Episodes

“We cannot force positivity. Yet, we can create conditions that facilitate positive emotions to happen.”Ana Melikian In The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky introduces the concept of the Happiness Pie. She explains that, while research suggests that 50% of our well-being is determined by our genetics, only 10% is determined by life circumstances. The remaining 40% can be determined by intentional activity—what we think and what we do. This Week on The Mindset Zone: The Happiness PieWhy happin...

"Are you really solving a big problem, or do you have a solution that’s in search of a problem?" —Marcia Dawood Today, Marcia joins me to share her story and her advice. She talks about why most companies don’t make it and shares how she minimized the risks associated with startups. She shares the questions you should be asking yourself about your startup, as well as tips on what investors love to see. She emphasizes the importance of a flexible mindset, explains why an investor’s “No” doesn’t a...

“My intent is not to shame or blame. My intent is to create awareness.”CB Bowman Today, CB joins me to redefine courage. She explains that our classic understanding of courage is too lofty and unattainable and that the real thing is much more down-to-earth. She gives examples of everyday tasks that take courage and defines courage as the ability to act despite adversaries and despite supporters. She notes the importance of creating awareness, and she posits that everyone holds responsibility for...

"You’ll never have it perfect. You just have to jump in sometimes with as much knowledge as you have, and go from there."Debbie Allen Today, Debbie returns to the show to share her story—in particular, the story of how she got on the Howard Stern Show. She talks about how to toot your own horn and stand up for yourself and shares the story of how she challenged Howard on the air. She notes the value of asking: what do I have to lose? She also shares what she learned about entrepreneurship with a...

“Not everybody is willing to do that work, but until we really stand for ourselves and for what is real-unconditional love-all the other changes will be very hard-pressed to stick.”Clementina Esposito Today, Clementina joins me to share her story. We discuss the no-win situation many women find themselves in, talk about the power of dress, and explore how to create a space to talk about gender equality. We note the importance of getting rid of shame and blame, discuss the power of curiosity, and...

“You can’t grow your business without growing yourself.”Flip Brown Today, Flip joins me to talk about supportive confrontation. He notes that, contrary to popular belief, confrontation can be a good thing. He points out that no one can make a person feel anything, and he distinguishes between happiness and other similar states such as contentment or fulfillment. He defines business culture and explores what’s behind the Great Resignation. He shares what James Taylor said about the secret to life...

“Authentic optimism is a deep-seated mindset and a daily practice that, over time, means that I face things looking for something good to come from it, even when it’s a setback or a trauma. And I think all of those things come from that deep well of hope.”Janice Perkins Today, Janice joins me to talk about optimism versus hope. She talks about what authentic optimism really means, noting that it needs to be founded in a deep well of hope. She notes that hope can coexist with trauma and sadness, ...

“It’s these magic moments that drop in and say, ‘It’s time to go left now.”Irma Jennings Today, Irma joins me to share her story. She talks about how she got involved in Wall Street in the first place and gives an insight into what it was like to be a woman on Wall Street in the 1970s. She notes the power of curiosity, talks about being a good parent while working, and discusses handling the messiness of life. Irma also shares how she pivoted from trading to identifying food as medicine and the ...

“For me, there was no option of ‘Can I? Should I?’ I just did it.”Izabela Lundberg Today, Izabela joins me to share her story, discussing how her experience escaping the war zone of the Yugoslav Wars with her sister helped to prepare her for the work she does with organizations and leaders today. She talks about the turning point that occurred with her father’s dying words, notes the power of following your instincts when it comes to defeating fear, and emphasizes the importance of embracing cha...

“Defining a belief is filling in the gap between knowing and not knowing.”Natasha Todorovic-Cowan Today, Natasha joins me to talk about Spiral Dynamics®. She explains what it is and why it’s important, sharing clients’ stories. She discusses relationship systems, explaining why they’re important for mutual understanding as we change, evolve, develop, and grow. Natasha shares her experience and memories of former Yugoslavia. She offers her tips on navigating the change and disruption caused by Co...

“The antidote is action.”Dr. Libba Pinchot Today, Dr. Pinchot joins me to talk about how we can help people cultivate innovation. She defines innovation, explaining why it’s not top-down. We discuss the mindset of innovation and talk about the different types of failure, noting that some failure is good and acceptable. We talk about the price of disengaged employees and share some statistics on the mindset of today’s youth. Dr. Pinchot notes the need for integrity in companies, emphasizes the im...

“You were inspired by somebody and you have a request? Make it! That's why you're here! Experiment with it, and I think you'll be shocked about what happens."Mel Robbins Sometimes we humor our knee-jerk reactions of resistance too much. In this episode, I talk about Mel Robbins’ The 5 Second Rule, explaining why and how to listen more to our good impulses before doubts have a chance to creep in. I summarize Mel’s thesis that, if you don’t physically act on an impulse within five seconds, you kil...

