If you fell in love with Angela Duckworth at this year’s Nordic Business Forum, or have just gotten excited about her new book, Situated, which has just arrived, here’s a chance for a personal and warm encounter with her.

We had a chance to hang out and catch up when she was in Helsinki and decided to bring a microphone and invite you to join us.

We talk about grit, sisu, human capacity, and writing books - but mostly, I think, we talk about the relational side of agency. As Angela says:

“Grit is great. But it’s just not enough.”

To me, it’s comforting and hope-giving to see the conversation moving more and more toward the realization that our strength doesn’t have to come from us alone - and, in fact, it can’t.

No matter who you are, life is, at times, a lot to navigate. The lengths we go to to achieve, endure, and survive are unfathomable and of course, inspiring, too. But too many people go there far too alone, because we’ve created systems and organizational cultures that miss out on the power of a safe and supportive collective, and the social resilience that can emerge from it.

At the same time, there is so much goodness happening through sharing, helping, loving, and caring. All of us have stories to share about someone who 'made us' or made something possible for us. However, I believe that the closer we get to the human 'being' side of nature from the human 'doing' we'll unlock even more of this capacity.

We talk in this conversation about the people and situations that shape us, our shared journey, and the power of mentoring - including the difference another person can make simply by seeing something in us before we are able to see it ourselves.

Thank you, Angela, for being that person for me - and for so many others.

Situate yourself to Angela's work and research at angeladuckworth.com!

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Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

New episode on the Sisu Lab Podcast! In this conversation, I speak with my dear friend and Aikido teacher Richard Moon (6th dan black belt), who has practiced the art for more than 50 years and has applied its principles in leadership development and conflict resolution around the world.

We explore Aikido not only as a martial art but as "a way of being that can be used (also) for martial arts." It's an embodied practice for building innate capacities necessary for harmonious relating between people, who all have egos and differing agendas.

Beyond a practice that will give you a healthy and awake body, it's a practice that can develop inner balance, harmony, and increase emotional intelligence. The ability to not only endure pressure, but also act wisely under pressure. To transform our inner discord so that we don't transmit it to others when we are stressed. It's about getting aware of our energy and its impact on others.

In addition to applying and experimenting with a variety of somatic practices to explore their impact, Aikido is central to developing my ability to self-regulate my energy, calm my mind, and become aware of my own internal unprocessed stuff, so that it doesn't become the 'stuff' in my relationships. It has become one of the core ways to learn self-management, do personal development work, and, quite frankly, stay sane in these times. There are many ways to self-know; this one is dear to me, and I warmly encourage everyone to find theirs.

So, in this conversation, Richard shares insights from decades of practice on how the principles of harmony, connection, and awareness of our energy can transform how we meet challenges and live better. He talks about aikido as "harmonizing ourselves with the universe" - and explains what the heck that means in real life. : ) The conversation at times goes into anecdotes that might feel relevant to those already practicing aikido, but as you listen in, there are gems that I believe can be inspiring to anyone.

You can find out more about Richard's thoughts on Aikido via his YouTube channel at @moonsensei. You can, for example, start with this video, which is one of my personal favorites. Richard's book Quantum Aikido: The Power of Harmony can be found at www.quantumaikido.com. It's also available in Finland through Suomalainen Kirjakauppa. Links to show below!

Thank you again, Richard, for what you are and what you bring. For your Aikido on and off the mat.

I'll finish with words found in your email signature:

"Don’t Get Mad
Don’t Even Get Even
Create A Beautiful World

Joy is the Greatest Treasure"

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

New pod episode is up! I met with leadership coach and community builder Joppe Quaedvlieg for a conversation about communication and what it actually takes to create trust, safety, and belonging in our relationships.

Joppe is the creator of Descriptive Communication, a practical approach to expressing what we want and need in ways that others can actually understand. His work grew out of lived experience: years of not knowing what he wanted, learning to people-please, and eventually realizing how much of our suffering and lost opportunity results from not being able to express ourselves clearly, to ourselves or to others. It’s about using language more clearly, but even more, sometimes, it is about presence and the sisu to be real with each other.

