:21:35) Why Mark says micromanagement is beautiful(1:23:35) The expert witness(1:25:05) The number one job of a CEO is to be right(1:26:35) What Mark is teaching his five kids(1:35:14) Mark’s “why”(1:37:08) Mark’s new book: Life at The Speed of Play—Referenced:• Tribe.net: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe.net• Zynga: https://www.zynga.com• Sid Meier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier• Electronic Arts: https://www.ea.com• CityVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityVille• Words With Friends: https://wordswithfriends.com/• Scrabble: https://playscrabble.com• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com• TED Radio Hour, MIT Media Lab founder, 1984 TED talk.: https://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_negroponte_5_predictions_from_1984• Peter Thiel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel• FarmVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille• Craig Newmark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Newmark• How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier• Angry Birds: https://www.angrybirds.com/• OMGPop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMGPop• Draw Something: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw_Something• Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan• Brian Armstrong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barmstrong• Jason Citron on X: https://x.com/jasoncitron• Stanislav Vishnevskiy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svishnevskiy• Jeff Bezos on X: https://x.com/JeffBezos• Andy Jassy on X: https://x.com/ajassy• Niantic: https://nianticlabs.com• Pokémon Go: https://pokemongo.com• Bing Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon—Recommended book:• Life at the Speed of Play: Launch Products People Love!: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Jun 14, 2026

17 min read

David Senra

Ed Catmull, Co-founder of Pixar

Ed Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar and the former president of Disney Animation. He grew up in 1950s Utah wanting to animate for Disney. Convinced he couldn't draw well enough, he studied physics and computer science at the University of Utah instead, landing in one of the great talent incubators in computing history. In 1972, he animated his own left hand—one of the first 3D computer renderings ever made. Since childhood he had carried a single ambition: to make the first feature film animated entirely by computer. Reaching it took more than 20 years. George Lucas hired Catmull in 1979 to build a computer division at Lucasfilm. When Lucas needed cash, Steve Jobs bought that division in 1986 for $5 million and spun it out as Pixar. For years it sold imaging computers and lost money while Catmull and John Lasseter made short films to keep the dream alive. Jobs sank roughly $50 million of his own money into it. In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, the first feature animated entirely by computer, and went public days later. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Up followed. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion and put Catmull in charge of both studios; he revived a faltering Disney Animation with films like Frozen. Catmull cared about the conditions that let creative work survive its own fragility. Every original idea, he argues, starts out ugly and broken, and management exists to protect it long enough to get good. At Pixar that meant the Braintrust: a room where directors got blunt feedback with no authority attached and the conversation stayed on the problem, never on who was right. He laid it all out in Creativity, Inc. Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/ed-catmull Chapters (00:00:00) Most Companies Are Full Of Shit (00:04:28) The Brain Trust Mechanism (00:10:13) Why Steve Jobs Was Banned From The Braintrust (00:17:48) Your Job Is To Manage The Dynamics (00:23:27) Betting The Company On Toy Story (00:24:35) Engineering Eisner's Worst Nightmare (00:36:51) Bob Iger's Crappy Hand (00:38:44) Why Disney Never Asked What Pixar Was Doing (00:43:48) Take The Hard Problem (00:44:38) The Director Can't Lose The Team (00:48:48) Quality Is The Best Business Plan (00:52:32) What Walt Disney Taught Him (00:59:25) George Lucas And The Motion Blur Problem (01:08:48) Now What's The Point Of My Life (01:13:31) How Much Of This Was Me (01:16:10) George Lucas Wanted The Whole Industry Healthy (01:25:11) Refusing To Let Anyone Feel Second Class (01:32:38) The Truck In The Building Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 14, 2026

16 min read

Infinite Loops

Revan Lazarus - How AI is Rebuilding the Creator Economy (Ep. 318)

AI is no longer just a tool creators use to make content faster. It is beginning to reshape the entire creator economy. Revan Lazarus is the founder of Jamie, an AI platform for podcast networks and digital sales teams. He joins Infinite Loops, guest-hosted by Nick Tawil, to discuss how AI is changing podcasting, media sales, audience analytics, creator monetization, brand deals, and the future of content itself. Important Links: Learn more about Jamie AI: https://www.jamie-ai.com/

Jun 11, 2026

15 min read

Sourcery

Brian Singerman: "If SpaceX Didn't Work, Founders Fund Wouldn't Exist"

Brian Singerman spent 17 years at Founders Fund, where he helped drive large concentrated investments into companies like SpaceX, Palantir, Airbnb, Stripe, Stemcentrx, Anduril, and Affirm. He recently left to co-found GPx, a new fund backing emerging managers. In this episode we break down the philosophy behind Founders Fund's concentration strategy, how a lifetime of competitive strategy gaming shapes the way he reads founders, and why he is now applying the same framework to GPs instead of companies."When I did get to meet Elon and learn more about SpaceX, it was extremely clear that there was nobody else like him on the planet who could actually pull something like SpaceX off."The conversation runs from his 2008 start at Founders Fund and what he learned from Peter Thiel, to the SpaceX bet the firm staked its career on, why he has never read a financial report, and his read on genuinely authentic founders like Cyan Banister, Palmer Luckey, and Alex Karp. Plus a round of questions submitted by Max Levchin, Trae Stephens & Scott Nolan, his views on wealth taxes and asset seizure, and his bet on N-of-1 human cultural artifacts.Brian Singerman: https://x.com/briansin Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊YouTube: https://youtu.be/Il5dCTkIF_M𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery • Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit https://merge.dev Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!https://www.sourcery.vcDisclosurePaid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

Jun 11, 2026

13 min read

Modern Wisdom

Harvard Professor: Why Nothing Feels Real Anymore - Arthur Brooks - #1109

Arthur Brooks is a social scientist, professor at Harvard University, and an author. Why do some people feel lost while others seem deeply fulfilled? When life feels empty, it's often not because you're missing success, money, or comfort; it's because you're missing meaning. So how do you find purpose? How do you create a life that feels worth living? And what does meaning look like in a world where so much feels fake? Sponsors: See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/deals⁠⁠ Get 160+ lab tests for just $365 and save an extra $25 at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get up to 20% off Timeline powered by Mitopure (now at a lower price) at https://timeline.com/modernwisdom Get up to $350 off the Eight Sleep Pod 5 at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at ⁠https://chatgpt.com Timestamps: (0:00) Are We Living in a Simulation? (6:42) What Are We Mistaking For Real Meaning? (11:00) Why Can’t Meaning Be Simulated? (15:30) The Most Meaningless Day Imaginable (19:29) Are Ambitious People Susceptible to Meaninglessness? (22:00) Are We Just Pursuing Approval? (30:24) The Big Questions Everyone Should Be Asking (34:33) Why Life Feels So Random (36:07) Why Are Directionless People So Fragile? (37:50) Why We Confuse Fame With Significance (41:12) How Your Weaknesses Become Strengths (52:59) Stop Blaming Your Parents (54:51) How Technology is Rewiring Our Brains (01:03:47) How to Escape the Doom Loop (01:10:19) Can You Recover From Meaninglessness? (01:14:51) How Important is Love to Meaning? (01:16:50) The Ladder of Love Explained (01:21:04) Should We Be Thinking About Transcendence More? (01:24:38) Why is Transcendence So Rare? (01:27:27) The Truth About Finding Your Calling (01:32:02) Why Changing Direction Feels So Scary (01:34:35) The Surprising Role of Beauty in Meaning (01:37:08) Is Suffering the Ultimate Meaning? (01:39:01) The Modern Unhappiness Crisis (01:47:09) How to Build a More Meaningful Life (01:53:02) Where to Find Arthur Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/books⁠⁠ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: ⁠⁠https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom⁠⁠ Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠ #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠ #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠ - Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/contact⁠⁠ - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 11, 2026

23 min read

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

The hidden pattern behind successful products | Mark Pincus (Founder of Zynga)

