Many of us have behaviors we'd LOVE to change. But many of those

Imagine you are an athlete at the Olympics. You have trained for years and years. You have dreamed of this moment. Your entire country is watching you, cheering for you, even praying that you will win.

There is a lot of pressure and so much riding on your performance. But you have trained for thousands of hours and everything rests on this moment. There is noise and energy coming from the audience. And because you are a fighter, your opponent wants to destroy you.

How do you find your focus? It is one thing to talk about mindfulness and the power of therapy in everyday life. But putting these to the test in this scenario is an entirely different ball game. 

Most of us will never experience what I just described, but my guest on this episode did just that. And as you’ll hear, mindfulness, therapy and, of course, spectacular amounts of practice and preparation made a big difference. Ori Sasson is a two-time bronze medalist at the Olympics where he competed on behalf of Israel. I would describe Ori as a gentle giant. And Ori has explored his sensitivity and anxiety through therapy and found ways to channel these qualities to find greater strength inside and outside of Judo competition.

As you’ll hear Ori is generous in sharing his recipe for success. And sadly, as of this recording, rockets are flying over Israel. Ori and I were meant to meet four weeks ago, but he needed to cancel due to these rockets and he nearly needed to cancel our interview today for the second time due to their persistent presence.

In spite of these challenges and his WiFi being down, he found a way to make it to the interview. Today, Ori uses the knowledge he gained from Judo competition to assist company employees to find success. So, listen in as Ori shares his secrets for success inside and outside the ring.

Last month, my 14-year-old son came home from school with a book in hand and excitedly said, “Dad, you’ve got to read this book!My son has never said anything like this to me before, and I was immediately intrigued. I picked up the book, a graphic novel, and it took me in immediately. It was engrossing and profound. It was at times hilarious and at other times utterly heartbreaking. Overall, it was a superbly relatable human story that describes a period in the life of an American-born Chinese boy that was true to his experience and that, simultaneously, opens a door to a Chinese mythical world.

The author is Gene Luen Yang (https://geneyang.com/), and I was thrilled to learn that his New York Times bestselling, award winning, and critically acclaimed book, American Born Chinese, has been made into an eight-part miniseries on Disney. The miniseries has an all-star lineup the likes of which blows my mind! The cast includes Academy Award Winners Michelle Yeoh and and Ke Huy Quan (also known as Jonathan Ke Quan) and two of my favorite comedians, Ronnie Chieng and Jimmy O Yang!

And throughout this interview, you’ll get to learn from Gene who is a cool, kind, and deep-thinking person. I am confident you will appreciate him as much as I have.So, I am releasing this episode to coincide with Chinese New Year. A hearty Gung Hay Fat Choy to all who celebrate! And what a great way to celebrate the Year of the Dragon by listening to Gene share his story and the story behind the story of American Born Chinese.

Book link: https://www.amazon.com/American-Born-Chinese-Gene-Luen/dp/1250811899/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y122ZCVH6U36&keywords=american+born+chinese+book&qid=1702500339&sprefix=american+born%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1

How many of us just wish that we could think faster and talk smarter? I'm going to take a guess that pretty much all of us would like that skill. And that is why I believe that my guest, Stanford Business School lecturer, author, coach, and podcaster, Matt Abrahams (https://mattabrahams.com/) has something to teach us all. Matt is the author of two books including his most recent, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. I loved the book, really liked Matt, and have a good reason to believe you will as well. He’s very popular among Stanford Business students where he received the prestigious Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his teaching students around the world.

So, let’s get ready to boost our skills as Matt shares his secrets of thinking faster and talking smarter.