All Posts

Previous Years: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
2012
December
31: What is purpose? How do I create more purpose in my life?
30: What is meaning? How do I create more meaning in my life?
29: Understanding others’ value and their values
28: What is value? What are values? (short version)
27: What is value? What are values?
26: Cognitive behavioral therapy and its problems, part 2
25: Cognitive behavioral therapy and its problems
24: The irony of my last two posts
23: Vince Lombardi: What It Takes to be Number One
22: Public speaking and karaoke success
21: Burpees — the one year review
20: Nature versus Corporate (slideshow)
20: Nature versus Corporate
19: Petty pathetic censorship
18: You know, ordinary life is pretty complex stuff
17: Thoughts on mourning
16: A poem: In the sea of Iwami by Kakinomoto Hitomaro
15: One of the most insidious barriers to getting hard things done, part 5: examples
14: One of the most insidious barriers to getting hard things done, part 4: overcoming them
13: One of the most insidious barriers to getting hard things done, part 3: why empathy gaps make sense
12: One of the most insidious barriers to getting hard things done, part 2: research and experiments
11: One of the most insidious barriers to getting hard things done, part 1
10: Moving doesn’t have to suck. It can be great.
9: Talking about race is sure to lead to nonsense
8: Responsibility and consuming resources
7: Scandal about that refreshing voice on copyright from a hard-core conservative
6: You’re an animal
5: Schopenhauer on the consistency and reliability of our emotional systems
4: Overcoming Objections and Blocks overview and table of contents
3: Overcoming objections exercise
1: Common objection 11: Other people tell me not to
November
30: Common objection 10: I’m good at something else
29: Common objection 9: I’m too busy. I have other priorities.
28: Common objection 8: But it’s embarrassing or it makes me anxious
27: Common objection 7: I’ll feel fake
26: Common objection 6: That’s just the way it is
25: Common objection 5: I have to take care of “real world” issues first
24: Common objection 4: I don’t know how to do it, I’m too introverted, I’m not smart enough, etc
23: Common objection 3: I don’t have enough money/time/connections/etc
22: Common objection 2: I’m not good at X. I can’t do Y. I’m not a Z person
21: Protected: Publishing
21: Common objection 1: I want to understand the root of the problem before solving it
20: See Rufus Seder’s talk on “Magic, Art, and Motion Pictures” featuring my work in Boston November 29
20: How to view objections and blocks as advantages
20: Overcoming objections and blocks in leadership and personal development: The overarching principles
19: How to make yourself more confident
18: A refreshing voice on copyright from a hard-core conservative
17: Experimenting with ads
16: Variety, choice, the manufactured illusion of it, and creating more yourself
15: Appreciation for good customer service
14: Obesity, insults, and living by your values
13: A good video on body language, non-verbal communication, and improving yourself
12: Perceiving tragedy
11: Thriving in challenging situations
10: How do you respond to others’ suffering?
9: Amazing software to help you think and organize
8: The most important parts of any exercise or diet
7: Values change
6: Misconceptions about values
5: Another genius business idea: Iron Designer tv show
4: You’re always emotional, not only when you’re angry or excited
3: Non-attachment, caring, and motivation, part 2
2: Sensationalist reporting
1: It’s what you make of it
October
31: Always remember the media wants to sell ads
30: No power? No complaints.
29: Measuring costs of disasters, modeling your world, and accounting
28: Social challenges can be harder than technical
27: The simple pleasures of home
26: Know your self-talk, lead others
25: Know your self-talk, know yourself, part 2
24: Know your self talk, know yourself
23: Some self-talk you’ll recognize, to improve your self-awareness
22: You can connect with anyone
21: If we return to the same happiness level eventually, why do we prefer winning lotteries to becoming quadriplegic?
