What is a Good Life?

In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney sits down with Jennifer Garvey Berger - author, global leadership coach, and co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership - to explore one of the most honest questions a person can ask: am I actually living in alignment with what I say matters most?

Jennifer has spent decades helping leaders untangle big questions and find more courageous, compassionate ways to lead. All four of her books are Stanford University Press top sellers of the last decade. But here, she turns that same rigorous curiosity on herself.

She shares the moment she realised her deepest values - generosity and curiosity - have their own shadows. She unpacks the concept of values as polarities, why rigid adherence to a single value leaves the whole system weak, and how she learned to hold temporary certainty without pretending to have all the answers.

If you're interested in personal growth, leadership, values, conscious living, philosophy of life, intentional community, or a good life, this episode is for you.

For more from Jennifer Garvey Berger:
Company Website: www.cultivatingleadership.com
Books:
Unleash Your Complexity Genius: https://www.sup.org/books/business/unleash-your-complexity-genius
Changing on the Job: https://www.sup.org/books/business/changing-job-second-edition
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-garvey-berger-7b4a264/

For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@whatisagoodlife3875⁩  

00:02  A Question Worth Following
01:31  Closing the Values Gap
04:01  When Values Cast Shadows
08:53  Generosity and Curiosity's Dark Side
13:02  Shame and the Human Condition
16:29  Learning to Take Stands
18:49  Standing for Love
23:19  Certainty at Sea
26:21  Time, Physics and Reality
33:39  Rising to Love
38:05  The Intentional Community
50:28  What Is A Good Life for Jennifer?

What is What is a Good Life??

What Is a Good Life? is a podcast about the questions that shape our lives: how we live, who we become, and what truly matters. For the past five years, I've asked more than 300 people one deceptively simple question: What is a good life?
There isn't a single answer. Instead, each conversation offers a different way of seeing the world—through stories, ideas, struggles, joys, and moments of hard-earned wisdom. Together, they form a richer picture of what it means to be human.
Whether you're searching for clarity, purpose, or simply a thoughtful conversation, this podcast is an invitation to reflect on your own answer.
New episodes every Tuesday.