My career is an accident. It started when I set out to rediscover my passion and reignite a spark I’d lost — and that journey led me to the work I do now.

If you know me from my books or my speaking, you know I’m fascinated by why people do what they do. What makes someone find joy and meaning in their life, or pursue something far greater than themselves?


I started A Bit of Optimism to explore those ideas and expand my own perspective. This podcast is a trove of honest conversations, with people who challenge me, teach me, or simply help me see things in a different way. Some guests are household names, and others you may be meeting for the first time. But each one of them has something to share that can help all of us grow.

So if you’re looking for a spark — some insight, inspiration, or just a reminder that good things are possible — join me on A Bit of Optimism!

Let’s grow together.

A Bit of Optimism

Some people see a rule and follow it. Some people see a rule and ask what it was for. David Begnaud has built a career out of finding the second kind.


For 20 years, David was the lead national correspondent for CBS News, reporting from hurricanes, earthquakes, and mass shootings — including the Hurricane Maria coverage that made him a lifeline for millions of Puerto Ricans and changed the direction of his career. Today he hosts “Beg Knows America” on CBS Mornings and is the founder of Do Good Crew, where he tells the stories that remind us of our shared humanity.



Fair warning — expect some spirited debate. David and Simon dig into where trust in the news went and who gets to rebuild it. But they land in the same place: the only thing that makes an imperfect system work is a person willing to do the right thing and accept what it costs them.



In this episode you'll learn:

➡️ Why fear is louder than hope, and what 25 years of it does to your body

➡️ How to ask for the work you want and keep the relationship

➡️ Why the best feel-good stories keep the tension and the pain in

➡️ What to do when the rules stand in the way of what’s right

➡️ Why doing the right thing makes you equal to anyone in the room

➡️ Why protecting your peace may be the thing that extends your life



The people in David’s stories decided for themselves what the right thing was, and then stood behind it. That same choice belongs to all of us. And this conversation makes it a little easier to make the next time the call is yours.



This… is A Bit of Optimism.



A note on this episode: David and Simon talk openly about the human cost of covering disaster, including death, hospice and the end of life. They also discuss how newsrooms handle the reporting of suicide. This episode contains strong language.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988 in the US.



+ + +



To learn more about Do Good Crew, visit: https://www.thedogoodcrew.com/ 



Want more David? Tune into his podcast “The Person Who Believed in Me,” head to: https://www.thedogoodcrew.com/podcast 


And check out “Beg-Knows America” on CBS Mornings here: https://www.cbsnews.com/feature/beg-knows-america/ 



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Chapters

Chapters

00:00:00 The Craving for Good News (And Why We Don't Actually Watch It)
00:01:52 How 20 Years of Tragedy Broke a Journalist
00:05:22 Puerto Rico: The Hurricane That Changed Everything
00:08:24 When Advocacy Crosses the Line: The Journalist's Dilemma
00:09:18 How the News Industry Lost Its Way (And Who's to Blame)
00:15:00 The Fixed-Rate Solution: Removing Financial Incentives from News
00:17:10 When Journalism Blurred the Lines
00:21:05 From Lead Correspondent to Feel-Good Storyteller
00:32:25 The Stories That Make It All Worth It
00:34:46 Why Cortisol Can't Be Your Life: Protecting Your Peace
00:51:33 The George Floyd Lesson: When Bearing Witness Changes Everything
00:54:42 Civil Disobedience and Doing the Right Thing
00:55:49 Short-Term Ratings vs Long-Term Integrity




+ + +



Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.



Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.



Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

 

+ + +



Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek



+ + + 

#SimonSinek

Why Good News Is Worth the Effort with Journalist David Begnaud

If you’ve ever dabbled in looking into how to extend your life, your social media feed might be inundated with the “hottest” longevity trends: from cold plunges to VO2 max tests to celebrity-endorsed supplements. As a society, we are obsessed with the idea of living longer. 


And longevity has become a multi-billion dollar industry where everyone’s trying to sell you their secret to a longer life. But if you meet the people leading that movement, you start to ask yourself “are they even happy?” If we’re all trying to live all these extra years, we should also make sure we genuinely enjoy them. 


