10% Happier with Dan Harris

Episode: Professional Setbacks Happen to All of Us. Here Are Some Lessons From Resetting My Career.
Guests: Dan Harris (Host) & Toni Magyar (CEO, danharris.com)
Date: August 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This candid, in-depth episode features Dan Harris, host of 10% Happier, in conversation with Toni Magyar, CEO of his new company. The pair open up about the professional and personal tumult that followed Dan’s public departure from the meditation app he co-founded, reflecting on the upheaval, lessons learned from resetting a career, and the importance of self-compassion and support networks. They aim to provide practical takeaways for listeners navigating career transitions and resets—timed to coincide with their “Reset” programming throughout September.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: Why a Career Reset?

• Background:

  • [00:23] Dan details his very public, difficult, and drawn-out 3-year separation from the meditation app he co-founded.
  • He acknowledges his privilege but stresses the challenge:

    “I own that. And yet it was really hard.” – Dan Harris [01:22]

  • The result: Leaving his “baby” and launching a new subscription service (danharris.com) with over 200,000 followers in the first year.

• Behind the Scenes:

  • Toni Magyar makes her podcast debut after joining as CEO.
  • The episode aims to provide both practical lessons and behind-the-scenes context for fellow strivers.

2. Navigating Uncertainty and Professional Upheaval

• Facing Uncertainty:

  • The industry landscape felt “existential”—contractions in podcasting, contract ambiguities, and economic precarity.
  • Dan reflects on the anxiety:

    “The word we often used was existential. Things felt really challenging…” – Dan Harris [14:06]

  • Launch decisions had to be made quickly and amidst ongoing negotiations.

• Learning to Live with Groundlessness:

  • Dan shares personal and family anxieties about loss and failure:

    “I just have that kind of primordial... fear in my bones. And so this kind of had echoes of that.” – Dan Harris [16:40]

  • Key realization:

    “You can’t get rid of groundlessness. That is the fundamental truth. And those moments of feeling secure, that’s actually really more the illusion... I heard an expression recently, ‘expect nothing, be prepared for anything.’ And I kind of like that.” – Dan Harris [18:30]

3. Practical Lessons from Resetting

A. Facing Change

• Accepting Reality:

  “Change is constant. This thing that you’re worried about right now... it’s about to change. It’s not always going to change for the better, but it is going to change.” – Toni Magyar [21:19]

• Self-Compassion vs. Self-Blame:
  • Both Dan and Toni emphasize the utility of self-kindness over shame:

    “The shame and the guilt and the self blame... does not help your business.” – Toni Magyar [22:59] “The more I fixate on what I think my failings have been, the harder I might try to push myself... which isn’t going to happen. Then the harder I’m going to push on other people.” – Dan Harris [23:10]

• The Spiral of Influence:

  "We have two spirals... One is what my friend Evelyn calls the 'toilet vortex,' where you’re hard on yourself and then you take that on other people... And the other—which can often kick off with self compassion—your relationships improve because you’re easier on other people. And then up you go. I call that the cheesy upward spiral.” – Dan Harris [24:14]

B. Leaning Into Support Networks

• Never Worry Alone:

  “Another expression you and I use all the time: ‘Never worry alone.’” – Dan Harris [20:08]

  • Stress is reduced not only by introspection and practice, but by talking with trusted people.

C. Leadership and Team Dynamics

• Chasing Squirrels:
  • Toni describes Dan’s creative idea generation:

    “Working with somebody who chases a lot of squirrels... And we have to decide, and Toni often has to play traffic cop on this, which squirrels are we going to chase and how do we stay focused?” – Dan Harris [13:15]

• The Boss as a Work in Progress:
  • Both reflect on learning to communicate directly, set roles, and not let personality patterns create blind spots:

    “One of the skills... is learning how to be a leader.” – Dan Harris [29:18] “We had a whiteboard... listing everything on your plate, and it was ridiculous... I was like, well, I’m this person’s boss. I have one direct report, and I didn’t even know all of this. I should have known all of this. And so I’ve failed.” – Toni Magyar [38:31]

D. Experimentation vs. Perfectionism

• Iterating in Real Time:
  • Dan and Toni stress the entrepreneurial value of trying new things and being okay with failure:

    “Being willing to fail. It is the opposite of perfectionism. We tried a bunch of stuff... and some of them worked and some of them didn’t. And that’s okay.” – Toni Magyar [43:51]

4. Building for the Future: Community, Content, Connection

• What’s Working:

  • Live meditation and Q&A sessions (especially with the Teacher of the Month) are the most energizing and effective format.