Mark Pincus founded Zynga—the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker—and has arguably created more hit consumer products than anyone in history. At Zynga, eight of 10 major game launches became massive hits, reaching over a billion players. Over the past five years, Mark has been synthesizing everything he’s learned about building successful consumer products and turning it into a book, Life at the Speed of Play, which comes out on June 23. This is the first interview he’s done about the book.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. His “Proven, Better, New” framework: copy what’s proven, make it better so that 10 out of 10 people say “f*ck yes, I’ll use this”—then add something new2. Why being less ambitious is the path to the most ambitious ideas3. His rule of thumb that your instincts are right 95% of the time, but your ideas are wrong 75% of the time4. “Kill hope before hope kills you”5. How to raise kids in the age of AI—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and moreVanta—Automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-common-pattern-behind-successful—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Mark Pincus:• X: https://x.com/markpinc• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpincus• Website: https://www.lifeatthespeedofplay.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Mark Pincus(02:46) The Proven Better New framework overview(07:29) Earning the right to innovate(08:30) What “better” really means(12:03) Quick summary of the framework(12:40) Examples of the framework in action(13:30) How to use proven correctly on your platform(15:13) The moral arbitrage of copying(23:55) Be less ambitious(28:25) The Bolt.new story and staying humble(33:15) Kill hope before hope kills you(37:00) Using AI as a failure machine(40:08) Why Zynga’s games succeeded (it wasn’t virality)(48:36) The future of consumer social apps(57:05) How to know if your product is a B+(1:01:25) Distribution in the age of AI(1:15:39) Make everyone a CEO(1:18:18) Stay close to the metal(1:21:35) Why Mark says micromanagement is beautiful(1:23:35) The expert witness(1:25:05) The number one job of a CEO is to be right(1:26:35) What Mark is teaching his five kids(1:35:14) Mark’s “why”(1:37:08) Mark’s new book: Life at The Speed of Play—Referenced:• Tribe.net: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe.net• Zynga: https://www.zynga.com• Sid Meier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier• Electronic Arts: https://www.ea.com• CityVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityVille• Words With Friends: https://wordswithfriends.com/• Scrabble: https://playscrabble.com• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com• TED Radio Hour, MIT Media Lab founder, 1984 TED talk.: https://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_negroponte_5_predictions_from_1984• Peter Thiel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel• FarmVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille• Craig Newmark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Newmark• How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier• Angry Birds: https://www.angrybirds.com/• OMGPop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMGPop• Draw Something: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw_Something• Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan• Brian Armstrong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barmstrong• Jason Citron on X: https://x.com/jasoncitron• Stanislav Vishnevskiy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svishnevskiy• Jeff Bezos on X: https://x.com/JeffBezos• Andy Jassy on X: https://x.com/ajassy• Niantic: https://nianticlabs.com• Pokémon Go: https://pokemongo.com• Bing Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon—Recommended book:• Life at the Speed of Play: Launch Products People Love!: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Jun 14, 2026

17 min read

David Senra

Ed Catmull, Co-founder of Pixar

Ed Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar and the former president of Disney Animation. He grew up in 1950s Utah wanting to animate for Disney. Convinced he couldn't draw well enough, he studied physics and computer science at the University of Utah instead, landing in one of the great talent incubators in computing history. In 1972, he animated his own left hand—one of the first 3D computer renderings ever made. Since childhood he had carried a single ambition: to make the first feature film animated entirely by computer. Reaching it took more than 20 years. George Lucas hired Catmull in 1979 to build a computer division at Lucasfilm. When Lucas needed cash, Steve Jobs bought that division in 1986 for $5 million and spun it out as Pixar. For years it sold imaging computers and lost money while Catmull and John Lasseter made short films to keep the dream alive. Jobs sank roughly $50 million of his own money into it. In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, the first feature animated entirely by computer, and went public days later. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Up followed. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion and put Catmull in charge of both studios; he revived a faltering Disney Animation with films like Frozen. Catmull cared about the conditions that let creative work survive its own fragility. Every original idea, he argues, starts out ugly and broken, and management exists to protect it long enough to get good. At Pixar that meant the Braintrust: a room where directors got blunt feedback with no authority attached and the conversation stayed on the problem, never on who was right. He laid it all out in Creativity, Inc. Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/ed-catmull Chapters (00:00:00) Most Companies Are Full Of Shit (00:04:28) The Brain Trust Mechanism (00:10:13) Why Steve Jobs Was Banned From The Braintrust (00:17:48) Your Job Is To Manage The Dynamics (00:23:27) Betting The Company On Toy Story (00:24:35) Engineering Eisner's Worst Nightmare (00:36:51) Bob Iger's Crappy Hand (00:38:44) Why Disney Never Asked What Pixar Was Doing (00:43:48) Take The Hard Problem (00:44:38) The Director Can't Lose The Team (00:48:48) Quality Is The Best Business Plan (00:52:32) What Walt Disney Taught Him (00:59:25) George Lucas And The Motion Blur Problem (01:08:48) Now What's The Point Of My Life (01:13:31) How Much Of This Was Me (01:16:10) George Lucas Wanted The Whole Industry Healthy (01:25:11) Refusing To Let Anyone Feel Second Class (01:32:38) The Truck In The Building Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 14, 2026

