Hey Reader,

Today is the day! Good Work with Barrett Brooks (that's me!) is now available wherever you get your podcasts (including YouTube).

​
​Listen Now!

If you already know you're excited to listen, you can find the first three episodes at GoodWorkShow.com. If you listen and enjoy an episode, please share with a friend. If you enjoy it so much you're feeling extra generous, please leave a review of the show.

First Three Guests

The first three guests on the show, available today, are:​

• ​James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (20M copies sold), on his standard of excellence, principles for living a good life for his children, and what's worth sacrificing to attain success
• ​Hannah Ritchie, deputy editor of Our World in Data and author of Not the End of the World, on helping people change their minds, why we should preserve the beauty of nature, and communicating about the most important problems in the world
• ​Jerry Colonna, founder of Reboot and two-time author of powerful books on leadership, on the true job of a CEO, what it means to create cultures of belonging, and allowing room for grief

Behind the Scenes

I also want to share a bit of behind the scenes about why I made this show, the types of people you'll hear me interview, and who I think will enjoy it most.

Why I Made the Show​
I made my first podcast back in 2012 (if only I had kept going). In total I've been a host, co-host or guest on at least 300 hours of recorded podcasts since then. Even that pales in comparison to the number of hours I've spent listening to podcasts in the past decade.

Some of my all-time favorite shows include:

• On Being with Krista Tippett
• The Ezra Klein Show
• The Tim Ferriss Show
• The Turnaround with Jesse Thorn
• Startup School (both the Y Combinator and Seth Godin versions)
• Serial (hosted by Sarah Koenig)
• How to Save a Planet with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
• S-town (hosted by Brian Reed)
• Startup from Gimlet Media
• This American Life with Ira Glass

Each one of these shows has shaped the show I'm inviting you to listen to today. Despite the many hours of listening, I've always felt that I had something to add to the conversation. That there was something I wanted more of.

This show is that something. It's informed by who I've come to understand myself to be.

The recipe that makes me me goes something like this:

• One part informed by mom, who taught me to strive for excellence in everything, to earn every dollar or recognition with hard work, to never ask for credit for a job well done
• One part taught by dad, stoic to the point of repression, manly in the Clint Eastwood or Jean-Claude van Damme sense, and demonstrating servant leadership better than anyone I've ever known
• One part encouraged by my wife, teaching me to be present, to love myself and others well, to see my inherent goodness I've always contained, to be loved and seen
• One part broken open by sons, who ground me in the ever-fleeting now and remind me that the future is worth fighting for
• A mostly delightful childhood interrupted by sexual abuse followed by a troubled adolescence full of hardship, heartache, and poor decisions
• An adulthood spent searching for what is wrong with me, only to learn that there is no answer, only a gift
• A dash of competitive fire and natural athleticism
• A palmful of deeply sensitive kid deep inside
• A sprinkle of exuberant playfulness
• An inner soundtrack of hip-hop
• And a dad joke or two for good measure

Something about all of that adds up to a series of unexpected conundrums. A way of seeing the world that often makes me feel like I live on another planet. In moments of kindness towards myself, I know it's what makes me uniquely... me.

Throughout my life I have prioritized the voices of others... but I have consistently felt that I have something to add. A way of seeing the world that can make it better. A voice that can lift others up and help them see their own gifts in a new light. A hope that I might be able to help people relieve their own pain and create new possibilities for the future.

What makes podcasting magical is that I can do both at the same time. I can ask questions that invite the stories of others while also making my own contributions to the conversation.

This podcast is me finally claiming my own voice. For the first time ever, it's my voice, on my podcast, interviewing people I admire, and sharing my own story along the way.

You might say this podcast is deeply selfish. In some sense it is. But I have come to embrace that the things that feel selfish to me are often of great service to others. I hope this podcast will prove to be one of those things.

The Guests You'll Hear

The guests on this show are people we should lift up as role models because they are doing important work that will make the world a better place. They are talented, successful, intelligent, and altruistic.

They will be:

• Founders of startups, B-corporations, and mission-driven companies
• Scientists and researchers working to understand fundamental truths about the world for the benefit of the public
• Authors and writers working to share ideas in ways that change people's lives for the better
• Poets, artists, and musicians inspiring us through the emotion of performance and art
• Athletes and adventurers showing us what's possible by pushing the limits of the human mind and body
• Photographers and filmmakers telling stories to help us better understand and love ourselves and our world

The filter? Good people doing good work for the right reasons. I hope to curate hundreds or even thousands of interviews with people who have used their gifts and careers to change the world for the better.

Naively altruistic? Yes. Authentically me? Hell yes.

Who Will Love Listening to the Show

My friend James Clear (guest of episode one of the show) gives me three pieces of advice every time I share a piece of writing or an idea for a project:

1. Make it shorter
2. Make it more appealing
3. How could it apply to more people?

I've given up on #1, but I've fully embraced #2 and #3. This podcast applies to the most people while still being the show only I could host.

It's for people who want to build successful careers while doing the most good possible.

It's Krista Tippett meets Ezra Klein meets Tim Ferriss. I aspire to match the heart and soul of Krista with the nerdiness and rigor of Ezra with the curation and distillation of Tim.

If you have a career and you want to make the world a better place, this podcast is for you.

I hope you'll laugh.

I hope you'll cry.

I hope you'll reconsider at least one decision (or maybe many).

I hope you'll take yourself more seriously.

I hope you'll be more ambitious AND altruistic.

I hope you’ll start a company that changes the world.

I hope you’ll become the best boss your team has ever worked for.

I hope you'll love yourself and others more deeply.

I hope you'll confront and come to terms with the deepest darkest shit you've ever had to deal with.

And I hope you'll set out to light the world on fire with work that only you can do in a way that we'll all be thankful for.

I hope you'll accept nothing less than doing Good Work from here on out.

This show is for you.

​Give it a listen, would ya?

Much love and respect,