Arthur Brooks on Happiness, Meaning, and Why Nothing We Chase Ever Feels Like Enough | Full Interview

In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Arthur Brooks, professor at Vanderbilt University and a leading researcher into the science of happiness, to unpack why success so often fails to deliver the fulfilment it promises. Arthur explains the arrival fallacy, the hedonic treadmill and why the brain can treat achievement much like it treats drugs, alcohol or gambling. He introduces Thomas Aquinas' four idols of money, power, pleasure and honour, and walks Jordan through identifying which one quietly drives his own decisions. The conversation moves into the dark triad personality, the real difference between kindness and niceness, and why boredom and an undistracted mind matter far more than we think in an age of constant notifications. Jordan opens up about his pilgrimage across the Scottish Highlands, and the two discuss suffering, faith and what it actually means to live a meaningful life. Arthur closes with a message for every striver watching, that no amount of success can ever substitute for being loved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi for one of the most honest and revealing conversations they have had, exploring loss, ownership and the true meaning of contentment. Shi Heng Yi opens up about the most difficult period of his life, the past year and a half, which saw disciples leave, his reputation challenged and long held foundations shaken. He speaks candidly about the gap between public image and private reality, why he chose to remove the uniform for recent interviews and what it means to finally step outside the identity the world built for him. The conversation moves through Buddhist teachings on impermanence and attachment, the Western obsession with getting versus the liberating practice of letting go, and how fatherhood has become his greatest teacher. Shi Heng Yi reflects on watching his young son live entirely in the present moment and what that timelessness reveals about the complexity adults choose to carry. Jordan and Shi Heng Yi also revisit the now famous stone carry challenge, unpacking the unexpected peace that followed and why the weight was never really about the stone. This is a deeply philosophical and personal episode about surrendering the need to become someone, learning to own nothing and finding freedom in simplicity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at ⁠http://drinklmnt.com/MULLIGAN In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Phil Campion, known to many as Big Phil Campion, a former UK Special Forces operator who passed selection into D Squadron. Phil opens up about a turbulent childhood spent in and out of children's homes, including abuse and relentless bullying, and explains how learning to control his own suffering as a boy shaped the calm he would later rely on under fire. He details the winding path that took him from a scholarship at a public school to the Royal Hampshire Regiment, and the blunt ultimatum from his commanding officer that finally pushed him towards Special Forces selection. The conversation moves through the realities of selection itself, the humbling first months inside the regiment, and the ethos of self-discipline that Phil credits as the single lesson that has shaped his life the most. He recalls being wounded by shrapnel on an operation in Africa, a harrowing capture and imprisonment in a shipping container in Togo, and a tense standoff during a kidnapping incident in Afghanistan. Phil is candid about the difficult transition into civilian life after his time on the private military circuit, including a period of heavy drinking and financial recklessness following operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also talks about rediscovering purpose through boxing, including organising charity fights between teams of SAS veterans and Navy SEALs, and reflects on the humility he believes defines genuine Special Forces operators. The episode closes with Phil's advice for young people who feel they have no clear path forward, drawn directly from his own journey through the care system and into one of the toughest selection courses in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at ⁠http://drinklmnt.com/MULLIGAN In today's episode, Jordan spends a day with DJ Shipley, the former Navy SEAL Team 6 operator, to break down the daily routines, discipline and mindset that separate the great from the good. Shipley opens up the machinery behind his mornings and evenings, from laying out his clothes the night before to the three minute get-ready sequence he calls closing out the chapter, and explains why one hit of the snooze button can throw an entire day off course. The conversation moves from the granular to the philosophical. Shipley shares what he learned standing in the same rooms as elite performers, and why he is convinced that greatness is not genetics but unbroken repetition over decades. He talks about proximity to excellence, keeping yourself in student status, and the idea that discipline is simply magic that nobody wants to explain to you. There is a deeply personal thread running through it all. Shipley speaks candidly about the regret he carries for the version of himself he used to bring home, the small reset he now performs in the driveway before walking through the door, and the thirty minute blocks with his children that he refuses to trade away. He reflects on returning from injury, rebuilding confidence, and being present enough that your absence is actually felt. This is a masterclass in structure, consistency and control of the controllables, delivered by a man who has lived it at the highest level and now teaches it through his Be A Pro talks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shi Heng Yi explaining the meaning of the year of the Fire Horse is one of the most replayed moments from his full conversation on the podcast, a segment listeners keep returning to. In this popular clip from the full interview, Shi Heng Yi explains why the year of the snake became a year of release for him, and why moving on from an old version of himself felt less like loss and more like possibility. He speaks candidly about leaving surroundings he had known for years, relocating from Germany where the temple is based, and reshaping his daily life around his wife and his son. Shi Heng Yi reflects on how the identity he once held was shattered across many different layers, from the temple he built up to the masters he trained