What if 16 words could unlock everything — who you are, why you're happy (or not), and what you should actually be doing with your life?

In this episode, Suzy Welch introduces the language of values: the 16 words at the heart of the Welch-Bristol Values Inventory, developed through her doctoral research at the University of Bristol and taught at NYU's Stern School of Business. 

To bring each of the 16 values to life, Suzy does something she has never done publicly before — she reveals her own values, ranked from 1 to 16. This episode covers her bottom five peripheral values, a set that turns out to be statistically unusual.

This is Part I of a three-part series. By the end, you'll not only know Suzy in a whole new way, but you’ll be fluent in a language that just might help you write the entire book of your life.

Take the Becoming You Three-Day Intensive course this May on NYU’s campus, here.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at ⁠thevaluesbridge.com⁠

PIE360 Feedback tool is available at ⁠pie360feedback.com⁠

Want more Becoming You? Check out the ⁠Becoming You book⁠.

You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the ⁠Becoming You newsletter⁠ for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

• Instagram: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• Linkedin: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• TikTok: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• YouTube: ⁠@suzywelch_⁠

• X: ⁠@SuzyWelch⁠

At some point in the journey of becoming…you, questions are inevitable. Questions about who you are, how you got here, and what it really takes to build a life that feels authentic.

You've done the work. You've taken the tests. You've started asking the hard questions about who you are and what you actually want. And now you're left with a whole new set of questions.

In this FAQ episode, your host Suzy Welch answers everything you’ve been wondering. Why do some people feel more lost after a self-discovery breakthrough than before? What's the hidden score that reveals the gap between the life you're living and the life you actually want — and what does it mean when that gap is huge? When does a passion become a calling, and when is it just a really good hobby? And what do you do when you can see exactly where you're supposed to be going — but getting there feels like too much?

Suzy answers all of it with real stories, zero sugarcoating, and the kind of clarity that makes you want to take notes.

Because figuring out who you are is only the beginning. The interesting part is what comes next.

Take the Becoming You Three-Day Intensive course this May on NYU’s campus, here.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at ⁠thevaluesbridge.com⁠

PIE360 Feedback tool is available at ⁠pie360feedback.com⁠

Want more Becoming You? Check out the ⁠Becoming You book⁠.

You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the ⁠Becoming You newsletter⁠ for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

• Instagram: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• Linkedin: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• TikTok: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• YouTube: ⁠@suzywelch_

Whether you're brand new to this podcast or have been here from the beginning, this episode is your official welcome—or welcome back—to Becoming You.

In this episode, Suzy revisits the origins of a methodology that has quietly changed the way tens of thousands of people think about their lives and careers. She does it the only way that felt right: with everyone's favorite parlor game. Two truths, one lie, and the real story behind how Becoming You came to exist—and why it works when so much else hasn't.

Fair warning: at least one thing you currently believe about self-discovery is wrong. Probably a big one. And Suzy has been waiting for exactly this moment to tell you which one—because it's the lie so widespread, so well-intentioned, and so genuinely unhelpful that it may explain why previous attempts didn't stick.

You'll walk away understanding two foundational truths behind the acclaimed Becoming You methodology—and one myth that may have been quietly running your life.

If you've ever wondered:

Is it too late to find my purpose?

Can I change direction now?

What does this work actually require of me?

This podcast is for you, and that's the whole truth and nothing but.

Take the Becoming You Three-Day Intensive course this May on NYU’s campus, here.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at ⁠thevaluesbridge.com⁠

PIE360 Feedback tool is available at ⁠pie360feedback.com⁠

Want more Becoming You? Check out the ⁠Becoming You book⁠.

You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the ⁠Becoming You newsletter⁠ for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

• Instagram: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• Linkedin: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• TikTok: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• YouTube: ⁠@suzywelch_⁠

• X: ⁠@SuzyWelch⁠

Fear of change is powerful. But the deepest fear of all may be this: the fear of stepping into a life that is fully our own. In the final episode of the three-part Be Not Afraid series, your host Suzy Welch shares a deeply personal story about loss, identity, and the moment when fear gives way to decision.

The episode revisits one of the podcast’s most intimate stories — one that longtime listeners will remember well — about a solitary swan who appeared at Suzy’s home, shortly after the death of her husband. The two formed an unusual bond, each navigating life alone after years of partnership. Then one day, the swan disappeared.

Her departure became a powerful metaphor for something many people face but rarely name: the moment when the life we knew is gone, and the future depends on choices we are not yet sure we’re ready to make. Drawing on her own experience of grief and reinvention, Suzy explores the quiet but critical turning point that follows self-discovery — the decision to act. 

Because growth does not happen by accident. Reinvention does not happen by accident. Becoming does not happen by accident. It happens when we decide. This episode concludes the Be Not Afraid series with a simple but challenging question: Are you waiting for life to change… or are you ready to begin again?

Missed the Suzy the Swan story? Catch up here:

Thinking of Pursuing Your Passion as a Career? Please Think Again.

If You Knew Suzy...The Swan, That Is...

Take the Becoming You Three-Day Intensive course this May on NYU’s campus, here.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at ⁠thevaluesbridge.com⁠

PIE360 Feedback tool is available at ⁠pie360feedback.com⁠

Want more Becoming You? Check out the ⁠Becoming You book⁠.

You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the ⁠Becoming You newsletter⁠ for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

• Instagram: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• Linkedin: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• TikTok: ⁠@suzywelch⁠

• YouTube: ⁠@suzywelch_⁠

• X: ⁠@SuzyWelch⁠

Fear of the unknown gets plenty of attention. But an even deeper fear lurks beneath it: the fear of what might happen if we truly understood ourselves. In Part II of the Be Not Afraid series, your host Suzy Welch explores why self-knowledge can feel so threatening — and why so many people instinctively avoid it. 

The episode begins with a revealing experiment: Suzy once asked her colleagues to anonymously write down the first word that came to mind when they saw her name appear on their phones. Most responses were predictable. One was not. The word was “machine.”

That moment opens a larger conversation about values — how difficult they are to see clearly, and why powerful forces constantly distort them. Suzy explains the four dynamics she calls the Four Horsemen of Values Destruction: Expectations, Expedience, Events, and Economic security.

Along the way, she responds to a listener who admits she’s afraid to take The Values Bridge assessment for one simple reason: she worries the results might reveal that her life is far from aligned with what matters most. The fear is understandable. But the data tells an interesting story: almost no one is perfectly aligned with their values — and yet understanding that gap can be the beginning of real freedom.

Because the truth about ourselves can be uncomfortable. But avoiding it comes at a far greater cost. And sometimes, the moment we finally face it brings something we’ve longed for: relief.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

Fear of the unknown gets a lot of attention. But the deeper fear — the one that quietly shapes our careers and lives — is something else entirely. The fear of knowing ourselves.

In this first episode of a three-part series on fear and self-discovery, your host Suzy Welch explores why so many people avoid looking closely at who they really are — and what they truly want. Drawing inspiration from the iconic film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Suzy examines the psychological reality behind what researchers call information avoidance: our tendency to avoid truths that might force us to change.

She tackles a question from podcast listener Katie, who took a brave step after decades of professional success: a sabbatical to reassess her life and career. Now she faces a dilemma many people share — should she admit that she took a sabbatical on her resume, or hide it from potential employers?

This episode kicks off a three-part “Be Not Afraid” series on the courage it takes to change your life from the inside out. Because the truth is simple: If you don’t stop to ask who you are… life will eventually force the question. And the sooner you ask it, the better.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

What if the real risk isn’t oversharing…but undersharing?

We spend so much energy worrying about saying too much – about TMI, about revealing something we might later regret. But in the process, many of us end up living with more unsaid than said, and with more authentic moments missed than taken.

On this counterintuitive (and hilarious) episode of Becoming You, host Suzy Welch speaks with Harvard professor Leslie John about the underrated power of oversharing and her new book “Revealing.”

The conversation explores what the Becoming You methodology calls an authenticity gap in the value of Voice – the distance between how much we value self-expression and how much we actually practice it. When should you reveal more of your inner world? How can revealing more build trust, deepen connection, and help you live more authentically? And what is the true cost of silence?

Oversharing isn’t the enemy. Neither is restraint. The real skill is learning how to reveal in a way that serves both you and the people around you. This conversation is about Voice, about closing the gap between what you value and how you live, and about practicing self-expression as a learnable skill.

And yes, you’ll hear a few oversharing stories that may make you rethink exactly where the line is.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

You’ve heard it a thousand times: What’s your why? Your purpose, your North Star, where your best life is hiding. But what if the “why” question isn’t the one that actually gets you unstuck?

In this special episode, your host Suzy Welch hears from the global community of certified Becoming You coaches about the questions they use to jumpstart purpose-seeking clients. Their answers are nothing short of revelatory. 

Suzy introduces three of the most powerful questions, designed to unlock forward motion when you’re feeling stuck, stalled, or secretly longing for something more. And yes, one of the questions may or may not be about dogs – but not in the way you’d think. 

This is not a fluffy “find your passion” conversation. It’s a practical, sometimes uncomfortable excavation of what’s really stopping you — and what might finally set you free. If you’ve been circling the question of purpose but not making progress, this episode offers three new entry points. Forget your why. Start here.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

If you’ve read even one headline about careers lately – who hasn’t – you may be feeling a familiar cocktail of emotions: fear, dread… and total confusion.

Mass layoffs. AI everywhere. Ageism creeping younger and younger. Trade jobs suddenly looking more secure than white-collar work. Remote work still the most controversial topic in modern professional life. You might be left wondering, “What the heck is happening with careers right now?”

In this special installment of Career Confidential, your host Suzy Welch is joined by co-host Dustin Liu, Associate Director of NYU Stern’s Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, to break down five of the biggest career headlines shaping the world of work right now, including:

This is an episode for anyone trying to make sense of today’s career chaos, and trying to build a life of purpose and stability inside it.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on:

What if the thing you’ve been told your whole life, that you work too much, that you don’t relax enough, that you should “just enjoy yourself” isn’t something you need to “fix”…but a value?

In the third and final episode of this travel series, your host Suzy Welch takes us to Paris. Not for romance, not for nostalgia, not even for the croissants (though, obviously, yes). She goes for something much deeper: clarity.

This is the concluding chapter in a three-part exploration of how travel can wake us up – not to new landscapes – but to new eyes. To the truth of who we are underneath the stories we tell ourselves.

In Part One, Suzy stood at the Taj Mahal and reckoned with Belovedness, the value of romantic love. In Part Two, she returned to Sicily and uncovered a family history that reshaped her understanding of Scope – the hunger for a big, expansive life. And now, in Part Three, we arrive in Paris in the summer, at a moment that is both outwardly relaxing and inwardly seismic.

Suzy finds herself on the Île de la Cité, standing before the newly restored Notre Dame, and confronted by a surprising realization about two values that rarely coexist peacefully: Eudemonia…and Workcentrism. This is an episode about:

The goal isn’t to live someone else’s version of happiness, it’s to live in alignment with your own. Welcome to seeing yourself, at last, with new eyes.

The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.com
PIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.com
Want more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.
You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.

You can follow and tag Suzy on: