A Writer's Mind: Daniel Pink

On this episode of the Breakthrough Builders Podcast, Jesse is joined by the writer Daniel H. Pink. Dan and Jesse have a far-reaching conversation that touches upon:

• The formative role of reading in Dan’s childhood, and the importance and randomness of having access to great libraries as a son of the State of Ohio (4:33)
• How Dan becomes so enthralled with a subject that he chooses to write a book on it (which he’s now done 7 times!) (6:35)
• The high regard in which Dan holds the structure of a book, and the high bar he sets for himself in continually revising his initial structural hypotheses as he writes (8:53)
• How Dan developed a writing style that’s intellectually coherent and wonderfully accessible (11:01)
• The importance of cross-disciplinary thinking in today’s world (14:08)
• How Dan asks the right questions in his research to obtain valuable and insightful responses (15:50)
• The importance of constantly pushing to get feedback from people who have “taste and judgment” – and who will also be radically candid with their feedback (18:06)
• The “wide diet” of reading that Dan recommends if one is interested in growing and improving as a writer (20:07)
• Reflections on the applicability of the theses of three of his books – A Whole New Mind (2005), Drive (2009), and The Power of Regret (2022) – to our world today (21:28)
• The distinction and relationship between “Big P” and “Little P” Purpose in our lives, and how Dan sees “Thinking as a form of Doing and Doing as a form of Thinking” (25:34)
• Regret as a specific case of the more general case of the need to embrace paradox in our lives (27:59)

Dan and Jesse also discuss Dan’s favorite Ohio sports memory, the authors he admires most, what he sees as his biggest professional breakthrough (hint: it’s not what you think), and his view on who really won the Toledo War.

Guest Bio

Daniel H. Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including his latest, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 42 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family. 

Helpful Links

Dan’s official website and Twitter

TED Talk “The Puzzle of Motivation,” viewed over 28 million times

Dan on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Sheppard and Monica Padman - March 2022 

Dan speaking about the 4 kinds of regret and what they teach us about ourselves (in light of his worldwide study on regret and his latest book)

The Worldwide Regret Study, insights from which formed the foundation of Dan’s latest book 

The Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, which came up no fewer than three times in 30 minutes in Dan’s conversation with Jesse