Isaiah Hankel received his doctorate in Anatomy & Cell Biology and is an expert on mental focus, behavioral psychology, and career development. His work has been featured in The Guardian, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur Magazine. Isaiah’s previous book, Black Hole Focus: How Intelligent People Can Create a Powerful Purpose for Their Lives, was published by Wiley & Sons and was selected as Business Book of the Month in the UK and became a business bestseller internationally. Isaiah has delivered corporate presentations to over 20,000 people, including over 300 workshops and keynotes worldwide in the past 5 years. Isaiah grew up working on a sheep farm in the Pacific Northwest of the US before going on to get his doctorate. Isaiah went on to become the founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist®, a career training company that specializes in helping PhDs transition into corporate careers; he is also the director of Hankel Leadership®. Through these ventures, Isaiah has consulted on career development, employee management, entrepreneurship, focus, and motivation at several Fortune 500 companies. He has been invited to speak at top institutions including Harvard Medical School, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, University of Chicago, University of Oxford England, the Marie Curie Institute France, and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You connect with him at his website. Favorite Success Quote “Take responsibility for your own life and never give that responsibility to other people” Key Points 1. Everything Is Your Fault Read that sentence again and internalize it. Everything in your life is your fault. Good. Bad. It doesn’t matter. It’s your fault. And that’s a good thing… If everything is your fault or, should we say, your responsibility, then you have control over everything in your life. When you take 100% responsibility for everything in your life and everything not in your life you are the only one who has the power to change things. Now I don’t know about you… But I would sure as hell prefer taking an uncomfortable amount of responsibility for my results than allowing someone else to determine my levels of achievement and success. Accept that everything is your fault. Unless you internalize this truth you will constantly give you power away and fail to reach the goals you have set. 2. Align Your Values with Your Daily Actions  One of the first steps to achieving the life that you want is defining the values that will drive you towards your dreams. Your values (should) determine how you conduct yourself, how you handle business, and how you treat others. This is not a matter to leave to chance or shirk off with a dismissive “It’s not really that important”. Living a life that is congruent with your values means the difference between living your biggest dreams and ambitions and wallowing away in mediocrity. When you have clearly thought through values that you have defined, written down, and committed to living in your day to day life, every decision becomes easier. You no longer have to debate decisions constantly in your head. You can simply analyze your options, refer back to your values, and make the decision that is most in line with your #1 priority. I challenge you to sit down after this interview has concluded and really think about your values. What do you value? What forces do you want driving and shaping your life? What outcomes are truly important to you and which ones are merely societally incepted b.s. that is incongruent with your deepest identity? When you can answer this question and authentically live it, life and all of the amazing experiences within it, are yours for the taking. 3. Your Most Valuable Asset is Your Mental Energy  People will often (mistakenly) tell you that your most precious resource is your time. They are wrong. Time is NOT your most valuable resource, mental energy is. Let me prove it… Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown that your mental energy or “Willpower” is a finite