    “The most energy we feel... is around these live sessions where I’m guiding in meditation and then taking people’s questions. I have the energetic sense and we have some data... that’s where people are most engaged and are feeling the most impact.” – Dan Harris [44:35]

• Moving Beyond Apps:

  • Vision: A next-generation meditation platform emphasizing community (the Buddhist “Sangha”), consistent teacher exposure, and in-person experiences.

    “What no app has done, to my knowledge, really, is build in the community aspect... turning self improvement into the carpool lane is a much more effective way to do it.” – Dan Harris [45:18]

• Hybrid Offerings:

  • Monthly Teacher features, live digital and eventually IRL sessions, cohort-based discussion groups all form part of the new approach.

    “We have a lot of excitement and energy around actual in person work as well.” – Toni Magyar [48:32]

• Ongoing Experimentation:

  • Still testing and learning with customer feedback, but the destination is clear:

    “We are trying stuff now based on real feedback and real intuitions... and we’re going to continue to test and grow with the audience.” – Dan Harris [51:05]

  • The ultimate goal is to “find the best way to knit these tested solutions [meditation, communication skills, self-compassion, etc.] into people’s lives.” [51:58]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Security and Uncertainty

  “You can’t get rid of groundlessness. That is the fundamental truth. Those moments of feeling secure... that’s the illusion.”
  —Dan Harris [18:30]

• On Compassion and Business

  “Sometimes direct communication interpersonally has an edge for you. But like, you’re really good at communicating... to the customers about where we’re going.”
  —Toni Magyar [54:08]

• On Leadership Self-Awareness

  “I feel like I failed. I remember feeling that really acutely and then thinking, alright, well, okay, I failed, but what am I gonna do now?”
  —Toni Magyar [38:31]

• On Experimentation

  “Being willing to fail. It is the opposite of perfectionism.”
  —Toni Magyar [43:51]

• On the Human Side of Professionalism

  “Being a boss is its own kind of psycho spiritual endeavor.”
  —Toni Magyar [39:20]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:23 — Context of Dan’s professional reset and the hard “business divorce”
• 10:53 — The emotional weight and existential fear during the transition
• 16:40 — Living with primordial anxiety and learning to accept groundlessness
• 20:08 — Key tools for handling uncertainty: clarity, self-talk, support
• 21:19 — Toni on self-compassion and spirals of self-influence
• 29:18 — Lessons in leadership and managing new teams
• 38:31 — Toni on confronting her own shortcomings as a boss
• 43:51 — The value of experimentation in building a modern business
• 44:35 — What’s resonating most with users: live/membership experiences
• 45:18 — The vision: community and the “Sangha” as essential
• 48:32 — Incorporating new teachers and building hybrid digital/in-person offerings
• 51:05 — Commitment to ongoing testing and learning
• 52:28 — The big-picture vision for integrating life-enhancing practices

In Summary

Dan Harris and Toni Magyar offer an authentic, vulnerable conversation about what it takes to reset a career, run a new business, and adjust to setbacks. Their major takeaways:

• Change is unavoidable—learn to expect it and prepare without anxiety.
• Self-compassion and support networks are critical, in both business and personal wellbeing.
• Leadership requires self-awareness, direct communication, the willingness to fail, and the courage to keep experimenting.
• Community transforms personal development from a solo act into a sustainable, joyful practice.

For anyone struggling with career changes or seeking more mindful leadership, this episode provides practical wisdom, empathy, and hope—along with a sneak peek at what's next for 10% Happier's evolving community.