That’s why I wanted to talk to Dr. Kerry Burnight about how we age. Known as “America’s Gerontologist”, she specializes in the mental, physical, and social aspects of aging. Kerry has spent two decades as a professor of geratric medicine, and co-founded the nation’s first elder abuse forensic center, where she saw older people isolated, exploited, and suffering. After years of arriving after the damage was done, she started asking a different question: what would prevent that suffering in the first place?


Kerry’s answer is a concept she calls “Joyspan,” which is also the title of her New York Times bestseller Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half. Her work reframes how we think about our long lives: not as a problem to solve by suppressing the aging process, but as a chance to grow with age and build a life with intention and joy.



In this episode you’ll learn:

➡️ Why the longevity movement lost its way (in a word: humility)

➡️ How Kerry’s mom changed her outlook on life in her late 70s, and is thriving at nearly 98

➡️ Three questions you should ask yourself every birthday 

➡️ Why we should stop “growing older” and start “growing with age”

➡️ The one sentence that helps you find something good even when things are hard

➡️ How to help someone who’s stuck, without just commiserating 

➡️ Why friendship might be “the Ozempic of longevity”

➡️ The four practices of people who are still loving life at 100

This conversation isn’t about rejecting the gym or the green vegetables – you should take care of your body too! But the parts of life that make it worth living are often difficult to assign a metric. They take work too. And it’s never too early (or too late) to start.



This… is A Bit of Optimism.



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To get a copy of Kerry’s book, Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life's Second Half, head to: https://www.drkerryburnight.com/#joyspan



+ + +



Chapters
Chapters

00:00:00 Dedicating Your Life to Helping Others Age
00:00:43 Beyond Lifespan and Healthspan: Introducing Joyspan
00:02:20 Why the Longevity Movement Lost Its Way
00:03:13 From Elder Abuse to Prevention: A Gerontologist's Journey
00:04:45 How the Longevity Movement Lost Its Way
00:10:40 Introducing JoySpan: The Missing Piece of Longevity
00:13:48 The Chocolate Cake Principle: When Worry Is Worse Than the Thing
00:16:59 What Funerals Teach Us About What Actually Matters
00:18:20 The AGE Framework: Three Questions to Ask Yourself Every Birthday
00:21:25 Why the Intangibles Matter More Than Metrics
00:26:42 Growing With Age, Not Growing Older
00:32:30 Pain Isn't a Mistake: Why We Need to Stop Vilifying Struggle
00:32:45 Finding the Gift in Every Hardship
00:47:20 The Third Leg of the Stool: Friendship as Longevity Medicine
00:52:30 How to Talk to Young People About Aging (And Why Quality of Life Is the Key)
00:57:08 Four Practices for a High-Quality Life at Any Age
00:57:56 Redefining What It Means to Be Old



+ + +



Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.



Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.


Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.



+ + +


Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful	

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek



+ + +



#SimonSinek



+ + +

The Longevity Secret Nobody Can Sell You with Gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnight

Hello from Team Simon! Brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism are back next Tuesday, October 27. Before then, we're revisiting one last favorite: the company Simon names whenever someone asks which business actually lives the ideas he writes about. It's Gymshark, and its founder, Ben Francis.


Maybe you know the pull: the bigger something gets, the more it feels like it should do more. More products, more markets, more people to please. It looks like growth. But it can quietly water down the very thing that made you special.

Gymshark didn't start with a vision. It started with a website, a list of drop-shipped supplements, and months of waiting for anyone to buy anything. Then Ben spotted his nan's sewing machine on the dining room table and started making gym clothes for himself and his friends. Years later, with the business booming, Gymshark did what growing companies do and expanded into swimwear, hiking, and sportswear. The brand started to blur. So Ben pulled it all back to three words: We Do Gym.

Ben is the founder and CEO of Gymshark, the gymwear brand he launched in 2012 while still working shifts at Pizza Hut. Today it's a billion-dollar global brand with a devoted community, a flagship store on London's Regent Street, and one ambition that shapes every decision Ben makes: to build a 100-year brand.

