Barrett Brooks talks with Polina Pompliano about her career as a storyteller and the sacrifices needed to pursue passion. They discuss humanizing stories, resilience, and meaningful work. Topics include personal growth, cross-cultural communication, balancing authenticity and aspiration, navigating ambition in relationships, and building resilience.
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insights INSIGHT
Humanizing Shared Humanity
Polina Marinova Pompliano aims to humanize people by showing their flaws and insecurities along with strengths.
Highlighting shared humanity helps people see that neither one failure nor one success defines them.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Publishing Book in Bulgarian
Polina published her book in Bulgarian, which was deeply meaningful to her family and herself.
Her early encouragement from teachers and friends shaped her love and confidence in writing.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Losing Language Gained Empathy
After moving to the U.S., Polina lost her confident self due to language barriers and became an observer.
This enhanced her social skills and empathy, helping her become a skilled interviewer.
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Polina Marinova Pompliano is the author of “Hiden Genius” and the founder of The Profile, a media organization that studies successful people and companies. Previously, she spent five years at FORTUNE where she covered technology and venture capital. As the author and editor of Term Sheet, FORTUNE’s industry-leading dealmaking newsletter, Polina interviewed the industry’s most influential dealmakers, including Melinda Gates, Steve Schwarzman, Richard Branson, and more.
This week, Barrett talks with Polina about her career as a storyteller, personal growth, and the sacrifices required to pursue one's passion. Polina reflects on immigrating to the US from Bulgaria, her career in journalism, and the influence of marriage and motherhood on her ambitions. Together, they discuss building the resilience required to handle life's challenges, the importance of humanizing stories, and the pursuit of meaningful work.
In this episode:
00:00 - Intro
02:48 - What it’s like to publish a very personal book
05:43 - How Polina's book impacted her relationships
08:44 - Communication emotion in different languages
13:58 - How Polina’s early experiences have shaped her
23:00 - Polina’s fullest version of herself
25:42 - How becoming a parent changes you
31:24 - The transition from curator to profiler
39:31 - The value in sharing personal stories
49:42 - Polina’s and Barrett’s experiences at UGA
56:08 - Can ambitious people have successful relationships?
01:03:37 - How Polina and her husband remain humble and connected
01:10:26 - Why resilience is so important
01:21:08 - On dealing with grief
01:26:40 - When success becomes the obstacle
01:31:06 - Making the right career decisions
01:35:02 - Find something and become the best at it
01:39:01 - Polina’s advice to her younger self
01:41:19 - The future Polina is trying to create
01:43:25 - Who Polina is becoming
Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com.
Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.
Good Work with Barrett Brooks 