Heartful Wonders

At 19, Dan Zigmond borrowed a monk's robes to sneak into a hospital. A week later he knew what he wanted to do with his life.Dan is a Zen priest and a coach who spent 25 years building technology at Google, Facebook, and Apple. For most of that career almost nobody at work knew about the Zen part. He kept the two lives apart until keeping them apart started costing more than merging them would. He talks with Vlada Bortnik about how he found his way into both, what power actually felt like from inside the Facebook feed, and why he eventually left the corporate world to do the one part of the job he really loved.In this episode:- How to figure out what you want to do with your life- What to do when you don't know what you want- Why trying something on beats thinking it through- Making a career change after 25 years in the same industry- How to make a big decision smaller- What power actually feels like when you're the one holding it- Why some suffering is unavoidable and some is optional- What it costs to keep your inner life and your work life separateChapters:00:00 Why a Silicon Valley data leader is also a Zen priest04:14 His best friend lands in the hospital06:28 "No exceptions except members of the clergy"09:05 When a role you're faking starts to feel like you10:46 Two parallel lives, kept apart for decades14:07 Power, the Facebook feed, and the lifeguard19:08 Why he left a 25-year career to coach27:24 How to make a big decision smaller33:20 The teacher who refused to train him37:30 Suffering is unavoidable and optional▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Dan Zigmond:Dan Zigmond is a coach, teacher, and writer working with people at moments of transition. His work integrates deep contemplative practice with decades of experience in leadership and technology. Dan spent 25 years building technology at companies including Apple, Meta, Google, and YouTube. He is an ordained Zen priest and received Dharma transmission in the Soto Zen lineage. His books Buddha's Diet and Buddha's Office explore how ancient wisdom applies to modern challenges.💻 Dan can be found:Website: https://shmonk.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danzigmond/Compound VC: https://www.compound.vc/team/danz✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with 10 million+ downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. It stays independent and profitable with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list, and Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:Buddha's Office by Dan Zigmond: https://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Office-Ancient-Waking-Working/dp/0762494581Buddha's Diet by Dan Zigmond: https://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Diet-Ancient-Losing-Without/dp/0762460466Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, the book Dan read in college: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/175559/zen-mind-beginners-mind-by-shunryu-suzuki/💛 More Heartful Wonders, in writing — Vlada's reflections, poems, and personal notes about an ongoing choice to stay open-hearted and listening inward → heartfulwonders.substack.com#HeartfulWonders #PersonalGrowth #SelfDiscovery #CareerChange #Mindfulness #LifeLessons

If you don't know what you want, Leah Pearlman thinks you're looking for the wrong signal.Leah was one of the first product managers at Facebook and a co-creator of the Like button. She describes her no as a physical thing, a collapse and a contraction that can be subtle enough to miss, and she says that signal has been right every time. The loud version, the one that arrives with reasons attached, is usually fear. From there the conversation goes into the years she spent moving too fast to notice any of it, and what it took to slow down. Today she's the co-founder of The Welcoming Way, where she coaches and leads breathing journeys from Vermont.🎯 In this episode:- How to tell a real no from fear- What to do when you don't know what you want- The rule she made about saying yes, and why it made her more careful- The pace that cost her years with her dad, and why six months off didn't fix it- Recovering from an eating disorder, and why self-worth had to come first- Byron Katie's The Work, the Sedona Method, and learning to welcome resistance- What breathing journeys are, and why she builds them around pleasure instead of effort- How to not feel guilty for resting when rest feels unsafe🎬 Chapters:00:00 Intro03:56 What a real no feels like in the body05:11 Resistance is not a no, and why the loud one is fear14:08 The eating disorder she hid through her Facebook years15:54 The phone call about her dad17:03 Why six months off didn't fix it19:43 Moving to Vermont and learning from the seasons30:48 Deciding she was worthy of recovery49:19 Breathing journeys and letting pleasure lead55:32 Why rest is the hardest part▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Leah Pearlman:Leah Pearlman is the co-founder of The Welcoming Way, where she writes, podcasts, coaches, as well as leads powerful group Breathing Journeys. Her work draws on years of training in Conscious Leadership, The Work of Byron Katie, The Sedona Method, and more. Before following her heart into this work, Leah was one of the first Product Managers at Facebook and a co-creator of the Like button. She lives in Vermont with her partner Vince.💻 Leah can be found:Website: https://leahpearlman.com/The Welcoming Way: https://welcomingway.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-pearlman/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dharma.comics/✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with 10 million+ downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. It stays independent and profitable with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list, and Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:Dharma Comics book: https://dharmacomics.leahpearlman.com/book/The Work of Byron Katie: https://thework.com/The Sedona Method: https://www.sedona.com/Conscious Leadership Group: https://conscious.is/Episode is produced by:Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/💛 More Heartful Wonders, in writing — Vlada's reflections, poems, and personal notes about an ongoing choice to stay open-hearted and listening inward → heartfulwonders.substack.com#HeartfulWonders #PersonalGrowth #SelfAwareness #Mindfulness #HealingJourney #SelfDiscovery