I sat down with Ben at Gymshark HQ in the West Midlands, where the company values are painted on the walls in refreshingly blunt language. And I push him on the irony at the heart of the brand: how does a company built on humility make clothes designed for showing off?

In this episode you'll learn:
➡️ Why the best businesses often start with ridiculously low ambitions
➡️ The "small menu" rule: why selling fewer things builds a better business
➡️ Why Ben stepped aside as CEO, and how it made him ready to take the job back
➡️ How a 100-year mindset changes who you hire (+ why "have they done it before?" is the wrong question)
➡️ His granddad's one-question test for a good year
➡️ Why even the most successful founders admit they're "just winging it"
➡️ Why the only competition worth winning is against yourself

Ben's lesson is a freeing one: you don't have to be everything to everyone. Pick the thing you love, serve the people who love it too, and keep getting better at it. That's how you build something that lasts.

This… is A Bit of Optimism.

+ + +

Want to check out Gymshark? Head over to: https://www.gymshark.com/

+ + +

Chapters
Chapters

00:00:00 Why Building a 100-Year Brand Changes Everything
00:01:55 The Accidental Birth of Gymshark: From Supplements to Sewing Machines
00:07:38 Setting the Bar Low: Why Small Ambitions Lead to Big Success
00:10:34 The Temptation to Expand: When Gymshark Lost Its Way
00:11:23 The Restaurant Menu Philosophy: Why Less Product Means Better Business
00:13:48 Stepping Down as CEO: The Hardest Decision That Saved the Company
00:20:43 What Cool Dads Build: The Personal Drive Behind a 100-Year Vision
00:24:27 The American Mistake: When Freedom Killed the Brand
00:27:45 The Onyx Launch: Selling to 1 Percent of Your Audience
00:34:46 Did You Make Any Money This Year: Lessons from Granddad
00:37:06 Give a Sh**: The Honest Values Written on the Walls
00:44:14 Winging It With Purpose: What Simon Learned in Fiji
00:47:56 Two Types of Winging It: Foundation vs Quicksand
00:53:21 The Head Nod Philosophy: Competition That Lifts Everyone Up
00:57:13 Family First: When Your Kid's Hug Beats Every Business Win


+ + +

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

+ + +

Website: http://simonsinek.com 
Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful 
Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek 
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Revisited: The Power of Doing One Thing Exceptionally Well with Gymshark Founder and CEO Ben Francis

Hello from Team Simon! We’re taking a few weeks off and will be back with brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism on Tuesday, October 27. 



Until then, we’re revisiting some of our favorite conversations, including this one with a longtime friend of Simon’s: Esther Perel.



For most of history, we stayed in marriages and jobs because we had to. Happiness was a nice bonus. Today we get to choose who we love and where we work, so happiness has become the glue that holds it all together.



Few people have watched that shift as closely as Esther Perel. For four decades, she’s seen how love, family and work have been reshaped by no-fault divorce, the internet, and now AI. Her conclusion hasn’t changed: the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. It’s a line she first said out loud years ago, in a WHY Discovery session with Simon.



Esther is a psychotherapist, the bestselling author of Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs, and the host of the podcast Where Should We Begin? Her card game “Where Should We Begin? At Work,” is built to spark real conversations between colleagues.



In this conversation, Esther and Simon talk about why one partner can’t be our whole village, what kids lose when they stop playing in the street, and why an entry-level job may be the last great playground. Simon also shares a personal update: how he made peace with the question, "Why haven’t you been married?"



In this episode you'll learn:

➡️ Why happiness went from a perk to the glue, in love and at work
➡️ The “relationship CV” everyone brings to work (+ how it shapes the way you handle conflict and authority)
➡️ Why we’re asking one person to give us what a whole village used to
➡️ How frictionless apps are changing what we expect from each other
➡️ Why entry-level jobs are the best place to scrape your knees
➡️ The number one relationship skill Gen Z should master before their first job
➡️ Why play is just risk that feels fun, and how it builds trust



And remember, every relationship you treasure started as a conversation with a stranger.


This… is A Bit of Optimism.



+ + +

 

To learn more about Esther's work, visit: https://www.estherperel.com/

And check out "Where Should We Begin? At Work" here: https://game.estherperel.com/products/where-should-we-begin-at-work



+ + +

 

Chapters

Chapters

00:00:00 Why the Quality of Our Relationships Determines the Quality of Our Lives
00:03:43 The Dual Revolution: How Work and Romance Transformed Together
00:09:40 From Duty to Desire: When Happiness Became the Glue
00:17:11 The Death of the Playground: Where We Lost Our Social Skills
00:19:24 Why Lion Cubs Fight: The Mammal Lesson We're Ignoring
00:25:46 The Harvard Study Secret: Relationships Are #1 Predictor of Happiness
00:28:10 The Kindergarten Separation: A Cultural Moment That Reveals Everything
00:30:17 The Two CVs: Your Work Resume and Your Relationship History
00:31:04 The Predictive Technology Problem: Why Apps Are Ruining Human Connection
00:38:56 The Three Models of Relationships: Romance, Scaffolding, and Friendship Networks
00:42:49 Belonging vs Fitting In: Why Forcing Relationships Fails
00:44:23 The Workplace Revolution: When Psychology Entered Business
00:45:26 Where Should We Begin at Work: Using Storytelling to Build Connection
00:46:20 The Entry-Level Crisis: Why Young Workers Are Most at Risk
00:49:39 Remote Work Reality: Flexibility Without Dogma
00:50:40 The Transactional Trap: Why We Skip the Coffee and Go Straight to Business
00:56:20 Talk to Strangers: The Number One Skill Gen Z Needs
00:57:48 The Discomfort Doctrine: Why Comfort Has Become Too Central to Life
00:58:45 The Third Space: Finding Five Minutes Away From All Responsibility
01:00:22 The Voice Matters: Why We Misinterpret Text and Need to Hear Each Other
01:01:15 The Trojan Horses: Teaching Human Skills Through Work and Romance


 

+ + +

 

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

 

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

 

+ + +



Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Revisited: Why Relationships Are the Secret to a Long, Happy Life with Psychotherapist Esther Perel

Team Simon here! A Bit of Optimism is on a short break, and brand-new episodes return October 27. Until then, we're revisiting a few conversations we keep coming back to.


This week it's Arthur Brooks, a longtime friend of Simon's and one of his favorite people to talk to.

Have you ever felt like you're falling behind? Everyone else seems to have a plan, a timeline and the next rung on the ladder lined up. Any detour, like a gap year, a pivot or a job that isn't quite right, feels like losing ground.

Arthur Brooks thinks you're running the wrong race. Chasing a finish line is one of the surest ways to end up unhappy. He argues that happiness lives in the process, not the outcome.

Arthur is a bestselling author and teaches one of the most popular classes at Harvard Business School: a whole course on happiness. He lives what he teaches, too. He played French horn professionally from 19 to 31 and then reinvented himself as a behavioral scientist. After that, he became president of a Washington think tank without ever having raised a dollar. When he left that job with no idea what came next, he walked the Camino de Santiago to find out.

In this conversation, Arthur explains how to know when to trust your gut, why reinvention starts with curiosity rather than skills, and why meaning has collapsed for people under 35. Simon pushes on something that worries him: if AI takes away the struggle, what happens to the wisdom that struggle builds?



In this episode you'll learn:
➡️ The 80/20/0 rule for knowing a big decision is the right one
➡️ Why reapplying your skills isn't the same as reinventing yourself
➡️ Why your career is a spiral, not a staircase
➡️ The "arrival fallacy," and why so many Olympic gold medalists struggle after they win
➡️ Why life's most unwelcome changes usually look like gifts in hindsight
➡️ The three parts of happiness 
➡️ Why feelings are the evidence of happiness, not the thing itself
➡️ Why Arthur calls AI a "dark triad," and what that means if you're using it as a therapist
➡️ What to do when you're between things: take a walk 


Arthur's argument is a freeing one. Happiness lives in the doing, so you can be fully alive right now. You don't have to arrive first.