“Every business I’ve ever started, I knew nothing about…it just shows, if you’re passionate about wanting to learn something, you can learn it.”Debbie Allen Today, Debbie joins me to share her story. She talks about the importance of the learning journey, shares why she moved from entrepreneurship to coaching and mentoring and notes the importance of putting one foot in front of the other. She discusses why she decided to write her most recent book, explaining why success is easy and noting that...

Tommy Acierno Interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D. “Life is two days, and the first we spend waking up.”Ana Melikian, Ph.D. In this rebroadcasted episode, Tommy and I have a conversation about how our mindsets influence our relationships, career, and success. We note that to create real, sustainable, and lasting change, it’s up to us to align our mindsets with a sound strategy and take actions to implement it. We note a line from a Portuguese song, discussing what it means to wake up, why we have mult...

“The process of networking means doing the work of connecting with people. Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, you like connecting with people.”Joe Apfelbaum Joe joins me to talk about his book and how to overcome the fear of networking. He tells the story of his first failed experience with networking and shares what it taught him about the real meaning of networking. He explains why networking doesn’t have anything to do with being introverted or extroverted, and he notes that there are...

Don Hutcheson interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D. “We have to learn to be forgiving [towards ourselves]--that is part of the process. And by persisting, mainly in the beginning...that is what allows us to transform and then create a new habit.”Ana Melikian In this episode, we are rebroadcasting a conversation where Don Hutcheson interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D., the host of the Mindset Zone podcast. We talk about how to change our mindsets, what mindset is, Carol Dweck’s work, and glasses as a mindset ...

Vered Kogan interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D. “Try not run to fix it. Listen. Ask questions. Be more coach like.”Ana Melikian In this episode, we are rebroadcasting a conversation where Vered Kogan interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D., the host of the Mindset Zone podcast. Vered starts by asking Ana about her professional background and hobbies, and then they quickly dive into the mindset topic that both are passionate about. Ana starts by explaining how she defines mindsets. She goes on to explain her c...

“It's your life. Make it sing.”Lowry Olfson Lowry joins me on the podcast to talk about his definition of mindset. He talks about the importance of being aware of your mindset and we discuss what makes a good mindset. We talk about managing your energy to avoid burnout. He explains what PowerSongs are, sharing the story of how he stumbled onto them and explaining why they have the power to transform a mindset. He tells the stories of different people he’s worked with to create their own PowerSon...

Josh Patrick interviews Ana Melikian, Ph.D. “There are times when action needs to lead mindset.” Josh Patrick In this interview previously aired on Josh’s podcast, we ask the question: which comes first, action or mindset? We define mindset and discuss the difference between worldview and mindset. We discuss the glasses analogy and talk about Carol Dweck’s distinction between growth mindset and fixed mindset. We share how to tell when to improve your strengths and when to improve your weaknesses...

“Listen to the still quiet voice in our mind.”Katie Peuvrelle Katie Peuvrelle joins me to talk about what it means to leap. She discusses mindset as a belief system and explains why she believes “growth mindset” is a dichotomy. She talks about her book and shares the numerous reasons that skating is an apt analogy to taking a leap in life. She defines multi-dimensional leadership and notes the physical aspect of intuition. This Week on The Mindset Zone: What is a mindset? How to define mindset a...

“In a very bizarre way, I was lucky to experience the racism because, to me, it made me a whole person.”CB Bowman CB Bowman joins me to share her story, noting the power of a mindset of undefeatability. She discusses how this mindset brought her through everything from her experiences with extreme racism to the time she took an unplanned, seemingly unrealistic trip to Panama to visit her father unannounced. We discuss the flexibility of mindset, and she notes the difference between diversity and...

In a previous episode, I spoke about “mindset limitations” as some of the beliefs, conscious or unconscious, that constrain the way we see, think, and feel the world around us. I explore some of my own mindset blind spots around the pursuing happiness fallacy. Here, I want to focus on the other side of mindset limitations. The term “mindset” in itself has become very popular. If we google the word, we get more than 150 million results. In Amazon’s books, more than 50 thousand results for "mindse...

When we hear the words “mindset limitations” we often think about our beliefs, conscious or unconscious, that constrain the way we see, think, and feel the world around us. These beliefs affect our present reality and also impact what we can envision for the future and the possibilities we chose to explore. Often, we are not aware of these limitations. They are mindset blind spots and as such, they are hidden. Sometimes, others can see them, but we don't. It often takes many painful life circums...

Life is two days, and the first we spend waking up. This phrase from a Portuguese song I loved to listen to in the 90s sums up one of my favorite mantras, and like any good chorus, it's worth repeating: Life is two days, and the first we spend waking up. When we become aware of this, what do we do? Do we finally express what we believe and start writing our own scripts, or do we keep trying to meet other people's expectations? How can we live more fully and more positively in this world? These a...