What is a Good Life?

• What is a Good Life? #144 - The Quest For Balance In Life with George Thompson

  On the 144th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome George Thompson. George is a filmmaker, teacher, and founder of Balance is Possible!, a movement dedicated to inspiring balance for both people and planet. With over 25 million people impacted by his work and support from changemakers like Louie Schwartzberg, Tara Brach, and Stephen Fry, George weaves together ancient Daoist wisdom and modern science into practical, playful tools for navigating modern life.In this conversation, we explore what it truly means to live in balance — within ourselves, with others, and with the natural world. George shares insights from his time training under Master Gu in the Wudang Mountains of China, and reflects on how balance extends beyond personal wellbeing into a collective responsibility for the planet.This is a gentle and profound invitation to slow down, be present, and rediscover harmony amidst the complexities of life.For more of George's work:website: https://www.balanceispossible.com/His latest film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KArWcMldPMContact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss team coaching to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/00:00 What is balance?03:00 The economy and nature05:00 A radical transformation of understanding08:30 The unexpected path to Tai Chi11:20 The embrace of the unknown17:00 Letting go of yourself20:00 No longer separating life from practice 23:50 The wisdom of the mind28:15 Trusting the flow of life31:00 The forming of a mission34:00 The interdependence of healing38:00 Giving yourself grace of seasons41:00 Creating more space to meet life44:25 Loving the challenging feelings of life49:50 The movement towards balance52:45 Summary of the conversation and what is a good life for George?

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• What is a Good Life? #143 - Embracing The Fullness Of Life with Kimbra

  On the 143rd episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Kimbra. Kimbra is a New Zealand-born songwriter, musician, producer, and adventurous performer. Her 2011 debut, Vows, was certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand. The following year, “Somebody That I Used to Know,” her duet with Gotye, topped Billboard’s Hot 100, became the best-selling song of the year in the U.S., and earned her two Grammy Awards. Since then, she has toured with artists including Beck, David Byrne, and Jacob Collier, and has released four more albums: The Golden Echo, Primal Heart, A Reckoning, and Idols & Vices (Vol. 1). She hosts the podcast Playing With Fire and shares essays, poetry and watercolours on her Substack newsletter.In this conversation, Kimbra reflects on her ongoing journey to find balance and rest within her life and career as a musician. She speaks about the importance of silence in shaping her artistic expression, the power of surrendering to spirit, and the grounding influence of nature.This episode is an invitation to embrace the fullness of life — its joy, its suffering, and the many paradoxes in between.For more of Kimbra's work:Substack: https://kimbra.substack.com/Website: https://www.kimbramusic.com/Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss team coaching to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/00:00 How to find balance?03:00 The experience of burnout06:30 A silent concert09:50 HoneyBones and nothing to lose12:30 The generosity and connection of silence 16:00 Life, art, and work are not separate19:30 Receiving a message from spirit23:30 Being empowered by spirit29:00 A mystical experience and calling33:42 We all have a cross38:50 Making a difference in the world42:30 The power and role of nature45:00 Rest, letting go, and liberation51:15 Summary and what is a good life for Kimbra?

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• What is a Good Life? #142 - Cultivating A Faith In Life Itself with Jim Palmer

  On the 142nd episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Jim Palmer, Founder of the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. A critically acclaimed author, former megachurch pastor, adjunct professor, and chaplain with the American Humanist Association, Jim is also a trained counsellor in religious trauma and spiritual abuse.In this conversation, he reflects on his journey through a crisis of faith, his experiences as a megachurch pastor, and his challenges of navigating religious culture. We explore theological deconstruction, rewilding spirituality, and the importance of embracing diverse perspectives. This episode invites you to consider a faith in life itself as a way to deepen our connection with existence.For more of Jim's work:Substack: https://substack.com/@jimpalmerauthorLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimpalmerauthor/Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss team coaching to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/00:00 Introduction and Setup01:51 Exploring the Good Life02:50 The More Than Human World06:22 Personal Evolution and Crisis of Faith12:22 Experiences as a Mega Church Pastor17:35 The Challenges of Mega Church Culture21:22  Theological Deconstruction and Reconstruction26:38 Confronting Suffering and Injustice33:03 Cognitive Dissonance in Religion39:13 Processing Religious Trauma42:55 Rewilding Spirituality50:04 God as a Verb54:20 The Good Life as a Process of Inquiry58:06 Faith in Life and Interconnectivity

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• What is a Good Life? #141 - The Space To Truly Connect with Professor Megan Reitz

  On the 141st episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Professor Megan Reitz. Megan is an Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, and Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School. She is a leading thinker on leadership and dialogue, featured in the Thinkers50 ranking of global business thinkers, and the author of Dialogue in Organizations, Mind Time, and, most recently, Speak Out, Listen Up. Her work explores how we create the conditions for transformative dialogue at work, and her latest research examines how we can foster spaciousness — the capacity to innovate, reflect, and build relationships in workplaces addicted to busyness.In this conversation, we explore the impact of space, silence, attention, and an outward focus on our relationships and our experience of life.This episode serves as an invitation to pause, question the busyness we’ve become entangled in, and reconsider the status quo of how we relate.For more of Megan's work:Website: https://www.meganreitz.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganreitz/Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss team coaching to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/00:00 How do I encounter the world?04:00 Flow amongst people07:00 How our gestures affect others11:45 The labels, assumptions, and roles that create distance17:13 The energy drain of societal expectations23:00 Allowing, inquiry, and meta awareness26:20 Creating the space we require33:45 How do we see the world?37:00 Navigating pauses and big questions44:00 How strange it has become to pause47:30 Our focus moving from ourselves53:30 Experiencing periods without an agenda57:00 Summary and what is a good life for Megan?

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• What is a Good Life? #140 - A Life of Unfolding Possibility with Robert Poynton

  On the 140th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Robert Poynton. Rob is the author of Do Conversation, Do Pause, and Do Improvise. He divides his time between an off-grid home in rural Spain and Oxford, where he is an Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School and convenor of the Oxford Praxis Forum at Green Templeton College. Rob is a designer, host, and facilitator of learning experiences; an amateur practical philosopher; a keeper of hens; and the founder of Yellow Learning.In this conversation, Rob shares his sense of living with more aliveness. We explore following the energy rather than the “shoulds”, noticing visceral signals of “deathly” work, practising curiosity and softness in everyday tasks, infinite games versus fixed goals, and how trusting life’s unfolding leads to a life of joy.This episode is an invitation to soften, to follow what feels alive, and to let life reveal itself through experience and energy rather than theory.For more of Rob's work:Website: https://robertpoynton.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-poynton-169402/ Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss team coaching to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/00:00 How can we make life more joyful?04:20 Paying attention to that sinking feeling06:40 Making decisions others found unusual10:50 Following the breadcrumbs and energy18:11 Noticing when we contract and soften24:30 Noticing, allowing, and becoming32:00 Life wants to happen39:15 Collaboration more present than competition42:30 The allure of drama and conflict48:20 Holding two conflicting ideas at once51:15 The surprises that bring us alive57:50 Summary and is a good life for Rob?

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