Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Hosted by Passion Struck with John R. Miles
About this Show
You built the life you were supposed to want. So why doesn't it feel like enough? Passion Struck is the #1 Health and Fitness podcast — and it exists to answer exactly that question. I'm John R. Miles — Navy veteran, former Fortune 50 executive, bestselling author — and I built this show because I lived the "successful but empty" version of life myself, and I wanted to find a better way. Each week, I sit down with the world's top voices in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and elite performance — including Angela Duckworth, Susan Cain, Robert Waldinger, Daniel Amen, and Ryan Holiday — to unpack what the research tells us about purpose, connection, and resilience, and how to apply it to your own life. Fridays, I share what I'm learning directly, in solo episodes built around the same ideas. New interviews every Tuesday and Thursday. Solo episodes every Friday.
Latest Episodes
World’s Most Influential Psychologist: The Hidden Force That Drives Human Progress | Dr. Martin Seligman – EP 817
Have you ever reached a point where you stopped believing that what you do could actually make a difference?Maybe you tried harder. Maybe you kept showing up. But after enough setbacks, rejection, or disappointment, something inside you started asking, "Why bother?"Today, John R. Miles sits down ...
You Are Not the Only Variable: When to Change Yourself and When to Change Your Environment | John R. Miles - EP 816
Have you ever worked harder and harder at something, only to wonder why nothing seems to change?You may assume the answer is that you need more discipline, more motivation, or more grit. But what if the problem isn't you?Today, John R. Miles explores that question through two very different lense...
World-Renowned Historian: When Leaders Actually Change History | Jared Diamond - EP 815
What makes someone a great leader? Is it talent? Timing? Character? Circumstance? Or simply being the right person in the right place at the right moment? Today, John R. Miles sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Jared Diamond to explore one of the biggest questi...
World-Leading Psychologist: How to Change Your Life by Changing What’s Around You | Angela Duckworth - EP 814
If you’ve been trying to change your life but keep falling back into the same habits, this episode is for you. Today, John R. Miles sits down with Angela Duckworth, one of the world’s leading psychologists and the bestselling author of Grit. Angela has spent her career studying why some people ar...
How to Stop Feeling Like You’re Never Doing Enough | Caleb Campbell - EP 813
If you constantly feel like you should be doing more, achieving more, or becoming more, this episode is for you. Today, John R. Miles sits down with Caleb Campbell, a former NFL player and author of the new book Unstriving. For much of his life, Caleb believed that success would finally make him ...
30 Years of Research Reveals Why Midlife Isn’t a Crisis | Margie Lachman - EP 812
What if everything you’ve been told about midlife is wrong? If you’ve ever worried that your best years are behind you, that it’s too late to change, or that getting older automatically means losing your energy, purpose, or sense of possibility, this episode is for you. Today, John R. Miles sits ...
Duke Behavioral Economist: Why You’ll Regret the Risks You Don’t Take | Dan Ariely - EP 811
What if the thing you regret most someday isn't what you did—but what you never tried? In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles sits down with behavioral economist and bestselling author Dan Ariely to explore why we make decisions that don't always serve our long-term well-being. Dan's re...
How to Stop Caring What Everyone Thinks of You & Find Yourself Again | Josh Duhamel - EP 810
What would change if you stopped worrying so much about what everyone else thinks of you? Actor, entrepreneur, and father Josh Duhamel has spent decades in the spotlight, but he says one of the biggest things he has learned with age is that he no longer needs to pretend for anyone—and that caring...
How to Change Your Brain's Destiny Before It's Too Late | Dr. David Perlmutter – EP 809
What if protecting your brain from cognitive decline starts decades before you ever notice a problem? In this powerful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with neurologist and bestselling author Dr. David Perlmutter to explore the emerging science behind his new book, Brain Defenders, and why t...
Why You’re Not Changing Even Though You Know What to Do | Mark Manson - EP 808
Have you ever had a breakthrough that felt like it was going to change your life, only to find yourself back in the same patterns a week later? In this powerful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with three-time New York Times bestselling author Mark Manson to unpack one of the biggest traps i...
Why Other People Have So Much Power Over You | John R. Miles - EP 807
Why do other people's opinions have so much power over you? You may think your beliefs, opinions, and reactions are entirely your own. But your brain has been quietly keeping score of something much older and more powerful: whether you belong. In this solo episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles...
You're Not Losing Time. You're Giving It Away. | Neal Schore – EP 806
Why do you never have enough time? Most of us assume that feeling overwhelmed is a problem with our calendars. But executive coach and leadership advisor Neal Schore offers a different perspective: much of the time we lose isn't consumed by the tasks themselves. It disappears into our reactions, ...
Why Don’t Facts Change People’s Minds? | Dr. Jay Van Bavel - EP 805
Why do good people become so divided? Most of us assume that if people simply had the right facts, they would change their minds. But research tells a different story. More often than not, what shapes our beliefs isn't evidence—it's the groups we belong to and the identities we protect. In this e...
Why You're Not Stuck the Way You Think You Are | John R. Miles - EP 804
What if the biggest lie you've ever believed is that this is just who you are? Most of us think our personality, habits, fears, and limitations are fixed. We tell ourselves, "I've always been this way," or "I guess this is just who I am." But modern neuroscience tells a very different story. In t...
You Were Born to Flourish. Here's the Science That Proves It. | Dr. Richard Davidson & Dr. Cortland Dahl – EP 803
What if you've spent your whole life believing you needed to become someone different—when the qualities you need have been inside you all along? Most of us think flourishing is something we earn after we've accomplished enough, healed enough, or finally have everything figured out. But what if s...