Passion Struck with John R. Miles

What if procrastination isn't a problem with your time, but a problem with what you believe you're capable of doing?
You know what you want to change. You have ideas, ambitions, and goals. Yet somehow, you keep waiting for the right moment, the perfect plan, or the confidence to begin.
On this episode of Passion Struck, I sit down with Jon Acuff, bestselling author of Procrastination Proof, to explore why so many capable people get stuck between intention and action. Drawing on his work helping people overcome procrastination and build more remarkable lives, Jon explains how fear, perfectionism, comparison, and the stories we tell ourselves can quietly limit what we attempt. We also discuss why the desire to do something meaningful often creates the discipline needed to pursue it, rather than the other way around.
In this conversation, you'll discover:
Why procrastination isn't just a time-management problem: Jon defines it as the gap between your intentions and your actions.
How fear disguises itself as preparation: Why overthinking, perfectionism, and waiting for the perfect starting point can keep you stuck.
The power of giving yourself permission: How remarkable people learn to talk themselves into trying instead of talking themselves out of it.
The four permissions: How to dream, plan, do, and review your way toward meaningful goals.
Why identity shapes action: How beliefs such as “I'm not a writer” or “I'm not a natural leader” can become limitations we carry for decades.
How comparison makes you feel behind: Why someone else's success doesn't mean your own opportunities have passed.
The signs you carry through life: How messages from parents, teachers, and coworkers can shape what you believe you're allowed to achieve.
Why believing you matter changes what you attempt: How small wins can restore a sense of agency and help you move beyond the soundtrack of “Why bother?”
How to discover what motivates you: Why Jon recommends auditioning a goal for 15 minutes a day over seven days instead of waiting for a perfect life plan.
Jon also shares the advice that helped him expand his own ambitions, why he believes we often underestimate our potential, and how to build a life that feels rich across career, finances, relationships, health, and fun.
You don't need to have your entire future figured out before you begin. You need to identify the next step you're willing to take, give yourself permission to try, and learn from what happens.
Check out the full show notes.

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 today's young people aren't as different from previous generations as we think?
When Alexis Redding and her colleagues uncovered interviews with college students from the 1970s, they found familiar stories of loneliness, academic pressure, family expectations, and uncertainty about the future.
In this episode of Passion Struck, the Harvard developmental psychologist and editor of Mental Health in College: What Research Tells Us About Supporting Students explores what has changed across generations, why belonging matters to student well-being and success, and how parents, educators, and institutions can create environments where young adults feel seen, heard, valued, and encouraged.
Together, Miles and Redding examine the pressure to achieve, the myth of effortless perfection, the importance of student voices, and why learning to pivot may be one of the most valuable skills young adults can develop.
In This Episode, You'll Discover
What archival recordings reveal about the similarities between college students across generations.
Why blaming “kids these days” gets in the way of meaningful solutions.
How belonging influences academic performance, help-seeking, persistence, and graduation.
Why colleges need a campus-wide culture of care—not just a crisis-response model.
How parents and educators can share their own failures and uncertainties to help young people feel less alone.
Why perfectionism and achievement pressure make it harder for students to take risks and explore.
How small changes in language can encourage curiosity rather than prescribe a single path.
Why career pivots and reinvention are normal parts of adulthood, not signs of failure.
The Bigger Idea
Young people don't need adults to pretend that life follows a predictable path. They need environments where they can struggle, ask for help, take risks, and learn to find their way. When students feel that they belong, they have more freedom to grow.
Alexis Redding's work reminds us that the question isn't simply what's wrong with young people. It's what we can change about the environments surrounding them.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisredding/
Get the full show notes 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.

What happens when the next achievement matters more than the one you just reached?
Even after The Mattering Effect landed on the USA Today bestseller list, John caught himself immediately checking where it might rank on the NYT bestseller list. That instinct revealed how deeply conditioned even the most intentional leaders are to let external scorecards dictate internal worth.
In this solo series finale, John connects the dots across three essential conversations:
Dr. Nir Halevy (Stanford): How tournament theory and stacked rankings pull teams apart and breed learned helplessness.
Dr. Kristin Neff (UT Austin): How the environment's scorecard moves inside your head as a ruthless inner critic—and why self-compassion provides the safe soil for true agency.
Heather Monahan: What it looks like to recognize you built your own cage, stop shrinking yourself, stand tall, and know when to change your room versus change your mindset.
Drawing on a timeless parable from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, John examines our cultural obsession with "the figures" and delivers The Blueprint Check: a concrete, three-question diagnostic framework to run on your workplace, your social feeds, and your daily life.
Key Takeaways
The Scorecard Trap: Why rankings, quotas, and follower counts tell us where we stand relative to others—but not who we are.
Tournament Theory at Work: How outsized rewards for top performers can fuel destructive competition, while others disengage or begin to experience what Martin Seligman called learned helplessness.
Self-Esteem vs. Self-Compassion: Why constantly evaluating yourself keeps you on the achievement treadmill, while self-compassion helps you respond to setbacks with greater clarity and agency.
The Worcester Academy Realization: How Heather Monahan discovered that the room hadn't changed—her perception of herself had—and why it's equally important to recognize when a genuinely toxic environment needs to change.
The Three-Part Move: How to reclaim agency by changing your response, working to change the environment, or leaving a system that refuses to change.
Your worth was never meant to be a number on someone else's scorecard. The goal isn't to stop measuring your progress. It's to stop confusing your performance with your value as a person.
Click here for the full show notes.

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 happens when you spend years proving yourself, only to find that the people around you make you question your worth?
Heather Monahan knows firsthand how that experience can change you. After rising to the C-suite as a chief revenue officer, she was unexpectedly fired from the company where she had built her career. Rather than retreating from the setback, she shared her story publicly, asked for help, and turned a painful ending into the beginning of an entirely new chapter.
A 2X bestselling author, TEDx speaker, host of the Creating Confidence podcast, and board member, Heather was also named one of Real Leaders’ Top 50 Keynote Speakers in 2022. Through her work, she helps people build confidence, overcome obstacles, and recognize their own potential.
In this conversation, Heather shares why confidence isn’t something you’re simply born with. It’s built through the actions you take, the risks you’re willing to face, and the choices you make when life doesn’t go according to plan. Together, we explore how to recognize toxic environments, stand up for yourself without losing your integrity, and stop allowing other people’s opinions to define who you are
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why self-doubt can persist even when you’re successful.
How your environment can either strengthen your confidence or slowly erode it.
Why Heather believes you should never take a no from someone who can’t give you a yes.
What toxic workplace dynamics can cost you, and when it’s time to walk away.
How Heather turned being fired into a career-changing opportunity.
Why confidence is built through small actions, not one defining moment.
How to use fear as a signal to move forward instead of retreat.
How journaling can help you identify the beliefs and relationships holding you back.
Why setting boundaries is essential to protecting your growth.
You don’t have to wait until you feel confident to make a change. You build confidence by taking the next step, especially when it scares you. And sometimes, the environment you’re afraid to leave is the very thing keeping you from becoming who you could be.
Grab the full show notes here.
Download the Companion 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.

Why do some teams bring out the best in people while others turn colleagues into competitors? The answer may lie in the way we structure power, status, and success.
On this episode of Passion Struck, I sit down with Dr. Nir Halevy, a Stanford professor who studies social influence, power, and human behavior, to explore his book, Level Up: Why Hierarchies Are Broken and How to Fix Them.
Drawing on decades of research and real-world examples from elite sports, healthcare, academia, and corporate America, Nir explains why hierarchy itself isn't necessarily the problem. The real issue is whether the systems we create encourage people to work together or push them to succeed at one another's expense.
We discuss:
Why hierarchies persist: Why eliminating hierarchy is rarely practical, and how to distinguish structures that help teams function from those that create harm.
The danger of forced rankings: How pitting employees against one another can encourage information hoarding, rivalry, and even sabotage.
The psychology of social comparison: Why another person's success can change how we experience our own, even when nothing about our performance has changed.
Dominance versus prestige: The difference between leading through intimidation and leading through competence, contribution, and respect.
The three warning signs of a broken hierarchy: Excessive competition, injustice, and instability—and how they undermine trust and retention.
Why fairness matters: How unfair outcomes, opaque procedures, and disrespectful treatment combine to make people feel powerless.
What leaders can learn from improv: How active listening, psychological safety, empathy, and making your teammates look good can strengthen relationships.
How to build healthier teams: Why leaders should create multiple ways for people to contribute and demonstrate their value, rather than tying worth to a single ranking.
Nir leaves us with one question every leader should consider: Does your hierarchy bring people closer together or pull them apart? Because the goal isn't to eliminate structure. It's to build systems in which people can succeed without making others feel like they have to lose.
See the Full Shownotes.

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.