12 Geniuses Podcast

When it comes to pushing through and achieving the unimaginable, our minds will give out well before our bodies. The question is: can you control the mind and overcome the doubts that it produces?After losing his leg in a motorcycle accident, Sam Maddaus made a decision few people would consider and even fewer would attempt: he set out alone to ride a bicycle 16,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina using a prosthetic leg.Over the course of 21 months, Sam crossed continents, endured physical pain, navigated uncertainty, confronted isolation, and repeatedly faced moments that could have ended the journey. Instead, he kept moving.In this episode of 12 Geniuses, we explore not only the expedition—but the operating system behind Sam’s extraordinary endurance.Sam shares how he prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally for an audacious goal with no guarantees. He reflects on the confidence required to begin, the role of identity after loss, and whether prior achievements mattered when facing a challenge of this scale.The conversation then turns to lessons every leader, founder, executive, and decision-maker can apply:How resilience is builtThe power and limits of self-talkWhat doubt sounds like in real timeHow to continue when quitting feels rationalDistinguishing between discomfort and painReinvention after disruptionWhat extreme adversity reveals about character, capability, and purposeHow small wins build on each other to create character, confidence, and exceptional resilienceThis is a conversation about endurance, adaptation, and discovering that your perceived limits may not be where you think they are.For global business leaders navigating volatility, change, and high-stakes decisions, Sam’s story offers a rare look at what sustained resilience actually requires.

Getting people to voluntarily share their best information and act in the best interest of their team are two of the biggest challenges leaders face. In an insecure economy, it can be more difficult to get people on a team to demonstrate prosocial behavior, however, Dr. Vanessa Druskat’s research proves that emotionally intelligent teams that are supportive of each other - by listening deeply, offering help, and celebrating the successes of others - will offer superior results. In this interview, Dr. Druskat shares how leaders can build collaborative groups that outperform the competition. She says that healthy teams emerge when norms are created that allow everyone on the team to be heard and to contribute in their roles. She goes on to discuss how to create a sense of belonging when so many people revile DEI, how AI is going to influence the desire to work collaboratively, and how her research on team effectiveness can be applied to create more unified communities. Dr. Vanessa Druskat is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of New Hampshire. She is an internationally recognized leadership and team performance expert who advises leaders and teams in some of the world's most respected Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 organizations. Her thirty-year research career examining differences between team cultures (i.e., social norms and routines) in high-performing and average-performing work teams led her to pioneer the concept of team emotional intelligence. She has published award-winning research articles in her field's top academic and practitioner journals and serves on the executive board of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Her popular Harvard Business Review article (with S. Wolff) on emotionally intelligent teams has been reprinted four times in collections of HBR’s most valued articles. Her book “The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the Rest” was released in July of 2025.

There is a theory that humanity is on the precipice of abundance. But what exactly is abundance? Speaker and author Chad Sanschagrin says that abundance is often confused with things or money. He describes abundance as “more than enough” - love, health, faith, and contribution. In the full interview, Chad shares his definition of abundance and the most common barriers that prevent people from experiencing abundance. He goes on to talk about how the power of choice is much stronger than an individual’s circumstances. Chad says that the key to creating an abundance mindset is shifting the stories people tell about themselves. Chad shares his definition of “success” and how he recommends people structure success. Using his experience as a distant runner and triathlete, Chad provides guidance around how to build resilience, he gives advice for creating trust, and he shares his thoughts on the mistakes people are making today that the people of 2075 will look back at in disbelief. Chad Sanschagrin is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and performance coach dedicated to helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential. As the founder of Cannonball Moments, Chad delivers keynotes and workshops focused on leadership, mindset, and personal growth. Drawing from his own experiences of transformation in business and life, Chad equips audiences with actionable strategies to improve performance and create lasting impact. Chad’s mission is simple: help people live and lead with greater purpose, clarity, and confidence. Chad’s book “Keep Telling Yourself: Shift Your Story and Create a Life of Abundance” was released in December 2024.

