🎙️"When the Self-Protection Becomes the Cage: Ed Latimore on Breaking Identity Addiction and Finding Forgiveness."

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What if the identity you're defending isn't protecting you anymore and it's imprisoning you?

Description:

In this raw and unflinching second part of Dov Baron's conversation with Ed Latimore, we step beyond the boxing ring and deep into the fight that every high performer eventually faces—the battle with their own identity.

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Ed reveals how the survival identity we build as children becomes our greatest addiction as adults. Together, Dov and Ed dismantle the illusion of control, the myth of "doing it for yourself," and the emotional logic that keeps us loyal to pain long after it stops serving us.

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This episode confronts the real sobriety: identity sobriety. It's about facing the parts of yourself that are terrified to open their eyes when life throws the punch you've been avoiding.

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If you've ever looked successful on the outside but secretly felt like you're holding your life together with emotional duct tape, this one will hit you square in the gut—and leave you standing stronger.

🔥 In This Episode

• Why most leaders are addicted to identity, not alcohol

• How "victimhood" hides inside high achievement

• Why you can't change until the pain of staying the same exceeds your comfort.

• The truth about love, tolerance, and breaking points in relationships

• How to rebuild yourself one habit at a time without losing your edge

• The fierce meaning of forgiveness, and why it's not permission

• How forgiveness dissolves hypervigilance and restores peace

👊 About Ed Latimore

Former heavyweight boxer, TEDx speaker, and author of Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business, Ed Latimore, went from family abuse, public housing, and failing school to a degree in physics. From isolated boxing champion to husband and father, and finally to inner peace. Bestselling author of: Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business: Boxing and the Art of Life. His story is a blueprint for anyone ready to face themselves, rebuild, and lead with authenticity.

💥 Listen If You've Ever

• Felt trapped by an identity that once made you successful

• Loved someone who's lost in their own addiction or denial

• Wondered why self-awareness hasn't brought peace

• Needed to forgive someone, or yourself, but didn't know how

• Wanted to turn pain into wisdom instead of performance

🔗 Connect with Ed Latimore

Website: https://edlatimore.com Newsletter: https://edlatimore.com/newsletter Instagram & X: @EdLatimoreYouTube: @EdLatimore1LinkedIn: Ed Latimore

💭 Reflection Challenge

Ask yourself: Who would I be if I stopped protecting the version of me that was built to survive pain?

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#TheDovBaronShow #EdLatimore #IdentityAddiction #EmotionalSourceCode #Leadership #Forgiveness #SelfMastery #Resilience #TraumaRecovery #PurposeDrivenLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #StoicStreetSmarts #EliteThinkers #CulturesOfBelonging

"From the Hurt Business to Healing the Self: Ed Latimore on Addiction, Identity and Rebuilding Your Truth"

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What if the person you became to survive is now the reason you can't evolve?

Description:

He was a heavyweight boxer with a physics degree who could take a punch from anyone—except himself.

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In this electrifying first part of Dov Baron's conversation with Ed Latimore, discover how a man who built his identity on toughness, intelligence, and control had to dismantle it all to find peace.

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From public housing to the boxing ring to sobriety, Ed reveals the brutal paradox every high performer faces: the traits that made you unstoppable are often the same ones that keep you imprisoned.

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Together, Dov and Ed expose how emotional logic, the invisible code that drives addiction, ambition, and self-sabotage, can quietly run your life until you learn to rewrite it.

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This episode will change how you see the story you tell yourself to survive, and what it's costing you to keep believing it.

🔥 In This Episode

• The hidden link between trauma, drive, and success

• Why "emotional logic" always wins over rational thought

• How identity becomes an addiction more powerful than alcohol

• The upside and downside of hypervigilance (and why it destroys trust)

• The single skill every fighter and leader must master: keeping your eyes open when the punch is coming

👊 About Ed Latimore

Former heavyweight boxer, TEDx speaker, and author of Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business, Ed Latimore, turned pain into process and process into power. His writing and teaching on sobriety, discipline, and self-mastery have inspired hundreds of thousands to confront the truth they keep dodging. Bestselling author of: Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business: Boxing and the Art of Life

💥 Listen If You've Ever

• Outgrown your success but feared losing who you are

• Confused performance with connection

• Felt like you're winning on paper but losing yourself

• Wanted to rebuild without starting over

🔗 Connect with Ed Latimore

Website: https://edlatimore.com Newsletter: https://edlatimore.com/newsletter Instagram & X: @EdLatimoreYouTube: @EdLatimore1LinkedIn: Ed Latimore

💭 Before Part 2 Drops

Ask yourself: Which part of your identity are you still defending because you're afraid of who you'd be without it?

#EmotionalSourceCode #EdLatimore #TheDovBaronShow #Identity #Addiction #Leadership #SelfMastery #TraumaRecovery #Resilience #PurposeDrivenLeadership #Resilience #EliteThinkers #CulturesOfBelonging

🎙️ Part 2: "When Gratitude Isn't Enough: How to Find Meaning at Work with Curiosity, Exposure, and Values."| Mef Shebi

. 🔥 What if gratitude isn't enough, and the real question is whether your work still fits who you've become?

Follow The Dov Baron Show to catch upcoming conversations that redefine leadership and purpose.

Episode Summary

💡 In Part 2 of our conversation, Meftehe (Mef) Shebi reveals the moment when gratitude and exhaustion collided.

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He had everything he was supposed to want—an American education, a consulting job, stability for his family. Yet, something felt off. Gratitude couldn't silence the quiet ache that his work no longer fit the person he was becoming. Then one night, his body forced the truth: stress landed him in the ER, and the cost of misalignment was no longer theoretical.

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That moment became a turning point. Mef began asking more profound questions: What am I truly curious about? What experiences expand me? Which values anchor my choices? Out of those questions came his practical framework for meaning, Curiosity, Exposure, and Values—the same framework he now uses to guide leaders out of survival mode and into significance.

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This isn't about quitting your job; it's about redesigning your relationship with work before your body, your purpose, or your sanity do it for you.

What You'll Learn

• Why gratitude and emptiness can coexist—and what that paradox reveals.

• The story behind Mef's "welcome to America" moment and how it redefined his view of work.

• How engineering at UVA and graduate studies at Harvard shaped his global outlook.

• The difference between external success and internal alignment.

• Why stress and health breakdowns often point to emotional misalignment, not weakness.

• How the Curiosity, Exposure, Values triad can transform your career and leadership.

• Simple reflection tools: the Short List Test and Photo Roll Prompt for clarity.

• How to recognize when your values have shifted—and your work hasn't.

• Why 90,000 hours of working life means meaning is not optional.

About Meftehe (Mef) Shebi

Meftehe (Mef) Shebi is a first-generation Ethiopian immigrant, an engineer, a Harvard graduate, and a career strategist. A former consultant and policy advisor, he now serves as Director of MBA Career Coaching at UCLA Anderson, where he helps high performers rediscover purpose through clarity and alignment. .

His book, How's Work, distills decades of lived experience and coaching insight into a guide for turning work into a place of growth, not burnout.

Connect with Mef

🌐 mc2careercoaching.com 📘 How's Work — available wherever books are sold 📱 LinkedIn: Meftehe Shebi📸 Instagram: @mef.shebi

The Big Questions We Tackle

• When does gratitude become a cover for misalignment?

• Why can success still feel like loss?

• How do you realign your work with the person you've grown into?

• What happens when the body becomes the messenger for a misaligned life?

• Can curiosity, exposure, and values turn exhaustion into evolution?

Why It Matters for Leaders

You can't lead from a place of depletion. Mef's framework strips away illusion and replaces hustle with honest reflection. Leaders who integrate Curiosity, Exposure, and Values don't just create better teams, they create healthier lives. . Meaning isn't a luxury; it's an operating system.

Call to Action

If this episode made you rethink your relationship with work:

1. Follow The Dov Baron Show to catch upcoming conversations that redefine leadership and purpose.

2. Rate & Review with one insight you'll act on this week—it helps other conscious leaders find the show.

3. Share this episode with someone who's doing well on paper but quietly running on empty.

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Apple rewards engagement, saves, and completions. If you listen through, you'll see why alignment isn't indulgence, it's integrity.

