Engineering a Remarkable Life: The Stanford Class That Changed My Life Plan | Lessons from Joel Peterson

August 3, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Engineering a Remarkable Life: The Stanford Class That Changed My Life

When Sheree enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business, she expected to learn accounting, finance, and marketing. What she did not expect was a class called "Engineering a Remarkable Life," taught by Joel Peterson—the former chairman of JetBlue, a leader of one of the largest commercial real estate investment firms in the U.S., and a Stanford professor for decades. The class asked a question that most business schools never touch: before you figure out your career, who are you as a person?

Peterson, who passed away a few months before this episode was recorded, built his curriculum around a simple but demanding premise. Most people spend enormous energy constructing a career but almost none constructing a life. His framework rests on three pillars: a person to be, someone to love, and the work to do. He described these as a three-legged stool—if one leg is missing, the whole thing eventually crumbles. This episode covers the first pillar in depth.

Mapping Where You Come From

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Ad Break** - McDonald's and Hilton commercials.
2 (00:49) **Introduction to the Core Thesis** - Sheree introduces the idea that your values are defined by what you spend your time, money, and mind share on, not what you say you value.
3 (01:45) **Sheree's Master Class: Engineering a Remarkable Life** - Sheree introduces a special series focusing on a transformative class she took at Stanford's Business School.
4 (02:45) **The Professor: Joel Peterson** - The hosts discuss the impact of Professor Peterson, who passed away a few months ago.
5 (06:35) **The Three Pillars of a Remarkable Life** - Sheree outlines the three-part framework from Peterson's class: A Person to Be, Someone to Love, and the Work to Do.
6 (09:44) **Exercise 1: Mapping Your Personal History** - The first exercise from the class is to understand your family history to anchor your own life.
7 (11:51) **Reflection Questions for Personal History** - The hosts provide a list of questions to guide listeners in creating their own two-page family history summary.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

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How do you build a remarkable life, and not just a remarkable career? In this special installment of Cherie's Masterclass series, we’re sharing Part 1 of the most transformative course Cherie took at Stanford’s GSB: Engineering a Remarkable Life, taught by the late, great Professor Joel Peterson.

Tune in for lessons on:

✅ The three pillars of building a remarkable life

✅ Why mapping your family history can help you better understand yourself

✅ A framework for identifying your personal assets and liabilities

✅ The powerful "time, money, and mindshare" exercise that reveals your true values

✅ How to create personal mantras to reshape your habits through neuroplasticity

✅ Why the best life plans are written in pencil

Whether you're navigating a career transition, trying to become more intentional, or simply looking for frameworks to live a richer, more meaningful life, this episode is filled with timeless lessons you'll come back to again and again.

Timestamps:

00:00: Cold Open

00:59: Introducing Cherie’s Masterclass series

01:19: Engineering a Remarkable Life overview

03:05: All about Joel Peterson

05:00: Why this class changed Cherie’s life

06:00: The three pillars of a remarkable life

08:20: Understanding where you came from

10:16: Mini exercise #1: mapping your family history

14:51: Mapping out your assets and liabilities

15:51: Mini exercise #2: building your assets & liabilities chart

22:31: Time, money, and mindshare to understand your values

25:31: Mini exercise #3: creating your values breakdown

27:57: The importance of mantras to rewire your brain

29:40: Joel’s Top 4 favorite mantras

32:43: Always have a plan.. but write it in pencil

33:10: Closing thoughts and tease for Part 2

34:44: Outro

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