Shelley Huff got fired, went through a bankruptcy, and lost a good friend in one year. It took her months to call it grief.Shelley Huff led Serta Simmons Bedding as CEO through Chapter 11, and when the company changed hands, she was out of the job that had defined her. At a retreat, Arthur Brooks told her she'd gone through three deaths. Months later her brother asked if she'd ever researched grief, and she finally had a word for what she was feeling. Two years of reflection followed, along with a therapist-prescribed puppy and a new practice of giving up control. Today she's the co-founder of The Interval, a community for senior executives and founders in the in-between.🎯 In this episode:- How to grieve a job loss when your identity is your career- Why getting fired feels like a death (and a bankruptcy does too)- Who are you without your job title? Processing the end of a work identity- Why the next job can be a painkiller, and how to know if you're escaping pain- Letting go of control and trusting the process: the sabbatical, the therapist, and the puppy- Leading 3,700 employees through Chapter 11 with prayer▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Shelley Huff:Shelley Huff is the co-founder and CEO of The Interval, a community for founders and C-suite leaders navigating career transitions and the space between leadership chapters. She is also a Contributing Columnist at Inc. Magazine. Through her writing and interviews, she explores how ambitious leaders reflect, redefine, and shape what comes next - whether returning to the C-suite, building portfolio careers, launching new ventures, or pursuing entirely new creative paths. Shelley brings more than 20 years of executive leadership across global consumer and retail organizations, including serving as CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding and as a Global Officer at Walmart. Throughout her career, she has led major transformations spanning e-commerce, merchandising, supply chain, and product innovation. She is an Executive in Residence at the University of Arizona and a board member of her YPO chapter, SF Bay. She is a member of the International Women's Forum, and the Fortune Most Powerful Women network.💻 Shelley can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-huff/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huffshelley/The Interval: http://theintervalcommunity.com/✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with over 10 million downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. The company remains independent and profitable, with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list, and Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built Marco Polo alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: https://designingyour.life/Arthur Brooks: https://arthurbrooks.com/Access Alignment: https://www.accessalignment.com/Episode is produced by:Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/💛 More Heartful Wonders, in writing — Vlada's reflections, poems, and personal notes about an ongoing choice to stay open-hearted and listening inward → heartfulwonders.substack.com#HeartfulWonders #CareerChange #PersonalGrowth #HealingJourney #EmotionalIntelligence #ConsciousLeadership

How do you trust your intuition when you're starving? Ask the first woman to win the survival show Alone.Woniya Thibeault is a naturalist and ancestral skills teacher. Long before the show, she was bending herself to fit a marriage that wasn't working, no matter how hard she tried. Her body refused. She started to get panic attacks so bad she couldn't run anymore. She left at 27 and learned to treat her body as an ally instead of something to push through. That's what got her through 73 days on Alone Season 6, where she walked off on her own terms rather than let a group of men decide for her body. Woniya went back for Alone: Frozen and won. She'd spent years trying to become a mom, and it only happened once she let go: a surprise pregnancy at 47, her son Hawthorne at 48. Today she's raising him on her own land in her hometown while teaching people to rewild themselves.🎯 In this episode:- How to trust your intuition and listen to your gut- How to listen to your body when your brain says push through- Is it intuition or fear talking? How Woniya tells the difference- Why she chose to leave Alone on her own terms- Surviving the Arctic in handmade buckskin and traditional gear- Asking trees for permission (and the birch that fed her)- Becoming a mother at 48, after letting go▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Woniya Thibeault:Woniya Thibeault is a naturalist, craftsperson, and ancestral skills instructor whose work helps people live more connected to the natural world. She is best known for her two wilderness adventures on the History Channel's survival show Alone®. She credits her ability to survive long-term in harsh northern climates not to brute strength, but to her commitment to living with the land in a humble, respectful, and reciprocal way. Her debut memoir, Never Alone: A Solo Arctic Survival Journey, tells the story of her weeks alone in the Arctic wilderness during Alone® Season 6. Learn more, order the book, or join her online community at www.woniyathibeault.com.