a16z Podcast

How to Be Free: Shaka Senghor, Oprah Winfrey, Ben Horowitz

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Sep 5, 2025
Guest
Shaka Senghor
In this enlightening discussion, resilience expert Shaka Senghor shares his inspiring journey from incarceration to empowerment. Alongside Oprah Winfrey and Ben Horowitz, they dive into the transformative power of storytelling and active journaling as tools for personal growth. Shaka emphasizes the importance of forgiveness, revealing how it can become a healing force in our lives. The trio also explores mentorship and how it shapes the path to true freedom, offering invaluable insights for anyone seeking their own journey to liberation.
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ANECDOTE

Freedom Before Release

  • Shaka Senghor spent 19 years in prison and found freedom internally before his release.
  • He began journaling in solitary confinement and rewrote the narrative that led him there.
INSIGHT

Narratives Create Hidden Prisons

  • A limiting narrative can create a self-fulfilling incarceration long before physical prison.
  • Replacing negative narratives with positive ones opens new possible outcomes.
ADVICE

Use Active Journaling To Drive Action

  • Do active journaling by naming desired outcomes and listing concrete steps to reach them.
  • Shaka recommends setting tight timelines, like writing a book in 30 days, to force completion.
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