A Bit of Optimism Podcast Por Simon Sinek capa

A Bit of Optimism

A Bit of Optimism

De: Simon Sinek
Ouça grátis

Sobre este título

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. Desenvolvimento Pessoal Economia Sucesso na Carreira
Episódios
  • The Leadership Advice Nobody Follows (But Everyone Should) with Top Leadership Expert Don Yaeger
    Apr 21 2026
    The most successful leaders, coaches, and teams in history share one counterintuitive secret: their main focus wasn’t winning. And yet… they won more than everyone else. My guest, Don Yaeger, learned this lesson from his mentor: legendary college basketball coach John Wooden. Don is one of my favorite master storytellers, a top business leadership coach, author of 44 books, 13 of them New York Times bestsellers, and a former Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated. Don has worked alongside the greatest athletes of our generation: Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps. But no relationship shaped him more than the 12 years he spent as Coach Wooden's mentee. Whether or not you're a sports fan, I promise you: the lessons Don shares are as universal as it gets. We explore what it really means to win in business and in life. The greatest leaders in history already figured this out. The question is why the rest of us aren't following their lead. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why the winningest coach in college basketball history never talked about winning (and what he focused on instead) ➡️ The Bill Walton story that reveals how great leaders hold standards without exceptions (even for their best people) ➡️ How one conversation with John Wooden transformed Don's marriage & the weekly habit he's kept for 16+ years ➡️ What Delta CEO Ed Bastian's "virtuous cycle" can teach any leader about putting people before results ➡️ What a great mentor actually look like and how to know when you’ve found one If you've ever chased the short-term win at the cost of the long game… this episode is the reset you didn't know you needed. This… is A Bit of Optimism. + + + Join Don for a live Q&A on Leaderful on April 27th at 12pm ET: https://leaderful.simonsinek.com/browse/events/OMNjQIJ19cDDjjYRFbIge Join the Leaderful app! Listeners can use promo code: STORY30 when you download the app or sign up at simonsinek.com. If you want to read a free chapter from Don's upcoming book The Business of Storytelling, head to: https://www.donyaeger.com/chapter/ + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 The Power of Appreciation: What You Look For, You Find 00:02:02 From Delivering Newspapers to Sports Illustrated: Don's Journey to Journalism 00:04:21 Don’s 12-Year Mentorship with Coach John Wooden 00:06:50 Coach Wooden's Philosophy: Pyramid of Success 00:09:00 The Bill Walton Haircut Story: How Wooden Managed Ego and Held Everyone to the Same Standards 00:10:33 Building Better Humans, Not Just Better Players 00:14:36 The Love Letters That Changed Don's Marriage 00:19:35 Looking for Things to Love: The Mindset That Changes Everything 00:22:23 Leading with Employee Care Over Customer-First Mentality 00:33:55 What True Mentorship Really Means: It's Not Transactional 00:47:07 Why Aren't More Leaders Following Coach Wooden's Example? 00:53:17 The Best Storytelling Advice: Know Your Audience + + + 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/ Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/ 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 + + + Photo/Video credits for this episode: https://tinyurl.com/ycxdw52s
    Exibir mais Exibir menos
    55 minutos
  • Why This Baseball Team Has a 4.2 Million Person Waitlist With Savannah Bananas Founder Jesse Cole
    Apr 14 2026
    We talk a lot about building successful things. But what does it actually take to build something people love? Jesse Cole has built an entirely new genre of entertainment: The Savannah Bananas and the Banana Ball League. They’re a viral sensation, selling out stadiums across the country, and have over 4.2 million fans on their ticket waitlist. On the surface, Banana Ball looks like a wild and entertaining version of baseball. But underneath it all is something much more disciplined: an obsession with the fan experience. Jesse calls his approach Fans First and it’s more than a slogan and the title of his book… It’s a standard. Every minute of the two-hour games are crammed with attention grabbing spectacle. It’s a full-blown live experience designed for every seat in the stadium: players dance, fans are part of the show, trick plays defy the laws of physics, there are multiple sing-alongs… all during an actual baseball game. In this conversation, we talk about building something new for others, from embracing years of failure (including selling just two tickets in the first three months), to creating experiences that make people feel included, joyful, and valued. We also discuss how he took inspiration from Disney and PT Barnum, the importance of affordable in-person experiences, and how his team reviews every single detail after every show to get better the next day. Because what Jesse’s building goes beyond just entertainment. It’s a place where people can feel seen for generations to come. And in a world that often moves too fast to build things with care… Those human details might be what matter most. This… is A Bit of Optimism. --------------------------- To learn more about the Banana Ball League or sign up for the ticket waitlist, check out: https://bananaball.com/ Or if you want all things Savannah Bananas, head to: https://thesavannahbananas.com/ ---------------------------
    Exibir mais Exibir menos
    1 hora e 6 minutos
  • Ken Burns and the Art of Telling the Whole Story
    Apr 7 2026
    We live in a world that pushes us to simplify everything: right or wrong, good or bad, this or that. It makes things and our place in the world easier to understand. But the truth is rarely simple… in fact, it’s often messy and deeply human. For 50 years, Ken Burns has mastered his craft, becoming one of the most prolific and respected documentary filmmakers. His documentaries notably resist easy answers. From The Civil War to The Vietnam War to Baseball, Ken has shaped how we understand American identity, political memory, and our shared history. His latest project, The American Revolution, is a six-part PBS series that tells the story of America’s founding. He revisits the revolution through multiple human perspectives, which reveals new complexity to a familiar story. Ken’s guiding principle is simple: “it’s complicated.” And that philosophy shows up in everything he does. Because the most honest stories hold opposing truths at the same time. In this conversation, Ken and I explore why storytelling matters more than arguments, how simplifying the world can help us understand it—but also distort it—and why empathy lives in the space between what’s included in a story and what’s left out. We also dive into why human behavior hasn’t changed much over time, what mistakes humans keep repeating, how embracing complexity might help us better understand each other, and what history can teach us about who we are and who we’re still becoming. If you’ve ever struggled to make sense of a complicated world, or felt frustrated by how quickly we reduce people to labels, this episode is a powerful reminder: understanding lives in our ability to see the whole story. This… is A Bit of Optimism. --------------------------- If you want to watch “American Revolution” the six-part, 12-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt on PBS, head to: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution ---------------------------
    Exibir mais Exibir menos
    54 minutos
Ainda não há avaliações