Ask people what their favorite or lucky number is, and you will get a lot of different answers. But if you ask enough people and you start to notice that one number emerges as the clear winner above the others. This episode begins with that number and why it is so popular. Source: Alex Bellos author of Here’s Looking at Euclid (https://amzn.to/3wgjt3z)  We are all afraid of something . Maybe it is spiders or the dark or public speaking. Whatever it is, that creates that feeling of fear in you can be very powerful. Where do fears come from? Why are some people more afraid than others? Do fears last a lifetime or can you eliminate or reduce them? If you have ever wondered about these things, you should listen to my guest Eva Holland. Eva is a writer who had some very strong fears that held her back. As a result, she decided to research the topic in preparation to write her book Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear (https://amzn.to/3pK2rrW). Listen as she offers some great insight and advice about all the things that make you afraid. There are so many skills and factors that go into how you communicate to connect, influence and persuade others. There is a good chance you aren’t using all the skills at your disposal according to David JP Phillips. David studied over 5,000 speakers to discover the skills that make them such great communicators. Listen as he joins me to explain some of these skills that you can easily use to make you more influential and better able to speak with others. To learn more about David’s 110 communication skills go to: www.HeadGain.com. His TED Talk is here: https://bit.ly/3cDctG9 Doesn’t it seem weird when you are stuck in a traffic jam then it turns out there was no real reason for it? Why do these phantom traffic jams happen? Is there a way to stop them from happening? Listen as I explain. https://www.livescience.com/61862-why-phantom-traffic-jams-happen.html PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Zocdoc is the only FREE app that lets you find AND book doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance, are available when you need them and treat almost every condition under the sun! Go to https://Zocdoc.com/SYSK and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. The Dell Technologies’ Summer Sale Event is on, with limited-quantity deals on top tech! It’s the perfect season to power your passions during Dell’s Summer Sale Event. Save today by calling 877-ASK-DELL. Discover Credit Cards do something pretty awesome. At the end of your first year, they automatically double all the cash back you’ve earned! See terms and check it out for yourself at https://Discover.com/match If you own a small business, you know the value of time. Innovation Refunds does too! They've made it easy to apply for the employee retention credit or ERC by going to https://getrefunds.com to see if your business qualifies in less than 8 minutes! Innovation Refunds has helped small businesses collect over $3 billion in payroll tax refunds! Let’s find “us” again by putting our phones down for five.  Five days, five hours, even five minutes. Join U.S. Cellular in the Phones Down For Five challenge! Find out more at https://USCellular.com/findus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices