My guest today is Dr. Gena Gorlin, a psychologist specializing in the unique needs of the ultra-ambitious.
Unlike many in her field. Gena doesn’t aim to simply lift the floor of her clients’ ambitions — she wants to raise the ceiling.
In this episode, she breaks down the “Builder Mindset” - a way of thinking that empowers people to live to healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives.
Over on our Substack, we dig deeper into Gena’s ideas, exploring the perils of perfectionism, the allure of complacency, and why psychological perfection might be more achievable than you think.
Important Links:
- Gena’s Website - https://genagorlin.com
- Building the Builders - https://builders.genagorlin.com (Gena’s Substack)
- Gena’s Twitter - https://x.com/Gena_I_Gorlin
Show Notes:
0:00:00 Intro
0:00:55 Main podcast
0:01:44 The Unique Needs of the Ultra Ambitious
0:05:00 Death is the Default
0:08:43 The Rigid Authoritarianism of Your Inner Drill Sergeant
0:13:59 The Sweet, Stagnant Embrace of the Zen Master
0:19:13 Agency & the Enlightenment
0:25:59 Historical Ignorance as a Bottleneck
0:31:35 Human Beings as the Base Unit of Action
0:41:29 Fight, Flight or Freeze
0:49:34 How to Build a Builder
1:09:48 Perfectionism is not Perfect
1:16:52 What to Do When Surrounded by C Players
1:32:11 Persistence, Passion & Personality
1:39:02 Reframing FTW
1:43:12 Gena as Empress of the World
Books Mentioned:
- The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner
