BIO

Joshua Steinfeldt

MAPP, PCC

Podcast host of The Courageous Life, professional coach, mindfulness teacher, advocate of compassionate leadership.

Passionate to understand how modern science and ancient wisdom can help people live their best lives.

Joshua gained a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California Davis, and has his Master's Degree in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a student of Dr. Martin Seligman, and Dr. Angela Duckworth, as well as other world-renowned researchers in positive psychology.

For his Master’s thesis, Joshua pioneered qualitative research into the role of courage in coaching under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, a leading authority in both positive psychology and coaching.


A dedicated practitioner of mindfulness who has undergone rigorous training to become a mindfulness teacher including:

  • Mindful Awareness Research Center, University of California Los Angeles

  • Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training, University of California San Diego

  • Compassion Cultivation Teacher Training program originally developed at Stanford University

  • Positive Neuroplasticity Teacher Training with Dr. Rick Hanson

  • Eat Right Now Facilitator Training with Dr. Judson Brewer

  • Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Training with Dr. David Treleaven

Coaching to attain meaningful personal and professional goals.

 Joshua is on the Faculty at The Center for Human Potential, and has worked closely with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman to build and deliver the foundational training in Self-Actualization Coaching based upon Dr. Kaufman’s research. For nearly 5 years he also managed the coach community at BetterUp (the largest digital coaching and mental health startup in the world) – facilitating hundreds of learning and development events and helping to grow the community from 1,200 to 3,000+ professional coaches in over 70 countries across the globe.

Prior to his time at BetterUp Joshua attained over 5,000 hours of 1x1 coaching experience, and trained hundreds of professional coaches as a faculty member of ICF accredited coach training programs. Joshua has been a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation since 2014.

Press Kit


  • Joshua Steinfeldt holds a Masters Degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a student of Dr. Martin Seligman, and Dr. Angela Duckworth. During his time there he pioneered research for his master's thesis, What Are Coaches Afraid Of? An Exploration of Courage and the Path to Coaching Mastery, under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, a leading authority in positive psychology.

    Deeply interested in how contemplative practices and modern science can support people in thriving, he leverages his experience as a meditation teacher, his education in positive psychology, and his work as a professional coach to create engaging and transformative learning experiences.

    Along these lines, Joshua is on the Faculty at The Center for Human Potential, and has worked closely with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman to build and deliver the foundational training in Self-Actualization Coaching based upon Dr. Kaufman’s research.

    Joshua has served as an Assistant Instructor in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Lead Coach at Compassion Institute, a mindfulness teacher at UCLA and UCSB, and for nearly 5 years managed the coach community at BetterUp (the largest digital coaching and mental health startup in the world) – helping to grow the community from 1,200 to 3,000+ professional coaches in over 70 countries across the globe. Prior to his time at BetterUp Joshua attained over 5,000 hours of 1x1 coaching experience, and trained hundreds of professional coaches as a faculty member of ICF accredited coach training programs.

    His podcast, The Courageous Life, named “One of the 6 Best Mental Health Podcasts to Listen To” by Talkspace, features world-renowned thought leaders in deep and authentic conversations about what matters most in life, work and love.

    For more visit: www.joshuasteinfeldt.com

  • Joshua is both a teacher, and a coach. As a coach, he has attained over 5,000 hours of experience with coaching clients at Fortune 500 companies and some of the world’s leading organizations including but not limited to: Warner Brothers, Square, ExxonMobil, Google, Hilton, the YMCA, American Heart Association, and MARS. Joshua has also mentored and trained hundreds of professional coaches around the world, largely as a faculty member of ICF accredited coach training programs. For 5 years Joshua oversaw the global coach community at BetterUp. During his tenure the coach community grew from 1,200 to over 3,000 coaches in 70+ countries, he developed and delivered hundreds of events and learning experiences, and BetterUp became the largest digital coaching and mental health startup in the world.

    As a teacher Joshua leads mindfulness classes at UCLA and serves on the Faculty at the Center for Human Potential where he works closely with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and team developing innovative coach training programs in the new science of self-actualization. He has also been an Assistant Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania for their popular Positive Psychology at Work class, and served as the Alumni Coach Lead at Compassion Institute for their year-long Compassion Cultivation (CCT) Teacher Training Program. As lead, Joshua worked closely with a team of certified CCT Teachers to mentor the students undertaking the rigorous teacher training program that prepares them to offer the 8-week evidence-based compassion training originally developed at Stanford University.

    Joshua is deeply interested in how ancient wisdom practices and modern science can support people in living well. Along these lines he gained a Master's Degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a student of Dr. Martin Seligman,and Dr. Angela Duckworth. During his time there he pioneered research for his master's thesis into the role of courage in coaching under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, a leading authority and pioneer in the field of positive psychology.He has also attained rigorous evidence-based training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), mindfulness facilitation, and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT), through teacher training programs at UCSD, UCLA, and Stanford University respectively. Joshua offers a wide variety of courses, events, and experiences that infuse positive psychology and contemplative practices.

    Joshua also launched The Courageous Life, a podcast aimed at empowering individuals to overcome fear, doubt, and uncertainty, to pursue what matters most in life, work, and love. Named “One of the 6 Best Mental Health Podcasts to Listen to” by Talkspace, guests have included world renowned thought leaders, teachers, olympians, coaches, and bestselling authors like Amy Edmondson, Sharon Salzberg, Parker Palmer, Kelly McGonigal, Judson Brewer, James Doty, George Mumford, Barbara Fredrickson, Jerry Colonna, Tal Ben-Shahar, Thupten Jinpa, Rick Hanson, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, Mark Nepo, and many more. All episodes of The Courageous Life can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    More about Joshua:, www.joshuasteinfeldt.com

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