How a Little Becomes a Lot: A Conversation with Eric Zimmer and Sahil Bloom

The One You Feed | Personal Growth, Emotional Resilience & Purpose

Eric Zimmer, The One You Feed

Buddhism, Mental Health, Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Religion & Spirituality

4.5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special episode, Eric Zimmer is interviewed by Sahil Bloom, as they discuss Eric’s new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life. Their conversation explores how small, consistent actions, not dramatic moments, lead to lasting transformation. Eric shares personal stories of addiction and recovery, discusses the complexity of motivation, and introduces practical frameworks like the SPAR method. They emphasize self-compassion, resilience, and the importance of aligning actions with values, while critiquing the pressure to be extraordinary. The episode offers actionable strategies and thoughtful insights for building positive habits and embracing change with kindness. Exciting News!!! My new book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life, is out now! Key Takeaways: Behavior change and its complexities The role of motivation and willpower in personal transformation The significance of small, consistent actions leading to meaningful change The distinction between values and desires in decision-making The importance of self-compassion in the process of change Practical frameworks for behavior change, including the SPA method The impact of social media and comparison culture on self-perception Strategies for visualizing consequences to aid in decision-making The concept of “still points” for cultivating new habits of thought The balance between striving for improvement and practicing acceptance in life For full show notes:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed this conversation with Eric Zimmer and Sahil Bloom, check out these other episodes: Redefining Wealth: The Truth About Money & Happiness with Sahil Bloom Why Willpower Isn’t Enough: The Tiny Habits Method Explained with Dr. BJ Fogg By purchasing products and/or services from our sponsors, you are helping to support The One You Feed, and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you! This episode is sponsored by: ⁠David Protein bars deliver up to 28g of protein for just 150 calories—without sacrificing taste! For a limited time, our listeners can receive this special deal: buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free when you go to www.davidprotein.com/FEED Shopify – The commerce platform that helps you build, grow, and manage your business all in one place. Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/feed. Pebl – an AI-powered platform that helps companies hire and manage global teams in 185+ countries. Get a free estimate at hipebl.ai Brodo Broth: Shop the best broth on the planet with Brodo. Head to Brodo.com/TOYF for 20% off your first subscription order and use code TOYF for an additional $10 off. Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality, affordable mental health care. Visit helloalma.com to learn more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Specificity, particularly in the beginning, is always our friend. What am I doing? Where am I doing it? How am I doing it? Any unknown about it, get it out of there. Because if we're trying to figure out what to do and motivate ourselves to do it at the same time, we're in trouble. Welcome to the one you feed.
0:24.9	Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the thoughts we have.
0:29.5	Quotes like, garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true.
0:35.0	And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us.
0:39.3	We tend toward negativity, self-pity, jealousy, or fear.
0:43.3	We see what we don't have instead of what we do.
0:46.3	We think things that hold us back and dampen our spirit.
0:50.3	But it's not just about thinking.
0:52.3	Our actions matter.
0:53.3	It takes conscious, consistent, and creative
0:56.1	effort to make a life worth living. This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving
1:01.6	in the right direction, how they feed their good wolf. Okay, so this is a slightly different type
1:09.6	of episode. I am being interviewed about my book.
1:13.8	And as I thought about who I wanted to interview me from my book, I first thought of Chris,
1:18.6	and then I realized he is largely incoherent, so he was out. Don't anybody get upset. Chris and I
1:26.4	are still great friends. It's a joke.
1:28.4	And then I thought about somebody that was on the show over the last year named Sawhill Bloom.
1:33.1	When I talked to him, I was really struck by his clarity of thought.
1:37.4	He's both very rational but also really contemplative and thinks really deeply.
1:42.7	He's also very kind.
1:45.7	He seemed like the perfect person to interview me about my book. And it was really fun to see the parts of the book that
1:51.8	he chose to pull out and focus on because they might not have been what I would have chosen.
	...

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