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A Bit of Optimism

A Bit of Optimism

By: Simon Sinek
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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. Career Success Economics Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Why We Fall for the Wrong Person | Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix

    Why We Fall for the Wrong Person | Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix
    Jul 7 2026
    Maybe this sounds familiar: you fall hard for someone, and over a year later you're fighting about the very things that drew you to them in the first place. And you can't figure out how the person who felt so right suddenly feels so wrong. Dr. Harville Hendrix has spent 50 years studying love. And he’s also lived through its hardest challenges: one divorce, two near-misses in his current marriage, and a couple’s therapist who fired him and his wife, calling them "the couple from hell." That marriage is now 45 years strong. Harville is a couples therapist, and alongside his wife and creative partner Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, they creator Imago Relationship Therapy. They’ve also written 10 books, including the bestseller Getting the Love You Want, the book that made him a fixture on Oprah for nearly two decades. Harville’s theory is this: we don't consciously choose who we fall for, rather our unconscious does. And it has an agenda. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why you keep falling for the same person ➡️ What your childhood has to do with who you swipe right on ➡️ Why the "power struggle" phase might mean you picked the right person ➡️ The shift that saved Harville's own marriage after divorce papers were filed ➡️ Why some of us can't receive love (even when we ask for it) ➡️ What arranged marriages understood about commitment that we forgot ➡️ The difference between equal relationships and egalitarian ones ➡️ How to reach the stage where you have no needs left… only wants In this conversation, Harville makes the case that real romantic love is what gets built after the fantasy collapses, when two people commit to the work of meeting each other's needs instead of demanding their own. And the engine of that transformation goes beyond compatibility and chemistry—it's gratitude and service. This… is A Bit of Optimism. + + + Want to keep up with Harville’s work? Check out: https://harvilleandhelen.com/ If you’d like to buy Harville & Helen’s latest book, How to Talk with Anyone about Anything, head to: https://harvilleandhelen.com/books/how-to-talk-with-anyone-about-anything/ + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 Nature's Agenda: Why We Fall for the Wrong Person 00:02:02 From Sharecropper's Farm to Oprah: Harville's Unexpected Journey 00:06:07 The 30-Second Encounters That Changed Everything 00:10:17 We Almost Divorced Twice: The Couple From Hell 00:13:21 Child Consciousness vs Adult Consciousness: The Critical Shift 00:15:57 The Gratitude That Ends the Yearning 00:18:45 Why Both People Don't Need to Change at Once 00:20:28 The Unconscious Imago: Your Brain Picks Who You Fall For 00:26:34 The 18-Month Fantasy: When the Real Person Shows Up 00:30:40 Arranged Marriages vs Choice: The Paradox of Commitment 00:34:47 The No Exit Decision: Why You'll Want to Quit When It's Working 00:36:34 The Transparency Trap: Afraid of Losing What You Found 00:38:35 Receiving Love: The Dinner Story That Changes Everything 00:45:49 Equal vs Egalitarian: The Recipe for Partnership 00:47:23 Dating IRL: Why Technology Can't Replace Face-to-Face 00:50:54 When Needs Become Wants: Life After Gratitude + + + 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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    54 mins
  • How to Tell If Fear Is Protecting You or Holding You Back with Extreme Athlete Nelly Attar

    How to Tell If Fear Is Protecting You or Holding You Back with Extreme Athlete Nelly Attar
    Jun 30 2026
    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 you In 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/ + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 If You Don't Try, You'll Never Know: Nellie's Philosophy on Fear 00:02:20 Building Saudi Arabia's First Dance Studio 00:07:45 The Real Risk Worth Taking: Purpose Over Fear 00:12:07 The Support System Behind Every Bold Move 00:14:11 From Dance Floor to Everest: Training in the Desert for Sub-Zero Summits 00:20:13 Climbing for Others: The Service Mindset on the Mountain 00:21:19 Preparing So You Don't Burden Your Team 00:26:11 The Practice of Kindness: Small Acts That Change Everything 00:33:02 Leading Hikes to Help Others Climb Their Mountains 00:36:17 K2: Climbing Through Grief After Losing Her Father 00:39:24 One in Four Don't Come Back: The Reality of K2 00:41:00 Strategic Retreat: Knowing When to Turn Around 00:43:59 The Infinite Mindset: You Are Not Your Accomplishments 00:45:44 Creating Safe Spaces for Others to Discover Their Boundaries 00:48:39 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/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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    51 mins
  • Remembering Bob Chapman: The Mentor Who Changed My Life

    Remembering Bob Chapman: The Mentor Who Changed My Life
    Jun 23 2026
    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 wall As 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 + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 The Letter That Changed Everything: Meeting Bob Chapman 00:05:23 Bob's Revelation: Seeing People as Somebody's Precious Child 00:08:05 Building a University to Teach Caring: The Three Transformative Classes 00:09:32 The Healing Power of Listening: Why 95% of Feedback Was About Marriage and Kids 00:16:42 Recognition Done Right: Catching People Doing Good 00:20:55 The 2008 Recession Test: Shared Sacrifice Over Layoffs 00:23:07 "Layoffs Means Your Business Has Failed" 00:26:02 You Don't Need to Justify Caring: Safety of the Soul 00:27:53 12% Compound Growth for 25 Years: The Business Case for Humanity 00:29:53 "Our Product Is Our People" 00:34:55 From Selfish to Servant: Simon's Challenge That Sparked a Movement 00:36:26 People's Universal Truth: They Want to Know They Matter 00:38:00 Bob Has Gotten Softer: The Personal Evolution of a Leader 00:40:00 You Cannot Retire From a Calling: Carrying a Message That Heals 00:43:10 Heart Counts, Not Head Counts: The Language of Humanization 00:46:01 The Greatest Act of Charity: How You Treat People You Lead 00:49:38 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/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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    52 mins
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Simon Sinek’s critical thinking and ability to extract the story, shines through every episode. Excellent content every time.

Simon Sinek is not the star, he makes sure every guest is!

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This is the best podcast for people that are looking deeper into their life and purpose,

The best podcast

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Great consistency of storeys giving positive actions we can all use in most parts of our lives.

Inspiring positive actions.

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Every week, Simon talk to a different person about something that is thought provoking, and gives you a lot to reflect on, no matter what your background is..

always thought provoking subjects

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I find Simon so inspirational to listen to - no matter how many times I hear the same lectures/ted talks I love his optimism, consistency in his approach to inspiring in leadership.

So lovely to hear him chatting to other such amazingly successful people.

Love Simon Sinek

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