An expert in failure shows us how to find success in the most counterintuitive way.

Manu Kapur is currently the Director of the Singapore-ETH Center, and Professor for Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he also directs The Future Learning Initiative (FLI). Manu is also the Founding Chair of the ETH Zurich – EPFL Joint Doctoral Program in the Learning Sciences.

In this episode we talk about:

The definition of Productive Failure (a concept Manu developed that allows you to design for and harness failure for deeper learning)
Why we learn more from failing than from succeeding
The difference between desirable and undesirable failure
The neuroscience of curiosity
Practical ways to incorporate productive failure into your daily life
How to get into your “failure zone”
Cool concepts like the looking back and moving the Gold posts
How to normalize failure and create environments in which other people feel safe to fail
The role of psychological safety and a growth mindset
And much more

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Additional Resources:

Get ready for another Meditation Party at Omega Institute! This in-person workshop brings together Dan with his friends and meditation teachers, Sebene Selassie, Jeff Warren, and for the first time, Ofosu Jones-Quartey. The event runs October 24th-26th. Sign up and learn more at eomega.org/workshops/meditation-party-2025.

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Let’s Normalize Failure (The Right Kind) | Manu Kapur

10% Happier with Dan Harris