142. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) with Patrick McGinnis

by Jill StoddardMay 20, 2020

Play episode

book cover Fear of Missing Out Patrick J. McGinnis

Wouldn’t it be great to feel more confident, courageous, and less stuck about decision-making? In this episode, Jill talks with Patrick McGinnis, who coined the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) about his new book Fear of Missing Out: Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice. Join us for this fun and rich discussion about the causes and pitfalls of FOMO. We also talk about FOMO’s darker cousin FOBO (Fear of a Better Option). Later get tips for how to overcome indecision You’ll find the power to choose what’s right for you by honing your decision-making skills.

Listen and Learn

What are FOMO and FOBO?
FOMO and FOBO’s evolutionary roots
FOMO’s dark toll
FOBO’s darker toll
Why FOMO’s good- in moderation- and FOBO’s always bad
Harnessing FOMO’s upside to work for you
Patrick’s hacks to squelch indecisiveness
Tips to help your kids not fall prey to FOMO
How FOMO and FOBO fluctuate across the lifespan

About Patrick McGinnis

Patrick J McGinnis is an international venture capitalist and author of Fear of Missing Out: Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice. Patrick coined the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) as well as the term FOBO (Fear of a Better Option) in a 2004 article in the student newspaper at the Harvard Business School. FOMO has since been added to the dictionary and FOBO has become an increasingly popular framework to describe analysis paralysis.

Patrick is the host of the hit podcast FOMO Sapiens, which is distributed by Harvard Business Review, and the author of the international bestseller The 10% Entrepreneur: Live Your Startup Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job. He has been featured in the New York Times, Politico, The Financial Times, the Guardian, and Inc, and gave a popular 2019 TED Talk on FOBO and decision-making. Patrick has traveled to 103 countries and lives in New York City.