#Leadership #Purpose #MeaningfulWork #Fulfillment #CareerTransformation #EmotionalIntelligence #WorkCulture #SelfAwareness #AuthenticLeadership #PersonalGrowth #ImmigrantStory #Ethiopia #Resilience #WorkIdentity #SuccessMindset #HumanPotential #PurposeDriven #BelongingAtWork #TransformationalLeadership #LifePurpose

Branded / Episode-Specific Hashtags #TheDovBaronShow #MefShebi #HowIsWork #ScarcityToSignificance #SoulOfWork #LeadershipWithMeaning #DovBaron #PodcastLeadership #FulfillmentAtWork

🎙️ Part 1: "The Soul of Meaningful Work: From Scarcity to Significance | Mef Shebi

. 🔥 "What if the greatest poverty isn't material, but the emptiness of a life without meaning?"

Follow The Dov Baron Show to catch upcoming conversations that redefine leadership and purpose.

Episode Summary

💡 This is far more than a story about escaping poverty, it's a powerful and very human story of transcending it.

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In Part 1 of my two-part conversation with Meftehe (Mef) Shebi; career strategist, executive coach, and author of How's Work, we journey from his early life in Ethiopia, where survival was the goal, to his rise as a respected voice on purpose-driven leadership.

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Mef's childhood "normal" meant scarcity, long hours, and the unspoken belief that work was something you endured, not enjoyed. But when animated TV, and movies in a foreign language gave him a view beyond the landfill and brothel he lived next door to, education and opportunity brought him to the United States, he realized the real poverty wasn't in what he lacked, it was in how disconnected modern professionals had become from meaning.

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Together, we unpack what it truly means to find fulfillment in a world obsessed with achievement. Mef reveals how his hardships became the foundation of his life's work: helping people rediscover purpose, contribution, and alignment inside their careers.

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This conversation bridges the personal and the universal; it's a story of migration, mindset, and the soul of work itself.

What You'll Learn

• How growing up in Ethiopia shaped Mef's understanding of work, purpose, and survival.

• Why true poverty has less to do with money and more to do with meaning.

• The mindset shift that turns struggle into service.

• How ambition, when untethered from purpose, leads to burnout.

• The surprising ways culture and upbringing shape our relationship with success.

• How to recognize when your work is feeding your ego instead of your soul.

• Why fulfillment requires alignment, not balance.

• What leaders can do to create workplaces that nourish identity and belonging.

About Meftehe (Mef) Shebi

Meftehe (Mef) Shebi is a career strategist, executive coach, and author of How's Work: A Practical Guide to Finding Fulfillment and Purpose in Your Career. After graduating from university as an engineer, he became a management consultant and later a policy advisor. From there, he became the Director of MBA Career Coaching at UCLA Anderson School of Management. . Mef founded MC² Career Coaching to help individuals and organizations redefine success through the lens of meaning, growth, and contribution. His work invites professionals to stop chasing status, and start building significance.

Connect with Mef Shebi

🌐 Website: mc2careercoaching.com📘 Book: "How's Work" Available Now! 📱 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mefshebi 📸 Instagram: @mef.shebi

The Big Questions We Tackle

• What happens when achievement replaces meaning?

• How do you transform work from survival to significance?

• What's the hidden cost of chasing external success?

• How can leaders build cultures that reconnect people to purpose?

• What does "wealth" look like when fulfillment is the new currency?

🎯 Why It Matters for Leaders

In a world addicted to metrics and performance, this story cuts through the noise. Mef's journey is a masterclass in rediscovering humanity at the heart of work. His life proves that leadership isn't about titles or accolades, it's about contribution, courage, and connection.

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For anyone who's ever achieved everything they thought they wanted and still felt something missing, this episode is your mirror.

Call to Action

If this story moved you, here's how to deepen the conversation:

1. Follow the show so you don't miss Part 2, where Mef and I reveal the framework for finding fulfillment and purpose in your work.

2. Rate & Review with one insight that challenged your view of success—it helps other conscious leaders find the show.

3. Share this episode with someone who's chasing success but starving for meaning.

Apple's algorithm rewards completions, saves, and shares. If you listen all the way through, you'll understand why fulfillment isn't found—it's remembered.

