『A Bit of Optimism』のカバーアート

A Bit of Optimism

A Bit of Optimism

著者： 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. 個人的成功 出世 就職活動 経済学 自己啓発
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  • What Happens When You Bet on Yourself with Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt

    What Happens When You Bet on Yourself with Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt
    2026/08/18
    Maybe 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 afternoon — feels like falling behind. Brendan Hunt's career is proof those hours are never wasted. The detour turned out to be the path all along. Most of us know Brendan as Coach Beard and as the Emmy Award-winning co-creator of Ted Lasso. But before any of that, he was an unknown Chicago improv actor when the Amsterdam comedy institution Boom Chicago offered him something different. He moved to Amsterdam for a year… that turned into five… and he joined an alumni roster that now includes comedians like Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Amber Ruffin, and Jason Sudeikis. Brendan performed every night, fell head over heels for soccer ("a soccer missionary for all Americans," as he puts it), and struck up a friendship with Jason Sudeikis. Years later, all of it collided into one of the most beloved shows on television, Ted Lasso, which is back for Season 4 on Apple TV+. Brendan has also returned to his first love, the stage, with his solo show The Movement You Need. In this conversation, Brendan and I trace the wildly unplanned path from Chicago to Amsterdam to AFC Richmond… and land on a different way to think about ambition: master the craft in front of you, and let the plan catch up later. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ The real origin story of Ted Lasso (it began as a YouTube-only commercial written by a pool) ➡️ Why Coach Beard barely talks + the improv rule that explains everything he does ➡️ The "Beatles in Hamburg" secret to mastering any craft ➡️ Why stepping away won't put you behind (everything will be exactly where you left it) ➡️ How "wasting" Sundays watching Dutch soccer created the Lasso–Beard dynamic ➡️ The surprising origin of the BELIEVE sign + who it was designed to annoy ➡️ Why the flip side of belief is trust + and how it shapes Season 4 We spend so much of our lives protecting the plan. Brendan's story is a reminder that the things worth protecting are usually the ones we never planned for at all. 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 + + + Check out Brendan as Coach Beard on season 4 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso If you want to learn more about Brendan’s solo show, The Movement You Need, head to: https://themovementyouneed.com + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 Plans vs. Imagination: The Risk of Staying Safe 00:02:43 From Chicago to Amsterdam: The Audition That Changed Everything 00:07:02 The Boom Chicago Pitch: When Amsterdam Became Irresistible 00:11:58 The Beatles in Hamburg: Getting Your 10,000 Hours 00:16:18 The Joy of the Thing: Why Not Thinking About Your Career Makes You Better 00:20:01 Real Opportunity vs. Your Imagination: Why People Stay Put 00:20:58 Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: The Art of the Flexible Plan 00:21:28 Curiosity as Currency: The Jack of All Trades Philosophy 00:22:51 The Ted Lasso Origin Story: A Pool, Some Bits, and a Name 00:25:45 The Soccer Missionary: How Amsterdam Made Brendan the Beard to Ted's Lasso 00:27:31 Everything Contributes to Everything: The Payoff of Wasted Time 00:30:31 Midwestern Chipperness Meets British Stiff Upper Lip: The Culture Clash of Ted Lasso 00:32:57 Diagnosed as Ted Lasso: When Your Company Is the Character 00:33:46 Bringing Yourself to the Character: Acting as Being, Not Becoming 00:37:23 Coach Beard Was a Placeholder: How a Play Gave Him a Name 00:44:06 The Art Couple: The Play Brendan Wishes He Could Do Forever 00:46:33 The 1986 NFC Championship: A Pure Childhood Memory 00:54:07 When Comedy Became a Need: Making Mom Laugh 00:55:59 Season Four: Belief, Trust, and Starting Over 00:57:28 Don't Pick Sides: The Gift of Knowing Your Own Mistakes 00:59:04 The Purity of Art: Why Brendan Keeps Writing + + + 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 時間 1 分
  • How to Say the Hard Thing and Keep the Relationship | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 5