20: The metric system isn’t that much better
20: Protected: Starting a leadership school
19: You show me the best leader in a room and I’ll show you the one who works the hardest
18: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Review
17: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Shortcomings of 360-degree feedback reports
16: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Weaknesses are often strengths misapplied
15: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: foreseeing challenges
14: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Focus on the client
13: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Use Feedforward
12: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Create accountability for yourself
11: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: find a relevant exercise
10: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: figuring out what to start with
9: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Personal development skills
8: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: Improve one thing at a time
7: INSEAD leadership seminar
6: A sample 360-degree feedback report: qualitative feedback
5: A sample 360-degree feedback report: more detail
4: Leadership lessons from 360-degree feedback charts
3: A sample 360-degree feedback: Overview charts
2: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students: 360-degree feedbacks
1: Coaching highlights from coaching Columbia Business School students
September
30: See Joshua Spodek at INSEAD Singapore next week
29: Amazing essays by amazing writers and thinkers
28: Sports and passion
27: Science is a long way from helping diet
26: How does a car flip over like this?!?
25: My beautiful eight-minute Shanghai commute
24: Your commute is too long
23: People who claim not to judge and blame often do, illustrated, part 2
22: People who claim not to judge and blame often do, illustrated
21: My Mom, the new face of fashion
20: Our polluted world
19: Where do you buy fruits and vegetables?
18: One of the best exercises I know to raise your self-awareness
17: Why food matters
16: You can still learn new things
15: North Korea and relationships
15: Motivating populations
14: Occupy Disney
13: Broccoli rabe versus sweets
12: What causes all the stress in your life?
11: Non-attachment, caring, and motivation
10: A good listening question, especially if you talk too much
9: If you want to change something you do, its opposite usually is no better. Look for its complement.
7: Examples of ignoring impediments on the way to greatness
6: A model to make hard decisions easier
5: Lessons in freedom from Charles Barkley
4: Being overweight looks depressing
3: Too much is a problem too
2: How I got to work a day or two a week
1: Union Square in Motion named Adobe Design Achievement Award Semifinalist!
August
31: So you’re good at meeting people. How do you choose whom to meet?
30: A fundamental contradiction for many women in dating
29: I flipped burgers at the Burger King on the Champs-Elysees in Paris
28: You can plan good times. The best times just happen.
27: Motivation, energy to act, and expectation of success
26: Growing up in a bad part of town
25: More on power, leadership, lawlessness, justice, and amnesty
24: Power, leadership, lawlessness, justice, and amnesty
23: Handling annoying requests from your superiors at work
22: Typical conversation in Chinese restaurant
21: The Leaders in Software and Art Conference, October 16
20: My essays for getting into an Ivy League business school in 23 days
19: My background for getting into an Ivy League business school in 23 days
18: I started at an Ivy League business school 23 days after deciding to apply. Here’s how.
17: I love the West Village
16: Soursops — my new favorite fruit!
15: Boracay!
14: How I edit these posts
12: The one person you can never see from another person’s perspective is yourself
11: Kim Il Sung Square, the day before his birthday celebration
11: More on rules
10: An old building in North Korea
10: Rules: what are they and how do you get to play by your own?
10: North Korean monuments, part 2
9: More on becoming a superstar
8: North Korean monuments, part 1
8: How to become a superstar
7: My coffee habit and rules
7: More on North Korea’s art
6: Why I don’t like watching soccer
5: Three things I learned from yoga
4: North Korean children’s nearly unbelievable performances
4: How far should I develop myself? It’s hard!
3: An olympic shock
3: An interesting character in North Korea
2: Why do you read joshuaspodek.com? What do you want to see more or less of?
2: Genuine North Korean emotion and tears
1: Facebook’s woes and what it could have done instead
1: Pyongyang’s slums
July
31: Another genius business idea: real-life fairy tales
30: Great Bruce Springsteen article in this week’s New Yorker
29: What works in X web page mind map
28: Do you overvalue originality at the expense of getting the job done?
27: Another genius business idea: the “What Works in X” web page
26: How I could be wrong about North Korea’s stability
26: Another genius business idea: the “What Works in X” book series
25: Bizarre tour of the metro museum
25: The Art of What Works
24: Natural beauty in North Korea, part 2: beaches
24: Words to help you do things daily
23: What do you think of “leaders” whose people suffered
23: Another genius business idea: the series
22: Natural beauty in North Korea, part 1: mountains
22: Leadership, personal development, choosing to care, and emotional pain
21: Random observations of Pyongyang and North Korea
21: Having acceptance, tolerance, and hope show gaping holes in your life
20: My first tilt-shift: North Korea
20: My fitness habits, part 4: Nothing special about what I did
19: My fitness habits, part 3: Exercise
19: Pyongyang city planning
18: My fitness beliefs and habits, part 2: Food and Eating
18: North Korea and deteriorated infrastructure
17: My fitness beliefs and habits, part 1: Principles
17: North Korea and industry
16: Things aren’t suddenly getting worse
16: North Korea and inequity
15: You don’t find your passion, you create it
15: In North Korea, many people just sit by the roadside with nothing to do
14: Every moment counts
13: How to generate tons of hits and posts and why I don’t do it
12: Public speaking: one way to captivate audiences
12: More North Korea posts to come
11: I like luxury when someone gives it to me just for being myself
10: My satellite in the news!
9: Would you eat the cherry tomato?
8: A leadership dream
7: The scourge of romantic comedies
6: If you crave something you don’t have, people who have it will always be able to control you
5: You don’t have to accept anyone else’s hierarchy of taste
4: Frederick Douglass on the Fourth of July
3: Ultimate in Shanghai!
2: Ten Years of Submedia’s New York City display!
1: Another awesome blog — this one on living richly
June
30: Spending less improves your life
29: The bigger problems you don’t consider big deals, the more important people consider you
28: The U.S. has a “dysfunctional patent system”
27: Sharing what you love fills your life with sharing, love, and stuff you love
26: A tip for high-status behavior
25: Burpee overview
25: Explaining China’s support for North Korea
24: Burpee six-month review
23: Impressions of China
22: The terracotta army
21: Xian!
20: Learning social skills helps your life more than almost anything
19: Durians!
18: Proof you can change even very important beliefs in an instant
17: On creating emotions
16: Persistence pays off, so does treating people like people
15: “Extremes” usually aren’t
14: Not envying others, without complacency
13: The values of different fields
12: Living by your values
11: Leadership lessons from method acting
10: Difficult lessons in leadership
9: America’s infrastructure, leadership, idealism, and getting the job done
8: What is progress?
7: My cousin — Olympics bound?
7: A Korean-American friend’s article about visiting North Korea
7: Seeing movies in theaters reminds my why I don’t like watching movies in theaters
6: How you see the world when you see it from space
5: Every word you say counts
4: My comedy sketch script
3: Great videos on understanding the economy, environment, and energy
2: Facebook versus Walden
1: Entrepreneurs saving heating costs and polluting less
May
31: Creating your emotions — my friend’s incredibly successful story
30: First cherries of spring!
29: The difference between men and women
28: Human history, on a flash drive
27: On the values of travel
26: If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Consider Time
25: Problems at the foundation of economics
24: Why people flip out (including yourself) and what to do about it
23: A leadership perspective on differences between economic systems
22: Robert McNamara on Vietnam and leadership (or lack thereof) that led to the war
21: Joshua Spodek mentioned in Tate Modern lecture
20: Xu Bing’s gallery show at the Shanghai Gallery of Art
19: Ho Chi Minh City’s War Remembrance Museum
18: Leadership and the environment
17: Culture shock comes when you experience something old for the first time in a while, not something new
16: Difficult life decision? Here’s how to look at it.