This… is A Bit of Optimism.


+ + +

 

If you want to see more of Arthur’s work, check out: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/

 

+ + +

 

Chapters

Chapters

00:00:00 Why Meaning Has Cratered in Modern Life
00:02:00 Career Reinvention: The Spiral Path
00:06:05 The Decision Formula: 80% Excitement, 20% Fear
00:09:27 Moving "Backwards" to Move Forward
00:14:12 The Arrival Fallacy & Why Progress Matters
00:18:18 Navigating "Lifequakes" and Liminal Space
00:22:26 The Metaphor of the Pilgrimage
00:25:13 Intention Without Attachment
00:27:16 How Fast Technology & AI Threaten Human Wisdom
00:33:38 Lessons from Prisoners of War: Embracing Process Over Deadlines
00:39:48 The Danger of Using AI for Human Connection
00:41:45 The 3 True Elements of Happiness (Enjoyment, Satisfaction, Meaning)
00:45:20 Cultivating Curiosity & Rethinking Education
00:48:40 Superpowers in Neurodivergence
00:52:25 Translating Ancient Wisdom: Be Alive Now


 

+ + +

 

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

 

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

 

+ + +



Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Revisited: Your Instincts Know What You Want with Happiness Expert Arthur Brooks

Hello from Team Simon! We're taking a few weeks off and will be back with brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism on Tuesday, October 27. Until then, we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations, starting with one of the most fun we've ever had: Rob Lowe.


Maybe you know the feeling: you've got an idea, a joke, a risk you want to take… and you talk yourself out of it before anyone else gets the chance. Rob Lowe has spent four decades doing the opposite. He calls it a healthy case of the "screw-its."



It's how he survived an industry famous for chewing people up. He went from movies to The West Wing when movie stars didn't do TV, and from TV to hosting a game show when that was supposed to be career death. His secret isn't avoiding failure. It's never letting failure decide what he tries next.



Rob is an actor, producer, and bestselling author whose career runs from The Outsiders and St. Elmo's Fire to The West Wing and Parks and Recreation. He hosts FOX's The Floor and the podcast Literally! with Rob Lowe, and stars alongside his son John Owen Lowe in Netflix's Unstable.



In this conversation, Rob tells the story of his infamous Oscars song-and-dance number (and the open letter from Hollywood legends that followed it). He also shares the Letterman appearance that taught him to trust his instincts for good, and explains why authenticity has become the only currency that matters. And I push him on the question under all of it: can the rest of us learn to take a punch the way he does?


In this episode you'll learn:

➡️ Why a healthy case of the "screw-its" is a career strategy, not a character flaw

➡️ What the world's top tennis players can teach us about bouncing back

➡️ The one practical rule for being more authentic: stop self-editing

➡️ Why the thing you least want to talk about is the thing that makes you relatable

➡️ Why "availability" might be a better word than "vulnerability"

➡️ How to spot performative authenticity (+ Rob's three red-carpet poses)

➡️ Why you can meet your heroes, but shouldn't get to know them

➡️ How humor makes even the hardest subjects easier to talk about


Rob's lesson is a freeing one: take the work seriously, laugh at the absurd parts, and trust your gut on the next big swing. Worst case, you get a great story.


This… is A Bit of Optimism.

 

+ + +

 

If you want to listen to Rob’s podcast, Literally! with Rob Lowe, head to: https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/literally-with-rob-lowe 



Find out where you can watch Rob as host of GSN’s The Floor, weekends at 8pm ET: https://www.gameshownetwork.com/the-floor 

 

+ + +

 

