What is a Good Life?

What does it take to be happy? And why does happiness so often slip away?
In this episode of What Is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney is joined by Rasmus Hougaard for a conversation that moves from childhood questions about happiness, to monasteries in Nepal, to the boardrooms where he now works to transform leadership. Rasmus is the Founder and Chairman of Potential Project and was nominated by Thinkers 50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world today. He's the author of The Mind of the Leader, Compassionate Leadership, and More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead.
Together, they explore:
Why an eight-year-old's question about happiness became a life's work
The cultural wisdom Rasmus found in Nepal that the West is missing
How his brother's death inspired his life's purpose
A profound encounter with an unknown monk that transmitted unconditional love
The difficulty of being human, even with deep practice and good intentions
The innate goodness we all carry (and why most of us have forgotten it)
What changes when leaders ask "how are you?" before "what do we need to do?"
This conversation sits with both the challenge of being human and the incredible capacity we have for loving kindness. It's about the practice of returning to what matters again and again, potentially across multiple lifetimes.
This episode is for anyone wondering if there's more to leadership, happiness, and being human than what we've been taught.
For more of Rasmus' work:
Potential Project: https://www.potentialproject.com/
Books: https://www.potentialproject.com/resources#01-books
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmushougaard/
For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney
00:00  Why Aren't We Happy?
05:30  Finding a Practice at Seventeen
11:45  Wisdom in Himalayan Culture
17:20  Life's Purpose from Tragedy
24:30  Meeting Bodhisattva Charles
31:15  Our Innate Human Goodness
37:40  The Difficulty of Being Human
43:10  Forced Surrender and Self-Compassion
48:25  Transformation in Corporate Spaces
52:15  Multiple Lives, Less Pressure
54:30  What is a Good Life for Rasmus?

What does it really mean to live a coherent life?
In this episode of What Is a Good Life, Mark McCartney is joined by João Sevilhano for a deep, reflective conversation on coherence, something that goes beyond rigid moral ideals and is more a lived, imperfect practice. João is a psychologist and learning experience designer. Co-CEO of Way Beyond, where he works on human development and organisational transformation. His background is in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis. He collaborates with Porto Business School and NOVA Doctoral School, and he tends to think meaningful conversation is underrated as a tool for change.
Together, they explore:
What coherence feels like in everyday life
The tension between values, actions, and changing our minds
Why coherence is different from authenticity or consistency
Parenting, work, and small decisions as tests of alignment
“Slow activism” and the impact of how we show up with others
Rather than offering quick answers or formulas, this conversation sits with uncertainty, contradiction, and the discipline of paying attention - particularly when no one is watching.
This episode is for anyone feeling the pull between who they are, how they live, and what the world is asking of them right now.

For more of João's work:
Newsletter: https://useful-uselessness.com/
Way Beyond Website: https://www.waybeyond.pt/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaosevilhano/
For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney
00:00  Questions as Companions
07:00  Spirituality in Everyday Life
13:00  Coherence as Purpose
16:30  Flexibility and Awareness
22:30  Discipline and Practice
30:00  Helping Without Imposing
36:00  Slow Activism and Stubbornness
42:00  Living With Contradiction
49:00  Reflection on Sacrifice
54:00  Not Knowing as a Practice

How do we live in harmony with each other and the natural world?
Cindy Forde is a thought leader and acclaimed author with over 25 years dedicated to systems change. In 2023, she won the Change Champion Award alongside leaders such as David Attenborough and Malala Yusafzai for her children's book 'Bright New World,' which was adopted by the Australian National Curriculum. She founded Planetari, pioneering Earth-led education, earning a Climate Positive Award at UN COP28. Previously MD of Blue Marine Foundation and CEO of Cambridge Science Centre, she is an Associate Fellow of University of Cambridge Homerton College where she is currently co-founding the Centre for Systemic Change. She is a trained yoga teacher and sound healing practitioner.
In this profound conversation, we explore the role of spiritual practice in sustaining changemakers, the paradox of living in systems misaligned with our values, and why "cosmic time" might offer a more realistic perspective on transformation than human urgency. Cindy shares why we need the courage to build entirely new models rather than fixing broken systems, and how current education systems crush the natural interconnectedness that children understand.

For more of Cindy's work:
Website: https://cindyforde.world/
Planetari: https://planetari.world/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-forde-10668911/
For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney
00:00 - The Guiding Question of Harmony
05:45 - Growing Up Between Two Worlds
12:30 - Discovering Spiritual Practice
18:45 - Inner and Outer Coherence
25:15 - The Corporate Paradox
30:00 - Understanding Cosmic Time
35:30 - Urgency and Thinking Differently
40:30 - Single Issues to Systems
44:00 - Courage to Call Out
47:30 - Crushing Natural Interconnectedness
50:00 - What Is a Good Life

What is a Good Life? #158 | Finding Self-Love Beyond Achievement
Where do you belong? How do you best use your gifts?
These questions have followed Alan Wilson throughout his life—from childhood football pitches to corporate boardrooms. In this deeply honest conversation, Alan shares his journey from seeking external validation to cultivating self-love, exploring how grief, self-inquiry, and simple presence have reshaped his understanding of a good life.
Alan Wilson is a Director of People & Operations and qualified coach with 17+ years in senior leadership roles. He supports leaders and organisations navigating change by combining commercial insight with a deeply human approach—focused on self-awareness, integrity, and sustainable performance.

In this episode:
The childhood patterns behind our adult struggles
Why achievement never feels like enough
Finding centre in an increasingly distracted world
How children guide us back to presence
Why self-love transforms leadership
The agency we have despite feeling disempowered
This conversation is for anyone questioning whether they're enough, struggling with validation, or wondering if there's more to life than the next achievement.

For more of Alan's work:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-wilson-084b3324/
For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney
00:00 - Where Do I Belong?
05:23 - The Validation Trap
10:47 - Self-Inquiry and Grief
16:12 - Moments That Allow Breathing
21:35 - Toxicity and Modern Life
27:43 - Children as Our Compass
33:21 - Beyond Material Accumulation
38:45 - Dismantling the Armour
44:02 - Agency in a Disempowered World
49:18 - Transmitting Our Gifts Daily
54:31 - A Life That's Evolving

On the 157th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Matt Zeigler. Matt is Managing Director at Sunpointe Investments, Senior Editor at Panoptica (a multimedia collaboration with Epsilon Theory), and co-owner and host of Excess Returns, a podcast and YouTube channel. Through his Cultish Creative brand, he transforms complex ideas into accessible insights, helping people make better connections and approach challenges with curiosity.
Matt shares his journey from profound disconnection to finding an abundance of connection and meaning through family, work, and community. From a pivotal therapy session that changed everything to discovering the value of small, intentional experiences, he explores how building bridges instead of prisons transformed his life. This is a conversation about vulnerability, curiosity, and the courage to stop running from connection.
This episode is for anyone who feels cut off from others and is looking to find their way back—and for anyone looking to feel more optimistic about humanity.

For more of Matt's work:
Cultish creative: https://cultishcreative.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-zeigler/
For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney

00:00 — The Disconnection Question
04:16 — Three Layers of Life
06:50 — Leaving home, independence, and loneliness
10:11 — Therapy Wake-Up Call
18:02 — Learning to Share
23:23 — Small openings that build real bonds
31:38 — Rules, ladders, and inherited structures
45:26 — Energy shift after choosing alignment
50:09 — Community Comes Alive
58:18 — What is a Good Life for Matt?