Passion Struck with John R. Miles

What if the thing you regret most someday isn't what you did—but what you never tried?

In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles sits down with behavioral economist and bestselling author Dan Ariely to explore why we make decisions that don't always serve our long-term well-being.

Dan's research reveals a surprising pattern: in the moment, we tend to regret the risks we take. But when we look back over our lives, we often regret the risks we didn't take.

The conversation goes far beyond risk.

John and Dan explore why vulnerability is one of the biggest areas where people play it safe, how bureaucracy can drain passion from work, why companies struggle to measure the things that matter most, and what we may lose when we optimize everything for efficiency.

They also discuss:

Why we often choose short-term safety over long-term fulfillment

The difference between regretting action and regretting inaction

Why romantic relationships are one of the biggest areas where people avoid risk

How bureaucracy can quietly kill motivation and passion

Why companies measure productivity but struggle to measure care, connection, and meaning

What happens when organizations treat people like functions instead of human beings

Why AI's pursuit of efficiency could come at the expense of meaning and human development

How feeling appreciated can influence motivation and performance

Why investing in human capital should be treated differently than simply treating people as a cost

The question you should ask yourself: Where in your life are you playing it safer than you really want to?

Dan's larger message is difficult to ignore: the life we build isn't shaped only by the choices we make. It's also shaped by the chances we decide not to take.

Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.
Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.
Connect with John
Website: https://johnrmiles.com
Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/

Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.

Disclaimer

The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What would change if you stopped worrying so much about what everyone else thinks of you?

Actor, entrepreneur, and father Josh Duhamel has spent decades in the spotlight, but he says one of the biggest things he has learned with age is that he no longer needs to pretend for anyone—and that caring too much about other people's opinions once kept him from living his “full version” of himself.

In this deeply personal conversation, John R. Miles sits down with the actor, entrepreneur, and father to talk about identity, success, fatherhood, presence, and what it means to build a life that actually feels like your own.

Josh opens up about:

Why success doesn't automatically make you feel like you've done enough

How the need for validation can keep you chasing the next achievement

What helped him stop caring so much about other people's opinions

Why his cabin in Minnesota brings out a different version of himself

How changing his environment helped him become more present

Why fatherhood completely changed his definition of success

What he hopes his children remember about him

Why family memories now matter more to him than material success

How he's learning to embrace simplicity, curiosity, and being present

One of the most revealing moments comes when Josh talks about what success means to him now. Despite everything he has accomplished, he admits that he still feels like he has more to prove and achieve.

Click here for the full show notes

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Download the FREE Companion Digital Workbook

Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.
Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.
Connect with John
Website: https://johnrmiles.com
Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/

Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.

Disclaimer

The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if protecting your brain from cognitive decline starts decades before you ever notice a problem?

In this powerful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with neurologist and bestselling author Dr. David Perlmutter to explore the emerging science behind his new book, Brain Defenders, and why the brain’s immune system may hold one of the most important keys to long-term brain health.

David explains how specialized immune cells called microglia can either support the brain or become destructive when challenged by inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, poor sleep, and other environmental factors.

The hopeful part is that many of the factors influencing this process are within our control.

You’ll learn:

Why the brain’s immune system may be central to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, PTSD, and other brain disorders

What microglial cells do and why their metabolism matters

How poor sleep can affect inflammation after just one night

Why exercise, metabolism, diet, and relationships all influence brain health

The surprising connection between oral health and the brain

Why traumatic brain injury and PTSD can share common biological pathways

How alcohol, ultra-processed foods, and a sedentary lifestyle can affect the brain

Why brain health should be addressed decades before cognitive decline appears

What David thinks about supplements, vitamin D, B vitamins, and personalized testing

What the emerging research on GLP-1 medications could mean for neurodegenerative disease

Why David believes we are the architects of our brain’s destiny

David also explains why he believes the conversation around Alzheimer’s needs to shift from simply treating disease after it appears to understanding and addressing the factors that may influence brain health much earlier in life.

His message is ultimately one of agency: the choices you make today are helping shape the brain you will have tomorrow.

Check the full shownotes here

Download the Companion Digital Workbook here

Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.
Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.
Connect with John
Website: https://johnrmiles.com
Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/

Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.

Disclaimer

The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Have you ever had a breakthrough that felt like it was going to change your life, only to find yourself back in the same patterns a week later?

In this powerful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with three-time New York Times bestselling author Mark Manson to unpack one of the biggest traps in personal growth: confusing insight with actual change.

Mark explains why reading another book, learning another framework, or becoming more self-aware can make you feel like you're changing without actually changing your behavior. Real transformation requires something much harder: doing things differently when they're uncomfortable or letting go of an identity you've outgrown.

You'll learn:

Why insight can become a form of procrastination

The difference between personality, adaptation, and identity

Why changing your environment may be easier than changing yourself

How old adaptations can become identities that hold you back

Why motivation isn't always the problem

Why “optimal is suboptimal”

How to recognize when your mental model no longer matches reality

Why sometimes the best way to grow is to stop trying to become someone else

Mark also shares the powerful advice his father gave him about becoming the goose instead of chasing the golden eggs—and why developing your ability to create value is more important than protecting what you've already built.

This conversation is a reminder that you don't always need more information to change your life. Sometimes you need the courage to behave differently, release an identity that no longer fits, and create an environment that brings out who you actually are.

Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.
Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.
Connect with John
Website: https://johnrmiles.com
Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/

Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.

Disclaimer

The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why do other people's opinions have so much power over you?

You may think your beliefs, opinions, and reactions are entirely your own. But your brain has been quietly keeping score of something much older and more powerful: whether you belong.

In this solo episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles explores the social brain and the survival instinct that shape far more of your life than you realize. Research involving 105 different social groups found an astonishing .95 correlation between what people believed their own communities thought and the prejudices they were willing to express. In other words, belonging can influence what we believe before we even realize it's happening.

John then introduces a simple tool called the Mattering Check—one question to ask when you feel yourself becoming defensive, judgmental, or overly concerned with someone's approval:

Whose approval am I actually protecting right now?

You'll hear John's personal story about spending three months reacting to a comment that was actually meant as a compliment, explore what happens when anti-mattering makes us feel invisible, and discover why a simple interaction with a stranger can create a powerful sense of connection. 

You'll learn:

Why belonging is a survival need—not simply a desire to fit in.

How your social groups can quietly shape what you believe.

Why other people's approval can influence your behavior more than you realize.

What anti-mattering does to the way you see yourself and other people.

How to recognize when you're protecting your status instead of acting from your own values.

The Mattering Check and how to use it when you feel triggered or excluded.

Why widening your circle of belonging can change how you see other people.

One simple action you can take today to help someone else feel seen and significant.

The goal isn't to stop caring what other people think. It's to become more conscious of whose voice you're listening to, whose approval you're protecting, and who you are allowing to define your sense of belonging.

Because your circle isn't fixed, you can redraw it.

Check Full Shownotes Here

Download the FREE Companion Digital Workbook

Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.
Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.
Connect with John
Website: https://johnrmiles.com
Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/

Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.

Disclaimer

The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.