💻 Woniya can be found:Website: https://www.woniyathibeault.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/woniya_timelesswaysFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buckskin.revolution/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeQWXKz7vpLnu8Sde7Xrg✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with over 10 million downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. The company remains independent and profitable, with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list, and Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built Marco Polo alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:Never Alone: A Solo Arctic Survival Journey by Woniya Thibeault (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Never-Alone-Arctic-Survival-Journey/dp/1960303007Alone on the History Channel: https://www.history.com/shows/aloneWoniya's Patreon (monthly gatherings + Alone watch parties): https://www.patreon.com/woniyabuckskinrevolutionEpisode is produced by:Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/#HeartfulWonders #WoniyaThibeault #AloneShow #AncestralSkills #Intuition #Rewilding #NeverAlone

How do you know if you're making the right decision? Yong Kim picks whichever option scares him most. He says it's always the right call.Yong Kim is the co-founder and CEO of Wonolo, a workforce platform he's been building for twelve years, and the author of the novel When River Loves Deborah. He talks with Vlada Bortnik about coming to the U.S. from Korea at 15, the night he tried to run away from boarding school, why every major decision in his life has come from picking the scariest option, and the 2 AM journaling habit that became his first novel.In this episode:- Coming to the U.S. from South Korea at 15, and the night he almost ran away from boarding school- The teacher who fought for him, and Yong's case for second chances- Reading his own essay about racism in front of the entire school- Leaving a stable Wall Street career with three young kids and a mortgage to start Wonolo- How to know if you're making the right decision, and the question Yong asks himself at every hard moment- Why every pivotal decision Yong has made has come from picking the option that scared him most- The fear of making the wrong decision, and why Yong says there are no what-ifs when the choice is truly yours- The reframe that all emotions stem from love — hate is soured love, fear is wounded love- Why suffering can be a sign your heart is online, not a sign something's wrong- The 2 AM journaling habit that became Yong's first novel, When River Loves Deborah▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Yong Kim:Yong Kim was born in South Korea and immigrated to America alone at the age of fifteen. He earned a mathematics degree from the University of Chicago, a master's in statistics from Harvard University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career as an economic consultant and investment banker before discovering his passion for entrepreneurship. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Wonolo, a leading workforce solution backed by top Silicon Valley investors. He is also the author of the novel When River Loves Deborah. He is a devoted husband and father of three daughters, splitting his time across Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco.💻 Yong can be found:- Website: https://wonolo.com- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yongkookkim/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yongkimauthor/✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with 10 million+ downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. It's still independent and profitable, and it runs with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list, and Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.💻 Vlada can be found:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlada- Substack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnik- Marco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:- When River Loves Deborah by Yong Kim (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNFRYHX5- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — the book Yong struggled with in his boarding-school English class (Project Gutenberg): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200#HeartfulWonders #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #EmotionalIntelligence #HealingJourney #Mindfulness #Podcast

Mina Lee had the promotions, the thousand-dollar dinners, the career everyone wanted. And she felt lonely.Her family invested more than a million dollars in her education, hard-earned immigrant money after everything they owned was taken in China's Cultural Revolution. Mina delivered: BCG, the World Bank, Chief of Staff at Xiaomi. Then she walked away, not toward another job, but toward herself. Today she coaches founders and leads East West Bridge. This is the conversation about how she found her way home.In this episode:- Why achieving everything can deepen loneliness instead of fixing it- Walking away from an elite career (BCG, the World Bank, Xiaomi) to follow your heart- The immigrant pressure to succeed, and the weight of carrying it- How desperation became an unexpected gift, and learning to receive after a life of self-reliance- Improv, music, and living instead of rehearsing your life- Self-care as melting into awareness- Letting the body catch up when the heart has raced ahead00:00 Intro01:34 A heart that was always there (Sailor Moon)02:18 Having everything, and feeling lonely03:30 The loneliness underneath: "I missed myself"04:59 Improv, music, and no wrong notes07:15 Rehearsing your life instead of living it09:06 A perfect life made the emptiness obvious09:47 Walking away, and her brother's love11:34 Her father's stroke, and desperation as a gift16:35 From music to coaching (meeting Joe)23:22 Tea, energy, and self-care33:59 Resting as melting into awareness37:39 Letting the body catch up▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Mina Lee:Mina is a coach and facilitator working with founders and teams to live an open-hearted life. Her East–West approach integrates business strategy, somatics, and attachment. She also hosts Chan tea meditation retreats.💻 Mina can be found:Website: https://www.minajlee.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minalee/✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik is the CEO and co-founder of Marco Polo, the video messaging app designed to help people feel close without sacrificing time, privacy, or wellbeing. A Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the U.S. at 11, she built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, guided by her belief that technology should strengthen human connection, not exploit it. Today, she leads Marco Polo as a profitable, mission-driven company and speaks candidly about balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship while building ethical technology that scales.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:The Body Keeps the Score (Bessel van der Kolk): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313183/the-body-keeps-the-score-by-bessel-van-der-kolk-md/Art of Accomplishment (Joe Hudson): https://www.artofaccomplishment.com/Episode is produced by:Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/#HeartfulWonders #FollowingYourHeart #PersonalGrowth #HealingJourney #CareerChange #SelfDiscovery

Tom McAuley spent 15 years building companies and drinking through the pressure, until it all came apart during COVID.<br><br>Tom is a social entrepreneur, and in this conversation he and Vlada don't skip the hard parts. They go back to the kid who felt uncomfortable in his own skin, the performance anxiety that started with one missed shot, the years he drank to quiet it, and the collapse that nearly ended things. What he found on the other side wasn't a five-year plan. It was running, sobriety one night at a time, and learning to trust that life is happening for him, not to him.<br><br><b>In this episode:</b><br>• Why you can't think your way into feeling better, and what actually shifts it<br>• Choosing faith over fear as a daily practice, not a one-time decision<br>• The reframe that changes everything: that life is happening for you, not to you<br>• Hitting rock bottom, addiction, and the first small steps back to yourself<br>• Letting go of doing it all, and the relief of trusting life<br>• How a single moment of performance anxiety can shape decades<br>• Learning to be seen while building something no one else can see yet<br>• The "divine irony" of building a conscious alternative to sports betting after his own recovery<br><br><b>Chapters:</b><br>00:00 Intro<br>01:48 The unconscious journey and "the perfection of it all"<br>05:52 The basketball story: uncomfortable in his own skin<br>10:48 How drinking became the solution<br>22:56 Letting go of doing it all<br>34:53 Hitting bottom and the reframe that changed everything<br>40:30 His niece, and deciding to change<br><br>▶️ Watch the full episode now.<br>Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.<br><br><b>👤 About Tom McAuley:</b><br>Tom McAuley is the founder of Upside, building a conscious alternative to existing sports betting apps. He's spent 15 years as an entrepreneur, came through addiction and the hardest chapter of his life, and now channels everything he learned into helping people struggling with mental health and addiction.<br><br>💻 Tom can be found:<br>- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mcauley-b7942838/<br><br><b>✨ About Vlada Bortnik:</b><br>Vlada Bortnik arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine as a refugee at 11. She went on to co-found Marco Polo, a video messaging app that helps people feel close, with 10 million+ downloads, 2.5 million five-star reviews, and a Webby Award. It remains independent and profitable with no ads. Newsweek named her to its Most Loved CEOs list. Anthem named her Product Leader of the Year. She built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, and she's open about what it takes to do both.<br><br>💻 Vlada can be found:<br>- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlada<br>- Substack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/<br>- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnik<br>- Marco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/<br><br><b>📎 Resources mentioned:</b><br>• Rich Roll on Overcoming the Uncertainty of 2020, Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais (the "within struggle lies opportunity" reframe): https://findingmastery.com/podcasts/rich-roll-3/<br>• Clip: "Within Struggle Lies Opportunity" (Rich Roll x Michael Gervais): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LbEvMsb7VTs<br><br><b>Episode is produced by:</b><br>Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/<br><br>#HeartfulWonders #PersonalGrowth #AddictionRecovery #SpiritualAwakening #FaithOverFear #Sobriety

If you're barely keeping it together, you're probably operating from fear. Rebecca Arora on what to do about it.Rebecca Arora is an executive coach and the author of Somatic Intelligence. She's a former tech co-founder turned somatic-intelligence coach to leaders at Google, Salesforce, and IDEO. She was in her late 20s when she found herself crying in the office bathroom, building the career she was "supposed to" build. Her body knew before her mind did. She left for Esalen, trained in structural bodywork with William "Dub" Lay, and built a practice around the insight that "keeping it together" is often fear in disguise.In this episode:The 4:35 AM bathroom moment that ended Rebecca's tech careerWhat structural bodywork reveals about stored trauma (and why the pain isn't being done to you)Three patterns of how high-achievers operate from fear at workWhy "keeping it together" usually means fear is running youMarshall Goldsmith's "what got you here won't get you there," applied to driveLiving in technicolor versus driven-from-trauma lifePace, posture, pliability as everyday somatic on-ramps▶️ Watch the full episode now.Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.👤 About Rebecca Arora:Rebecca Arora is a former tech co-founder and product leader turned executive coach, working with CEOs and senior leaders at companies including Google, Salesforce, and IDEO. She is known as a trusted, confidential sounding board—helping leaders uncover blind spots, scale with intention, and lead strategically in complex environments.She is the author of Somatic Intelligence, which challenges the idea that leadership is purely cognitive and shows how aligning head, heart, and body transforms decision-making, presence, and performance.Rebecca's path to this work wasn't linear. A period of burnout and a quarter-life crisis became the catalyst for discovering body-based practices that now underpin her coaching—reshaping how she understands leadership and how she helps others lead from a more grounded, sustainable place.💻 Rebecca can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaarora/Website: https://www.accessalignment.com/Book: https://www.somaticintelligence.com/Substack: https://accessalignment.substack.com/✨ About Vlada Bortnik:Vlada Bortnik is the CEO and co-founder of Marco Polo, the video messaging app designed to help people feel close without sacrificing time, privacy, or wellbeing. A Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the U.S. at 11, she built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, guided by her belief that technology should strengthen human connection, not exploit it. Today, she leads Marco Polo as a profitable, mission-driven company and speaks candidly about balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship while building ethical technology that scales.💻 Vlada can be found:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladaSubstack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnikMarco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/📎 Resources mentioned:Somatic Intelligence (book): https://www.somaticintelligence.com/Access Alignment: https://www.accessalignment.com/#HeartfulWonders #SomaticIntelligence #SomaticHealing #ConsciousLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #BurnoutRecovery #PersonalGrowth

Gary Vaynerchuk wrote Sehreen Noor Ali a check after a 5-minute meeting, and President Biden heard her pitch. Sleuth still didn't make it.<br><br>Sehreen Noor Ali co-founded Sleuth, a venture-backed pediatric AI platform Fast Company recognized as a World-Changing App in 2024. The startup eventually closed. The reckoning that followed shaped what she now teaches senior leaders through Te Cura Labs about positioning and identity. In this conversation she traces the hospital moment that opened her up, the years of inner work that followed, and the reframe of purpose that emerged on the other side.<br><br><b>In this episode:</b><br><ul><li>The moment in her daughter's hospital room when she chose meaning-making over collapse</li><li>Why "every cosmic sign said yes" didn't mean Sleuth would succeed</li><li>The reframe: life is more interesting than chasing one purpose</li><li>How anger becomes a teacher when you let it move through you instead of holding it</li><li>The shift from measuring success by what you produce to how present you can be</li><li>Recalibrating to yourself as the filter for what's true, instead of outsourcing it to experts</li></ul><br><br>▶️ Watch the full episode now.<br><br>Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.<br><br><b>👤 About Sehreen Noor Ali:</b><br>When Sehreen Noor Ali's daughter was diagnosed with a confusing medical condition, she did what many mothers would do: left her career and dove in. That search for answers led her to build Sleuth, a venture-backed pediatric AI platform Fast Company recognized as a World-Changing App in 2024.<br><br>Between building Sleuth and eventually closing it, she began noticing a pattern. The most capable, purpose-driven leaders she met weren't struggling with balance or execution—they'd outgrown the systems and roles that once rewarded them, without yet having language for what came next. That unresolved tension showed up everywhere: in how they allocated energy, described their work, and stepped into new opportunities.