Chapters

Chapters

00:00:00 The Oscars Disaster: When Rob Lowe Bombed on Stage
00:01:59 From Teen Beat Cover Boy to Career Crisis at 17
00:03:33 The Fame Freeze: Why Celebrities Stop Growing
00:05:29 The Secret to Staying Relevant for Decades
00:06:55 Breaking the Rules: From Movies to TV When No One Did
00:12:45 The Comedy Central Roast and the Price of Humiliation
00:14:39 Learning to Trust Your Instincts After Letterman
00:21:05 What Authenticity Actually Means in Hollywood
00:31:30 The Art of Self-Deprecation Without Losing Respect
00:38:00 Red Carpet Secrets: Man of the People, Blue Steel, and Iconic
00:51:29 Don't Meet Your Heroes - Or At Least Don't Get to Know Them
00:53:26 Finding Humor in the Darkest Moments
00:57:01 Why Game Shows Are Actually the Hardest Thing He's Done
01:01:18 Live in Gratitude and Manage Your Expectations


 

+ + +

 

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

 

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

 

+ + +



Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Revisited: The Power of Saying "Screw It" with Rob Lowe

Be honest: you've taken a mental health day that made you feel worse. You stayed in bed, you avoided the thing, and by evening it was still waiting for you—with less of the day left to face it.
Amy Morin thinks the problem starts with the word. We treat mental health as something you either have or you don't… and framed that way, there's nothing to actually do on a bad day. Her work runs on the opposite premise: mental strength is a practice, and you build it like you'd build anything else.
Amy is a psychotherapist, a clinical social worker, and the author of the bestseller 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do and the new The Mental Strength Playbook. She became a therapist at 22 and lost her mother at 23. Three years later—to the day—her husband died, and the mental health agency where she worked gave her three days of bereavement leave. She built the practices that became her book in real time, from there.
In this conversation, Amy walks through exactly what she did to get mentally fit. Not as theory, but as the small, unglamorous things that got her out of bed. And I press her on the question nobody in her field says out loud: whether an industry built to help us has any incentive to finish the job.
In this episode you'll learn:
➡️ Why the mental health day you take to feel better isn’t helping
➡️ How to tell whether to solve the problem or solve the feeling (most of us pick wrong)
➡️ The 15-minute daily exercise Amy's clients say lifts the weight of the world
➡️ Why "I am anxious" and "I have anxiety sometimes" build two different lives
➡️ How to compromise with yourself on a bad day instead of going all-or-nothing
➡️ Why "I'm just staying busy" is avoidance we've learned to compliment
➡️ What playing the victim actually gives you (+ why it's so hard to give up)
➡️ Simon's rule for hard days: no crying alone
Amy's argument is a hopeful one: the feeling follows the action. Do one small, ordinary thing today, and you've already started.
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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This episode is brought to you by SAP. Bring it with SAP GROW. The AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more at https://SAP.com/GROW
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If you’d like to buy Amy’s new book, The Mental Strength Playbook, head to: https://amymorinlcsw.com/books/ 
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Chapters
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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.
Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.
Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.
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Website: http://simonsinek.com/
Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful 
Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

What Mentally Strong People Do on Their Worst Days with Psychotherapist Amy Morin

The internet is flooded with advice for dating in the smartphone age: know your type, trust the spark, watch for red flags, protect your peace, never settle.
It sounds like self-respect, but relationship expert Amy Chan thinks it’s a big reason dating feels impossible right now.
Her argument: we need to correct the lessons we’ve learned when it comes to dating. The person who’s great on a first date isn’t necessarily great at a relationship. Instant chemistry isn’t always a good sign. A red flag could just be an imperfection. And keeping our options open has made a lot of us genuinely bad at choosing someone.
Amy is the founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp and the author of Unsingle: How to Date Smarter and Create Love That Lasts. For nearly two decades she’s looked at dating through psychology and neuroscience — why we’re drawn to certain people, why relationships fall apart, and what actually predicts whether one lasts. She started her career helping people end relationships… Now, she teaches them how to build one.
In this episode you'll learn:
➡️ Why “instant chemistry” is one of the worst predictors of a lasting relationship
➡️ The quiet qualities research says actually predict a happy partnership
➡️ Why dating skills and relationship skills are two completely different skill sets
➡️ How the algorithm rewards red-flag advice 10X over green-flag advice (and what that’s doing to you)
➡️ Situationships: why the breakup hurts more when there was never a breakup
➡️ “Leaky energy,” micro-cheating, and the honest test for both
➡️ The 9-date experiment Amy gives clients who are stuck dating the same person
➡️ How the right relationship shrinks old wounds 
➡️ Why discomfort is a critical skill dating requires
Amy’s advice isn’t about finding a better person. It’s about becoming someone better at love. And that’s advice all of us could use! 
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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This episode is brought to you by SAP. Bring it with SAP GROW. The AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more at https://SAP.com/GROW
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To get a copy of Amy's book, Unsingle: How to Date Smarter and Create Love That Lasts, head to: https://missamychan.com/#books 
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Chapters
Chapters

00:00:00 Why Modern Dating Advice Is Making Us Worse at Love
00:02:26 From Broken Heart to Breakup Bootcamp
00:09:50 Why Dating Feels Harder Than Ever
00:11:35 The Two Different Skill Sets: Dating vs. Relationship
00:12:26 Online Dating and the Imagination Problem
00:14:17 The Coffee Date Defense and the "Five Out of Ten Rule"
00:15:53 The Cure for Avoidant Attachment
00:18:13 The ADHD Love Bomb Confession
00:24:49 What Self-Care Culture Gets Wrong About Commitment
00:30:31 Situationships: The Safe Space That Keeps You Stuck
00:33:07 Leaky Energy and Micro-Cheating
00:35:08 Amy's Seven-Year Relationship and Emotionally Corrective Experiences
00:39:28 The Instant Chemistry Trap
00:40:59 The Nine-Person Dating Experiment
00:44:37 Why Young People Aren't Dating Anymore
00:45:49 Bad Feelings Don't Mean It's Bad
00:48:02 The Single Skill That Saves Relationships

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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.
Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.
Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.
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Website: http://simonsinek.com/
Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful
Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

The Dating Advice Making Us Worse at Love with Relationship Expert Amy Chan

Have you ever sat through a presentation and felt your attention just start to…drift? Chances are, it wasn't the content. It was the delivery.



A year ago, Rob Willis was a corporate trainer with years of experience and a sharp eye for what makes people listen. He wondered if what he taught in workshops would resonate with a larger audience. So he started making short videos that break down what makes great speakers great: from their word choice, to structure, to the energy they brought to any room or conversation. 



Rob even made a video breaking down my method of public speaking. In his video,  Rob dissects my signature opening line, and my friends couldn't stop sending it to me. One hundred videos in one hundred days later, Rob's videos are going viral on a regular basis, and a whole new audience is eager to learn from him.



But what I find most interesting about Rob is where he actually learned all of this. Not in a classroom. He learned it by giving free walking tours in Berlin, where nobody pays up front and anyone can leave at any moment. If you're boring, people simply walk away — no tip, no small talk, just people voting with their feet.



Rob and I discuss what that taught him about holding a room, why the smartest person in the room is rarely the most persuasive one, and the handful of simple, almost mechanical shifts that separate a forgettable pitch from one people actually remember.


In this episode you'll learn:

➡️ Why "if I just explain it better" is the most common, and most inaccurate, assumption speakers make

➡️ Rob's trick for holding anyone's attention, whether it's a boardroom or a crowd on a street corner

➡️ What real charisma is made of (hint: it's not confidence, it's belief)

➡️ Why so many people suddenly sound fake the moment they step on stage

➡️ 5 things you can do in your next meeting to immediately present better 



You don't need a TED Talk on your calendar to get something out of this one. Any of us who wants to be understood — in a meeting, a pitch, a hard conversation — will find something worth stealing.



This… is A Bit of Optimism.



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This episode is brought to you by SAP. Bring it with SAP GROW. The AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more at https://SAP.com/GROW



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Want to keep up with Rob and his video breakdowns? Check out: https://robdwillis.carrd.co/



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Chapters
Chapters

00:00:00 The Former Tour Guide Who Cracked the Code
00:03:12 Why Trying to Sound Smart is Losing You the Room
00:03:48 100 Videos in 100 Days
00:06:16 Breaking Down the Patterns: What Makes Simon Sinek Work
00:07:33 Learning to Speak Without a Plan
00:11:41 The Knowledge Deficit Trap: Why More Information Doesn't Always Work
00:12:33 The Tour Guide Philosophy and Tracking What Actually Works
00:16:20 Simon's Book Writing Journey
00:23:10 The Art of the Distilled Message
00:25:53 The Bolt of Lightning Myth: How Great Ideas Really Happen
00:26:55 Let Them Get There First: The Power of the Aha Moment
00:29:10 Hans Rosling and What is True Charisma
00:31:47 Speaking With Conviction, Not Questions
00:34:30 The Speaking Voice Trap: Why You Sound Weird on Stage
00:36:42 Five Things You Can Do Tomorrow to Become a Better Speaker
00:44:14 The Five-Minute Rule: Why Less is Always More




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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.



Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.



Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.



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Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek



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Why Trying to “Sound Smart” is Losing You the Room with Strategic Story Producer Rob Willis

This might sound familiar: you read a full page, get to the bottom, and realize you absorbed none of it. There's a stack of books beside your bed you fully intend to finish. And the only phone number you can remember is your own.



Jim Kwik says none of that means something is wrong with our brains. It’s that we were taught what to learn, but rarely ever taught how to learn.



Jim would know. A well-meaning teacher called him "the boy with the broken brain" when he was nine, and for years he believed it. He's spent the three decades since proving otherwise — as a top brain coach, a leading expert on memory and accelerated learning, and the bestselling author of Limitless. His new book, Limitless Daily, offers 366 daily upgrades to help you focus, remember, and think better.



In this episode you'll learn:
➡️ Why reading faster can actually improve comprehension
➡️ The free technique that stops your mind wandering mid-page
➡️ How to prompt your own brain the way you prompt AI
➡️ What your "dominant question" reveals about your personality
➡️ Why school teaches us what to learn but never how to learn
➡️ What digital dementia is + how to spot it in yourself
➡️ Why focus is a muscle, not a personality trait
➡️ The one thing AI will never be able to do for you



I asked Jim an entirely selfish question about how to actually get through the unread books next to my bed, and got an answer that goes far beyond discipline. Jim explains why the technology making us more capable is quietly making us less able. 



And by the end, we landed somewhere neither of us expected: AI could have given Jim every piece of advice that changed his life, word for word. But it wasn't the advice that changed him. It was that a living, breathing person cared enough to give it.



This… is A Bit of Optimism.



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This episode is brought to you by SAP. Bring it with SAP GROW. The AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more at https://SAP.com/GROW



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If you want to buy Jim’s new book, Limitless Daily, head to: https://limitlessdaily.com 



Want to check out Jim’s other work like his best-selling book Limitless? Go to: https://jimkwik.com 



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Chapters
Chapters

00:00:00 The Boy With the Broken Brain: When Labels Become Limits
00:00:25 The Power of Adult Words on Children
00:06:51 The Freshman English Failure: Rock Bottom Before the Breakthrough
00:09:54 The Breaking Point: Collapsing in the Library
00:14:26 The Intervention: A Mentor Who Saw Potential, Not Limits
00:15:16 Accidental Careers: When Your Work Becomes Service to Others
00:20:48 110 People Showed Up: The Accidental Beginning of a Career
00:25:02 30 Books in 30 Days: The Student Who Saved Her Mother's Life
00:26:19 Service Over Success: Why Purpose Matters More Than Profit
00:31:31 Grow Givers vs Go Getters: Growing So You Have More to Give
00:32:23 Why Smart People Can't Finish Books
00:34:24 Your Brain Is Bored, Not Broken
00:38:49 The Visual Pacer Hack That Changes Everything
00:40:23 Ask Better Questions: How to Prime Your Brain for Learning
00:44:55 Focus Is a Muscle: Training Attention in the Age of AI
00:46:00 Why AI Will Never Replace Bedside Manner
00:49:11 It Was Never About the Information, It Was The Power of Being Seen



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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.



Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.



Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.



+ + +



Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek



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