    How to Say the Hard Thing and Keep the Relationship | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 5
    2026/08/11
    Every 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 will fade on its own. Instead it goes underground: into the stories we build about people, the resentments we quietly collect, and the side-texts we send about a colleague we won't talk to directly. But a hard conversation is a short burst of discomfort in exchange for something better on the other side: trust, collaboration, and a relationship strong enough to survive the next one. Feelings at Work is a special five-part series from A Bit of Optimism, where Simon Sinek and Alex Simon, founder of LifeShop, explore the human skills that shape how we work, lead, and build relationships. Together, they unpack the emotional challenges most of us face every day—from people pleasing and listening to giving feedback, taking accountability, and having difficult conversations. In this final episode, Simon and Alex take on hard conversations: why tension is telling us something useful, why the story we build about someone gets harder to undo the longer we wait, and what to actually say when it's time to have the hard conversation. Simon and Alex share tools like how to know when to bring something up so you don't show up hot, how to break the fourth wall and reset a conversation that's already going sideways, and the practice of “Watering Someone’s Flowers.” In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why tension is a smoke signal telling you to address something ➡️ How conflict is a team sport for mutual understanding ➡️ How to move from "you're the problem" to both of you facing it together ➡️ The "resentment gremlin" + why feeding it feels so satisfying ➡️ When to initiate a hard conversation ➡️ Why it’s important to start with a request for grace ➡️ “Watering someone's flowers”: the practice that softens any tension ➡️ What to do instead of “feedback sandwiches” ➡️ How to interrupt, reset, and take something back during a conversation Whether you're leading a team, dreading a review, or rehearsing the same speech in your car for the third week running, learning how to have hard conversations is an essential skill to build. And remember: a hard conversation isn't a sign that something has gone wrong. It's a sign that something matters enough to fix. This... is A Bit of Optimism. + + + CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 When Conflict Turns People Into Monsters 00:02:16 Reframing Tension: It's a Sign, Not a Problem 00:02:43 The Resentment Gremlin: How Waiting Makes It Worse 00:03:50 Oh No, Let's Just Skip It: Why Hard Conversations Feel Impossible 00:08:01 The Passive Aggressive Company: When Tens of Thousands Avoid Feedback 00:10:02 When Passive Aggression Is The Solution to Conflict 00:11:15 What Actually Stops Us: Fear, Narrative Building, and Self-Righteousness 00:20:38 Conflict Is a Team Sport for Mutual Understanding 00:23:04 You're Not the Problem, I'm Not the Problem: The Problem Is the Problem 00:25:21 The Interruption Technique That Stops Character Assassination 00:26:27 Timing Matters: Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold 00:28:31 Setting a Goal: What Do You Actually Want From This? 00:29:44 Asking for Grace Grace: "I'm Going to Get This Wrong" 00:33:07 How to "Water Someone's Flowers" 00:38:02 Try This Instead of Feedback Sandwiches 00:40:25 Breaking the Fourth Wall: Pause, Reset, and Start Again 00:43:41 The Scaffolding Philosophy: Messy Humans Need Support Structures + + + 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 + + + About Alex Simon Alex Simon is the founder of Lifeshop, a school for adult emotional education and teaches emotional intelligence at Yale University. She teaches the emotional and communication skills we all should've learned in school—but didn't. She facilitates experiential workshops on how to have hard conversations, stop people pleasing, listen better, navigate major life transitions, and build healthier relationships. Her sessions are practical, deeply connective, and somehow shockingly fun. When she was 27, Alex created The Self & Other: In Theory and Practice, one of Yale's most sought-after courses. In 2025, she founded Lifeshop in New York to bring emotional education beyond the classroom and into everyday life. She also launched The School of Life in New York and leads workshops for organizations around the world. Before dedicating her career to emotional education, Alex worked as a management consultant at Bain and held strategy and operations roles across industries. She has also lived and trained at Plum Village and Esalen and completed dozens of programs in mindfulness, communication, and personal development.
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    46 分
  • Why Being Right Is Costing You Trust | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 4

