About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 248 episodes
- What Confident People Focus on Instead of Winning with Ballerina Isabella McGuire Mayes · 52 min · Season 6 Episode 38Be honest: the high of a big win never lasts as long as you’d like. You nail the presentation, land the promotion, post something that takes off… and a week later, you’re already…
- Why Good News Is Worth the Effort with Journalist David Begnaud · 58 min · Season 6 Episode 37Some 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 Longevity Secret Nobody Can Sell You with Gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnight · 59 min · Season 6 Episode 36If 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…
- Revisited: The Power of Doing One Thing Exceptionally Well with Gymshark Founder and CEO Ben Francis · 1 h 0 min · Season 6 Episode 35Hello 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…
- Revisited: Why Relationships Are the Secret to a Long, Happy Life with Psychotherapist Esther Perel · 1 h 2 min · Season 6 Episode 34Hello 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…
- Revisited: Your Instincts Know What You Want with Happiness Expert Arthur Brooks · 56 min · Season 6 Episode 33Team 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…
- Revisited: The Power of Saying "Screw It" with Rob Lowe · 1 h 2 min · Season 6 Episode 32Hello 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…
- What Mentally Strong People Do on Their Worst Days with Psychotherapist Amy Morin · 1 h 1 min · Season 6 Episode 31Be 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…
- The Dating Advice Making Us Worse at Love with Relationship Expert Amy Chan · 50 min · Season 6 Episode 30The 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…
- Why Trying to “Sound Smart” is Losing You the Room with Strategic Story Producer Rob Willis · 47 min · Season 6 Episode 29Have 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…
- Your Limits Are Learned (And They Can Be Unlearned) with Brain Coach Jim Kwik · 51 min · Season 6 Episode 28This 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…
- How to Trust Yourself When Everyone Has an Opinion with Love Thy Nader's Mary Holland Nader · 58 min · Season 6 Episode 27Maybe this sounds familiar: you finally get the opportunity you've been waiting for, and the voice in your head says, "I'm not ready, I don't belong here." Now imagine hearing…
- What Happens When You Bet on Yourself with Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt · 1 h 1 min · Season 6 Episode 26Maybe you know the feeling: everyone around you seems to be getting ahead, and every hour you spend on something "frivolous" — the hobby, the detour, the game on a Sunday…
- How to Say the Hard Thing and Keep the Relationship | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 5 · 46 min · Season 6 Episode 25Every lasting relationship has survived at least a few hard conversations. But most of us would still rather not have them... So we put them off and tell ourselves the tension…
- Why Being Right Is Costing You Trust | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 4 · 53 min · Season 6 Episode 24Everyone says they want more accountability at work… yet few of us think we're the ones who need to learn how to be more accountable. Most of us believe we already know how to…
- What Is Your Team Afraid to Tell You? | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 3 · 58 min · Season 6 Episode 23Giving and receiving feedback is one of the hardest things we do at work and most of us just... avoid it. But avoiding feedback has a cost. Everything you need to grow is already…
- The Secret to Better Conversations Isn't Talking | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 2 · 49 min · Season 6 Episode 22The fastest way to improve your relationships isn't talking. It's listening. Most of us hear what's being said. Very few of us know how to make someone feel heard. Feelings at…
- The Hidden Cost of Always Saying Yes | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 1 · 58 min · Season 6 Episode 21Welcome to Feelings at Work, a special series from A Bit of Optimism with Simon Sinek. Work isn't just about deadlines, meetings, and getting things done. It's also where we…
- Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix · 54 min · Season 6 Episode 20Maybe 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…
- How to Tell If Fear Is Protecting You or Holding You Back with Extreme Athlete Nelly Attar · 51 min · Season 6 Episode 19We 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…
- Remembering Bob Chapman: The Mentor Who Changed My Life · 52 min · Season 6 Episode 18Sixteen 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…
- The AI Skills Nobody is Teaching (And Everyone Needs) with AI Expert Ethan Mollick · 59 min · Season 6 Episode 17Be 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…
- How to Stop Letting Your Own Thoughts Make You Sick, Stressed, and Stuck with Dr. Ellen Langer · 57 min · Season 6 Episode 16Most 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…
- What Happens When You Stop Optimizing and Start Committing with Former LA Lakers President Tim Harris · 57 min · Episode 227In 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…
- Revisited: Choose Your Seven Humans Wisely with Author Fredrik Backman · 58 min · Episode 226Hello from Team Simon! We're taking a quick break this week and will be back with brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism next Tuesday. Until then, we're revisiting one of our…
- How to Stop Being Socially Awkward (According to Science) with Behavioral Scientist Vanessa Van Edwards · 59 min · Episode 225Maybe this sounds familiar: you leave a party and spend the rest of the night convinced everyone was upset with you. Or you replay something you said in a meeting for days and…
- Stop Telling Us Everything Happens for a Reason with Anti-Victim Tom Nash · 1 h 2 min · Episode 224We often comfort ourselves with the idea that things happen for a reason, or define our struggles as a test of strength. Tom Nash might ask you to reconsider. Tom is a speaker…
