Episodes

  • From Denial to Self-Devotion with Trudy Goodman

    From Denial to Self-Devotion with Trudy Goodman
    May 3 2026
    What if the parts of you you’ve learned to doubt are actually the ones trying to guide you home?In this conversation, Cari sits with Trudy Goodman to explore the quiet but profound cost of not trusting ourselves—and the long, compassionate path of returning to that trust. Not as a concept, but as a lived, embodied relationship with intuition, vulnerability, and truth.Trudy shares how a lifelong pattern of overriding her intuition led to painful consequences, including moments of deep denial in relationships. What emerges is not regret, but a reframing: those experiences became the very doorway into rebuilding trust from the ground up. Not through force, but through small, consistent acts of listening.The conversation gently unravels the tension between spiritual teachings that ask us to “drop the self” and the very real, human work of tending to it. Rather than rejecting the self, Trudy invites a different approach—one rooted in compassion, awareness, and the willingness to stay present with what’s difficult without turning away.There is no bypassing here. No perfection to reach.Only a deepening devotion to what is true—again and again.And the realization that even the parts we’ve pushed away are not problems to solve… but places asking to be loved.The Treasures in the Trash:When Intuition Gets Overridden – Trudy shares how ignoring her inner knowing led to painful consequences and long-standing patterns of self-doubt.Rebuilding Trust From the Inside – A practice of listening to even the smallest impulses becomes a way to retrain intuition and restore self-trust.The Myth of Dropping the Self – Spiritual teachings are reframed to include, rather than reject, the human self and its lived experience.Compassion for the “Unwanted Parts” – What we often label as shadow is revealed as parts of ourselves asking for attention, care, and love.Self-Devotion as a Practice – The path forward becomes one of steady, compassionate commitment to knowing and trusting oneself over time.About the Guest:Trudy Goodman is a psychotherapist and internationally recognized meditation teacher who has been teaching mindfulness for decades. She is the founding teacher of InsightLA, a leading meditation community in Los Angeles, and was among the earliest teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, working alongside Jon Kabat-Zinn. Trudy holds a graduate degree in psychotherapy from Harvard and has dedicated her life to helping people cultivate awareness, compassion, and emotional healing through meditation. Known for her warmth, accessibility, and depth of wisdom, she has guided thousands of students in integrating mindfulness into everyday life.https://www.trudygoodman.com/https://www.instagram.com/trudy_goodman/https://www.facebook.com/therealtrudygoodmanAbout Cari:Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.https://www.bravedirections.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/https://www.instagram.com/cari_jacobs_sfThanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!Subscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.Leave us an Apple Podcasts reviewRatings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:This show was brought to you in part by the Magic Thread Media Network. To learn more visit: https://magicthreadmedia.com/
    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • Leaning into the Pain with Lisa Danylchuk