    Why Being Right Is Costing You Trust | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 4
    2026/08/04
    Everyone 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 own a mistake. We've all said sorry and truly meant it. But meaning it and doing it well are two very different things. And when we’re the first to apologize, we model to everyone around us how cathartic accountability can be. Feelings at Work is a special five-part series from A Bit of Optimism, where Simon Sinek and Alex Simon, founder of LifeShop, explore the human skills that shape how we work, lead, and build relationships. Together, they unpack the emotional challenges most of us face every day—from people pleasing and listening to giving feedback, taking accountability, and having difficult conversations. In this episode, Simon and Alex take on accountability: why owning a mistake can feel like losing, why taking credit and dodging blame come from the same place, and what a real repair actually looks like. You'll discover why owning your part doesn't mean admitting you were wrong, why the confidence to say, "I got that wrong," is what actually makes people follow you, and how to repair something in a way that genuinely clears a pathway forward. Simon and Alex share practical tools like the "wheelie bag" rule for separating intent from impact, the two-part formula that turns an empty gesture into apologies people can actually feel, Alex's practice of "micro-accountability" for owning small things before they accumulate, and the one word that quietly cancels everything you said before it. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why saying you're sorry doesn't mean you're wrong ➡️ The two-part apology formula: what you actually did + the impact it had ➡️ How to name someone's hurt + leave room to be corrected ➡️ "Micro-accountability": owning the small stuff before it turns into the big stuff ➡️ Why people who take too much credit are the same people who dodge blame ➡️ What real confidence actually looks like ➡️ How to receive an apology and why refusing it is its own kind of failure ➡️ Why being uncoachable is the biggest problem at work ➡️ How to ask people to build the fix with you Whether you're leading a team, rebuilding trust with a colleague, or still quietly replaying an argument from three years ago, accountability is one of the most healing skills you can develop. And remember: owning your part is a gift you give the other person AND you give yourself. This... is A Bit of Optimism. + + + CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Why Nobody Thinks They Need to Learn How to Apologize 00:05:49 The Wheelie Bag Philosophy: What Saying Sorry Actually Means 00:08:52 Why People Who Take Too Much Credit Can't Handle Blame 00:10:15 Blame Culture: Why Our First Instinct Is Always to Point Fingers 00:13:37 The Difference Between Being Wrong and Taking Accountability 00:17:34 The Catharsis of Apologizing: Relief for Both Sides 00:24:04 The Leader Who Gives All Credit and Takes All Blame 00:27:55 The Anatomy of a Real Apology: Recognition Plus Impact 00:30:19 When Guessing the Impact Goes Wrong 00:33:46 Repair In Real-Time With Micro-Accountability 00:35:17 The Three-Part Apology That Finally Landed 00:41:06 How to Receive an Apology Without Twisting the Knife 00:43:18 When Sorry Isn't Enough Without Behavioral Change 00:46:16 When You Can't Just Fix It: Asking for Help With Repair 00:49:57 Why We All Think We Already Know How to Apologize 00:51:10 Accountability Is the Gateway to Trust + + + 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 + + + About Alex Simon Alex Simon is the founder of Lifeshop, a school for adult emotional education and teaches emotional intelligence at Yale University. She teaches the emotional and communication skills we all should've learned in school—but didn't. She facilitates experiential workshops on how to have hard conversations, stop people pleasing, listen better, navigate major life transitions, and build healthier relationships. Her sessions are practical, deeply connective, and somehow shockingly fun. When she was 27, Alex created The Self & Other: In Theory and Practice, one of Yale's most sought-after courses. In 2025, she founded Lifeshop in New York to bring emotional education beyond the classroom and into everyday life. She also launched The School of Life in New York and leads workshops for organizations around the world. Before dedicating her career to emotional education, Alex worked as a management consultant at Bain and held strategy and operations roles across industries. She has also lived and trained at Plum Village and Esalen and completed dozens of programs in mindfulness, communication, and personal development.
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    53 分
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