Blue Sky

Growing up in New York with a particular interest in "the dark side" of human nature, Oren Segal has channeled that curiosity into a career spent providing resources, expertise and training which enables law enforcement, public officials and internet and technology companies to identify and counter emerging threats. Oren approaches this challenging work with intense dedication and an inspiring sense of hope and optimism. Learn More About Oren Segal and ADL: https://www.adl.org/ https://www.adl.org/about/regional-offices

Dominique Wright describes a childhood of "humble beginnings," complete with a series of forced moves and an eviction. But she says that the positive mindset instilled by her mom helped her persevere through these tough early years to graduate from the US Naval Academy and serve as an officer, earn a law degree, and work at the NFL Players Association and the league's business and legal affairs department. Today, Dominique is the founder and CEO of a technology marketing startup, serving college athletes pursuing name, image, and likeness opportunities. She describes her current work as the toughest she's ever done, but says that her optimistic outlook and grit will get her through.

The legendary Kevin Kelly shares his optimistic views on technology and our collective future. As someone who was building online communities as early as the 1980's and helped create Wired magazine in 1993, Kevin has seen it all, and his fascinating insights and predictions on subjects including social media and artificial intelligence are based on years of hands-on experience. He and Bill also discuss some of their favorite excerpts from Kevin's great new book, Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier, which will be available on May 3. As Seth Godin says, "One hundred years from now, when so much of the nonsense of our age is forgotten, people will still remember Kevin Kelly and his wisdom."

Following his early years as a musician and chasing dreams of becoming "the next John Mayer," Tim Schurrer went on to a successful career building teams and powerful brands. We know that one of the most common barriers to an optimistic outlook is dissatisfaction at work and in this episode, Tim describes his realization that great things happen when we shift our focus from climbing the ladder to helping others be successful.

John Valverde describes the impactful work of the organization he leads, YouthBuild USA, and also shares his own inspiring story of persevering through 16 years in prison to found two non-profits and now lead a third; YouthBuild USA. John explains how he brings his own lived experience to his leadership role of an organization that helps young people at their own crossroads change the trajectory of their life. Learn More About John and YouthBuild USA: https://youthbuild.org/

Rob Watson talks about how he emerged from a challenged school system in New York, graduated from Harvard College, served in the Peace Corps, and later earned two master's degrees. He explains what drives him to work so hard — and with so much hope — to achieve equity in opportunities for public school by teaching master's candidates at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and by supporting innovative collaborative action programs around the country, including in his hometown of Poughkeepsie. Learn More About Rob: https://edredesign.org/home https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwatsonjr/ https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ https://www.pkchildrenscabinet.com/

David Novak has had a remarkably successful career and one that was defined by his boundless enthusiasm and contagious sense of optimism. He describes in this episode that he's never come across a leader who wasn't an optimist and reflects on why he thinks this is the case. He also discusses the inspiring work he's been doing since leaving his job at the top of Yum! Brands, where he was widely considered to be one of the top CEO's in the world. Learn More About David: https://howleaderslead.com/ https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands https://davidnovakleadership.com/

Jeff Korzenik, the chief economist at a major US bank, explains how predicting a labor shortage in the US led him to discover the growing movement around "second chance" hiring of people with criminal records. His passion for this work led him to write "Untapped Talent," a book that explains to companies the benefits of this type of hiring and offers a blueprint of how best to do it. Jeff describes how second chance hiring can transform lives and communities. Check out Jeff's book, "Untapped Talent" here.

In this episode, Bert describes how he and his brother grew from a challenging upbringing to create Life is Good, the original positive outlook brand. He explains why he believes that optimism is a superpower and suggests that in all of history, there's never been a successful pessimist. Browse Life is Good here! : https://www.lifeisgood.com/

Dr. Benton discusses how she came to choose to work with young people and their families and why she's never been more optimistic about the future of child and adolescent mental healthcare in this country. She shares her thoughts about the pros and cons of social media, the impact of the pandemic on young people and the value of outdoor activities for a children's psyches. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is described here.