alongside, and how he chose acceptance over resistance. Drawing on the idea that something old must go in order for something new to arrive, he describes the difference between forcing change and allowing it to happen effortlessly, right in front of your eyes. Looking ahead to the year of the fire horse, Shi Heng Yi shares a striking perspective on energy and authenticity. Fire can fuel you or it can burn you, and the deciding factor is whether you move through the year as your authentic self. He talks openly about no longer needing validation, no longer feeling the urge to prove anything to anyone, and what it truly means to know who you are and stand fully behind it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delta Force operator Tom Satterly explains the real difference between tier one special forces units in this most replayed moment, a segment viewers keep returning to from his full interview. In this popular clip, the Delta Force operator breaks down how elite tier one units approach close quarters battle, the split-second choreography of clearing a room, and why the enemy never gets a chance to make a decision once the door comes off. He lays out the hierarchy of special operations, from SEAL Team 6 and Delta at the tier one level, through Rangers and Green Berets at tier two, down to the conventional forces, and explains why so few operators ever reach the top. The conversation then turns inward. He describes a training culture with no schedule and no one telling you what to do, an organisation full of leaders driving themselves to be better every single day. He is honest about the cost of that mindset, the way you build yourself up physically whilst tearing yourself down mentally, and the reality of life after the unit, when the train you gave everything to keeps hauling down the tracks without you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Derek Lunsford, two-time Mr. Olympia, three-time Olympia champion and Arnold Classic bodybuilding champion, fourteen weeks out from the 2026 Mr. Olympia. Fresh off a historic 2025 season in which he became the first ever triple crown winner, taking the Arnold Classic, the Pittsburgh Pro and the Mr. Olympia title in a single calendar year, Derek opens up on what it takes to chase a back-to-back Olympia title and cement himself as the most dominant bodybuilder in the world. This conversation goes beyond the stage, as Derek reflects on being a 140-pound wrestler from a small Indiana coal-mining town who was told he was worthless and would never amount to anything, and how that pain became the fuel behind one of the most decorated careers in bodybuilding history. He speaks candidly about forgiveness, faith and the belief that carried him from labour jobs to the top of the sport. Jordan and Derek explore the psychology of staying hungry at the summit, the mental switch between ego and humility, the discipline and commitment most people are never willing to give, and the art of sculpting a physique where balance and symmetry matter as much as size. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at ⁠http://drinklmnt.com/MULLIGAN In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Green Beret and Special Forces veteran Tu Lam, the man behind Ronin Tactics, for a rare look inside the daily practice that rebuilt him after war. Tu Lam walks through a five hour morning routine of meditation, breath work, grounding, cold plunges and fasted training, and explains how each piece calms the nervous system and clears the trauma the body holds on to. From a childhood that began as a refugee left for dead at three years old, to the special forces years, to the weight he carried home from the battlefield, Tu Lam opens up about the anger, the anxiety and the numbing that followed him for years. He describes the four year psychedelic journey through Ibogaine and DMT that cracked open memories his analytical mind could never reach, what it meant to face ego death and truly surrender, and how that journey ultimately led him to faith and to Christ. Whether you are drawn to the mindset of a special forces operator, the science of processing trauma, or the search for meaning after a life of chaos, Tu Lam offers a blueprint for surrendering the weight and starting each day with intention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at http://drinklmnt.com/MULLIGAN In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Navy SEAL Team 6 (DEVGRU) Tier 1 operator DJ Shipley. DJ opens up about the creative side few people ever see, from writing rhyming roasts for the teams to the visceral pull of Ludovico Einaudi and the ready room ritual of playing the Last of the Mohicans score before going to work. From there the conversation turns to selection, where DJ describes the single most meaningful moment of his life, hearing his name called for the squadron he had wanted above all else, and the six months of purpose-built training that got him there. He lays out the philosophy that now drives him, the Be A Pro mentality, built on the idea that greatness is simply discipline and routine executed without compromise. He talks about the performance standards he created, why he still passes them despite what the job has taken from his body, and the reason everybody should do the same. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's episode, Jordan sits down with Green Beret and Special Forces operator Tu Lam, founder of Ronin Tactics. Tu Lam opens up about escaping genocide in Vietnam as a refugee child, floating on a boat at three years old left for dead, and how that early survival forged the resilience that carried him through 23 years in the military. From the 82nd Airborne to Ranger School, Special Forces selection, the deployment in Okinawa, and eventually the top tier of army special operations working alongside the CIA, Tu Lam built a career at the tip of the spear. But the war came home with him. In this episode he speaks honestly about a decade of opioid addiction, the hate that made him proficient in combat but a horrible human being, a traumatic brain injury, suicidal thoughts, and the total loss of identity that hit when the uniform came off. This is also a story about climbing back out. Tu Lam breaks down the practical tools that rebuilt him, from journaling and tracking emotions to their root thoughts, to meditation, gratitude, meditations on death drawn from the Tibetan monks, and ultimately his surrender to faith and his walk with Jesus Christ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices