A Bit of Optimism

How to Tell If Fear Is Protecting You or Holding You Back with Extreme Athlete Nelly Attar

We tell ourselves the reason we never chase the big dream is that we're not ready, not brave enough, doomed to fail.Nelly Attar would tell you she felt all of that too… but she chased them anyway.Nelly is a psychologist turned extreme athlete and mountaineer. She built Saudi Arabia's first dance studio, MOVE, at a time when women couldn't train publicly by sneaking classes into a warehouse and office building after hours. She's the first Lebanese person to climb the five highest peaks in the world, like Everest. And she also became the first Arab to summit K2, the world’s second highest peak that’s so dangerous that one in four people who attempt it survive.But what makes Nelly remarkable aren’t the summits and heights she reaches. It's that she's found a way to turn individual acts of accomplishment into acts of service: for the women she shows what's possible and for the team that climbs beside her.In this episode you'll learn:➡️ The difference between fear that protects you and fear that holds you back➡️ How preparing and working hard can lighten the load for others➡️ What small, daily kindness practices become the best investment you can make➡️ Why there's no such thing as "self-made" and what actually de-risks courage➡️ The art of “strategic retreat” + why quitting and retreating aren't the same thing➡️ Why your title and achievements aren’t your identity (and what is)➡️ How movement is medicine, and why the mind leads the body➡️ What it really means to live a life of service to the people right in front of youIn this conversation, Nelly shows that the size of what you accomplish matters far less than the spirit you bring to it. She faces her fear for herself, but she does the hard work for everyone else. This… is A Bit of Optimism.+ + +Want to keep up with Nelly’s adventures? Check out: https://www.nellyattar.com/ + + +ChaptersChapters00:00:00 If You Don't Try, You'll Never Know: Nellie's Philosophy on Fear00:02:20 Building Saudi Arabia's First Dance Studio00:07:45 The Real Risk Worth Taking: Purpose Over Fear00:12:07 The Support System Behind Every Bold Move00:14:11 From Dance Floor to Everest: Training in the Desert for Sub-Zero Summits00:20:13 Climbing for Others: The Service Mindset on the Mountain00:21:19 Preparing So You Don't Burden Your Team00:26:11 The Practice of Kindness: Small Acts That Change Everything00:33:02 Leading Hikes to Help Others Climb Their Mountains00:36:17 K2: Climbing Through Grief After Losing Her Father00:39:24 One in Four Don't Come Back: The Reality of K200:41:00 Strategic Retreat: Knowing When to Turn Around00:43:59 The Infinite Mindset: You Are Not Your Accomplishments00:45:44 Creating Safe Spaces for Others to Discover Their Boundaries00:48:39 Fear That Protects vs Fear That Holds You Back+ + +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/leaderfulPodcast: http://apple.co/simonsinekInstagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinekFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Remembering Bob Chapman: The Mentor Who Changed My Life

Sixteen years ago, an unknown CEO running a manufacturing company in the Midwest saw my TED Talk and recognized something in it. He sent me a letter and we made plans to meet. What started as a one-hour lunch turned into three, then four days touring factories together across the Midwest, and an idea I had only imagined turned out to already exist in reality.That CEO was Bob Chapman. Over five decades, Bob grew an unassuming manufacturing company in the Midwest into a global proof point that leadership grounded in humanity can scale and outperform. Bob saw the people in his company as human beings in his care, people he felt responsible to help become healthy, fulfilled, and whole. His belief was simple and profound: when people are cared for at work, they build happier families, stronger communities, and a better world. He called it Truly Human Leadership. In the years that followed, Bob became something more: a mentor, a close friend, the central figure in my book Leaders Eat Last, and one of the people who shaped how I think about leadership itself.In September 2025, I returned to one of Bob's factories in Phillips, Wisconsin, with a camera crew, to capture Bob's incredible legacy in his own words. Six months later, Bob passed away.As a tribute to this great man, we're releasing the full conversation, in its entirety, for the first time.In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why Bob believed in seeing every person as someone’s precious child ➡️ How Barry-Wehmiller rewrote the rules and ➡️ The university Bob built to teach his employees skills they were never taught ➡️ What impact a caring workplace can have on an employees life ➡️ The real difference between a prosperous company and a healthy one ➡️ Why Bob believed layoffs meant your business has failed ➡️ Why the greatest act of charity has nothing to do with the checks you write ➡️ What changed in Bob over the fifteen years Simon knew him ➡️ The letter Simon sent Bob years ago that ended up framed on his office wallAs Bob said, "You can retire from a job, but you can't retire from a calling." He never did. This conversation is a chance to hear why, in his own words.This… is A Bit of Optimism.+ + +To buy Bob’s book, Everybody Matters, head to: https://simonsinek.com/optimism-press/everybody-matters To read about Bob in my book, Leaders Eat Last, head to: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last + + +ChaptersChapters00:00:00 The Letter That Changed Everything: Meeting Bob Chapman00:05:23 Bob's Revelation: Seeing People as Somebody's Precious Child00:08:05 Building a University to Teach Caring: The Three Transformative Classes00:09:32 The Healing Power of Listening: Why 95% of Feedback Was About Marriage and Kids00:16:42 Recognition Done Right: Catching People Doing Good 00:20:55 The 2008 Recession Test: Shared Sacrifice Over Layoffs00:23:07 "Layoffs Means Your Business Has Failed"00:26:02 You Don't Need to Justify Caring: Safety of the Soul00:27:53 12% Compound Growth for 25 Years: The Business Case for Humanity00:29:53 "Our Product Is Our People"00:34:55 From Selfish to Servant: Simon's Challenge That Sparked a Movement00:36:26 People's Universal Truth: They Want to Know They Matter00:38:00 Bob Has Gotten Softer: The Personal Evolution of a Leader00:40:00 You Cannot Retire From a Calling: Carrying a Message That Heals00:43:10 Heart Counts, Not Head Counts: The Language of Humanization00:46:01 The Greatest Act of Charity: How You Treat People You Lead00:49:38 The Promise: Carrying the Torch for Generations to Come+ + +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/simonsinekInstagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinekFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

