Passion Struck with John R. Miles

What if the beliefs you hold about yourself, your future, and the world around you are shaping what happens next more than you realize?
Shawn Achor, bestselling author and one of the leading voices in positive psychology, joins John R. Miles to explore the science behind The Power of Beliefs. Drawing on research in psychology, medicine, education, and human performance, Shawn explains how the way we interpret our circumstances can shape how we respond to them, what we attempt, and what becomes possible.
But this isn't a conversation about pretending everything will work out. Shawn explains the difference between a belief that creates real possibilities and wishful thinking, including a practical method for grounding beliefs in evidence and connecting them to the actions that make change more likely.
The conversation takes a deeply personal turn when Shawn shares how the premature birth of his daughter led him to step away from work, only to later feel that he was being replaced. A chance encounter with a stranger reminded him that his work had made a difference. That moment opens the door to a bigger question: What happens when we stop believing that we matter?
Together, John and Shawn explore how the beliefs that shape our lives are connected to belonging, meaningful work, social connection, and the environments we create for one another.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why pursuing success first and expecting happiness to follow can leave you perpetually dissatisfied.
How beliefs can influence outcomes, from the placebo effect to the home-field advantage in sports.
The difference between grounded optimism and wishful thinking.
How to strengthen a belief by connecting it to evidence and specific actions.
The seven core beliefs Shawn explores, including whether your behavior matters, whether you matter, whether you're alone, and whether your work is meaningful.
Why Shawn's experience as a father changed his understanding of success, identity, and mattering.
Why feeling that your work matters can be as important as compensation.
How small acts of recognition, connection, and kindness can create feedback loops that change behavior.
What leaders, parents, teachers, and individuals can do to help others see evidence that they matter.
The takeaway is simple but powerful: you don't have to pretend the odds are easy or the world is perfect to believe your actions can make a difference. You can build beliefs that acknowledge reality while helping you move toward a better future.

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 you can be successful, needed, productive, and admired, and still feel like you don't matter?
That's the paradox at the heart of John R. Miles' new book, The Mattering Effect.
In this special conversation, originally recorded for Mick Hunt's Mick Unplugged, Mick sits down with John to explore the personal story behind the book and the question that changed the direction of John's life:
Do I matter?
John shares the calling that emerged during a discipleship class, the experience that forced him to confront his own “slow fade,” and why he eventually recognized that burnout, loneliness, disengagement, and disconnection weren't separate problems—but symptoms of something deeper. AudioTranscriberAI_0aa8383c46d9…
The conversation then moves into the ideas behind The Mattering Effect: why being needed isn't the same as mattering, how the Great Erasure strips individuality from modern systems, and how the Mattering Needs Pyramid, M.A.T.T.E.R. Framework, and Mattering Compass can help rebuild a sense of worth, agency, connection, and impact.
Most importantly, this isn't just a conversation about a book. It's about what happens when you stop living to prove your worth and start living from the belief that you already have it.
Full Shownotes 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 if the biggest problem in your life isn't what's wrong with you—but what's happening to you?
Burnout. Loneliness. Disconnection. Exhaustion. The feeling that you're constantly working, producing, improving, and performing, yet somehow becoming less visible to yourself. What if these aren't separate problems? What if they're different expressions of the same unanswered human question:
Do I matter?
On the launch day of The Mattering Effect, John R. Miles shares five foundational insights from the book, exploring why so many people can be successful, needed, productive, and even indispensable while still feeling invisible to themselves.
You'll discover:
Why we need to stop asking “What's wrong with people?” and start asking “What's happening to people?”
The difference between unmattering—what environments and systems do to us—and antimattering—what repeated experiences of insignificance can create inside us
How the Great Erasure happens when systems prioritize utility over humanity
Why being needed isn't the same as mattering
How the Mattering Gap and Mattering Tax quietly drain our energy
Why modern life has shifted us from Thoreau's quiet desperation to what John calls quiet disorientation
How AI and algorithmic environments can either diminish or expand human agency
Why adaptability means becoming an author of your choices rather than an NPC responding to every external prompt
The six signals of the M.A.T.T.E.R. Framework
The four internal coordinates of the Mattering Compass
How restoring your sense of mattering can create what John calls the Mattering Dividend
At the center of it all is a simple realization: Mattering is not a reward you earn. It is the foundation from which you live.