#TheDovBaronShow #MefShebi #MeaningfulWork #Leadership #Purpose #Fulfillment #CareerTransformation #EmotionalIntelligence #WorkLifeAlignment #Curiosity #Values #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipPodcast #PurposeAtWork #HowIsWork #WhenGratitudeIsntEnough #DovBaron #AuthenticLeadership #TransformationalLeadership #MindfulLeadership #PodcastForLeaders

Part 2 of 2: 🎙️ "The Case of the Sexual Cosmos" Howard Bloom: Destroying Darwin

What if everything you know about nature, even Darwin, is wrong?

Welcome back to Part 2 of our mind-bending journey with Howard Bloom. He's a MacArthur Genius nominee, founder of the Howard Bloom Institute, and author of The Case of the Sexual Cosmos: Everything You Know About Nature Is Wrong.

🔥 If you haven't heard Part 1, stop now and go back, because Part 2 is where Bloom breaks the cosmos wide open.

🔍 Inside This Episode (Don't Miss 34:11) The Truth Bomb Heard Around the World):

• The true role of chaos in evolution, and why "balance" is a dangerous myth • Why Darwin only got it half right, and what science missed • The sexual engine of the cosmos and how it rewires what we believe about love, power, and progress • What Elon Musk doesn't understand about interstellar destiny • Why evolution rewards transcendence, not stability • The shocking role of cultural infection and mass mind in your decisions • How ancient myths, pop stars, and subatomic particles are all part of one system

.🚨 At 34:11:

Howard drops a philosophical atom bomb that reframes our species' place in the universe. You'll never think about life the same way again.

This episode is a cosmic confrontation between the myths we live by and the truths we've ignored.

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If you're ready to transcend mediocrity and rewire your worldview — Subscribe now. Rate. Review. And share with the smartest person you know.

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Howard's newly released book, "The Case of the Sexual Cosmos: Everything You Know About Nature is Wrong" https://www.amazon.com/Case-Sexual-Cosmos-Everything-Nature-ebook/dp/B0F92TTVND/ .

🔗 Learn more about Howard Bloom: • Website: www.howardbloom.net • Howard Bloom Institute: www.howardbloom.institute • Watch the award-winning documentary: The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom

Part 1 of 2: 🔥 "The Savage Truth of Nature: Howard Bloom Destroys the Myth of Harmony"

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What if nature isn't nurturing? What if nature is ruthless, and the only way forward is to rebel against it?

Crazy?

. Maybe. . Howard Bloom In a world obsessed with harmony, balance, and "returning to nature," Howard Bloom asks a radically different question:

"If bacteria didn't rebel against their environment... would you and I exist?"

We hear the word "nature" in a conversation or a post and we might think it's a discussion on eco-purity. No one bothers to ask: Is there a dark side to "eco-purity" and is it sabotaging human innovation . This is a reality-shattering conversation with the man Wired Magazine dubbed "The Next Stephen Hawking."

Howard Bloom is a MacArthur Genius Award winner, founder of the Howard Bloom Institute, and author of The Case of the Sexual Cosmos: Everything You Know About Nature is Wrong.

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He's the intellectual heavyweight who's advised NASA, explored chaos theory, and lived backstage with Michael Jackson, Prince, and Billy Joel, all while launching an unprecedented scientific rebellion against what we think "nature" really is.

🧠 If you loved our conversations with Douglas Rushkoff or The Godfather of Curiosity James Burke… buckle up!

💥 Inside This Episode:

• Why nature is homicidal, rather than harmonious.

• The true forces of evolution: Chaos and Rebellion.

• What Darwin, Freud, and Einstein all missed, and why it matters now.

• The dark side of "eco-purity" and why it's sabotaging human innovation.

• Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Greta Thunberg: what they reveal about tribal psychology.

• Why you're not just part of nature, you're meant to transcend it.

• The hidden sexual engine driving cosmic evolution, from bacteria to Bach.

• Why cancel culture is a death trap for the human imagination.

According to Howard Bloom: "You're not here to protect nature. You're here to be its next evolutionary leap!"

Howard's newly released book, "The Case of the Sexual Cosmos: Everything You Know About Nature is Wrong" https://www.amazon.com/Case-Sexual-Cosmos-Everything-Nature-ebook/dp/B0F92TTVND/

🎥 Don't miss the award-winning documentary:

🎬 The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom🏆 Best Picture, Science Design Film Festival 🏆 Best Documentary Feature, Not Film Festival (Italy)

📚 Explore His Mind-Bending Work:

• The Case of the Sexual Cosmos

• The Lucifer Principle

• The Genius of the Beast

• Einstein, Michael Jackson & Me

⚡ Stay Curious. Stay Rebellious. Stay Human.