The AI Skills Nobody is Teaching (And Everyone Needs) with AI Expert Ethan Mollick

Be honest: AI makes you a little nervous.Maybe you're afraid it'll take your job. Maybe you're overwhelmed by all the advice about prompts and agents and which chatbot to use. Or maybe you're just quietly hoping it'll all slow down. Ethan Mollick says we're underestimating our own agency in the age of AI. Instead of worrying about what AI will do to us, we should focus on what we choose to do with it.Ethan is a Wharton professor, the author of the bestseller Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, and the writer behind “One Useful Thing,” one of the most popular newsletters on AI, work, and education. He's spent twenty years studying how people actually use technology, and he's become the go-to voice for making sense of AI without the hype or the doom. And in his new book, Co-Existence: The Next Phase of AI, he explores what comes next as AI moves from a tool we prompt to a presence we live and work alongside.In this conversation, Ethan shares the practical playbook most of us are missing and makes the case that our experience, taste, and point of view aren't things AI replaces. They're exactly what make us better at using it.In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why young people are NOT "AI natives" (and why experience is the real AI advantage) ➡️ The $20 decision that instantly upgrades how you use AI ➡️ Why AI agrees with everything you say + the simple prompt that fixes it ➡️ How to make AI write in YOUR voice instead of sounding like everyone else ➡️ The "jagged frontier": what AI is surprisingly bad at (and why that's your opportunity) ➡️ Why taste may become the most valuable skill of the AI era ➡️ How much agency we really have over where AI takes usEthan believes that the future of AI isn't something that will just happen to us… It's something we get to build together.This… is A Bit of Optimism.+ + +To pre-order Ethan’s new book, Co-Existence: The Next Phase of AI, head to: https://co-existence.ai/ Want to hear more from Ethan? Check out his Substack “One Useful Thing”: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/ + + +ChaptersChapters00:00:00 Why are AI Experts Are Either Doomers or Zealots?00:02:05 From Video Games to AI: Ethan's Unexpected Journey00:09:16 AI's Profound Impact on Knowledge Workers00:14:50 How AI Kills Traditional Talent Pipelines00:15:57 Why AI Art Doesn't Bother Me, But I'd Never Hang It on My Wall00:20:40 How To Overcome AI's Complication of Competitive Edge00:22:06 The 20 Dollar Investment That Changes Everything00:24:40 The 84 Percent Rule: Why AI Can Now Do Your Seven-Hour Job in 15 Minutes00:25:59 Your Voice Matters More Than You Think: Why AI Can't Replace Taste00:19:53 The Discomfort-Avoidant Generation Meets the Efficiency Machine00:13:08 Why Young People Are Worse at Using AI00:43:35 The Brain We're Sacrificing: From Phone Numbers to Critical Thinking00:51:39 Two Prompts That Will Transform How You Use AI00:52:58 How to Use AI As Co-Intelligence 00:54:57 The Agency You Have Right Now: It's Not About Policy, It's About How You Use It+ + +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/leaderfulPodcast: http://apple.co/simonsinekInstagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinekFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

How to Stop Letting Your Own Thoughts Make You Sick, Stressed, and Stuck with Dr. Ellen Langer