    Leaning into the Pain with Lisa Danylchuk
    May 3 2026
    What if the ways you’ve learned to cope… are also the ways you’ve learned to stay away from yourself?Cari sits down with Lisa Danylchuk to explore what it actually means to lean into pain—not forcefully, not all at once, but with enough support to stay present to what’s real. Together, they unpack the many forms avoidance can take—overworking, overgiving, numbing, performing—and how easy it is to normalize those patterns, especially in high-functioning lives.Lisa brings both personal experience and clinical depth, sharing how grief became a doorway rather than something to bypass. Not because it was easy, but because there was enough safety to stay with it. That distinction becomes central: this work isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about knowing how to approach gently, and when.What emerges is a more compassionate understanding of trauma, shadow, and healing. Not as something reserved for extreme experiences, but as something woven into everyday life—into relationships, leadership, identity, and the quiet ways we disconnect from ourselves.The invitation isn’t to dive in recklessly.It’s to begin, wherever you are, with honesty… and support.The Treasures in the Trash:The Many Faces of Avoidance – How avoidance shows up in everyday behaviors like overworking, caregiving, and numbing habits.Grief as a Gateway – Lisa’s experience of losing her brother becomes a turning point that led her to lean into, rather than bypass, pain.Safety Before Depth – Healing depends on having enough internal and external support to approach difficult emotions without overwhelm.Trauma Doesn’t Discriminate – Hard experiences shape people across all environments, including high-achieving and professional spaces.Gentle Is Powerful – Sustainable transformation comes not from force, but from slowly and compassionately meeting what’s been avoided.About the Guest:Lisa Danylchuk, LMFT, E-RYT is an author, licensed psychotherapist, and yoga teacher trainer specializing in bringing yoga into trauma treatment. A graduate of UCLA and Harvard University, Lisa is the founder of the Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery in Oakland, CA, and creator the Yoga for Trauma (Y4T) Online Training Program. She has authored three books: Yoga for Trauma Recovery: Theory, Philosophy, and Practice (2019), Embodied Healing: Using Yoga to Recover from Trauma and Extreme Stress (2015), and How You Can Heal: A Strength Based Guide to Trauma Recovery (2017), and is a contributing editor for Best Practices for Yoga for Veterans, published by the Yoga Service Council. She also serves on the Board of Directors and the UN Task Force for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, and was recently elected to serve as Secretary for the organization. A leader in the movement to incorporate yoga into trauma treatment, she has trained yoga and mental health professionals around the world, and presents her work internationally.https://lisadanylchuk.com/https://www.instagram.com/howwecanheal/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisadanylchukmft/About Cari:Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.https://www.bravedirections.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/https://www.instagram.com/cari_jacobs_sfThanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!Subscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.Leave us an Apple Podcasts reviewRatings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you...
    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • The Journey to Wholeness with Henry Most

    The Journey to Wholeness with Henry Most
    May 3 2026
    What if the life you’ve built—your strengths, your identity, even your success—is only half the story?In this conversation, Cari sits with Henry Most to explore what happens after we’ve learned how to “be someone” in the world. The ways we adapt, achieve, and belong aren’t random—they’re shaped early, often in response to what was welcomed and what wasn’t. Over time, those adaptive strategies become who we think we are.But eventually, something begins to shift.Henry introduces a Jungian lens that maps this process: a first phase of becoming—building identity, learning how to function—and a second phase that asks something much harder. Not how to succeed, but how to return. How to meet the parts that were set aside. How to listen when the body starts speaking louder than the story.Through his own experience, he shares what it feels like when that shift begins—not as clarity, but as collapse. A loss of self. A dismantling of certainty. And then, slowly, a different kind of knowing emerging. One that isn’t driven by performance or proving, but by something deeper, quieter, and more honest.What becomes clear is that this work doesn’t require a dramatic turning point. It can begin in much smaller moments—in the pause, in the breath, in the willingness to feel what’s underneath the reaction.The movement toward wholeness isn’t about becoming more.It’s about reclaiming what was never lost—just left behind.The Treasures in the Trash:The Two Halves of Becoming – Henry introduces a Jungian framework that separates identity-building from the deeper work of integration.How the Ego Gets Built – Early experiences shape what parts of us are welcomed and what gets pushed into the shadow.When the System Starts to Shake – Anxiety and internal tension emerge as suppressed parts begin pushing back into awareness.Collapse as a Turning Point – A personal loss of self becomes the doorway into deeper emotional and somatic exploration.Returning Through the Body – The path toward wholeness is revealed as a practice of pausing, feeling, and integrating what arises.About the Guest:Henry Most brings a unique blend of experience across psychotherapy, coaching, group facilitation, and data analytics. He is a Lecturer in Management and Leadership Coach at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he also facilitates interpersonal dynamics (“T-group”) work, and has taught at the California Institute of Integral Studies.After a successful career in market research and analytics, Henry shifted his focus toward self-exploration and human development, drawing from psychology, Buddhism, somatics, and group dynamics. He now works with individuals and teams to deepen self-awareness, strengthen connection, and support more effective leadership.He holds a BA from Cornell University and a master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy from CIIS, and has trained in Stanford’s Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator Training Program and Co-Active Coaching.https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-most-99783a4/About Cari:Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.https://www.bravedirections.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/https://www.instagram.com/cari_jacobs_sfThanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!Subscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.Leave us an Apple Podcasts reviewRatings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please ...
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Making It Real

    Making It Real
    May 3 2026

    What if the reason this work feels unclear… is because you’ve been trying to approach it from your mind instead of your body?

    Cari takes the conversation out of theory and into practice, answering the question so many people quietly carry: how do I actually do this? Not conceptually, not intellectually—but in a way that creates real movement.

    Using the metaphor of Ruth Asawa’s wire sculptures, she reframes the work as something whole—where what’s visible and what’s hidden, what’s formed and what’s shadowed, all belong to the same structure. Nothing is separate. Nothing is extra. The shadow isn’t a problem—it’s part of the art.

    From there, she offers a grounded, repeatable five-step process—not as a rigid method, but as a way of learning how to come back into relationship with yourself. Safety. Listening. Staying. Expanding. Integrating. Each step gently interrupts the habit of living outside of the body and invites a different kind of attention—one that’s slower, more honest, and less controlled.

    What emerges isn’t about fixing anything.

    It’s about learning how to be with what’s already there—long enough for it to reveal something true.

    And trusting that what’s been buried isn’t random… it’s waiting.

    The Treasures in the Trash:

    1. Making the Work Tangible – Cari shifts from concept to application, offering a grounded way to begin engaging with inner truth work.
    2. The Shadow as Part of the Whole – Using Ruth Asawa’s sculptures, she reframes shadow not as separate, but as essential to the full expression of self.
    3. Why Look If Life Feels Fine – Even in stable or happy lives, unseen patterns continue to live in the body and shape experience.
    4. A Five-Step Path Inward – Safety, listening, allowing, expanding, and integrating form a repeatable practice for engaging the body’s truth.
    5. The Body as the Entry Point – Real transformation happens not through thinking, but through sensing, feeling, and staying present with what arises.

    About Cari:

    Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.

    Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.

    Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.

    She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.

    Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.

    https://www.bravedirections.com/

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/

    https://www.instagram.com/cari_bravedirections/

    Thanks for listening!

    Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

    Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

    Subscribe to the podcast

    If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

    Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

    Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    This show was brought to you in part by the Magic Thread Media Network. To learn more visit: https://magicthreadmedia.com/
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • The First Piece of Trash

    The First Piece of Trash
    May 3 2026

    What if the parts of you you’ve worked hardest to hide are the ones quietly shaping everything?

    Cari opens a deeper layer of the work by naming what most of us instinctively avoid—the emotions, patterns, and experiences we’ve tucked away in order to function, belong, or feel in control. She calls it “trash,” not to diminish it, but to make it approachable enough to finally turn toward.

    Because what we push down doesn’t disappear. It lives in the body, in the nervous system, in the subtle ways we react, connect, withdraw, or overcompensate. Even when we don’t see it, others can feel it. And often, we’re living inside stories about ourselves that were built to protect us—but no longer tell the truth.

    Through her own experience, Cari shares how panic interrupted the version of reality she had been holding onto. What felt like something breaking was actually something surfacing. Beneath the anxiety was a deeper recognition—about fear, about love, about the gap between who she believed herself to be and what was actually there.

    From that moment, the work became clear: not fixing, not avoiding, but learning how to look. Learning how to stay. Learning how to tell the truth without turning away.

    This isn’t a one-time excavation. It’s a relationship.

    And what we find, if we’re willing to keep going, has the potential to change everything.

    The Treasures in the Trash:

    1. Naming What We Avoid – Cari defines “trash” as the parts of ourselves we hide, suppress, or feel shame around.
    2. The Shadow Is Already Seen – Even when we don’t acknowledge our shadow, others can feel it through subtle, unconscious signals.
    3. Panic as Truth Rising – Her early panic attacks weren’t random, but a breaking point where buried truth demanded to be felt.
    4. The Lie We Learn to Live In – She uncovers how the story of a “perfect life” protected her from facing deeper pain.
    5. Turning Toward Instead of Away – The episode invites a lifelong practice of meeting ourselves fully and using what we find as fuel for growth.

    About Cari:

    Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.

    Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.

    Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.

    She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.

    Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.

    https://www.bravedirections.com/

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/

    https://www.instagram.com/cari_bravedirections/

    Thanks for listening!

    Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

    Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

    Subscribe to the podcast

    If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

    Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

    Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    This show was brought to you in part by the Magic Thread Media Network. To learn more visit: https://magicthreadmedia.com/
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Introducing Finding Treasures in the Trash with Cari Jacobs-Crovetto

    Introducing Finding Treasures in the Trash with Cari Jacobs-Crovetto
    May 3 2026

    There’s a moment in every life where something cracks open—quietly or violently—and asks us to look closer. Not at what’s polished or presentable, but at what we’ve hidden, avoided, or quietly abandoned within ourselves.

    This opening episode is an invitation into that space.

    Cari Jacobs-Crovetto shares a life shaped by both deep sensitivity and profound disruption—early vision loss, emotional instability at home, panic attacks, and the relentless pull toward understanding herself more fully. What emerges is not a story of overcoming, but of turning toward. Again and again.

    This isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about reclaiming what was never meant to be thrown away.

    And maybe, just maybe, the parts of you that feel like “too much” are the very places where your life begins again.

    The Treasures in the Trash:

    1. An Invitation to Turn Toward What We Avoid – Cari reframes shadow and discomfort as the starting point for real, lasting transformation.
    2. A Childhood Shaped by Unseen Reality – Growing up without clear vision deepens her connection to intuition and inner awareness.
    3. Living Without Emotional Safety – Early exposure to addiction, instability, and fear creates patterns that later demand healing.
    4. Panic as a Catalyst for Awakening – Debilitating anxiety becomes the doorway into embodiment, presence, and inner exploration.
    5. Choosing Courage Over Avoidance – The episode closes by naming resistance as the entry point into truth, integration, and self-reclamation.

    About Cari:

    Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.

    Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.

    Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.

    She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.

    Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.

    https://www.bravedirections.com/

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/

    https://www.instagram.com/cari_bravedirections/

    Thanks for listening!

    Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

    Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

    Subscribe to the podcast

    If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

    Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

    Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    This show was brought to you in part by the Magic Thread Media Network. To learn more visit: https://magicthreadmedia.com/
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • The Masks We Wear To Survive with Wai Poc

    The Masks We Wear To Survive with Wai Poc
    Apr 23 2026
    There are parts of us that learn to survive before they ever get the chance to live.In this conversation, Wai Poc invites us into the quiet, complex terrain of identity—where visibility and invisibility coexist, where inherited fear shapes connection, and where the longing to belong meets the courage to be fully seen. From growing up as one of the only Asian students in his school, to navigating life as an “invisibly gay” man, his story is not linear—it’s layered, tender, and deeply human.What unfolds is not just a story about identity, but about the masks we wear to feel safe… and the moment we realize we can no longer live inside them. Through friendship, self-love, and a willingness to stay curious about others, Wai Poc shows us that connection is not something we find—it’s something we allow.And maybe the invitation here is simple, but not easy:to take off the mask… and trust that who we are is enough to be met.The Treasures in the Trash:Survival isn’t the same as living - What helped you navigate early environments, whether inherited fear, silence, or self-protection, can quietly limit your ability to fully connect, express, and thrive. At some point, survival patterns need to be reexamined so life can actually be lived.The mask that protects you can also confine you - We learn to shape ourselves in ways that feel safe or acceptable, but over time that version of ourselves can become the very thing that keeps us from being fully known and expressed.Self-love expands your capacity to connect - As you begin to accept the parts of yourself you once hid or rejected, your ability to understand, relate to, and genuinely connect with others deepens.Needing people is part of being human - The belief that we should be completely independent can keep us isolated, when in reality connection, support, and understanding are essential to a full and meaningful life.There is more space for you than you think - The idea that you need to shrink to belong is often internalized, and while not everyone will understand you, there is far more room for your full self than you’ve been led to believe.About the Guest:Wai Poc is an Executive Coach in the high-tech, biotech, and finance sectors, including for VPs at companies like Google, Facebook, Genentech, Gilead as well as for C-levels in pre and post IPO Series A to D companies where he is based in Silicon Valley. His expertise includes strategic influence, leadership development, and organizational dynamics. Many moons ago, Wai studied cultural anthropology at Stanford University before moving onto a MBA and into business. He is part of the teaching and coaching team on EQ at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. A sabbatical field expedition to Madagascar led Wai to meet Patricia Wright, with whom he is now writing a book on power and politics in the workplace. Their goal is to decode the primate roots of human competition and collaboration with Unleashed: A Field Guide to Power and Politics at Work.About Cari:Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.https://www.bravedirections.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/https://www.instagram.com/cari_bravedirections/Thanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!Subscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.Leave us an Apple Podcasts reviewRatings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple ...
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • When Your Superpowers Become Your Baggage with Scott Duffy

    When Your Superpowers Become Your Baggage with Scott Duffy
    Mar 19 2026
    There are moments in life when everything you built collapses. A car accident rewires your future. A company sale that looks like a dream turns into a financial freefall. A market crash. A divorce. A season where the identity you wore like armor falls apart.In this conversation, Scott Duffy does not offer the highlight reel. He tells of the collapse. The pawn shop. The last $200. The parking lot tears. The phone call that helped him stand back up. And underneath his story is a truth that feels both confronting and liberating.In this episode of Treasures in the Trash, Cari sits down with entrepreneur and investor Scott Duffy to explore a reality that every leader—and every human being—eventually faces: what happens when the very strengths that once made us successful stop working.Scott’s career has included remarkable highs—building companies, selling a business to Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, and working at the forefront of entrepreneurship. It has also included difficult setbacks, including financial collapse and divorce. Those experiences became the backdrop for a deeper conversation about resilience, reinvention, and what it really takes to begin again.During the conversation, Scott offers a striking observation about the current moment in the age of artificial intelligence: the very skills that once defined our expertise may quickly become outdated. As he puts it, “Your superpowers before ChatGPT may now be your baggage.”But the deeper insight in this conversation isn’t really about technology.It’s about what happens when life disrupts us—when the identities we’ve built begin to loosen and the strategies that once worked no longer carry us forward.Those moments can feel like collapse. But they can also become powerful turning points.Finding Treasures in the Trash is about taking the muck of life—the uncertainty, the failures, the parts of ourselves we’d rather hide—and discovering that it can become the very gold that opens the next chapter of our lives. Or of our planet.The Treasures in the Trash:Beginner’s mind opens possibility - When we become experts, our thinking can quietly harden. Scott and Cari explore the power of returning to beginner’s mind—what the Zen tradition calls shoshin. Experts see limits; beginners see options. In times of disruption, curiosity becomes a strategic advantage.Your superpower can become your baggage - The skills that once made us exceptional can eventually trap us in outdated patterns. In the age of AI—and in life more broadly—growth requires the willingness to release certainty and evolve beyond what once defined us.Resourcefulness matters more than resources - Scott draws a powerful distinction: success rarely comes from having the most resources. It comes from how creatively and courageously we meet reality. Resourcefulness, not abundance, is what moves people forward.When the wave comes, you move through it - Disruption is inevitable. Whether it’s AI, a market shift, or a personal collapse, the question isn’t whether the wave arrives—it’s how we respond. We can run, freeze, or learn to move through it.The people around you shape what feels possible - Our environments matter. Scott reflects on the idea that we often become the average of the people closest to us. The relationships we choose can either expand our sense of possibility or quietly shrink it.Transformation begins after the fall - Some of Scott’s most powerful insights come from the hardest chapters of his life. His recovery framework—accountability, forgiveness, learning, and gratitude—reveals how moments that feel like collapse can become the foundation for growth.If you’re ready to start reclaiming the parts of yourself you’ve pushed aside, head to https://bravedirections.myflodesk.com/5daystotruth to sign up for ”Five Days to Truth”—a free guided meditation series to help you begin that process with clarity and care. It’s a powerful companion to this work, and Cari’s gift to you.About the Guest: Scott Duffy is an entrepreneur and AI business strategist. He is the Founder of AI Mavericks and several other AI-focused businesses. Prior to AI ventures, he founded a company acquired by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, held leadership roles at FOX Sports, NBC Internet, & CBS Sportsline, and started his career working for Tony Robbins. He is the author of four influential books, including "Shoshin," "The Ultimate Prompting Guide," "Breakthrough," & "Launch"; has been recognized as a “Top 10 Speaker” by Entrepreneur; has appeared on CNBC; has spoken at the NY Stock Exchange; and was Co-Host of a popular podcast for Microsoft.https://scottduffy.com/https://www.facebook.com/realscottduffy/About Cari:Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 20 mins