Game Changers with Molly Fletcher

John Mackey is the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. He’s led the company from a scrappy startup to a multibillion-dollar business, and launched an organic food revolution. John’s new book, Conscious Leadership, explores his own leadership journey from college dropout to successful CEO, and provides a playbook for values-based leadership. On this episode, John shares his most valuable leadership lessons learned from four decades leading Whole Foods through tremendous growth and innovation. It will challenge you to rethink conventional business wisdom and reimagine how you lead.

Scott Kelly set the record for the single longest space mission by an American astronaut. That year-long mission to the International Space Station was part of an unprecedented NASA study on how space affects the human body and it paved the way for the future of space exploration. On this episode, Scott shares his personal reflections on leadership and teamwork from his journey into space. He also shares what he learned about living in isolation and dealing with uncertainty that we can apply to our own lives.

Guy Raz has interviewed more than 6,000 people from Bill Gates to Mark Cuban to Taylor Swift. Described by The New York Times as “one of the most popular podcasters in history,” Guy is the co-creator of How I Built This, TED Radio Hour and the NPR kids podcast Wow In The World with a combined audience of more than 19 million listeners each month. His new book, How I Built This, shares the behind-the-scenes stories of the world's most inspiring entrepreneurs and the companies they built. On this episode, we talk about how to have more meaningful conversations, the biggest myths of entrepreneurship, and why every business is ultimately a story.  

What if you stopped pretending and started getting real? Most of us hide. We play small and don’t live up to our full potential. We’re afraid we aren’t enough… or maybe we’re too much. NFL player, humanitarian and podcaster Sam Acho has been there. In his new book, Let The World See You, Sam encourages us all to discover our true selves and share our gifts with the world. We talk about the importance of not attaching your identity to your career, the highs and lows of being a professional athlete, and how his life changed when he stopped hiding and started living.

If you’re one of the 1.4 million members of the Peloton community, then you probably already know Ally Love. Ally is a Peloton instructor, founder of Love Squad, in-arena host for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, and Adidas global ambassador. In other words, she does it all. On this episode, Ally shares how to keep people engaged in a virtual environment, her approach to tough conversations, and how she’s successfully built a multi-dimensional career.

In six seasons as the men’s basketball coach at Auburn, Bruce Pearl has led the Tigers to two SEC championships, back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths and the program’s first ever trip to the Final Four. It’s success he’s replicated at every stop of his 25-year coaching career. A proven winner, Bruce still coaches with a chip on his shoulder and his teams reflect that fighter mentality. On this episode, we talk about his unlikely journey from student manager to big-time college coach, what drives him, and how he consistently gets his teams to outperform expectations.

When the WNBA tips off this weekend, Atlanta Dream guard Renee Montgomery won’t be there. Renee is sitting out the 2020 WNBA season to focus on the fight for social justice reform. A two-time WNBA champion and former standout at the University of Connecticut, Renee has carved out an 11-year career in the pros. Now, she’s focused her attention on another mission. On this episode, Renee shares why she’s trading basketball for a greater purpose and what it means to use your platform for change.   

Steven Kotler, Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective and bestselling author, dives into the science of peak performance. He unpacks the concept of flow, an optimal state that enhances productivity and well-being. Kotler emphasizes the role of mindset, asserting it can contribute up to 90% to success. He discusses neurobiological changes tied to flow, the impact of exponential technology on industries, and shares practical strategies for integrating flow activities into daily life to unlock potential and foster creativity.

Know the feeling of getting bombarded with too many pings, dings and rings? You’re not alone. Nir Eyal writes and consults about the intersection of psychology, technology and business. His latest book, Indistractable, reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. On this episode, Nir shares the practical techniques to control your time and attention—helping you live the life you really want. His four-step, research-backed model will help you manage distractions and finally do what you say you will do.

Where along the way did we trade in our confidence and courage for approval and acceptance? And why? That’s the question Reshma Saujani challenges us with in her book Brave, Not Perfect. Reshma is the founder & CEO of Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Her TED Talk, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection,” has been viewed more than 4 million times and sparked a worldwide conversation about how we’re raising our girls. On this episode, we talk about how to fear less, fail more and live boldly.