This episode originally aired in March 2023 and is being resurfaced now with added context.

Robert Pardi reached out to me on LinkedIn after listening to a previous conversation I'd had on the show with Prison Break author and leadership coach Jason Goldberg. His message arrived during a pivotal moment in my life - the final days we spent with my beloved father-in-law, who was my mentor and north star in fatherhood.

That timing mattered. Not because of coincidence, but because Rob was reaching out from lived experience. He had already walked alongside his wife through a long journey with cancer and profound loss. What followed was a conversation rooted not in theory or performance, but in meaning, impermanence, and how people actually live through change.

In this episode, we explore Rob's life philosophy, Possibility in Action™, and the experiences that shaped it - from his life in New York City, to working in the Middle East, to building a life in a small mountain village in Abruzzo, Italy.

This is a cross-cultural, deeply personal conversation about grief, imagination, identity, and the courage to act on possibility rather than remain tethered to fear or expectation.

Topics we cover:

• Grief, caregiving, and identity after profound loss
• Impermanence and meaning drawn from lived experience
• Possibility in Action™ as a life philosophy, not a slogan
• Letting go of inherited templates and "shoulds"
• Daydreaming, imagination, and action as catalysts for change
• Redefining success and living intentionally across cultures

About Robert Pardi

Robert Pardi is a three-time bestselling author, life coach, speaker, and retreat facilitator. His work focuses on helping people move from possibility into action through clarity of values, imagination, and consistent, grounded steps. He currently lives in Abruzzo, Italy.

Learn more at robertpardi.com

Books available on Amazon, including Chasing Life, and Possibility in Action

This episode is a rebroadcast of a conversation originally released in August 2023. I'm bringing it back because the themes feel even more relevant today.

My guest is Neelu Kaur, author of Be Your Own Cheerleader, speaker, and organizational psychologist. Neelu works closely with South Asian and Asian women who are navigating burnout, self-advocacy, and cultural expectations in corporate America.

In this conversation, we explore the tension many high performers feel between a collectivist "we" mindset and a workplace culture that rewards individual visibility. Neelu introduces her "I-We speedometer" framework, offering a practical way to move between collaboration and self-promotion without losing your sense of self.

We also get into:

• Why the "your work will speak for itself" mantra often falls short
• How cultural conditioning can shape burnout and perfectionism
• Practical concepts like fit for purpose, reverse classroom, and time confetti
• How tools from NLP, yoga, and Ayurveda can help change not just how we communicate with others, but how we speak to ourselves
• What it really means to become your own cheerleader - at work and at home

This is a conversation about speaking up with integrity, managing energy in a nonstop work culture, and untethering from inherited templates that no longer serve us. Hope you enjoy it.

To learn more about how you can "Be Your Own Cheerleader," visit ⁠neelukaur.com⁠ or connect with Neelu on ⁠Instagram ⁠or ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Her book is also available on ⁠Amazon⁠.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode is Part 2 of my conversation with Shyambo, founder of The Brighter Mindset.

This week, we explore how practices labeled as biohacks (i.e., cold plunges) can double as powerful tools for spiritual discipline. Shyambo shares why challenging comfort through the body can translate into patience, clarity, and emotional steadiness in everyday life.

We also unpack a powerful analogy about mental health: if your "basement is flooded," you can’t just keep scooping water out; you have to plug the hole. In other words, cultivating a calmer mind requires being intentional about content we watch, conversations we engage in, and calories we consume.

In this episode, we cover:

Cold exposure as a practice for training the mind, not just the body

• Challenging the five senses to build resilience and self-control
• Why constant comfort can quietly run our lives
• The "plug the hole" metaphor - and how unfiltered inputs overwhelm the mind
• How curating sensory inputs can shift emotional tone and mental clarity

To explore more of Shyambo's work, please visit ⁠thebrightermindset.com⁠, or check him out on ⁠Instagram⁠. You can also sign up for his 2026 Sedona Immersive Wellness Retreat ⁠here⁠.

To connect with Nikhil and learn more about Untether Your Life and related projects:

⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Website