Episode 40: You're Not Bluffing Big Enough

What does it take to trust your instincts when the odds are stacked against you?  How do you balance strategy, intuition, and risk without letting self-doubt creep in? How do we celebrate our wins in an authentic way?   Jennifer Shahade is a three-time US Women’s Chess Champion, professional poker player, and author. She brings world-class lessons from chess and poker to everyday life, showing how to merge confidence and calculation so you can make better choices under pressure.   What we cover in this episode:

• Why if you’re never caught bluffing, you may not be going big enough in poker, in work, or in life.
• How chess teaches presence, empathy, and better decision making by widening your options.
• This week’s micromoment, Micro-Brag: practical ways to name wins, build a “confidence primer,” and share accomplishments with authenticity.

Make smarter decisions, have stronger self-trust, and handle uncertainty with real strategies in work and life.   Preorder her new book: Thinking Sideways  

00:00 Intro

01:14 Meet Jennifer Shahade

05:34 Be Comfortable with Risk

07:08 Lesson #1 from Poker: Bluff Bigger

10:11 Lesson #2 from Poker: Balance and the Quality of Your Decisions

13:55 Lesson #1 from Chess: Seeing Possibilities and Staying Present

18:38 Lesson #2 from Chess: Time and Decision-Making

22:19 Thinking Sideways and Applying Game Strategy to Life

30:51 Confidence is Dynamic, Not Fixed

36:27 Micro-Moment of the Week: Microbrag

41:56 When Jennifer Doesn’t Win a Game

44:41 How to Choose What to Microbrag About

53:32 Jennifer’s Advice on Microbragging

54:58 Outro

56:28 Disclaimer 

  Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:    Visit Our Website    Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback    Follow Gravitas on Instagram    Follow Lisa on Instagram    Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn    Follow Gravitas on TikTok  Follow Gravitas on Substack  Suggestions or Questions? Email Us.