Most of us are so certain about, well, everything. We think we can predict what's coming, what that off-hand comment really meant, what that look was about, what's going to go wrong. And according to Dr. Ellen Langer, that certainty is making us miserable… and possibly making us sick.Dr. Langer is a psychologist, Harvard professor, and the "Mother of Mindfulness." In her book The Mindful Body, she makes the case that the way we think directly shapes the way we heal, age, stress, and recover. Her conclusion: the mind and the body were never two separate things to begin with. And we have far more agency over both than we've been led to believeIn this episode you'll learn:➡️ What mindfulness (and mindlessness) really is➡️ The one question that can dissolve stress almost instantly➡️ Why the story you tell yourself is more powerful than what actually happened➡️ The study that proved people lost weight without changing their diet or exercise➡️ The difference between nervousness and excitement (and why it matters)➡️ Why certainty is a sign of mindlessness (not intelligence)➡️ How your body heals faster or slower based on what you believe➡️ Why "fighting" an illness is the wrong mindset➡️ The simple reframe that turns every negative trait into a strength➡️ Why confident people don't need to rely on certaintyIn this conversation, Ellen makes the case that virtually all of us are mindless almost all of the time. And the moment you recognize that, everything opens up. Your health, your relationships, your ability to recover from hardship.The obstacle, it turns out, has always been the assumption that there was nothing left to question.This… is A Bit of Optimism.+ + +To buy a copy of Dr. Ellen Langer’s books The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health and Finding Happy, head to: https://www.ellenlanger.me+ + +ChaptersChapters00:00:00 Stress Is a Story We Tell Ourselves00:01:27 What Mindfulness Actually Means00:02:59 Why Everything You Know Is Probably Wrong00:04:29 One Plus One Doesn't Always Equal Two00:06:59 Are We Wired for Stress or Taught to Be Stressed?00:08:16 When Ellen's House Burned Down: Finding Gifts in Tragedy00:13:19 Is This a Tragedy or an Inconvenience?00:19:24 Nervous or Excited? The Olympic Athletes' Secret to Reframing Stress00:22:26 The First Step to Mindfulness: Embracing Uncertainty00:23:15 Behavior Makes Sense From the Actor's Perspective00:33:24 Context, Context, Context: Who Gets to Decide?00:42:41 Mind Over Matter: The Stories That Started It All00:46:24 The Counterclockwise Study: Turning Back Time in Five Days00:47:07 The Chambermaid Study: When Work Becomes Exercise00:49:47 Wounds Heal Based on Perceived Time, Not Real Time00:52:01 Are We Mindless Almost All the Time?+ + +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/leaderfulPodcast: http://apple.co/simonsinekInstagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinekFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinekSimon’s books:The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/

What Happens When You Stop Optimizing and Start Committing with Former LA Lakers President Tim Harris

In a world of job-hopping, side hustles, and an endless LinkedIn feed, Tim Harris did something almost no one does anymore. He stayed put.Few executives spend an entire career helping build a dynasty. Tim Harris spent 35 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, rising to President of Business Operations and helping transform the franchise into a global brand. Through championship eras, iconic athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and decades of change in professional sports, Tim's influence was felt not on the hardwood, but in the culture, leadership, and business excellence that powered one of the NBA's most storied organizations.In this episode you'll learn:➡️ Why clarity of role is the most underrated tool in any leader's arsenal➡️ The three unspoken words that silently destroy any team ➡️ What Kobe Bryant taught Tim about mindset (+ why it matters off the court)➡️ How the Lakers built one of the most powerful brands in sports➡️ What elite athletes do differently + how it translates directly to business ➡️ What caring, high-performing leadership actually looks like ➡️ Why giving away free tickets to strangers was a brilliant + caring business decision➡️ The cost of short-termism + what we lose when we stop playing the long gameEven a brand as iconic as the Lakers wasn't built by championships alone. Tim says its foundation was built one small, genuine human moment at a time. This… is A Bit of Optimism.+ + +ChaptersChapters00:00:00 You Have to Love Them in Order to Win00:01:54 Why Tim Stayed 35 Years With One Company00:04:30 From Soccer Player to Lakers President: Tim's Unlikely Journey00:07:54 Coaching as Leadership: Don't Play on the Field00:09:39 The Long Game vs Day Trading Success00:11:00 The Underrated Tool of Clarity of Role00:13:29 Kobe's Compartmentalization: Nice Guy Off Court, Competitor On Court00:15:19 The Mental Game: What Separates Elite Athletes From Everyone Else00:22:08 The Three Unspoken Words That Ruin Any Team00:24:16 Meeting People Where They Are 00:36:45 Caught You Being a Laker: Empowering Employees to Create Magic00:30:31 The Empty Seat Philosophy: Turning Sunk Costs Into Memories00:31:35 Building Brands One Tiny Act at a Time00:38:42 Remember That Business Is Always Human00:42:04 The Jenga Theory: Every Interaction Either Builds or Destroys Your Brand00:46:31 Caring Structure: What People Actually Crave at Work00:47:26 Never Miss Your Kid's Game: The Accountability Agreement00:50:09 Learning From Legends: Phil Jackson and the Human-First Philosophy00:48:48 The Work Happens in the Dark: What Made Kobe and LeBron Great00:50:56 Stop and Look at the Joy: Championship Lessons and Kobe's Legacy+ + +CreditsFootage: NBA EntertainmentPhotos: http://bit.ly/43Fb37Z (Full List)+ + +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/leaderfulPodcast: http://apple.co/simonsinekInstagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinekFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek