THE SHOW
Most of us are running on autopilot, checking boxes, chasing goals, and pushing toward some imagined finish line without stopping to ask if this is how we really want to spend our lives.
In this conversation, Jodi Wellman, author of You Only Die Once and founder of the 4,000 Mondays framework, makes the case for using mortality as a tool, not a threat. She shares why contemplating the end of life can snap us out of numb routines and guide us toward choices that create more vitality, meaning, and joy right now.
We talk about why achievement can feel hollow, how to spot the “dead zones” in your life, and the surprising power of small changes to make life feel bigger. Whether you have been wondering if there is more to life than your to do list or you just want to feel more alive in your everyday routines, this conversation is a reminder that your Mondays are numbered so make them count.
Behind Her Brilliance: Love and The Grim Reaper
THE GUEST
JODI WELLMAN | POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGIST + AUTHOR
Jodi Wellman is a speaker, author, and facilitator on living lives worth living. She is the founder of Four Thousand Mondays, a company dedicated to helping people make the most of the time they are lucky to be above ground.
With 25 years of corporate leadership experience, most recently as Senior Vice President of Operations at a leading health and lifestyle organization, Jodi has led private CEO advisory boards and coached teams to work well and live even better.
Jodi earned a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she is also an Assistant Instructor and facilitator in the Penn Resilience Program. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach.
Her book, You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets, made Adam Grant’s Summer Reading List and was named a “Top 3 Psychology Book of 2024” by the Next Big Idea Club, curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Dan Pink. Jodi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Fast Company, CNBC, Forbes, Psychology Today, The Los Angeles Times, and more.
Her TEDx talk, How Death Can Bring You Back to Life, has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.
TOPICS COVERED
- Mortality as Motivation: Facing the reality of death as a way to live more fully, not morbidly.
- 4,000 Mondays Concept: Using your finite number of Mondays as a framing device to clarify what matters.
- Vitality + Meaning = Fulfillment: Living wider (fun, novelty, aliveness) and deeper (purpose, connection).
- The Hedonic Treadmill: The idea that high achievers constantly move the goalpost and lose perspective on satisfaction.
- Experimentation as a Way of Life: “You don’t have to detonate, you can dabble.”
- Regret Minimization Framework: Inspired by Jeff Bezos and reframed here as: “What would you regret not doing?”
- Role of Rituals and Values: Structuring life around recurring rituals and clearly defined personal values.
- Self-Compassion and Inner Talk: The importance of being kind to yourself in the pursuit of growth.
- Redefining Success and Retirement: Moving from performance-based identities to interest-based living.
- Comparison and Individual Journeys: Why your life design has to be uniquely yours, and how social media distorts that.
- And much more!
THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Jodi Wellman
You Only Die Once – Jodi’s book
Lisa’s TEDx Talk
Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton
Reasons to Be Hopeful by Alain de Botton
David Kessler episode
Alua Arthur episode
A Therapeutic Journey by Alain de Botton (Jodi’s book pick)
