Everyone talks about the strategy of being a CEO. Almost no one talks about the inner toll it takes.

Charbel Zreik went from collecting cans on the street as a refugee from civil war to running companies, then spent years as a full time yoga and meditation teacher after his first CEO seat nearly broke him. Today he teaches at Wharton and works with CEOs on something most leadership conversations completely ignore, the inner journey behind the title.

In this raw, deeply personal episode of CEOs Unscripted, Charbel sits down with Jane Gentry to unpack the five internal shifts every CEO needs to make to thrive under pressure, without sacrificing who they are to get there.

In this episode, you'll learn:

✅ The five shifts every CEO must make to thrive instead of just survive

✅ Why risk is not just intellectual, it lives in your body, and how to manage it

✅ The nervous system tools Charbel uses including cold plunging, breath work and meditation

✅ How to recognize when your ego has been triggered before it takes control

✅ The difference between being nice and being kind as a leader

✅ Why dropping your attachment to outcomes makes you more effective, not less

✅ How to lead with low ego and a clear mission without losing yourself

✅ Why nearly 90 percent of founders are unhappy a year after exiting, and how to avoid becoming one of them

💡 Key Insight: "There is anxiety, but I am not anxiety. There is fear, but I have a choice in how I respond to it."

🎙️ CEOs Unscripted is a bi-weekly podcast for mid-market CEOs, no fluff, no jargon, just real conversations from leaders who have been in the trenches.

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#Leadership #CEOsUnscripted #MentalHealth #ExecutiveCoaching #Mindfulness #SelfAwareness #CEOMindset #PersonalGrowth #MidMarket #InnerWork

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Cold open: The hidden weight every CEO carries on their shoulders

01:05 Welcome to CEOs Unscripted

02:40 Meet Charbel Zreik, CEO and founder of DHA Laboratory

02:58 The story behind his name and his namesake saint

03:53 From civil war refugee to food stamps to Cornell, Charbel's backstory

05:33 The people who believed in him before he believed in himself

07:14 Becoming an observer of CEOs and the inner journey nobody talks about

08:44 The breaking point that started it all, his first CEO seat in 2014

10:33 The five shifts to inner mastery as a CEO

12:34 Why all five shifts happen concurrently, not in order

12:51 Shift one, leading from a safe body

14:55 Becoming a master of your own nervous system

15:32 The practices Charbel uses daily, meditation, breath work, cold plunging

17:04 The special forces technique of naming what you feel

18:49 Why young leaders catastrophize and how to break it down step by step

20:20 What to do when you feel completely frozen

21:13 Shift two, leading with an open courageous heart

22:29 Why high performers become critical of others without realising it

23:57 How your nervous system silently affects everyone in the room

25:37 Shame, change and why being the change agent makes you a target

26:59 The difference between being nice and being kind as a leader

27:26 Shift three, a present and centered mind

28:30 Why the mind never stops solving problems, even at 4am

28:55 Dropping attachment to outcomes and committing to the process instead

30:43 How heavy planning actually creates more presence, not less

31:45 Jane's calendar confession and the cost of moving too fast

33:29 Jane's nighttime notebook trick for quieting a racing mind

34:24 Shiny object syndrome and constant mental movement

36:35 Charbel's nightly checkout ritual to tell his mind it is done for the day

37:57 Why you have to experiment to find what actually works for you

38:35 Shift four, leading with low ego and mission orientation

39:23 The 90 percent statistic on founders who regret how they exited

39:58 Knowing your personal ego triggers and catching them in real time

41:32 Jane's story of one-upping a network president and catching herself

42:28 Why naming the trigger disempowers it instantly

43:10 Why fewer people tell the truth the higher you climb

44:39 The CEO who insisted ego never gets in the way, and what happened next

45:55 Succeeding without sacrificing who you are

46:01 Shift five, leading a highly disciplined lifestyle

47:32 Why none of these shifts happen without daily and weekly rituals

48:30 Charbel's simple parting advice, ten minutes of quiet to start every day

49:13 Jane's closing thoughts