What if much of what you’ve been told about how to come alive and get ahead in work was, well, wrong? That’s what today’s guest, Bonnie Hammer argues. And she’d know. As the Vice Chair of NBCUniversal, with decades at the highest levels of business, she’s the author of the new book 15 Lies: How Women are Taught to Fail and the Truth That Sets Them Free. 

In our conversation, Bonnie stresses the difference between common platitudes and what actually moves the needle. Together we dig into the importance of having truth tellers who give "tough love" and challenge you rather than just affirm you and discuss, why she believes "faking it til you make it" is terrible advice, and so much more.

We’re in conversation with:

SPARKED GUEST: Bonnie Hammer | Book

Bonnie Hammer is Vice Chair of NBCUniversal, where she’s spent decades transforming every facet of the television business. Under her leadership, the company’s cable group and studios achieved record-setting profits, garnered 167 Emmy nominations, and launched hit series including Suits, Psych, The Sinner, Battlestar Galactica, Mr. Robot, and hundreds more. She’s occupied virtually every industry position from production assistant to studio head—often being tapped for cutting edge roles.

Bonnie is also the author of the new book 15 Lies: How Women are Taught to Fail and the Truth That Sets Them Free.  

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Presented by LinkedIn.

PS. We’re about to launch a program - Career Clarity Lab™ - that’s been five-years in the making.

It’ll be entirely online and priced for accessibility. It will answer so many of the questions you’ve had about finding and doing work that truly makes you come alive. And, it will guide you through a step-by-step process to make it happen.

We’re looking to launch this program soon, but if you’d like to learn more now and be on our early-notice list (and qualify for a pretty big discount during our pre-launch window)... 

Learn more here.

* Discover Your Sparketype here *

We all want to feel more alive in work, and also in life. But, how? Where do we even begin.

I'm sure you've noticed there are certain activities that light you up at work. When you're doing them, you lose track of time, enter a state of flow, and feel deeply energized, like you’re fueled by purpose, meaning and joy.. But there are also tasks that drain you, no matter how motivated you are. 

Turns out, we all have a set of impulses that are unique to us, and they inform what kind of work fills us up, and what empties us out. We call these your Sparketypes, and we’ve been leading research on the Sparketypes since 2018, building on input from nearly 900,000 people, generating a database of more than 45-million data-points. We’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to come alive at work, and figured it was time to start sharing a lot more of that with you here on the SPARKED podcast.

Joining me from our fabulous team here at Spark Endeavors is Shelly Adele Bliss and together, we take a deep dive into our Sparketype framework and today, we’re starting out with a simple question. What ARE the Sparketypes, and why should you discover yours?

ABOUT YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Read more on the Sparked Newsletter on LinkedIn.

Presented by LinkedIn.

Are you unintentionally shutting down those around, so you you never get the benefit of their wisdom? Or, are you the one being shut down? In work, in relationships, in life?

Have you ever wondered what your coworkers, friends, or even kids really think but don’t say? I’m sure you’ve experienced those rare moments when someone finally opened up and offered a perspective that shifted your whole view. But what about all the times they stayed silent? How much wisdom have you missed out on along the way?

In today’s SPARKED Hot Take episode, we’re joined by Jeff Wetzler, to explore the invisible blockers causing people to withhold their truth from us. What deep-seated human dynamics lead us to hold back ideas and struggles from the very people who could help?

We’re in conversation with:

SPARKED GUEST: Jeff Wetzler | Website

Jeff Wetzler, author of forthcoming book, ‘Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs In Leadership and Life’  has been on a quarter-century quest to transform learning opportunities. Blending a unique set of leadership experiences in the fields of business and education, he’s pursued this quest as a management consultant to the world’s top corporations, as a learning facilitator for leaders around the world, as Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America, and most recently, as co-CEO of Transcend, a nationally recognized innovation organization. He lives in New York with his wife, two children, and their puppy.

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Presented by LinkedIn.

PS. We’re about to launch a program - Career Clarity Lab™ - that’s been five-years in the making.

It’ll be entirely online and priced for accessibility. It will answer so many of the questions you’ve had about finding and doing work that truly makes you come alive. And, it will guide you through a step-by-step process to make it happen.

We’re looking to launch this program in late-April, but if you’d like to learn more now and be on our early-notice list (and qualify for a pretty big discount during our pre-launch window)... 

Learn more here.

This week on the SPARKED podcast, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust. 

In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:

SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jenny Blake | Website

Jenny is a podcaster, career and business strategist, and an award-winning author of three books: Life After College, the groundbreaking Pivot for navigating what’s next, and her recently published Free Time for optimizing what’s now. 

LISTENER: Paula - Sparketype: Essentialist/Maven, Anti: Performer

QUESTION: Listener Paula shares a powerful story about a season of devotion to her family and her family business, and her emerging passion to shift focus to something new, and how that brings up all sorts of questions about everything from familial responsibility to purpose, passion and the freedom to choose your next move. Paula wrote in to share her story with us, so we’ve asked Shelley from our team to “read it into the conversation,” for us.

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Presented by LinkedIn.

PS. We’re about to launch a program - Career Clarity Lab™ - that’s been five-years in the making.

It’ll be entirely online and priced for accessibility. It will answer so many of the questions you’ve had about finding and doing work that truly makes you come alive. And, it will guide you through a step-by-step process to make it happen.

We’re looking to launch this program in late-April, but if you’d like to learn more now and be on our early-notice list (and qualify for a pretty big discount during our pre-launch window)... 

Learn more here.

Follow the SPARKED Newsletter on LinkedIn here.

What if our biggest regrets secretly held the keys to unlocking our greatest potential in work and life? What if it was the path to self-improvement, clarified priorities, and more courageous living?

That's what we’re exploring in this episode of Sparked, with my guest, bestselling author Daniel Pink. This conversation originally aired as a LinkedIn Live so after we teased out the topic, we were able to take some listener questions live and answer in real-time.

And we’re in conversation with:

SPARKED HOT TAKE WITH: Daniel Pink | Website

Dan is the author of several influential books on business, work, and human behavior, including Drive, A Whole New Mind, and To Sell is Human. His latest work, The Power of Regret, offers a fascinating look at the psychology and potential benefits of one of life’s most common yet overlooked emotions.

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover You Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find an Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Presented by LinkedIn.

Imagine, being in your 20s, fresh out of washing dishes at a local restaurant, borrowing just enough money to open a tiny, local deli with a friend who shared your passion for food, community, and business? Now, imagine that, decades later, that single decision would profoundly change the lives of not just thousands of regular customers, but millions of people, around the world? 

What my guest today, Ari Weinzwieg, didn’t realize, when starting Zingerman’s Deli with a $20,000 loan from the bank, and a degree in Russian History from the University of Michigan, was that he was seeding a revolution. Actually, in hindsight, maybe he did. Now 17 companies later and sitting as the CEO and co-founding partner of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Ari sees commerce as an engine of impact, expression and service that changes people’s lives. 

Ari and his ideas have set off a global ripple of compassion, dignity, imagination, and aliveness in the world of business, inviting people to reimagine a profoundly different, radically expansive and inclusive way of defining success. 

Named by Inc Magazine as one of “The World’s 10 Top CEOs,” he’s forging a new way in business that rejects the norm and is grounded in purposeful vision, passion, and anarchy theory. He’s written extensively about the values and beliefs that have kept the now iconic Zingerman’s Delicatessen, his first business venture, afloat and successful for over 40 years in weekly newsletters and the numerous books he’s authored, such as A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to the Power of Beliefs and A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Managing Ourselves. 

You can find Ari at: Website | Instagram

HOSTED BY: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.

Please note this episode originally aired in December 2022 which will be relevant to some references about world news.

How do you blend a well-paying job and a side passion that lights you up?

This week SPARKED podcast, we invited a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust. 

In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:

SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Deborah Owens | Website

After a long career in leadership in some of the biggest companies in the world, Deborah founded her own consulting firm, Corporate Alley Cat, where she advises and coaches People of Color in all aspects of career visioning and development. She has this incredible ability to see what’s happening under the surface in any given situation, and ask questions that get to the heart of the matter and reveal possibilities that feel both empowering and expansive.

LISTENER: Liana - Sparketype: Nurturer/Maven

QUESTION: In today’s episode, listener Liana shares a conundrum that many of us have pondered. Do you stay in the well-paying job and build up your savings or do you go part-time in order to do more of what lights you up and as Liana puts it ‘live your best life sooner.’ The question being, what do you value more money or your time? And is that even a real dichotomy?

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.

PLEASE NOTE: This episode of SPARKED originally aired in May of 2022.

Have you ever felt like you're drowning in stress, no matter what you try? That the weight of it all seems impossible to overcome? I've been there too. Today I'm speaking with Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a Harvard stress expert on a mission to help us reframe and reset our relationship with stress.

