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Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

The Wild Courage to Go After What You Want (with former Google Exec Jenny Wood)

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Jo Piazza, Influence Inc.

Society & Culture, Parenting, Kids & Family, Personal Journals, Technology

4.3787 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What does it really take to ask for what you want—and actually get it? Jenny Wood, former Google executive and author of Wild Courage, breaks down why fear of judgment, failure, and uncertainty keep so many people stuck. This episode dives into the surprising science of ambition, why women are still penalized for being "bossy," how guilt and comparison steal more from us than failure ever could, and why being a little shameless might be the smartest move you make. Plus: what chasing a stranger off a subway platform can teach you about betting on yourself. Buy Wild Courage here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Are you looking for the perfect summer read? Look no further than everyone is lying to you,

0:05.2

the Tradwife murder mystery that everyone is talking about. I would be lying if I said that I didn't

0:10.4

want you to order everyone is lying to you right now so that it shows up on your doorstep on July 15th

0:15.2

and you can devour it in one sitting while wearing a nap dress and stealing your neighbor's sourdough.

0:20.5

Everyone is lying to you is an absolute delight, but don't take my word for it.

0:24.5

Publishers Weekly said it is darkly entertaining and delivers the goods.

0:28.6

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Shepard called it a fun, twisty mystery that she was obsessed with.

0:34.8

And my own husband told me that I am a sick, sick person for writing it. I mean,

0:39.2

seriously, order now before J.D. Vance bans it. It's 2011, and I'm writing the subway home in

0:51.1

New York City from work when a really attractive guy is standing about 20 feet away from me.

0:57.3

So even though I want to talk to him, something holds me back, Joe.

1:00.8

What if he's a convicted felon? What if he's married? What if 100 people stare at me on this packed train?

1:06.6

That is former Google executive Jenny Wood. She recently wrote a book called Wild Courage.

1:12.8

Go after what you want and get it.

1:15.6

And this is the story about how she went after a man on a train

1:18.3

and turned him into her husband and the father of her children.

1:22.7

Well, I later came to realize that underneath those questions

1:25.7

were fears that hold so many people back, because

1:28.2

they're the same fears that held me back so much in life, fear of failure, fear of uncertainty,

1:33.1

and most importantly, fear of judgment of others. So I sit there and I do nothing as the train

1:38.1

passes a stop after stop after stop and as, frankly, life passes me by. But because I'm still

1:43.5

so taken by him, I make a deal with

...

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