Seth Godin was one of my first podcast guests and I interviewed him at his home north of the city. He also endorsed my book Leadership Step by Step. He has huge followings who love his work. I know because at his home, I saw the huge piles of handwritten thank-you notes he received, all opened, all clearly read.

He recently put out the word to his community that the world could use a basic book on global warming. About a thousand of them coalesced to contribute each in his or her way to make that book in a few months, no one person doing that much. It became a best-seller.

I joined the community but didn’t participate much. They also started a podcast and invited me to be a guest. The community impressed me because they invited me after I posted a critical note on the forum. Here’s the episode (scroll down for show notes, which describe what I talk about).

I held back from participating because I thought the group focused too much on facts, not enough on leadership. I posted something constructive but critical to the message board. The podcast team responded to invite me to be a guest. I posted something else constructive but critical and the daily email group invited me to write for them. These interactions led to creating a leadership initiative. We’re creating a course and implementation plan, and have already recorded a couple videos. This community responds to and supports members who act. I learned to speak up and participate rather than disagree in silence.

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Podcast notes:

Episode Summary: Brian and Olabanji discuss sustainability leadership, intrinsic motivation, and systemic change with Joshua Spodek

Joshua Spodek PhD MBA hosts the award-winning This Sustainable Life podcast, a four-time TEDx speaker, bestselling author of Initiative and Leadership Step by Step, professor at NYU, published in the New Yorker, and leadership coach.

He holds a PhD in astrophysics and an MBA from Columbia, where he studied under a Nobel Laureate and helped launch a satellite (having emerged from some of Philadelphia’s most dangerous neighborhoods). 

His mission is to help change American (and global) culture on sustainability and stewardship from expecting deprivation, sacrifice, burden, and chore to expecting rewarding emotions and lifestyles, as he sees happen with everyone he leads to act for their intrinsic motivations.

To connect with Josh Spodek, go to https://joshuaspodek.com

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker

Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis by Steven Spielberg

For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org

Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Brian D Tormey and Olabanji Stephen

Brian is a Real Estate Title Insurance Professional and Goat Farmer in the US.

Olabanji is from Lagos Nigeria, he’s a Creative Director and visual designer that helps brands gain clarity, deliver meaningful experiences and build tribes through Design & Strategy. He founded Jorney – a community designed to help people stay productive, accountable, and do their best work. 

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

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• The Spodek Method Mindset Shift: Before and After. A World of Difference. →