What is a Good Life? #152 - Living a Life of Intimate Beauty with Tim Leberecht

Dec 9, 2025

Tim Leberecht, a German-American entrepreneur and author, explores the nuances of living well in a world increasingly shaped by performance and artificial intelligence. He delves into the importance of belonging and intimacy, discussing how daily rituals can reconnect us with ourselves. Tim contrasts beauty with mere success, advocating for ethics and connection amid our synthetic realities. He also addresses how silence and deep conversations can foster vulnerability, enriching our relationships in both personal and professional realms.

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INSIGHT

Belonging As Core Life Question

Tim Leberecht says belonging is his central life question and the spark for House of Beautiful Business.
He believes a good life often means feeling you belong to people, place, nature, and life itself.

INSIGHT

The New Pressure To Perform Yourself

Tim contrasts objective performance with a newer pressure to 'perform yourself' through personal branding and emotional labor.
He warns this subjective performance culture creates pressure and can be alienating at work.

ADVICE

Use Silence To Create Presence

Try using silence deliberately in group settings to deepen presence and crack open power dynamics.
Tim recommends practices like silent dinners and pausing ten seconds before engaging to foster tenderness.

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On the 152nd episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Tim Leberecht, one of the most original and passionate voices on creating a more humane future of business. Tim is a German-American entrepreneur, curator, and author, and the co-founder and co-CEO of the House of Beautiful Business, a global community for those who seek more from work and from one another. A sought-after keynote speaker, his two TED Talks have been viewed more than 3 million times. He is the author of The Business Romantic (Harper Business, 2015), translated into ten languages, The End of Winning (Droemer, 2020), and the forthcoming Supercurator (Basic/Hachette, 2027). Tim is also a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader.

In this conversation, Tim reflects on belonging, intimacy, and what it means to live a good life amidst the pressures of performance and an increasingly AI-shaped world. He speaks to the value of sensitivity, connection, and community — and how creating spaces for presence and honest conversation can reshape how we experience ourselves and each other.

This is a conversation for anyone longing for deeper connection — with themselves, with others, and with a world becoming ever more synthetic.

For more of Tim's work:
Website: https://houseofbeautifulbusiness.com/
Books: http://timleberecht.com/books/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tleberecht/
HoBB newsletter: https://houseofbeautifulbusiness.substack.com/

For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney

00:00 — The question of belonging
04:15 — Morning reconstruction of self
07:42 — Performance and authenticity tension
11:18 — Limits of self-optimisation
15:03 — Beauty and the good life
19:27 — Connection in a synthetic world
23:54 — Silence as shared intimacy
28:31 — Intimacy beyond human relationships
33:45 — AI as conversational partner
38:12 — Being changed by dialogue
44:08 — Sensitivity as core value
51:36 — Conditions for belonging