If this episode rewired your thinking, subscribe and share it with the boldest mind you know.

🔖 Hashtags (Apple-Friendly & Trend-Triggered):

#HowardBloom #DovBaronShow #RebelScience #NeurosciencePodcast #RadicalIdeas #BigBangThinking #EvolutionMyth #LuciferPrinciple #CancelCultureCrisis #FutureOfHumanity

🎙️ Find Your Four: The 4% That Drives 64% of Your Results | Brandon Fong

. What if 96 percent of what you do barely moves the needle, and the secret to exponential growth lies hidden in the 4 percent you've been ignoring?

Episode Summary

In this continuation of our conversation, Brandon Fong reveals his Find Your Four framework, a fractal evolution of the 80/20 rule that uncovers the 4 percent of what you do that generates 64 percent of your results—and the 0.8 percent of who you are that shapes everything you create.

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We explore how to identify leverage points, turn self-awareness into systems, and rewire the way you create value. It's not about working harder; it's about decoding your unique pattern of genius and designing a life, business, and leadership style that compounds from there.

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This is practical alchemy for elite performers: strategy meets self-knowledge, delivered through the lens of curiosity, neuroscience, and conscious design.

What You'll Learn

• How the Find Your Four framework transforms the 80/20 rule into a personalized growth engine.

• The hidden 4 percent of actions that drive the majority of your results.

• Why most people create to fill a hole instead of from being whole—and how to flip that script.

• The unseen 0.8 percent of your identity that governs every choice you make.

• How to reveal your unconscious strengths and build systems that multiply them.

• Why awareness without application is self-sabotage—and how to operationalize insight.

• The neuroscience behind energy compounding ("over-unity") and how to sustain flow.

• How world-building leadership turns personal mastery into cultural transformation.

About Brandon Fong

Brandon Fong is the creator of Curiosity Island, founder of 7-Figure Millennials, and host of the Beyond Curious podcast (Top 1% globally). His mission: to help high performers turn curiosity into exponential leverage. Through AI-driven tools, gamified learning, and deep inner work, Brandon guides leaders to find their 4 percent—so they can design lives and organizations that thrive on energy, meaning, and purpose.

Connect with Brandon Fong

🔗 Websites: http://gobeyondcurious.com

http://curiosityisland.com 📱 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brandon-fong

The Big Questions We Tackle

• What's the 4 percent of your life that creates nearly all of your success?

• How do you find the 0.8 percent of identity driving every result you produce?

• What happens when you stop chasing productivity and start engineering leverage?

• How can leaders build cultures that compound energy instead of depleting it?

• What would change if you led from wholeness rather than control?

Why It Matters for Leaders

Extraordinary leaders don't manage everything—they locate the few things that move everything. Find Your Four gives you the lens to do just that. When you align your deepest strengths with your highest leverage, effort collapses and impact compounds. The result isn't hustle—it's harmony.

If this conversation changed the way you see performance and purpose:

1. Follow the show for more episodes decoding what drives the world's most effective leaders.

2. Rate & Review with one discovery you'll apply this week—it helps others find the show.

3. Share this episode with the person you know is doing too much of the 96 percent.

Apple's algorithm rewards completions, shares, and fresh reviews. Listen through, reflect, and remember: mastery isn't about doing more—it's about finding your four.

#Leadership #Curiosity #FindYourFour #EmotionalIntelligence #BrandonFong #DovBaron #HighPerformance #7FigureMillennials #BeyondCurious #PersonalDevelopment #Neuroscience #TransformationalLeadership #ConsciousLeadership #SelfAwareness #MindsetShift

🎙️Why The Best Leaders Choose Curiosity Over Control | Brandon Fong .

If control feels powerful, why do the best leaders keep surrendering it, and how does curiosity become their secret weapon?

What if the secret to transforming fear, burnout, and disconnection isn't control, but curiosity?

In this episode, Brandon Fong; entrepreneur, strategist, and founder of 7-Figure Millennials; shares how curiosity became the tool that rewired his life, leadership, and relationships.