We talked about topics like:

🌀Why the question “What do you want?” is so difficult but also transformative (anyone remember the scene from Notebook? : )
🌀 How vague language hides practical needs
🌀 Why descriptive communication builds agency, courage, and responsibility
🌀 How community is built not through good intentions, but clear asks
🌀 What leadership, relationships, and collaboration can look like when we aim for presence and honesty, not only performance
🌀 Joppe's views on sisu that I found very insightful and beautiful

Joppe shared his poem, “I Consider Us a Village,” and he also walks us through the thinking behind his community practice Help Me Help You, showing how simple, specific requests can unlock collective resources we already have but rarely use. He organises these events in Helsinki and you can participate.

If you’re interested in leadership development or community building, or want tips to improve your relationships and communicate with more clarity, this episode offers tools you can start testing out immediately.

Check out Joppe's work on his website at artiqula.com. There you'll find his courses, coaching offerings, and also his book Reaching Escape Velocity.

Thanks again, Joppe! Great to be in the same village with you : )

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Scott Barry Kaufman is a big inspiration to me in research and the human sciences. He is a humanistic psychologist, the creator of self-actualization coaching, and simply a refreshing person who brings a sense of “keeping it real” to the world of self-development.

Scott is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, the director of the Center for Human Potential, and among the top 1% most-cited scientists in the world for his research on intelligence and creativity (= wow, the academic sisu this has required).

He also hosts The Psychology Podcast. With over 25 million downloads, it’s one of the leading psychology podcasts globally.

Scott’s foundation lies in humanistic psychology, which emphasizes the importance of meaning, wholeness, and the lived experience of being human. Rather than sinking into all sorts of neurosis over what the ego likes to label as “good–bad” or “right–wrong,” this perspective invites us to feel into all the complexity (and wonder) that comes with being human.

We spoke about a wide range of topics, such as creativity, human potential, feeling like an impostor at times (and why it can actually be a good thing), his hopes and hesitations about the future, and what it means to be true to your heart.

Last year, Scott published his 11th (!) book, Rise above! You can explore Scott's work and many valuable resources at scottbarrykaufman.com. I warmly recommend checking it out. The site is a treasure trove of insight.

The conversation we had moved something in me, which I felt afterward. What I can make of it is that witnessing authenticity stirs us, brings us closer to our center and to each other. It feels grounded and safe, and we are indeed finely tuned to sense it.

Especially in the context of a recorded conversation, where we tend to seek to perform and give “the right answers” (which is, of course, very human), it felt beautiful to witness such realness.

The discussion brought back a thought my Aikido teacher once shared with me: “It’s easy to be clever. It’s much harder to be loving.”

Thanks for listening and for being part of the sisu journey <3

If you enjoyed the content, please leave a review if you like, or share the podcast link so it can find its way to people who might enjoy it.

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Right now, outrage seems as rampant as complacency, and both are lost opportunities from the vantage point of of life force. Being a "constructive badass" is a path to growth, change, and leadership amidst high pressure situations. The more we develop the skill of constructive dissent and engage in the art of insubordination—how to speak up with courage and clarity—we create degrees of freedom for courage in the everyday.

For this Sisu Lab episode, I had the joy of interviewing Professor Todd Kashdan, one of the world’s most cited psychologists and a curious thought leader on courage, character, and all things psychological flexibility. This conversation rocked such a unique flow of exploring life, ideas, and the co-creative space possible between curious humans anywhere that it felt like a real highlight. The experience itself, to me, speaks of how can help each other rise to our best just by being genuinely excited about each other (like kids!) and viewing moments of interaction as opportunities to unearth something valuable together.

Todd and I jammed about:

• How to dissent effectively without breaking connection
• Why good people may struggle to be brave when it matters most
• The difference between being a principled rebel vs. a reactive troublemaker
• Why true change-makers often face delayed rewards—and how sisu can help us stay the course
• Balancing activism with mental health, and what keeps us going through long fights for change
• The gift of witnessing each other fail—and grow and heal together
• What it means to be an “upstander” (with a nod to educator Jackson Katz)
• How everyday acts of courage and kindness shape the bigger environment we call our life

Todd’s insights come from decades of research—and deep skin in the game. He’s the author of several brilliant books, including Curious, The Upside of Your Dark Side, and most relevantly: The Art of Insubordination.

🎧 If you’ve ever struggled to find your voice in the face of injustice—or wondered how to process with combining courage and compassion (or to navigate the difference between power vs. force)—this is for you.

If this has value to you, please share with everyone you know. And let me know who you'd like me to interview!

Thanks again, Todd. This was exquisite!

Shownotes:

Todd's website and books: www.toddkashdan.com.

Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet.

Jackson Katz TEDx with over 2 million views.

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

I’m joined for a conversation by Monique Borst, an entrepreneur, advisor and performance coach with 15 years in senior leadership positions. Monique has said, "Our businesses and personal lives are a mirror reflection of where we are on our own self-development journey, and can only be as successful as we are aware and in control of our thoughts and emotions."

Together, we’ll unpack what it means to lead with strength and empathy, to balance resilience with grace, and to embrace vulnerability as a force for healing.

When we do this work that can take a bit of sisu not just in the traditional way of doing something physically tough ... but the courage it takes to steal the gold from the night of subconscious to find the treasures we discover in our quiet, inner places can illuminate the everyday moments of business, leadership, and community.

For this episode you can reflect if you like:

💡 What does gentle power mean to you?

💡 How can we, as leaders and as humans, step forward with balance, authenticity, and wholeness?

The episode is dedicated to the memory of dear late friend Stéphane LeBlanc, a Canadian pioneer of conscious leadership.

You can find our guest Monique Borst on LinkedIn, where she shares her thoughtful content and her website at MoniqueBorst.com,

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

The following interview is with distinguished neurosurgeon Dr. James Doty and it's a listen that is likely to make you feel a bit stronger and make you think more deeply about leadership, your daily habits, and the gift of life. I have been following Dr. Doty's work for about a decade and was deeply honored for this chance to learn from the master himself. He is a compassion researcher, NY Times bestselling author, and philanthropist. Dr. Doty is also a clinical professor of neurosurgery and Founder & Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University School of Medicine.

He recently published a new book called Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything. We had a thrilling and heartwarming conversation - a warm recommendation to add this seminal book to your near-future reading list!

You can find Mind Magic here: Mind Magic on Amazon (leave a review if you read the book and find it inspiring - this is always invaluable to authors <3) and learn more about Dr. Doty's work on his website: James R. Doty MD.

Finally, here is another fantastic interview with Dr. Doty by John R. Miles.

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

This episode is about the paradox of putting healing and performance in the same sentence. Join me for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Phil Maffetone, a visionary in endurance sports for over four decades, an author, musician, and coach. Known for his MAF Method, which emphasizes aerobic training and fat-burning, Phil’s approach has helped athletes achieve world class level of performance. However this method applies to every-body out there to create more sovereignty, health and happiness.

In today’s episode, we delve into Phil’s groundbreaking philosophies and practical tips for enhancing fitness, well-being, and body awareness. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a beginner, discover MAF to ultimately to become your own coach, make sustainable decisions, and cultivate resilience and self-leadership. Plus, we explore topics like nutrition, intuition, meditation, and making lifelong healthy choices. Tune in for a conversation around ideas that have deeply impacted my own journey over the past decade!

Philip's homepages: The MAF Method
https://philmaffetone.com/

The Music of Philip Maffetone
https://maffetonemusic.com/

The Maffetone Method Running Group on FB that I mention (9.7K members and it's a very active and friendly group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1452390158396719

MAF Profile: Mission to heal: https://philmaffetone.com/maf-profile-mission-heal/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3dj0exmFNSb61qyTw8UnkPeCk1cskOg-_zGshXKLYo9mq5yJo_TPtAOuU_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Phil Maffetone speaks about the details of MAF, nutrition, running, recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TPrenWWK9U

"We are in this for fun and to bed happy" another great interview with Phil (Floris Gierman) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyE2J5pcWcA

Phils's Red and Yellow book of endurance and fitness that were mentioned in the show can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Philip-Maffetone/author/B001K88UYE?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Enjoy the exploration!!

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.