Sutterfaction

Evan Sutter

We live in arguably the most inauthentic epoch in history. Big business manipulates and confuses with another carefully crafted marketing campaign. Influencers have replaced elders and authors as the go-to place for advice and support. Capitalism and neoliberalism condition us and then dictate terms. House prices, floods, bushfires, stress, busyness, poverty, and the rest. How can we enjoy our lives amongst all the conflicts of interests, biases, and uncertainty? The Sutterfaction Podcast, hosted by author, speaker, and activist Evan Sutter, plays at the intersections of philosophy, psychology, society and culture, ethics, human flourishing, politics, business, happiness, and meaning; so we can avoid the unlived life and construct one worth living.

  1. 2 days ago

    Things I’ve Changed My Mind About — Success

    In this episode: Why external success can hide an unhealthy life. The startup story that completely reframed my thinking about ambition. What building SwiftReporter continues to teach me about stress and presence. The moment my daughter pulled me away from my phone—and why it still stays with me. What paddling the Hunter River taught me about struggle, patience, and control. The simple life lesson my grandfather ("Pop") shared that has become more valuable every year. Why we've confused exhaustion with progress. The difference between hard days and hard lives. A quieter, broader definition of success. Continue Exploring 📖 Read the companion Field Note:Things I've Changed My Mind About: Successhttps://www.evansutter.com/fieldnotes/things-ive-changed-my-mind-about-success 📘 Download my free book — The 42Forty-two short stories, observations and reflections from forty-two years.https://www.evansutter.com/the-42 📊 Explore The Human BaselineA free 20-point diagnostic to help you better understand your current foundations across health, work, relationships and wellbeing.https://www.evansutter.com/the-human-baseline Question for reflection What has life quietly changed your mind about?

  2. 17 July

    The Stories We Never Question

    Key Takeaways & Chapters The Toddler’s Focus: Why children are born with a relentless curiosity that adults eventually trade for rigid self-defense. Lessons from the Monastery: How stripping away modern complexity, technology, and constant chatter exposes the rules we never consciously chose. The Cuban Paradox: Breaking the illusion that great output requires sacrificing deep presence with family and friends. Unpacking the Startup Hustle: Challenging the toxic badge of honor that demands leaders become completely unavailable for their own lives. What the River Teaches: Moving from an obsession with aggressive control to a deeper, nature-aligned definition of structural progress. Fatherhood as the Ultimate Pattern Interrupt: How children inherently refuse to measure our worth by résumés, titles, or income. Links & Resources Mentioned 👇 BUILD A LIFE BY DESIGN (FREE RESOURCES) Download "The 42" (Free Book) Distilled down to the only 42 mental models you actually need for life's chaotic moments. Get the free PDF guide and join The Aliveness Dispatch: 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/ Test Your Human Baseline Are you building a solid foundation or just running on an emotional treadmill? Take the rigorous, 20-point diagnostic to find out where you are leaking energy: 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/baseline 👇 WORK WITH ME DEEPER The Happier Course Practical frameworks and mental models for dropping internal friction and building a healthier, more meaningful life. 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/happier-course Explore 1-on-1 Conversations If you are running fast but realize you might be climbing the wrong corporate or personal ladder, let's recalibrate your architecture. 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/1-on-1-conversations

  3. 10 July

    What Does a Good Life Actually Look Like?

    In this episode, we cover: The Metric Trap: Why we default to measuring money and growth instead of the actual quality of our lives. The Condition of Ambition: Why building cool, difficult things is essential to feeling alive—but only if you don't lose your peripheral vision in the process. The SF Founder Dilemma: A look at how financial abundance does not protect you from living a completely exhausted, unavailable life. The Ultimate Pattern Interrupt: How children shift your baseline for success (because kids don't care about your resume). Redefining "Thriving": Shifting the goal from being "uber-successful" to becoming someone who is present, open, courageous, and genuinely interested in the world.

  4. 3 July

    The Stories We Carry.

    In This Episode, We Cover: The Illusion of a Scattered Life: Why moving in multiple directions isn't a lack of focus, but a collection of raw materials. The Hidden Thread: The core lesson connecting social enterprise in Colombia, international keynotes, and building SaaS platforms. The Ultimate Metric: The powerful shift from asking "What am I building?" to "What am I modeling?" * Reclassifying Your Detours: How to stop the friction of self-punishment and view your past like an operator. Drop the Friction & Build a Better Baseline Don't just listen—start building your internal architecture. All the tools, frameworks, and raw data mentioned in this episode can be found inside the Evan Sutter ecosystem: Read the Weekly Field Notes: Drop the noise and get the raw mental models for navigating the messy middle. Download them for free at https://www.evansutter.com/fieldnotes The Aliveness Dispatch: Join the weekly letter where Evan collects the stories, ideas, and questions behind the things he builds. Subscribe at https://www.evansutter.com/  The Happier Course: Stop relying on band-aids and pseudo-solutions. Get the exact operator's manual for building a better internal baseline. Start here: https://www.evansutter.com/thecourse SwiftReporter: Is your team burning out from doing the "dumb" work? Drop the friction and fix your reporting baseline at https://www.swiftreporter.com/  Connect with Evan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-sutter-705824355/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@evansutter

