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Joe Hudson

Episode #150

Executive Coach & Founder

Art of Accomplishment

⚡Execution👥Team & Culture🚀Career & Leadership

📝Full Transcript

14,156 words
Joe Hudson (00:00:00): A lot of the people in my circles may have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to try to arrange a life that they enjoy, and it doesn't fucking work. Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:08): What is holding people back? Joe Hudson (00:00:09): It's the fact that they have emotions that they are not sitting, feeling, or expressing. Whatever emotion that you're trying to avoid, you are inviting into your life in exactly the way that you're trying to avoid it. Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:20): What the hell? Why would... Why does this... You have this really amazing insight. The voice in your head is often telling you bullshit. Joe Hudson (00:00:27): What most people try to do is they try to stop it, and that doesn't work very well. I think the best way to work with the voice in the head is to pick an experiment every day and respond to the voice in the head in a new way every day. One of my favorite responses is, "Oh, I see that you're really scared. Don't worry. I'm right here with you. I got you." Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:43): You're really big on helping people feel joy. Joe Hudson (00:00:45): It's such an important tool for productivity. If you say, I'm going to figure out how to enjoy what I do 10% more and you succeed, you are 10% more efficient. Not only that, usually, the quality is going to get a lot better too. Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:57): Is there just one thing you recommend that basically everyone try to experiment with? Joe Hudson (00:01:02): Yeah, it'll change your life dramatically really quickly. Lenny Rachitsky (00:01:09): Today, my guest is Joe Hudson. Joe is one of the most sought-after executive coaches amongst tech leaders and has worked with folks from OpenAI, SpaceX, Apple, and other world-class companies. Joe's unique approach to coaching draws from his spiritual, psychological, and neurological practices. In his intimate courses that he runs a few times a year, and in his podcast, he helps people create the life that they want with...

💡 Key Takeaways

  • 1Efficiency is not about speed; it's about energy management. If you enjoy a task 10% more, you are 10% more efficient.
  • 2The critical voice in your head is always factually wrong and functions like a scared child, not a boss.
  • 3Meetings are the 'atomic structure' of a company; if a meeting sucks, it's a leading indicator of a deeper structural or personnel problem.
  • 4Decision fatigue is solved by defining 5 core principles; this automates difficult choices.
  • 5You invite the specific emotion you are trying to avoid (e.g., avoiding conflict creates a chaotic, conflict-ridden environment).
  • 6A 7-minute daily gratitude practice (felt, not just thought) can rewrite your relationship with scarcity and resource constraints.

📚Methodologies (4)

⚡ Execution

Instead of changing external circumstances (job, project), focus on micro-adjustments to the current moment. By consciously increasing enjoyment by just 10% through breath, posture, or mindset, you reduce resistance and increase output quality.

Core Principles

  • 1.View enjoyment as an efficiency metric: Resistance burns energy; enjoyment conserves it.
  • 2.Focus on the 'Right Now': Ask 'How can I enjoy this specific moment 10% more?'
  • 3.Micro-adjustments: Change physical posture, breathing depth, or mental narrative immediately.

"If you say, 'I'm going to figure out how to enjoy what I do 10% more' and you succeed, you are 10% more efficient."

#enjoyment#micro-optimization#execution
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👥 Team & Culture

Treat meetings as the atomic unit of your company. If a meeting isn't 'five stars' (enjoyable and effective), it is a symptom of a deeper issue (wrong people, lack of clarity, or fear). Fixing the meeting fixes the company.

Core Principles

  • 1.The Atomic Theory: Company culture is just the sum of meetings and decisions.
  • 2.Total Enjoyment Standard: Aim for every attendee to leave thinking 'that was great'.
  • 3.Root Cause Analysis: If a meeting sucks, trace it back—usually to a conflict-avoidant leader or misaligned incentives.

"If you do that [fix meetings], every single problem with your company will come to the surface."

#five-star#meeting#diagnostic
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🚀 Career & Leadership

Instead of making isolated decisions, define a set of ~5 core principles. Test them empirically. Once established, difficult decisions become automatic because they either align with the principles or they don't.

Core Principles

  • 1.Limit to Five: Create no more than 5 core principles.
  • 2.Definition by Negation: Define what the principle is AND what it isn't.
  • 3.The 5-Day Test: Experiment with a principle for 5 days to see if it actually produces better life/business outcomes.

"If you live by a set of principles... decisions get made automatically."

#principle-based#decision#automator
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🚀 Career & Leadership

Whatever emotion you are trying to avoid is exactly what you are inviting into your life. By identifying the avoided emotion (e.g., shame, fear of abandonment), you can reverse-engineer the root cause of your business or personal problems.

Core Principles

  • 1.Identify the Recurring Problem: e.g., 'My team is always fighting.'
  • 2.Identify the Avoided Emotion: e.g., 'I am conflict-avoidant because I don't want to feel out of control.'
  • 3.The Paradox of Avoidance: Avoiding the feeling (control) causes the outcome (chaos).
  • +1 more...

"Whatever emotion that you're trying to avoid, you are inviting into your life in exactly the way that you're trying to avoid it."

#reverse-engineering#avoidance#career
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