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

    What Mentally Strong People Do on Their Worst Days with Psychotherapist Amy Morin
    Sep 22 2026
    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. + + + 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 + + + If you’d like to buy Amy’s new book, The Mental Strength Playbook, head to: https://amymorinlcsw.com/books/ + + + Chapters + + + 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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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • The Dating Advice Making Us Worse at Love with Relationship Expert Amy Chan

    The Dating Advice Making Us Worse at Love with Relationship Expert Amy Chan
    Sep 15 2026
    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. + + + 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 + + + To get a copy of Amy's book, Unsingle: How to Date Smarter and Create Love That Lasts, head to: https://missamychan.com/#books + + + 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 + + + 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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    50 mins
  • Why Trying to “Sound Smart” is Losing You the Room with Strategic Story Producer Rob Willis

    Why Trying to “Sound Smart” is Losing You the Room with Strategic Story Producer Rob Willis
    Sep 8 2026
    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. + + + 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 + + + Want to keep up with Rob and his video breakdowns? Check out: https://robdwillis.carrd.co/ + + + 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 + + + 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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    47 mins
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I wasn’t aware of Sara Kuburic before this podcast but am so glad I listened. My children are millennials and so much of what Sara says resonates with my understanding of their struggles. Very helpful to me to increase my awareness of what questions and tools can help. Thanks !

Insights to millennials

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I really LoveSimon as I listen to him in Ted and His Podcast is Amazing. I truly love his work is brilliant! Thank You !

Great Interesting Podcast .Brilliant!

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I very much enjoy Simon and his guests. He has a wide array of topics to discuss and I appreciate his mindfulness while interviewing. I especially loved the episode with the TSA lady and the guy who did the voice of Goofy! So much fun!

Insightful!

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I was having a bit of a slump at work where I wasn’t happy coming into work. I started seeing videos of Simon discussing a plethora of topics. normally I don’t buy in, but something about his approach pierced through and struck home for me. Since listening to the podcast and buying his books, I’ve rediscovered Why I like going to work. Supporting my Team as their manager and helping them grow to achieve what they aspire to. While I don’t think he’ll see it, thank you Simon!

Simon’s optimism is contagious

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I was actively listening for the entire thing. It was captivating. A story filled with lessons and learning.

Your worth it...

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