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From a childhood shaped by scarcity and learning challenges to building a global movement that's redefining success, Brandon shows us that curiosity isn't just a mindset; it's a mastery practice.

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Together, we explore how fear dissolves when leaders replace judgment with curiosity, and how this single shift can rewire everything from decision-making to belonging. This isn't "soft leadership," it's what separates those who manage results from those who transform people.

What You'll Learn

• Why curiosity, not control, defines the world's most adaptable leaders.

• The three levels of curiosity—personal, relational, and systemic—and how to apply them to your leadership.

• How Brandon turned early insecurity into an engine for empathy and insight.

• The neuroscience behind curiosity and how it overrides judgment and fear.

• Why uncertainty is not weakness but a gateway to influence and innovation.

• The difference between informational curiosity and transformational curiosity.

• How to create cultures that turn questions into breakthroughs.

• Why curiosity dismantles ego and builds psychological safety faster than any incentive plan.

About Brandon Fong

Brandon Fong is the founder of 7-Figure Millennials and host of the Beyond Curious podcast, where he interviews visionary thinkers exploring how curiosity shapes purpose, connection, and high performance. Through his programs and community, Brandon helps high performers design lives and businesses built on happiness, health, and impact—not hustle. His "Applied Curiosity" framework is redefining how leaders and creators sustain meaning in a world addicted to control.

Connect with Brandon Fong

🔗 Websites: http://gobeyondcurious.com

http://curiosityisland.com 📱 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brandon-fong

The Big Questions We Tackle

• Why do leaders abandon curiosity the moment they gain power?

• Can curiosity coexist with authority—or does power kill it?

• What happens when achievement becomes a wall against connection?

• How do you lead when your old answers no longer fit your new reality?

• Are you brave enough to be curious about your own fear before demanding innovation from others?

Why It Matters for Leaders

In a world that glorifies control, curiosity is a form of rebellion. It's the trait that keeps leaders relevant, creative, and human. Brandon's journey proves that control builds compliance, but curiosity builds commitment. When you lead with curiosity, you don't lose authority; you expand it.

Call to Action

If this conversation challenged your assumptions:

1. Follow the show to catch Part 2, where we dive deeper into operationalizing curiosity in life, love, and leadership.

2. Rate & Review with one insight that shifted your perspective—it helps other leaders find the show.

3. Share this episode with someone brilliant who's forgotten how to stay curious.

Apple's algorithm rewards saves, completions, and reviews. If you listen all the way through, you'll know why the leaders who trade control for curiosity always win.

#Leadership #Curiosity #FindYourFour #EmotionalIntelligence #BrandonFong #DovBaron #HighPerformance #7FigureMillennials #BeyondCurious #PersonalDevelopment #Neuroscience #TransformationalLeadership #ConsciousLeadership #SelfAwareness #MindsetShift

Part 2 of 2 "Ego, Errors, and the Truth About Just Culture" | Mandy Hickson

If fighter pilots can admit mistakes under missile fire, why do business leaders still hide their errors behind ego and politics?

Episode Summary

What does it take to lead with radical honesty when lives are on the line? In Part 2 of my conversation with Mandy Hickson, one of the first female fast-jet pilots in the RAF, we go deeper into the psychology of Just Culture, emotional maturity, and decision-making under extreme pressure.

From life-or-death choices in combat to creating psychological safety in the boardroom, Mandy shows how leadership collapses without trust, accountability, and the courage to say, "I don't know." Her insights dismantle the illusion of ego-driven authority and challenge leaders to build cultures where truth and responsibility aren't optional—they are non-negotiable.

What You'll Learn

• How emotional maturity can make or break culture—even more than technical brilliance.

• Why "Just Culture" isn't about avoiding blame, but about embracing accountability without fear.

• The exact decision-making framework fighter pilots use when missiles are inbound—and how leaders can apply it in crises.

• Why healthy conflict builds stronger teams, while fake harmony destroys them.

• How to spot when ego is killing leadership—and what courage looks like when you admit you're not the most qualified in the room.

• Why building psychological safety means expecting people to challenge authority, not stay silent.

About Mandy Hickson

Mandy Hickson became the first woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, flying 45 combat missions over Iraq. She is now a bestselling author (An Officer, Not a Gentleman), aviation ambassador, and internationally recognized speaker, teaching organizations how to translate cockpit-tested lessons of trust and resilience into real-world leadership cultures.

🔗 Links

Mandy Hickson: MandyHickson.com | An Officer, Not a Gentleman Dov Baron: https://DovBaron.com

The Big Questions We Tackle

• Can you truly build psychological safety without lowering standards?

• Why do most companies confuse "no blame" with "no accountability"?

• What happens when leaders cling to ego instead of creating trust?

• How do you lead a team that not only tolerates challenge but demands it?

• What would change if you treated errors as fuel for growth, not shame?

Why It Matters for Leaders

In aviation, "Just Culture" prevents disasters. In business, it prevents cultures of fear and silence. Mandy's story proves that leadership is not about being flawless—it's about creating environments where mistakes are surfaced, lessons are shared, and growth is inevitable. This is the difference between teams that survive and teams that thrive.

Call to Action

If Part 2 of this conversation shook your assumptions:

1. Follow the show for more conversations that push leaders to the edge of truth.

2. Rate & Review with the insight you'll act on this week, it helps others find the show.

3. Share this episode with the leader in your circle who thinks accountability is optional.

Apple rewards completions, shares, and fresh reviews. Listen all the way through, then prove you're not just a consumer of insight, you're a catalyst for change.

"From Fighter Jet to Just Culture: What Business Leaders Still Don't Get" | Mandy Hickson

If fighter pilots can build a culture where mistakes are openly shared to save lives, why do so many business leaders still hide errors and destroy trust?

Episode Summary

What does it take to lead when the stakes are life or death? In this candid conversation, I sit down with Mandy Hickson, the first woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, a veteran of 45 combat missions over Iraq, and the bestselling author of An Officer, Not a Gentleman. . We explore how she defied impossible odds, became a role model in a world where women weren't allowed to be pilots, and turned cockpit lessons into frameworks for organizational culture. From resilience under fire to the birth of "Just Culture" in aviation, Mandy shows leaders how to build teams where trust and accountability are not buzzwords, but survival skills. What You'll Learn

• Why "success" for Mandy isn't rank or medals, but creating impact and inspiring others.

• How a single cadet saying "I want to be a pilot like you" shifted her entire career path.

• What it means to chase an "impossible dream" when women weren't even allowed to be pilots.

• The brutal truth of failing the aptitude tests—twice—and what real leadership looks like when a middle manager challenges the system.

• Why resilience sometimes means taking sideways steps, not straight lines.

• How cognitive diversity (her course mates teaching her battle turns on bicycles) saved her career.

• Why trust is built when teammates act selflessly, even at personal cost.

• How aviation moved from blame culture, to no-blame, to "Just Culture"—and why your business needs the same maturity.

About Mandy Hickson

Mandy Hickson joined the RAF in 1994, became the first woman on the frontline to fly the Tornado GR4, and served on three tours of duty. Today she is a sought-after speaker, aviation ambassador, and author of An Officer, Not a Gentleman and An Officer and Her Gentleman. She translates lessons from combat and cockpit into frameworks for trust, culture, and leadership that elite organizations worldwide rely on.

🔗 Links

Mandy Hickson: MandyHickson.com | An Officer, Not a Gentleman Dov Baron: DovBaron.com

The Big Questions We Tackle

• Are you learning in the way that works for you—or just the way you've been told?

• How much trust have you really built in your team? Would they sacrifice their own advancement for you?

• What happens to organizations that confuse "no blame" with "no accountability"?

• Can business leaders build the same level of trust as fighter pilots who go to war together?

Why This Matters for Leaders

Every organization says they want trust and accountability. Very few know how to build it. Mandy's journey proves that "Just Culture" is not theory—it's life or death in aviation, and it's the missing link in your boardroom.

Call to Action

If this conversation forces you to rethink leadership:

1. Follow the show for part two of this powerful dialogue.

2. Rate & review with the single insight that hit you hardest.

3. Share this episode with a leader who still thinks "culture" is HR's job.

Apple's algorithm rewards completions, shares, and fresh reviews. If you listen all the way through, you'll understand why this episode deserves to be shared. #MandyHickson #JustCulture #LeadershipLessons #FighterPilot #DovBaron