Greatness

Jonathan Watts
  • 4.9 (21)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Learn from history’s greatest.Each week, Jonathan Watts dives into the lives and moments of the world's most extraordinary people, uncovering timeless lessons and unforgettable stories.

  1. 2D AGO

    148. The Creative Mind of Twyla Tharp

    Diving into the dance choreogrpaher Tywla Tharp and her great ideas and thoughts on the creative process. ----- "A creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love, and faith." - Twyla Tharpe Sources The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp ----- 2:55 - Preparing to do the work "In order to be creative you have to know how to prepare to be creative." 8:32 - What's in it for you? 9:45 - Solitude as an indicator "Solitude is an unavoidable part of creativity. Self-reliance is a happy by-product." 11:30 - Finding your "Creative DNA." 14:02 - The power of imitaiton and emulation 16:05 - A short practice from Austin Kleon 16:35 - The process of finding good ideas 21:30 - Some practices for idea generation 25:25 - Submerge yourself with the masters 28:25 - Banish obligation 30:05 - Create your own "box." 33:30 - Creativity is a skill 39:00 - Ruts and grooves 46:40 - A way to keep momentum and grooves alive 48:10 - Get an A in failure 51:05 - Common themes of failure 53:15 - 128 ballets to get to mastery  54:35 - Build a bubble  "When I look back on my best work, it was inevitably created in what I call the Bubble. I eliminated every distraction, sacrificed almost everything that gave me pleasure, placed myself in a single-minded isolation chamber, and structured my life so that everything was not only feeding the work but subordinated to it. It is not a particularly sociable way to operate. It's actively antisocial. On the other hand, it is procreative." 1:01:00 - The power of a creative life ----- Check out my books below: Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence Stay connected and check out more here: Chasegreatness.net

    1h 4m

  2. MAR 10

    147. Alex Honnold - Climbing Legend

    Diving into the greatest living climber, Alex Honnold. ----- Sources Free Solo Documentary Learning to Live with Fear - Alex Honnold The Greatest Climber Alive How Alex Honnold Faces Fear ----- 6:30 - Risk versus consequence  9:05 - Dealing with fear 11:02 - How to overcome fear + Viewing things as a skill "What's your hack to overcome fear? You just get really freaking scared over and over for so long. And eventually it's not that scary anymore.” 12:25 - Are your fears founded? 13:45 - Alex and the 10,000 rule  15:05 - Fear and hunger analogy  15:50 - The importance of death in Alex's life and career 20:05 - El Cap and an analogy for life 21:42 - The work is the reward 25:40 - His success in a single line 26:12 - Advice for others 26:20 - The chase is the dream ----- Check out my books below: Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence Stay connected and check out more here: Chasegreatness.net

    32 min

  3. MAR 4

    146. The Timeless Teachings of John Wooden

    Diving into the greatest college basketball coach ever and his timeless teachings.  ----- Sources Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden Wooden: A Coach's Life - Seth Devis ----- 3:30 - The lessons from his father 11:20 - The Pyramid of Success 16:52 - Wooden's most important block/quality 19:17 - A great idea from Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tzu 23:30 - Are you willing or eager to sacrifice  25:58 - Little things make big things happen 32:18 - Lead with love 35:20 - On being a great teacher  39:00 - Wooden's superpower  39:48 - Deplore excessive emotion 42:45 - Make each day your masterpiece  48:35 - Success = Reaching your potential 52:15 - A story that epitomizes Wooden ----- Check out my book below: Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence Stay connected and check out more here: Chasegreatness.net

    55 min

  4. FEB 27

    145. Franklin D. Roosevelt - The Power of a Mission

    Diving into a short story on Franklin D. Roosevelt and the power a mission can have.  ----- “When you’re a person who always has a goal, who always has a mission, the less time you have to think, ‘How do I feel today? Am I depressed today? Do I feel sorry for myself? Have I become a victim? Oh my god, I feel so bad about myself.’ I don’t have time for this crap. A lot of times, it’s people who don’t work enough. When you’re busy all the time, you don’t have time to think about this stuff.”  - Arnold Schwarzenegger ----- Sources: Leadership - Doris Kearns Goodwin  ----- Check out my books below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