- The Real Reason You Feel Empty (Even When Life Looks Good) with Musician Mike Posner · 53 min · Episode 223If at some point, you've looked at your life—your job, your relationships, your achievements—and thought: “is this it?” This episode is for you. Mike Posner had that moment at…
- The Real Reason Young People Don't Have 'The Hunger' for Work (And What Leaders Need to Hear) with Generations Expert Dr. Eliza Filby · 1 h 3 min · Episode 222Admit it, you've complained about at least one other generation. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z—somehow, they all end up with reputations built around what's wrong with them…
- The Leadership Advice Nobody Follows (But Everyone Should) with Top Leadership Expert Don Yaeger · 55 min · Episode 221The 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…
- Why This Baseball Team Has a 4.2 Million Person Waitlist With Savannah Bananas Founder Jesse Cole · 1 h 5 min · Episode 220We 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…
- Ken Burns and the Art of Telling the Whole Story · 54 min · Episode 219We 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…
- What Happens When You’re Naive Enough to Try with KIND Founder Daniel Lubetzky · 55 min · Episode 218Naiveté is one of the most powerful assets an entrepreneur can have. In fact, I think some of the most meaningful things in the world only exist because someone was naive enough…
- AI Can Do Everything… Except This (Why Humans Still Win) With Restaurateur Will Guidara · 1 h 5 min · Episode 217As businesses race toward faster systems, smarter tools, and total automation, something critical is getting lost: human connection. And ironically, the rise of AI is making that…
- Revisited: What Dying Teaches Us About Living with Death Doula Alua Arthur · 45 min · Episode 215Team Simon here! While A Bit of Optimism is on a short break, we’re revisiting a few episodes you helped make some of our favorites. We’ll be back with brand-new conversations…
- Revisited: The Kennedy Family and the Search for Self with Journalist Maria Shriver · 44 min · Episode 216Hello from Team Simon! We’re taking a short hiatus, but A Bit of Optimism will return with brand-new episodes March 24th. In the meantime, we’re revisiting some of our favorite…
- Revisited: How to Turn Stress Into Creativity With Grammy-Winner Jacob Collier · 59 min · Episode 214Team Simon here! As we take a short hiatus, A Bit of Optimism will return with brand-new episodes on March 24, 2026. Until then, we’re revisiting some of the conversations you…
- The Confidence Conversation We Need to Have with Scott Galloway · 55 min · Episode 213Scott Galloway and I don’t always see the world the same way, but our friendly debates almost always lead us back to common ground. It’s probably why we enjoy talking to each…
- 28 Years on the Force: Chief Angela Averiett on What It Really Takes to Change Police Culture · 1 h 5 min · Episode 212It’s often true that the most challenging conversations are often the ones most worth having. Conversations that bring up strong feelings, different experiences, and questions…
- When Pop Fandom Becomes a Force for Good with AJR’s Adam Met · 1 h 1 min · Episode 211Fanbases are some of the most powerful forces on the planet. They show up. They buy the tickets. They travel across countries and time zones. They memorize lyrics, study…
- What Grit Really Teaches Us About Happiness with Professor Angela Duckworth · 56 min · Episode 210We’re often told that the secret to success is grit - more discipline, more perseverance, more individual effort. And grit does matter. But what if it’s only half the story? In…
- Matthew McConaughey on How to Fall Back in Love with Your Life · 59 min · Episode 209In a world defined by constant change, reinvention isn’t optional - it’s essential. We often assume reinvention comes from bold leaps or lucky breaks, but actor and author…
- Revisited: Trevor Noah Makes My Brain Hurt · 56 min · Episode 208Hello from Team Simon! We’ll be back next week—January 27, 2026—with brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism. We’re excited to bring you new guests, conversations, and…
- Revisited: Kids (And Employees) Know More Than You Think with Dr. Becky Kennedy · 44 min · Episode 207Team Simon here! We’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from 2025. But we'll be back in just two weeks with brand-new episodes of A Bit of Optimism on January 27, 2026…
- Revisited: The First Steps To Reducing Your Anxiety with Author Mel Robbins · 57 min · Episode 206Happy New Year from Team Simon! We’re so excited to bring you more new episodes of A Bit of Optimism when we return on January 27, 2026. With your support, we’ll make 2026 an…
- Revisited: The Beautiful Brilliance of Boredom with Creative Polymath Elle Cordova · 1 h 3 min · Episode 205Team Simon is revisiting some of the episodes you helped make our favorites of the year until A Bit of Optimism returns on January 27, 2026, with brand-new episodes. We’re…
- Revisited: Your Unhappy Brain Needs Some Assistance with Happiness Expert Mo Gawdat · 1 h 30 min · Episode 204Team Simon here! Thank you for being part of such an incredible year—and for helping us grow the podcast through your support, sharing it with others, and showing up week after…
- A Bit of Optimism Will Return in the New Year · 3 min · Episode 203Team Simon here! As the year comes to a close, A Bit of Optimism is pressing pause for a short winter break. The show will return on January 27, 2026 and we can’t wait to be back…
- Prepare for the Life You’re Meant to Live With Chaplain John Fox · 1 h 7 min · Episode 202Often the biggest transformations we undergo don’t arrive as lightning bolts, but as quiet shifts we’ve been preparing for all along. For John Fox, the transformation from a…
- How Losing Everything Taught Her to Help Everyone: Joan Howard’s Story · 51 min · Episode 201Life can change in an instant. One day you’re shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, and the next you’re sitting in your car with everything you own, and everyone you love, wondering…
