Reasonably Happy
Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger
How to Get Un-stuck (w/ Merrick Furst, Ph.D.)
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How to Get Un-stuck (w/ Merrick Furst, Ph.D.)

Do you ever feel stuck in life? As if you are in the wrong place or you’re in the right place but doing the wrong thing? What do you do when you find yourself at a crossroad?

Today, I speak to innovation expert Merrick Furst about how seeing ourselves and the world more clearly can tell us how to move forward when the way isn’t clear.

Merrick is a Distinguished Professor at Georgia Tech. His list of academic and commercial accomplishments are longer than your arm (see below) but today we’re putting his immense analytical skills to work to determine the questions we should ask ourselves when we’re not sure about which way to go. Merrick is the co-author of the book, The Heart of Innovation, which guides start-ups and the humans that lead them on how they can go about being themselves.

In this conversation we discuss:

  • What should you do when you feel stuck?

  • How blind spots keep us stuck and how to find out what your blind spots are

  • The importance of both radical candor and unconditional positive regard

  • …and, most importantly, how Merrick helped to inspire the Crazy Money podcast!

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Merrick’s BIO:

Merrick L. Furst, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, runs commercialization and new venture creation and directs undergraduate programs and faculty development in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. Prior to GT, he was a professor at UC Berkeley, president of the International Computer Science Institute at Berkeley, and CEO of Essential Surfing Gear, Inc., which grew to 53 employees before being sold in 2000.

Earlier, he was a professor and associate dean in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon. Dr. Furst is known for seminal research in algorithms, complexity theory, and AI. Merrick co-invented probabilistic circuit analysis and planning graphs, which are considered among the most influential breakthroughs in the field of AI planning.

He is the founder of Flashpoint, one of the key developmental communities in Atlanta’s tech start-up scene.

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