In my experience, we often feel alone when stressed, as if we're the only ones struggling. The truth is stress touches us all. As Aditi shares, stress is a natural and healthy human response, but in modern life it can become overactivated, leaving us burnt out and fatigued. The good news? There are simple, daily mindset shifts we can make to reboot our brains and bodies - no expensive spas or months in Bali required.

Rather than preaching toxic resilience, she provides real-world solutions tailored to the realities of modern life - from the myth of multitasking to the vital role of social connections. She prescribes time-efficient, cost-free techniques accessible to anyone, helping us change our relationship with stress and find balance once more.

SPARKED HOT TAKE WITH: Dr. Aditi Nerurkar | Website

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a nationally sought-after speaker, television correspondent, and author of the new book The Five Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience. With over two decades of clinical experience, she offers a reimagined approach to overcoming stress and burnout using five science-backed mindset shifts.

HOSTED BY: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.

When was the last time you asked yourself if your career is truly headed where you want to go? Do you feel like you’re just coasting along or following someone else’s script? 

It’s tempting but playing it safe is no way to build a career that allows you to grow into your best self.

In today’s conversation, Grace helps you grab the wheel and chart a course aligned with your true aspirations. 

We’ll explore how to move past the myth of “work-life balance” and integrate your personal and professional lives in an intentional way. Grace shares how to define your unique “cardinal direction,” take control of your career GPS, and build “professional equity” as you move ahead.

She also reveals how to course-correct when you veer off track so you can leave a legacy you’re proud of.

SPARKED HOT TAKE WITH: Grace Puma | Book

Grace Puma is the former executive vice president and COO of PepsiCo, and before that held senior positions with United Airlines, Kraft Foods, Motorola, and Gillette. A board member of both Organon & Co and Target, she has been ranked on the “Most Powerful Latina” list by Fortune magazine and recognized as the “Executive of the Year” by Latina Style magazine. Puma holds a BA in business administration and economics from Illinois Benedictine University. She lives in Tampa, Florida.

HOSTED BY: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.

Have you ever felt like creativity is a gift only meant for others? Like you just weren’t born part of that illustrious and somewhat mysterious “creative class?” 

Total bunk. Creativity lives inside all of us—and uncovering it could unlock meaning and joy in every aspect of your life?

In this conversation, Cynthia and I explore the myths holding us back from full creative living. She reveals three brutally hard truths of innovation, and why the creative life isn't about chasing comfort. We discuss how to awaken your senses, see with new eyes, and understand your unique blend of creativity.

In today’s episode we’re digging into:

• How do you know when you are being creative? What are the signs or feelings that indicate you have tapped into your own creativity?
• Where does the "muse" or creative inspiration come from - is it something within us or does it come from outside of us? 
• How can we challenge what we think we know and let ourselves be surprised in order to expand creativity in our work and relationships?
• How can we cultivate and tune our senses to see familiar things in new ways and spark creativity?

SPARKED HOT TAKE WITH: Cynthia Morris | Website

Cynthia is the founder of the Original Impulse creative studio and atelier and coaching program for writers, she’s also an author, workshop facilitator, trusted advisor and coach.

HOSTED BY: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.

Have you ever felt that nagging sense that you're capable of achieving so much more, yet held yourself back because taking a leap felt too risky? I know I have.

We all have big dreams inside us - of launching that business, asking for the promotion, or finally working up the courage to leave the unfulfilling job. But so often, we shy away from fully pursuing those dreams because we worry about stability, acceptance from others, or our own self-doubt.

We’re in conversation with:

SPARKED HOT TAKE WITH: Deborah Owens | Website

After a long career in leadership in some of the biggest companies in the world, Deborah founded her own consulting firm, Corporate Alley Cat, where she advises and coaches People of Color in all aspects of career visioning and development. She has this incredible ability to see what’s happening under the surface in any given situation, and ask questions that get to the heart of the matter and reveal possibilities that feel both empowering and expansive.

YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool that’s helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED.

How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions

More on Sparketypes at: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website

Find a Certified Sparketype Advisor: CSA Directory

Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training. This powerful training and certification is designed to help you:⁣

• Deliver more outstanding service while helping your clients and/or team members live a more-fulfilling life, and craft a more purpose-led, meaningful, and alive career path. ⁣
• Better understand how to powerfully motivate and inspire employees or teams to perform at the highest levels, so that they generate exceptional results and do more of what makes them come alive.⁣
• AND… get there much faster with next-gen tools that do what no others can⁣. 

Learn more HERE. Next Training starts March 2024

Presented by LinkedIn.