Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
In this week’s episode of Everyday Better, Leah Smart welcomes Dan Harris – bestselling author, meditation teacher, and host of the 10% Happier podcast – for an inspiring conversation on the transformative power of mindfulness and meditation.
Dan recounts his journey from war reporting to becoming a mindfulness advocate after a pivotal panic attack on live television. Together, Leah and Dan unpack how meditation can help us quiet the negative voice in our heads, manage emotional reactivity, and cultivate hope – even during life’s most overwhelming moments. With Dan's no-nonsense, science-backed approach, you’ll gain practical tools to train your mind for greater calm, compassion, and resilience.
This episode is a powerful reminder that meaningful change begins within – and that every small step towards mindfulness can create ripples of positivity in your life and beyond.
#linkedinnews #everydaybetter #mindfulnessmatters #hopeinaction #irrationalhope
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Dan Harris
02:36 – Exploring Irrational Hope
04:38 – Dan's career beginnings and the impact of 9/11
05:58 – The panic attack that changed everything
08:04 – Covering faith and spirituality as a skeptic
09:53 – Discovering meditation through science and skepticism
12:14 – Understanding the inner voice and finding freedom
15:26 – Meditation and Irrational Hope: A path to change
17:52 – Building a relationship with yourself
19:37 – Contagious calm: How meditation ripples outward
22:00 – The basics of mindfulness meditation
25:40 – Relationships transformed by meditation
27:30 – Overcoming shame with self-compassion
32:04 – Naming the inner voice: A tool for distance
36:14 – Embracing complexity in a binary world
40:29 – Series wrap-op: The power of Irrational Hope
In this week’s episode of Everyday Better, Leah Smart welcomes Dan Harris – bestselling author, meditation teacher, and host of the 10% Happier podcast – for an inspiring conversation on the transformative power of mindfulness and meditation.
Dan recounts his journey from war reporting to becoming a mindfulness advocate after a pivotal panic attack on live television. Together, Leah and Dan unpack how meditation can help us quiet the negative voice in our heads, manage emotional reactivity, and cultivate hope – even during life’s most overwhelming moments. With Dan's no-nonsense, science-backed approach, you’ll gain practical tools to train your mind for greater calm, compassion, and resilience.
This episode is a powerful reminder that meaningful change begins within – and that every small step towards mindfulness can create ripples of positivity in your life and beyond.
#linkedinnews #everydaybetter #mindfulnessmatters #hopeinaction #irrationalhope
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Dan Harris
02:36 – Exploring Irrational Hope
04:38 – Dan's career beginnings and the impact of 9/11
05:58 – The panic attack that changed everything
08:04 – Covering faith and spirituality as a skeptic
09:53 – Discovering meditation through science and skepticism
12:14 – Understanding the inner voice and finding freedom
15:26 – Meditation and Irrational Hope: A path to change
17:52 – Building a relationship with yourself
19:37 – Contagious calm: How meditation ripples outward
22:00 – The basics of mindfulness meditation
25:40 – Relationships transformed by meditation
27:30 – Overcoming shame with self-compassion
32:04 – Naming the inner voice: A tool for distance
36:14 – Embracing complexity in a binary world
40:29 – Series wrap-op: The power of Irrational Hope