Check the Full Shownotes 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 if the way you’ve been taught to adapt is actually making you lose yourself?
For weeks, The Adaptive Human has explored what it takes to navigate a world that keeps changing.
Angela Duckworth showed us that our environments shape who we become. Martin Seligman showed us the power of agency. David Epstein revealed how constraints can unlock better thinking. Cole Brauer showed us what happens when you keep moving forward after the world tells you that you can't. Alec Litowitz challenged us to lift our heads and make sure we're not swimming harder in the wrong direction.
But there's one question beneath it all: What happens when adapting to the world requires you to abandon yourself?
In this series finale, John R. Miles brings the lessons of ten conversations together and introduces The Great Erasure—what happens when a culture becomes so focused on measuring our utility, productivity, and output that we gradually lose our sense of being valued simply for who we are.
Because there is a difference between adaptation and compliance. You can change your strategy without changing your values. You can evolve without erasing your identity. You can become more capable without becoming more useful at the expense of your humanity. And ultimately, you can adapt to a changing world without surrendering your agency.
In this episode, John explores:
Why modern culture has confused adaptability with compliance
How the “marketplace of mattering” turns worth into something we constantly feel compelled to prove
Why AI makes defining yourself by your productivity increasingly dangerous
How we eventually begin treating ourselves like the systems that measure us
Why agency—not compliance—is the foundation of true adaptation
Why you need to anchor internally before you can successfully adapt externally
How constraints, culture, and environment create the foundation for sustainable growth
Why you cannot optimize what you refuse to value
What happens when productivity, burnout, loneliness, and disconnection are treated as separate problems
Why the deeper question underneath all of them may simply be, "Do I matter?"
And then comes the turning point: The Great Erasure is what happens when a world built to measure your utility begins to erase your sense of being valued.
The answer isn't to stop adapting. It's to adapt without abandoning yourself. And that is where The Mattering Effect begins.
Catch the full show notes.
Download the FREE 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 you're working harder and harder—but you're still moving in the wrong direction?
Alec Litowitz learned this lesson during a mountain bike race in the Pyrenees, when hesitating before a blind downhill jump nearly sent him over the handlebars.
Years later, that same lesson became a framework for how he thinks about investing, leadership, AI, and life: You can't stay stuck between decisions when the environment is moving fast.
Alec is an investor, entrepreneur, and founder of Magnetar Capital who has spent decades making decisions in environments defined by uncertainty. In his new book, The Adaptability Quotient, he argues that the people who thrive in the next era won't necessarily be the smartest, toughest, or most resilient.
They'll be the people who can recognize when the map no longer matches the terrain—and update before reality forces them to. And that matters even more as AI changes not just the tools we use but the environment in which we think.
In this conversation, Alec and I explore:
Why working harder can make failure worse when you're moving in the wrong direction
Why intelligence and emotional intelligence aren't enough when the environment changes
Why adaptability is a meta-skill that tells you where to point your other strengths
How to recognize when your mental map no longer matches reality
Why waiting for certainty can become its own form of risk
Why AI isn't simply a tool—and how it could either expand or erode human agency
Why your values should remain stable while your strategies evolve
How to know when to change your mission without abandoning your purpose
Why feedback loops are essential to making adaptive decisions
How to stop swimming harder and start asking whether you're still headed in the right direction
Alec also shares a powerful distinction for the AI era: You can be a resistor, an adopter, or an adapter.
A resistor denies the change.
An adopter treats the new technology as a tool.
An adapter recognizes that the technology is changing the environment—and therefore changing the person using it.
That's the deeper challenge of adaptability. The question isn't simply, "How do I keep up with change?” It's: “Who do I need to become when the world I'm operating in has changed?”
Check out the full shownotes.
Get the 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.