16 min read

Infinite Loops

Revan Lazarus - How AI is Rebuilding the Creator Economy (Ep. 318)

AI is no longer just a tool creators use to make content faster. It is beginning to reshape the entire creator economy. Revan Lazarus is the founder of Jamie, an AI platform for podcast networks and digital sales teams. He joins Infinite Loops, guest-hosted by Nick Tawil, to discuss how AI is changing podcasting, media sales, audience analytics, creator monetization, brand deals, and the future of content itself. Important Links: Learn more about Jamie AI: https://www.jamie-ai.com/

Jun 11, 2026

15 min read

Sourcery

Brian Singerman: "If SpaceX Didn't Work, Founders Fund Wouldn't Exist"

Brian Singerman spent 17 years at Founders Fund, where he helped drive large concentrated investments into companies like SpaceX, Palantir, Airbnb, Stripe, Stemcentrx, Anduril, and Affirm. He recently left to co-found GPx, a new fund backing emerging managers. In this episode we break down the philosophy behind Founders Fund's concentration strategy, how a lifetime of competitive strategy gaming shapes the way he reads founders, and why he is now applying the same framework to GPs instead of companies."When I did get to meet Elon and learn more about SpaceX, it was extremely clear that there was nobody else like him on the planet who could actually pull something like SpaceX off."The conversation runs from his 2008 start at Founders Fund and what he learned from Peter Thiel, to the SpaceX bet the firm staked its career on, why he has never read a financial report, and his read on genuinely authentic founders like Cyan Banister, Palmer Luckey, and Alex Karp. Plus a round of questions submitted by Max Levchin, Trae Stephens & Scott Nolan, his views on wealth taxes and asset seizure, and his bet on N-of-1 human cultural artifacts.Brian Singerman: https://x.com/briansin Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊YouTube: https://youtu.be/Il5dCTkIF_M𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery • Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit https://merge.dev Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!https://www.sourcery.vcDisclosurePaid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

Jun 11, 2026

13 min read

Modern Wisdom

Harvard Professor: Why Nothing Feels Real Anymore - Arthur Brooks - #1109

Arthur Brooks is a social scientist, professor at Harvard University, and an author. Why do some people feel lost while others seem deeply fulfilled? When life feels empty, it's often not because you're missing success, money, or comfort; it's because you're missing meaning. So how do you find purpose? How do you create a life that feels worth living? And what does meaning look like in a world where so much feels fake? Sponsors: See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/deals⁠⁠ Get 160+ lab tests for just $365 and save an extra $25 at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get up to 20% off Timeline powered by Mitopure (now at a lower price) at https://timeline.com/modernwisdom Get up to $350 off the Eight Sleep Pod 5 at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at ⁠https://chatgpt.com Timestamps: (0:00) Are We Living in a Simulation? (6:42) What Are We Mistaking For Real Meaning? (11:00) Why Can’t Meaning Be Simulated? (15:30) The Most Meaningless Day Imaginable (19:29) Are Ambitious People Susceptible to Meaninglessness? (22:00) Are We Just Pursuing Approval? (30:24) The Big Questions Everyone Should Be Asking (34:33) Why Life Feels So Random (36:07) Why Are Directionless People So Fragile? (37:50) Why We Confuse Fame With Significance (41:12) How Your Weaknesses Become Strengths (52:59) Stop Blaming Your Parents (54:51) How Technology is Rewiring Our Brains (01:03:47) How to Escape the Doom Loop (01:10:19) Can You Recover From Meaninglessness? (01:14:51) How Important is Love to Meaning? (01:16:50) The Ladder of Love Explained (01:21:04) Should We Be Thinking About Transcendence More? (01:24:38) Why is Transcendence So Rare? (01:27:27) The Truth About Finding Your Calling (01:32:02) Why Changing Direction Feels So Scary (01:34:35) The Surprising Role of Beauty in Meaning (01:37:08) Is Suffering the Ultimate Meaning? (01:39:01) The Modern Unhappiness Crisis (01:47:09) How to Build a More Meaningful Life (01:53:02) Where to Find Arthur Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/books⁠⁠ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: ⁠⁠https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom⁠⁠ Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠ #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠ #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠ - Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/contact⁠⁠ - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 11, 2026

23 min read