16: Founding myths and who created North Korea
15: The difference between “about science” and science
14: I don’t know when the United States and North Korean governments will be at peace, but we made it sooner
14: Entrepreneurs: think twice before taking advice from venture capitalists
13: Business people should understand our effect on the environment better than anyone, part 2
12: Business people should understand our effect on the environment better than anyone, part 1
11: One of the best books I’ve read on the environment, our impact on it, and what we can do about it
10: A leader and physicist’s view on morality, ethics, and judgment
9: How do you lead when you can’t stand working with someone?
8: Deciding right and wrong for others and causing them guilt and blame doesn’t help anyone
7: The New York Times had a contest about my post
6: Giant marshmallow dreams
5: On the counterproductivity of motivating people with guilt and blame — aka moralizing
4: North Korea, China, Vietnam, Cuba — a case for humility and understanding
3: Ecology, economy, population growth and Do The Math
2: Perhaps this blog’s most useful and effective advice
1: Food, joy, and values
April
30: Awesome math book and an anecdote on it
29: The height of annoying
28: See my North Korea strategy talk
27: Words of wisdom for crunch time
26: Leadership-based thoughts on economic and energy growth and limits
25: Fantastic video on economic and energy growth and limits
24: The Forbidden City
23: Back from North Korea!
22: See Joshua Spodek on understanding North Korea from a business strategy perspective in Beijing
21: Why don’t they teach emotional intelligence and self awareness in school? (part 1, K-12)
20: Giving unsolicited advice generally backfires. Here are alternatives.
19: How to identify great life lessons
18: Learning from performers to live in the moment
17: How to get the body you want
16: Conquering anxiety (or any other emotion) and getting the job done
15: The Great Wall of China!
14: More on the subjectivity of “truth”
13: Talking about “truth” or “reality” confuses things
12: Do you think truth is objective?
11: I don’t like to travel
10: Learning the incredibly helpful skill of forgetting
9: My interview by Leaders in Software and Art
8: Yet more perspective on the economy, environment, and ecology
7: Finally, more great perspective on the economy, environment, and ecology
6: How to feel good anytime
6: North Korean models
5: Two representations of problems with America
5: Podcast from my August North Korea trip
4: Finding home by traveling far
3: A story of a North Korean prison camp
3: Physical and emotional tension are similar and you can use either to help the other
2: North Korea, the environment, and trees
2: Your online tools spy on you. There is a way out.
1: Is there no comprehensive list of emotions?
March
31: Balancing challenge, learning, fun, and reward in personal development
30: Creating miracles
29: One way to accept without judging
28: Hard work, money, and American values
28: Obama’s missed North Korea opportunity
27: Working hard versus getting things done
26: The slides from my North Korea talk at Columbia Business School
26: Leaving Facebook is easy and fun
25: Eloquence
24: Make your faults and weaknesses strengths
23: A Catch-22 of minority and underprivileged leadership
22: Spring in New York 2012, part 1
21: Fun words for annoying people
20: Activating mental chatter
20: Another review of Understanding North Korea: Demystifying the World’s Most Misunderstood Country
19: The first step in strategy
18: How gyms having big mirrors helps so much
17: A question on my North Korea talk at Columbia
16: See Joshua Spodek on understanding North Korea from a business strategy perspective at Columbia Business School
15: When the greatness of great leadership emerges
14: Spring sunshine and breezes
13: What is status?
12: What is power?
11: Depressions don’t make you depressed
10: Attempting to succeed means you will fail sometimes
9: Some consolation
8: How to attract anyone, part 3
7: A way to attract anyone, part 2: how to do it
6: How to attract anyone, part 1
5: An exercise to help keep you from getting angry
4: A self-awareness exercise to help keep you calm and effective
3: Psychologists on self-awareness
2: My habits
1: A North Korean vegan food blog
1: Habits can be contagious. How to make that work for you.
February
29: Telling my awesome story on stage about inspiring my mom’s first marathon
28: Hard projects will be harder than you expect. How to prepare.
27: Using an MBA as a multi-media artist, and other uses
27: E. O. Wilson and evolutionary psychology in the New Yorker
26: An essay on money
25: A bad day skiing beats a good day of almost anything else
25: Planet Money on the North Korean economy
24: A solution to all ethics problems
23: Forget what you have. What can you create?
22: Hopeless or worth it? When should you give up on a project going nowhere?
21: How not to fail
20: Does greatness require letting go of your safety net?
19: Nobody is normal
18: What I learned from football ads
17: How to respond to insults
16: Vulnerability and opening up first
15: Josh’s growing list of differences with mainstream American culture
14: Amazing representation of the size the universe and everything in it
13: Don’t let a sour grapes attitude ruin your life
12: Some reasonable talk on the China Study
11: Getting through the challenges of personal development
10: Improve your public speaking through storytelling, part 2
9: Improve your public speaking through storytelling, part 1
8: More labels not helping: a man’s autism vanishes
7: “Introverted” / “Extroverted”: labels hold you back from improving your life
6: Willpower, part 9: an image of how to use willpower
5: Willpower, part VIII: images of temptation
4: Willpower, part 0: The value of willpower
3: Communications skills exercises, part 10a: examples of voicing your self-talk
3: Willpower, part VII: what to do with your old motivations
2: Is New York City’s warm February weather scaring you?
2: More on burpees
1: Grand Illusions and North Korea, part 2
1: Who knew a one-minute-a-day workout could do so much?
January
31: Grand Illusions and North Korea, part 1
31: How to begin a workout routine to last: start with joy
30: The Method: exercise to transform yourself
29: The Method: exercise in new beliefs
28: The Method: exercise in knowing yourself
27: The Method: long term
26: The Method: improving your life as much as you want is all based on one cycle
25: Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” reveals more than you’d think
25: The Method: long-term growth from many transformations
24: The Method: illustration of implementation stages
24: The Method from another perspective
23: The Method: implementation stage 1: a caveat
23: The Method: implementation stage 3: regular life
23: The Method: implementation stage 2: support
23: The Method: implementation stage 1: transition
23: The Method: implementation overview
22: The Method: summary of one cycle (with diagram)
20: The Method, step 4: Implement the environments, beliefs, and behaviors
20: The Method, step 3: conceive of new environments, beliefs, and behaviors
19: The Method, step 2: conceive of new emotions
18: The Method: steps 0 and 1, awareness
18: The Method, step 1: understand your current emotional cycles
17: The Method, step 0: know your emotional system
16: The Method, step by step
15: Models: an exercise in spotting the model
13: This land was made for you and me
13: Models: an exercise in evaluating models
12: Hundreds of millions of counterfeit hundred dollar bills, part 3
12: Models: examples of the active view
11: This photograph is free!
11: Hundreds of millions of counterfeit hundred dollar bills, part 2
11: Models: the active view, part 2
10: Hundreds of millions of counterfeit hundred dollar bills, part 1
10: Models: the active view, part 1
9: Models: flaws from experts
8: Models: why I stress that they all have flaws
7: Models: the passive view
7: A kink in the armor: The Wall Street Journal on luxuries entering North Korea
6: Examples of models: Mexico city, lack of awareness, and leadership
6: The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on North Korea’s nuclear power development
5: Favorite moments in North Korea of my travel group-mates, part 3
5: Examples of models: “Everybody does their best according to their abilities and perception of their environment”
4: Examples of models: “beliefs and expectations filter your perception”
4: Favorite moments in North Korea of my travel group-mates, part 2
3: Examples of models: why he or she didn’t call
3: Favorite moments in North Korea of my travel group-mates, part 1
2: Examples of models: how a slight change in your model can create big changes in behavior
2: Understanding North Korea featured on Amazon
1: Examples of models: beliefs and mental models
1: A brief history of Understanding North Korea: Demystifying the World’s Most Misunderstood Country
Previous Years: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Post Categories

Read my weekly newsletter

On initiative, leadership, the environment, and burpees

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit