What is a Good Life?

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 of my work:
Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore:
- 1-on-1 coaching and online group courses: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
The podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
My newsletter: www.whatisagood.life

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?

On the 156th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Alejandra Guzmán González. Alejandra is a Nicaraguan educator, lifelong learner, and mother of two. She describes herself as an artist with a dancer’s feet, the soul of a theatre actress, and the writer’s force within (publishing under the pen name aimé). Her work is rooted in curiosity, reflection, and human connection, and she continues to devote her professional life to education and learning-centred projects.
In this episode, Alejandra shares her journey of discovering how to trust her own voice. She reflects on personal experiences, family, and the process of making her own decisions with confidence while staying connected to the people she loves.
This conversation is for anyone looking to build greater trust in themselves and their own decisions.

For Alejandra's Newsletter: https://aimewrites.substack.com/
For more of my work:
Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own good life through:
- 1-on-1 coaching and online group courses: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
- The podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: www.whatisagood.life
00:00 - Living the Question
03:18 - Seeking External Answers
07:02 - Teaching and Questioning
10:05 - Parenting and Frustration
13:46 - Building Inner Trust
17:53 - Cocooning and Withdrawal
22:45 - Listening Beyond Answers
30:31 - The Right to Listen
38:10 - A Defining Moment
48:03 - Health as Teacher
56:46 - What Is a Good Life For Alejandra?

On the 155th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Julian Kirchherr. Julian combines a career as a Partner at McKinsey & Company with his role as an Associate Professor at Roskilde University. At McKinsey, he co-leads the firm’s public sector work in Europe, focusing on people and organisational performance, while his academic research centres on the circular economy. He ranks among the most highly cited circular economy scholars worldwide. He earned his PhD from St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and is the author of The Lean PhD: Radically Improve the Efficiency, Quality and Impact of Your Research.
In this conversation, we explore curiosity, autonomy, and the value of diverse experiences. Julian also discusses caring too much about external demands, and how this can undermine autonomy, meaning, and impact. 
This episode will resonate with anyone carving out their own path and explores what it can take to make your own impact.
For more of Julian's work:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-kirchherr-42a52032/
For more of my work:
Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own good life through:
- 1-on-1 coaching and online group courses: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
- The podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
00:00 Curiosity Over One Question 
02:35 Bullshit In Academia
07:23 Autonomy And Freedom 
09:01 Disillusion With Academia 
12:18 Early Intellectual Influences 
14:55 Myanmar And Outsized Impact 
19:59 Pre-Academia Model
26:12 Energy From Dual Roles 
30:02 Bias Toward Action 
42:50 Bridging Knowledge And Practice 
46:51 What is a good life for Julian?

On the 154th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Katie Elliott.
Katie is a facilitator, writer, and programme designer working across community and organisational settings. With a background in jazz and a long-standing fascination with human change and habits, she creates tools, conversations, and projects that explore how people make sense of themselves and one another. Her work includes Amiko® Cards, the Adventures in Behaviour Change podcast, a series of children’s books, and an album of original piano music.
In this conversation, we explore curiosity, bewilderment, and the value of staying with experience rather than rushing to explain or resolve it. We talk about patterns, presence, and how meaning slowly reveals itself in relationships and in life — showing how deeper listening and meaningful conversation can genuinely shift how you see yourself and others.
For more of Katie's work:
Website: https://www.littlechallenges.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieelliott/
For more of my work:
Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own good life through:
- 1-on-1 coaching and online group courses: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
- The podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
00:00 — Patterns and Play
04:31 — Bewildered by Humans
07:48 — Not Being Believed
10:21 — Staying Open
13:01 — Kindness Inside
17:17 — Being Human Together
20:56 — Dropping the Mask
23:31 — Jazz and Freedom
31:26 — Creating Human Spaces
40:44 — Making Meaning Together
52:31 — What is a Good Life for Katie?

On the 153rd episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Ethan Hsieh for a wide-ranging and deeply human conversation on service, being, and what happens when self-work goes too far.
Ethan is currently undertaking his PhD research integrating performance-training with 4E cognitive science. With an MA in Professional Practice: Theatre and Drama Facilitation, he has designed and delivered transformational community-building programs, retreats, and workshops across Asia and Europe through his organisation 5ToMidnight, where he is Artistic Director. He also serves as Platform Manager for The Lectern and has co-designed select practices with John Vervaeke, including the Socratic Imaginal Self-Reflection and the Socratic Search Space. Ethan maintains a private coaching practice working with corporate leaders, professional athletes, and social organisations.
Together, we explore nihilism, play, embodiment, identity, and the question that now orients Ethan’s life: When does being itself become service?

This episode invites listeners to loosen self-fixation, recover participation, and rediscover what becomes possible when we allow life—and each other—to change us.
For more of Ethan's work:
Website: https://www.5tomidnight.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-hsieh-828a63240/
For more of my work:
Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own good life through:
- 1-on-1 coaching and online group courses: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
- The podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/individual-coaching
00:00 A Question of Service
05:40 Self-Work’s Breaking Point 
08:04 From Optimization to Orientation
12:52 Not Knowing Intimately 
16:31 Returning to Play 
26:56 Letting Experience In 
31:31 Contact With Life
36:46 Seeing Others Anew
43:42 Identity Held Loosely
52:19 Embodiment and Coherence 
59:30 What is a good life for Ethan?