You built the life you were supposed to want. So why doesn't it feel like enough? Passion Struck is the #1 Health and Fitness podcast — and it exists to answer exactly that question. I'm John R. Miles — Navy veteran, former Fortune 50 executive, bestselling author — and I built this show because I lived the "successful but empty" version of life myself, and I wanted to find a better way. Each week, I sit down with the world's top voices in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and elite performance — including Angela Duckworth, Susan Cain, Robert Waldinger, Daniel Amen, and Ryan Holiday — to unpack what the research tells us about purpose, connection, and resilience, and how to apply it to your own life. Fridays, I share what I'm learning directly, in solo episodes built around the same ideas. New interviews every Tuesday and Thursday. Solo episodes every Friday.
What this show covers
self-worthpersonal growthleadershipdecision-makingidentityproductivitypsychologymatteringagencypurposepositive psychologyburnoutAIadaptabilityattention
What listeners will find here
Shawn Achor on the beliefs that quietly shape happiness, performance, and purpose
Beliefs sit at the center of this conversation, as Shawn Achor and John R. Miles explore how your view of yourself, your future, and your circumstances can influence happiness, success, and action. The episode focuses on grounded optimism, mattering, and practical ways to build beliefs that help you move forward.
Why success can still leave you feeling invisible
This episode explores the gap between outward success and the inner question, “Do I matter?” Mick Hunt and John R. Miles discuss the personal story behind The Mattering Effect and the frameworks John developed to address burnout, loneliness, disconnection, and the pressure to prove your worth.
Burnout, loneliness, and the deeper question: do you actually feel like you matter?
This episode explores burnout, loneliness, and disconnection through one core question: do I matter? John R. Miles shares five foundational ideas from The Mattering Effect, arguing that many modern struggles come from environments that make people feel useful but unseen.
Alec Litowitz on why adaptability matters more than effort in a fast-changing world
This episode explores why pushing harder can backfire when your direction is wrong. Alec Litowitz connects investing, leadership, life, and AI through a simple idea: when the environment changes, adaptability becomes the skill that tells your other strengths where to go.
When adaptation starts to erase who you are
John R. Miles closes The Adaptive Human series by asking what happens when adapting to a changing world means abandoning yourself. The episode argues that modern culture often confuses adaptability with compliance, and that real growth requires agency, values, and an internal anchor.
Episodes
How Your Beliefs Shape Your Happiness, Success, and Future | Shawn Achor – EP 831
9 Oct 2026 · 1h 14m
You’re Not Stuck. You’re Swimming in the Wrong Direction | Alec Litowitz - EP 827
1 Oct 2026 · 1h 11m
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