  5. 26 June

    Building Things That Matter

    In this episode, we cover: The Danger of Beginnings: Why constantly chasing the "spark" of new ideas is just another version of the pleasure trap. The Hunter River Metaphor: Why the obstacles in your path aren't stopping the journey—they are the journey. The Illusion of the Finished Product: Why comparing your unfinished reality to someone else’s polished success is destroying your peace of mind. Redefining the Reward: Why aliveness isn't a prize waiting at the finish line, but a skill you cultivate while things are still completely unfinished. Resources & Next Steps The Happier Course: If you are tired of generic self-help and want the actual mechanics for dropping the friction in your life and work, explore Evan's 7-week digital framework: 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/happier-course 1:1 Mindset & Performance Coaching: Looking for a private, interactive collaboration to help you cut the noise, build better mental frameworks, and perform at your peak? Apply for a coaching engagement: 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/performancecoaching Read the Field Notes: Join thousands of founders, leaders, and high-performers who read Evan’s private dispatches on practical philosophy and building things that matter. 🔗 https://www.evansutter.com/fieldnotes Watch the Documentary: Run River Run (The Hunter River Expedition) 🔗https://www.evansutter.com/runriverrun Follow Evan: Website: https://www.evansutter.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-sutter-705824355/

  6. 20 June

    The Invisible Season

    The Invisible Season One of the hardest parts of building anything meaningful is accepting the gap between effort and evidence. We live in a world that celebrates visible outcomes: The launch. The achievement. The milestone. The finished product. But most things that matter spend a long time invisible. A business before it becomes successful. A skill before it becomes obvious. A relationship before it becomes deep. A person before they become who they are becoming. In this episode, we explore: Why we feel behind when we are actually building foundations The pressure to constantly prove progress The difference between being stuck and being in a season of growth How entrepreneurship, creativity and parenting reveal the same truth Why the most important work often happens before anyone notices Reflection Question What part of your life feels like it isn't moving forward? And what if it is actually becoming something? Links Explore more reflections, films, books and ideas:evansutter.com Discover SwiftReporter:swiftreporter.com #Sutterfaction #LifeLessons #Entrepreneurship #Parenthood #PersonalGrowth

  7. 13 June

    The Most Dangerous Phrase in Life

    In this episode: Why "I should be further ahead by now" might be one of the most damaging thoughts we carry The unexpected lessons from paddling 470km down the Hunter River Why progress doesn't always look like progress The hidden work behind building businesses How fatherhood changes your understanding of growth and patience The danger of comparing reality to an imaginary timeline Learning to work with reality instead of fighting it Mentioned: Run River Run SwiftReporter Evan Sutter writings and reflections A question to consider: Where in your life have you convinced yourself you're behind? And what if you're not?

  8. 4 June

    You Can't Rush A River

    In This Episode The unexpected lesson from a 470km river journey Why frustration often comes from the gap between expectations and reality The phrase that quietly creates unnecessary suffering: "I should be further ahead by now" What the Hunter River taught me about business and entrepreneurship How fatherhood reinforced the same lesson Why adaptation often matters more than persistence The modern obsession with speed and productivity Why progress doesn't always look like progress Learning to work with reality instead of fighting it Key Reflection Perhaps the goal isn't to get where we're going as quickly as possible. Perhaps the goal is to become the sort of person capable of getting there. Reflection Question Where in your life are you trying to rush the river? And what might happen if, instead of forcing progress, you focused on showing up, adapting, learning and taking one more stroke? About Sutterfaction Sutterfaction is a podcast exploring what it means to live well through adventure, business, psychology, fatherhood, storytelling and real-world experiments. Each episode begins with a lived experience and follows the lessons, questions and reflections that emerge from it. Because sometimes the most important things we learn have nothing to do with the journey we thought we were taking.

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5
out of 5
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About

We live in arguably the most inauthentic epoch in history. Big business manipulates and confuses with another carefully crafted marketing campaign. Influencers have replaced elders and authors as the go-to place for advice and support. Capitalism and neoliberalism condition us and then dictate terms. House prices, floods, bushfires, stress, busyness, poverty, and the rest. How can we enjoy our lives amongst all the conflicts of interests, biases, and uncertainty? The Sutterfaction Podcast, hosted by author, speaker, and activist Evan Sutter, plays at the intersections of philosophy, psychology, society and culture, ethics, human flourishing, politics, business, happiness, and meaning; so we can avoid the unlived life and construct one worth living.

Information

  • Creator
    Evan Sutter
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Evan Sutter
  • Show Website
    Sutterfaction