<br><br>Today, through Te Cura Labs, she works with senior leaders, founders, and operators at those inflection points—when clarity about direction unlocks everything downstream, including revenue, thought leadership, and positioning.<br><br>Before this, Sehreen worked on digital diplomacy at the U.S. State Department, founded an award-winning edtech network, and spent years as an early hire at several startups. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.<br><br><b>💻 Sehreen can be found:</b><br>Website: https://www.sehreen.com/<br>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehreennoorali/<br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehreennoorali/<br><br><b>✨ About Vlada Bortnik:</b><br>Vlada Bortnik is the CEO and co-founder of Marco Polo, the video messaging app designed to help people feel close without sacrificing time, privacy, or wellbeing. A Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the U.S. at 11, she built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, guided by her belief that technology should strengthen human connection, not exploit it. Today, she leads Marco Polo as a profitable, mission-driven company and speaks candidly about balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship while building ethical technology that scales.<br><br><b>💻 Vlada can be found:</b><br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlada<br>Substack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/<br>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnik<br>Marco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/<br><br><b>📎 Resources mentioned:</b><br>Sleuth: https://www.sleuth.com<br>Te Cura Labs: https://www.sehreen.com/<br><br><b>Episode is produced by:</b><br>Mun Yee Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mun-yee-kelly-769868/<br><br>#HeartfulWonders #PersonalDevelopment #SelfDiscovery #HealingJourney #LifeLessons #Mindset

Derek Haswell co-founded 10% Happier, and even on day 8 of a silent retreat, he was still performing for no one.<br><br>Derek built 10% Happier over a decade, working with the best meditation teachers in the world. He'd been doing inner work all along. Eight years ago, sobbing in bed next to his sleeping three-year-old, he saw his own proving-yourself wound already showing up in his son's body. Then in 2020, day 8 of a silent retreat, sitting in the sun and holding his belly in for nobody, the same wound cracked open at a different level. The years that followed reshaped his life: he saw the shield he'd been using in his marriage (a hypothetical husband he was always beating in his head), left 10% Happier to coach mission-driven founders, and a year and a half ago had a five-minute conversation with his wife about what the next nine years should look like. They both already knew the answer was a farm. Their hearts had been pulling them there for years, and now they're building it in Upstate NY together.<br><br><b>In this episode:</b><br><ul><li>The silent-retreat moment that exposed the unworthiness wound underneath a decade of meditation work</li><li>Why "falling in love with yourself" does what willpower can't (and how a late-night snack proves it)</li><li>The "hypothetical American husband" shield that was recycling the same fights in his marriage</li><li>What he saw in his sleeping 3-year-old that cracked open his parenting frame</li><li>Why awakening doesn't have to look like Eckhart Tolle's bench moment</li><li>The five-minute conversation with his wife that ended with them choosing to build a farm together</li></ul><br><br>▶️ Watch the full episode now.<br><br>Subscribe to Heartful Wonders for new conversations every other Tuesday about following your heart when the path isn't clear.<br><br><b>👤 About Derek Haswell:</b><br>Derek Haswell co-founded the award-winning meditation app & media company, 10% Happier, where he spent the better part of a decade producing content with some of the world's best meditation teachers & scientists. He now spends his time as an executive coach, helping mission-driven founders & leaders drive more impact while becoming more aligned, and as the co-founder of a non-profit farm school with his wife (and three kids) on their farm in Upstate NY. He's also a proud caretaker of two very ornery miniature donkeys.<br><br><b>💻 Derek can be found:</b><br>Website: https://www.derekhaswell.com/<br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drhaswell/<br>X: https://x.com/DRHaswell<br><br><b>✨ About Vlada Bortnik:</b><br>Vlada Bortnik is the CEO and co-founder of Marco Polo, the video messaging app designed to help people feel close without sacrificing time, privacy, or wellbeing. A Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the U.S. at 11, she built the company alongside her husband Michał while raising two young children, guided by her belief that technology should strengthen human connection, not exploit it. Today, she leads Marco Polo as a profitable, mission-driven company and speaks candidly about balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship while building ethical technology that scales.<br><br><b>💻 Vlada can be found:</b><br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlada<br>Substack: https://heartfulwonders.substack.com/<br>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladabortnik<br>Marco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/<br><br><b>📎 Resources mentioned:</b><br>Light Signal Fires (non-profit farm school): https://www.lightsignalfires.org/<br>10% Happier: https://www.tenpercent.com/<br><br>#HeartfulWonders #PersonalGrowth #SelfDiscovery #InnerWork #ConsciousParenting #HealingJourney #Mindfulness #EckhartTolle