A Bit of Optimism

The most successful leaders, coaches, and teams in history share one counterintuitive secret: their main focus wasn’t winning. And yet… they won more than everyone else. 

My guest, Don Yaeger, learned this lesson from his mentor: legendary college basketball coach John Wooden. Don is one of my favorite master storytellers, a top business leadership coach, author of 44 books, 13 of them New York Times bestsellers, and a former Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated. Don has worked alongside the greatest athletes of our generation: Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps. But no relationship shaped him more than the 12 years he spent as Coach Wooden's mentee.

Whether or not you're a sports fan, I promise you: the lessons Don shares are as universal as it gets.

We explore what it really means to win in business and in life. The greatest leaders in history already figured this out. The question is why the rest of us aren't following their lead.

In this episode you'll learn: 

➡️ Why the winningest coach in college basketball history never talked about winning (and what he focused on instead)

➡️ The Bill Walton story that reveals how great leaders hold standards without exceptions (even for their best people) 

➡️ How one conversation with John Wooden transformed Don's marriage & the weekly habit he's kept for 16+ years 

➡️ What Delta CEO Ed Bastian's "virtuous cycle" can teach any leader about putting people before results 

➡️ What a great mentor actually look like and how to know when you’ve found one

If you've ever chased the short-term win at the cost of the long game… this episode is the reset you didn't know you needed. 

This… is A Bit of Optimism.

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Join Don for a live Q&A on Leaderful on April 27th at 12pm ET: https://leaderful.simonsinek.com/browse/events/OMNjQIJ19cDDjjYRFbIge 

Join the Leaderful app! Listeners can use promo code: STORY30 when you download the app or sign up at simonsinek.com.

If you want more of Don, check out his Corporate Competitor Podcast: https://www.donyaeger.com/category/corporate-competitor-podcast 

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Chapters

00:00:00 The Power of Appreciation: What You Look For, You Find
00:02:02 From Delivering Newspapers to Sports Illustrated: Don's Journey to Journalism
00:04:21 Don’s 12-Year Mentorship with Coach John Wooden
00:06:50 Coach Wooden's Philosophy: Pyramid of Success
00:09:00 The Bill Walton Haircut Story: How Wooden Managed Ego and Held Everyone to the Same Standards
00:10:33 Building Better Humans, Not Just Better Players
00:14:36 The Love Letters That Changed Don's Marriage
00:19:35 Looking for Things to Love: The Mindset That Changes Everything
00:22:23 Leading with Employee Care Over Customer-First Mentality
00:33:55 What True Mentorship Really Means: It's Not Transactional
00:47:07 Why Aren't More Leaders Following Coach Wooden's Example?
00:53:17 The Best Storytelling Advice: Know Your Audience

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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

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Website: http://simonsinek.com/

Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/

Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

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Photo/Video credits for this episode: https://tinyurl.com/ycxdw52s

We talk a lot about building successful things. But what does it actually take to build something people love?

Jesse Cole has built an entirely new genre of entertainment: The Savannah Bananas and the Banana Ball League. They’re a viral sensation, selling out stadiums across the country, and have over 4.2 million fans on their  ticket waitlist. On the surface, Banana Ball looks like a wild and entertaining version of baseball. But underneath it all is something much more disciplined: an obsession with the fan experience. 

Jesse calls his approach Fans First and it’s more than a slogan and the title of his book… It’s a standard. Every minute of the two-hour games are crammed with attention grabbing spectacle. It’s a full-blown live experience designed for every seat in the stadium: players dance, fans are part of the show, trick plays defy the laws of physics, there are multiple sing-alongs… all during an actual baseball game. 

In this conversation, we talk about building something new for others, from embracing years of failure (including selling just two tickets in the first three months), to creating experiences that make people feel included, joyful, and valued. We also discuss how he took inspiration from Disney and PT Barnum, the importance of affordable in-person experiences, and how his team reviews every single detail after every show to get better the next day.

Because what Jesse’s building goes beyond just entertainment. It’s a place where people can feel seen for generations to come. And in a world that often moves too fast to build things with care… Those human details might be what matter most.

This… is A Bit of Optimism.

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To learn more about the Banana Ball League or sign up for the ticket waitlist, check out: https://bananaball.com/ 

Or if you want all things Savannah Bananas, head to: https://thesavannahbananas.com/ 

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We live in a world that pushes us to simplify everything: right or wrong, good or bad, this or that. It makes things and our place in the world easier to understand.
But the truth is rarely simple… in fact, it’s often messy and deeply human.
For 50 years, Ken Burns has mastered his craft, becoming one of the most prolific and respected documentary filmmakers. His documentaries notably resist easy answers. From The Civil War to The Vietnam War to Baseball, Ken has shaped how we understand American identity, political memory, and our shared history. His latest project, The American Revolution, is a six-part PBS series that tells the story of America’s founding. He revisits the revolution through multiple human perspectives, which reveals new complexity to a familiar story.
Ken’s guiding principle is simple: “it’s complicated.” And that philosophy shows up in everything he does. Because the most honest stories hold opposing truths at the same time.
In this conversation, Ken and I explore why storytelling matters more than arguments, how simplifying the world can help us understand it—but also distort it—and why empathy lives in the space between what’s included in a story and what’s left out.
We also dive into why human behavior hasn’t changed much over time, what mistakes humans keep repeating, how embracing complexity might help us better understand each other, and what history can teach us about who we are and who we’re still becoming.
If you’ve ever struggled to make sense of a complicated world, or felt frustrated by how quickly we reduce people to labels, this episode is a powerful reminder: understanding lives in our ability to see the whole story.
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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If you want to watch “American Revolution” the six-part, 12-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt on PBS, head to: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution
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Naiveté is one of the most powerful assets an entrepreneur can have. In fact, I think some of the most meaningful things in the world only exist because someone was naive enough to try.
Daniel Lubetzky would know. In a crowded category and cutthroat industry, Daniel dared to build a company called KIND. He started with a simple question: how can we help people snack healthily without compromising their values? KIND Bars are now a household name and Daniel achieved his dream of building the culture behind the brand. A culture rooted in trust, long-term thinking, and social good. Essentially, a place where people loved to work and a company that thrived as a result.
In this conversation, Daniel and I explore why entrepreneurship is less about ego and more about problem-solving, why brands are promises that must be kept, and how thinking in the short-term erodes trust in both business and society.
Daniel’s story doesn’t stop at the wildly successful business he founded. The son of a Holocaust survivor, he grew up with a deep sense of responsibility to prevent hatred and division from taking root again. That calling first led him to create PeaceWorks, bringing people together through commerce, and now fuels his work with the Builders Movement. Builders is an effort to channel curiosity, compassion, and courage to reduce polarization and rebuild trust… together.
Some important context, because this episode touches on peace building and polarization, is that it was recorded back in December 2025 and before recent developments in the Middle East. But this episode is about how kindness can be a competitive advantage, how optimism can be strategic, and how each of us has a role to play in building a future that’s more connected than divided.
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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If you want to learn more about the Daniel’s work with The Builders Movement, head to: https://buildersmovement.org
Check out the products and work being done at KIND: https://www.kindsnacks.com
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As businesses race toward faster systems, smarter tools, and total automation, something critical is getting lost: human connection. And ironically, the rise of AI is making that gap impossible to ignore.
In this episode, I sit down with returning guest and close friend Will Guidara, former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, to explore why humanity is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage in the age of AI.
Will helped transform a restaurant into the best in the world, not by reinventing the food being served, but by reinventing the experience around it. He calls this philosophy "Unreasonable Hospitality," which is the practice of going beyond what’s expected or required to make someone feel genuinely seen, valued, and cared for to create a memorable human experience. He argues that in a world where people expect excellence, the real differentiator is care.
And Will isn’t alone in this belief. His book Unreasonable Hospitality, which I’m the proud publisher of, is a global bestseller. And his follow up book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide, comes out April 28, 2026.
In this conversation, Will and I unpack why human value will continue to rise in an automated world, how the smallest moments of care can create lasting loyalty, how we can turn automation’s efficiency into better experiences, and why the things that matter most in our lives are the hardest to measure.
And fair warning, Will and I do giggle our way through some of this conversation about why technology can’t replace human connection, the hidden cost of achievement, and a story about how a single piece of Basque cheesecake delivered to a hotel room is a gesture thoughtful enough to make someone feel seen. That’s just the kind of friendship we have.
So if you’re wondering how to stand out and live a more meaningful life in a world increasingly shaped by AI… and share a laugh with us… this is a conversation for you.
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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To stay in the loop with Will or purchase his best-selling book Unreasonable Hospitality, head to: https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/
If you’d like to pre-order Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide, out April 28, 2026, check out: https://uhthefieldguide.com/
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