Today we welcome Dan Lerner to the podcast. As an in-demand speaker, author, strengths-based performance coach and instructor of one of the most popular undergraduate courses at New York University, Dan’s expertise in positive psychology helps people lead thriving, successful lives. He works with students, artists, athletes and numerous Fortune 500 companies and executives around the world. Whether it is speaking, coaching, teaching or writing, Dan injects intellect with motivation, science with compassion and makes change both exciting and fun. In this episode, Dan and I talked about several topics that were of mutual interest. As positive psychologists, we both have a deep interest and appreciation for human potential and how we can cultivate it through education. We also discussed the important components for long-lasting friendship, and how to find a healthy community in this day and age of echo chambers. We hope you enjoy the conversation about personality, leadership, self-help, and mental health as much as we did. Website: daniellerner.com Twitter: @DanLernerTweets Topics 03:02 Dan’s assertiveness and enthusiasm 08:50 Cultivating unique human potential 16:02 Redefining intelligence 22:01 Helping people thrive 24:30 Are students today more fragile? 33:30 The need for empathetic leadership 37:08 The secret to long-lasting friendship 42:16 How to find your community 48:13 The problem with the self-help industry 52:55 Real change is hard Subscribe to The Psychology Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/psychology-podcast-dr.-scott/id942777522 https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-psychology-podcast-with-scott-barry-kaufman/the-psychology-podcast-with-dr-scott-barry-kaufman?refid=stpr See past episodes and join in the Discussion: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepsychologypodcast?ref=br_tf Twitter: https://twitter.com/psychpodcast #ThePsychologyPodcast