    20 min

  5. FEB 24

    144. Baseball Legends: Ted Williams, Derek Jeter, Hank Aaron, Tom Seaver, and More

    Diving into some of the very best stories from a few baseball legends.  ----- Sources: Baseball 100 - Joe Posnanski ----- Sources 0:00 - Brooks Robinson - An essay from a 13-year-old boy 4:34 - Justin Verlander and Ted Williams - The power of negative energy 13:25 - Ted Williams - Put it on the line 14:38 - The infectious joy of Enrnie Banks 19:00 - Derek Jeter - One hit at a time and loving the truth 25:05 - Ichiro Suzuki and Jeter - Small wins 26:30 - The unlikely path of Larry Walker  29:10 - Frank Thomas - Meaning > Talent 32:00 - The approach of Tom Seaver 38:40 - Hank Aaron - The burden of greatness 43:40 - Mariano Rivera, Sandy Koufax, and Randy Johnson - Some short stories 52:23 - Joe Dimaggio - You need some luck 54:20 - Mike Schmidt - Keep the joy alive ----- Check out my books below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- Check out our other episodes on baseball legends: #116. Derek Jeter #135. Clayton Kershaw

    1h 1m

  6. FEB 17

    143. Morgan Housel - Essays on Human Nature, Failing Well, and Timeless Lessons

    Diving into some of the very best ideas from one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Morgan Housel. ----- "People can be led to believe and defend almost anything, because the goal of a belief is often not to discover what’s true – it’s to justify past actions, or protect your reputation, or provide hope when it’s lacking, or to maximize your income, or to signal to others that you belong to the tribe." - Morgan Housel ----- Sources/Essays are linked in the time stamps below 1:15 - Why You Beleive What You Do 14:21 - The Power of Failing Well  18:40 - The Freakisly Strong Base 26:25 - You Have To Live It To Believe It  36:07 - How it All Works (Short Stories on Big Things) 42:00 - Little Rules About Big Things ----- Check out my books below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn

    45 min

  7. FEB 12

    142. George Pocock - The Life of a True Craftsman

    Diving into the life of craftsman and boatbuilder, George Pocock ----- “It’s a great art, is rowing. It’s the finest art there is. It’s a symphony of motion. And when you’re rowing well, why it’s nearing perfection. And when you’re nearing perfection, you’re touching the Divine. It touches the you of yous. Which is your soul.” - George Pocock ----- Sources Ready All - Gordan Newell and Dick Erickson Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown ----- Time Stamps 3:40 - Why be a craftsman 4:55 - George's origins 5:45 - A motto for life - amor fati 9:22 - The apprenticeship 10:50 - The lesson from his dad: “Now you can build your own boat for this race, and I will give you one bit of advice. No one will ask you how long it took you to build it, they will only ask who built it.”  16:20 - Good work leads to good oppotunities 18:55 - Great opportunity, followed by great disaster 20:45 - The craftsman banishes negativity and b******t 23:45 - How building boats opened up new opportunties 26:50 - How Geroge Pocock helped build/get the Boeing company off the ground 28:45 - Choosing meaning > money 30:05 - How he dealt with the tough early days as a full-time boat builder 34:10 - A beautiful story on loyalty 38:20 - The character building of rowing and finding your "rowing" activities 42:15 - The craftsman ultiamte goal 42:53 - Lose yourself in the work 44:18 - Good work needs good thoughts 45:00 - The work should touch your soul ----- Check out my books  below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn

    47 min

  8. FEB 10

    141. Thomas Edison's Superpower

    Diving into the single trait that was at the root of Thomas Edison's greatness. ----- Sources Thomas Edison - Matthew Josephson  ----- Check out my books below. Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming  Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence ----- You can check stay connected and support below: Website Books Instagram X LinkedIn

    19 min
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4.9
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Learn from history’s greatest.Each week, Jonathan Watts dives into the lives and moments of the world's most extraordinary people, uncovering timeless lessons and unforgettable stories.

Information

  • Creator
    Jonathan Watts
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    148
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Greatness
  • Show Website
    Greatness

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