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For any family man and entrepreneur, there are many things (and people) that are asking for your time and attention. But if we get lost in our to-do list, we’ll miss out on those magical moments with our kids and spouse that deepen our connection with them.

Taking a few minutes each day to pause and connect with our family can help us to remember why we are working so hard in the first place.

It’s scary to think about letting go of the steering wheel for a bit. But, fellas, there’s no way around the fact that we’ll spend our entire lives looking back and wondering where the time went if we don’t make time for enjoyment and fun intentionally. And I’m excited to share this conversation with Mike Rucker.

Mike is a behavioral scientist with a PhD in organizational psychology and a peer-reviewed author who has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. In his new book, The Fun Habit, Mike distills decades of life experience and academic research into a practical roadmap for bringing more fun into your life.

One thing I took away from our epic conversation is that, as high achievers, we need to stop trying to “hack” our way to happiness and start doing more things that make us happy.

Today, we discuss how play improves our relationships and how we sabotage our happiness and feel powerless to change that. We also dig into Mike’s tried and tested strategies for finding adult ways to be playful so that you can be happier and a more mindful parent and husband.

Mike Rucker Podcast Highlights

• The importance of play – with your spouse, kids, friends and other loved ones.
• Happiness is not a sprint. It’s a lifetime journey.
• Becoming aware of how you spend your time is the first step toward a joyful life.
• Experiences will always make you happier than material possessions.
• The importance of working through trauma to make way for joy.
• How to push back against the systems that destroy our attention and mindfulness.
• The “24/7 hustle and grind” mindset will make you richer while making you miserable.
• Don’t just tell your kids what to do. Lead through your actions.

“I found that the more I was chasing happiness, I was becoming more unhappy.” - Mike Rucker @performbetter Share on X “If you want your children to do something, then model that behavior.” - Mike Rucker @performbetter Share on X

Mike Rucker Links & Other Resources

• Michael Rucker Ph.D.
• Follow Mike Rucker on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
• The Fun Habit: How The Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life by Mike Rucker
• Quiet by Suzan Cain
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
• Drive by Daniel H. Pink
• Oura Ring
• Take Your Pills: Xanax | Netflix
• Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Mike Rucker Bio

Mike Rucker, Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, behavioral scientist, a charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association, and a peer-reviewed and widely published author. He has served as the Health Tech expert for About, Inc’s Verywell Health and is currently an executive for Active Wellness.

Mike has been published in the academic journals International Journal of Workplace Health Management and Nutrition Research and featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CIO.com, and elsewhere. Mike has earned five advanced degrees, including a PhD in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

In 2007 Mike committed himself to 25 years of documented self-development and self-discovery. He committed to experiencing something new each quarter through an interesting life event, activity, or trip, ensuring that by the end of 2032, he will have 100 unique experiences to relish when the project concludes.

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While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

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