Achieving peak performance is something athletes strive to attain and getting that peak performance to coalesce is the goal for coaches, managers, and trainers leading teams in pursuit of victory. As sports psychologist Simon Hartley says, getting elite athletes to perform up to their potential is more about the mind than it is the body. In this conversation, Simon Hartley - author of “Master Mental Toughness” and “Stronger Together” - discusses the factors that lead to peak athletic performance, the habits and routines of world-class athletes, and how these lessons can be applied in a business setting that doesn’t involve sports. Simon goes on to talk about developing a winning culture, how to turn a dysfunctional culture around without firing leadership, and how to create an environment of pro social behavior where people sacrifice individual achievement for the good of the team. Simon closes the conversation by sharing advice and tips for selecting talent. Simon Hartley is the CEO and founder of the Be World Class Group. He is a ten-time author, keynote speaker and co-host of The Podium Podcast and The Demon Charmers Podcast. Through his background in sport psychology, Simon has spent much of his career working with elite athletes and sports teams, helping them to get their mental game and their mindset right. Simon’s real passion is working with and studying the very best in the world, figuring out what makes them great, and then helping others adopt those principles.

In a world where technology is doing more work for humans, the connections we create with other people will become more important than ever. But for many people, phones and screens are the main ways they see the world and communicate with others. The question is how can we cultivate relationships - through a screen or in real life - that are fulfilling and will help us reach our goals.In this interview, Topaz Adizes discusses his book 12 Questions for Love: A Guide to Intimate Conversations and Deeper Relationships. Topaz is working to help people create deeper human connection not only in marriages and romantic relationships, but between friends, extended families, and at work. Topaz says that the key to better relationships - both personal and professional - is asking better questions. He shares some of the “12 Questions for Love” and provides guidance for how to construct questions that will strengthen relationships. He also discusses secrets to cultivating trust, advice for how to raise healthy children who are not addicted to their devices, and what it means to be successful.Topaz Adizes is an Emmy award-winning writer, director, and experience design architect. He is an Edmund Hillary fellow and Sundance/Skoll stories of change fellow. His works have been selected to Cannes, Sundance, IDFA, and SXSW; featured in New Yorker magazine, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times; and have garnered an Emmy for new approaches to documentary and Two World Press photo awards for immersive storytelling and interactive documentary. He is currently the founder and executive director of the experience design studio The Skin Deep. Topaz studied philosophy at UC Berkeley and Oxford University. He speaks four languages, and currently lives in Uruguay with his wife and two children.

The United States is deeply divided politically and it’s not the only country experiencing this challenge. Too many people are focused on what makes us different rather than taking the time to understand what we have in common. In this interview, Doug Lennick, CEO of Think2Perform, discusses what he has learned from Think2Perform’s global study on personal values. Hundreds of thousands of people from over 140 countries have participated in the study. Not surprisingly, people everywhere - regardless of their religion, political affiliation, country, or age - value their families, health, and happiness. In short, what unites us far outweighs what divides us. Doug believes that values-based decision making has the ability to change the world and the future of humanity. Doug goes on to talk about how living in alignment with personal values can be used to overcome emotional responses that often derail people. He talks about how our judgment is often clouded by beliefs that are confused with what people “know.” Doug finishes by defining leadership, talking about the importance of the leader as a “resource broker,” and how leaders can navigate through times of fear. Doug Lennick is CEO and co-founder of think2perform. He is legendary for his innovative approaches to developing high performance in individuals and organizations and is an expert at developing practical applications of the art and science of human behavior, financial and otherwise. Doug is an author or co-author of seven titles including most recently “Don’t Wait for Someone Else to Fix It.”

Magical technologies surround humans in the developed world. It’s taken for granted that on-demand electricity, stocked grocery stores with food from around the world, communication that enables anyone with a smart phone to broadcast their lives globally, and various modes of safe, cheap transportation are the norm. Someone living just a century earlier would find today’s world unrecognizable. Yet, these changes are minor compared to the possible changes to come. Artificial intelligence is in its infancy and already its transformative powers are easy to feel. Space exploration, space mining, and space tourism will go from novel to ordinary in the coming decades. Fusion energy and quantum computing will likely go from theoretical to practical in a couple generations. Medical research will extend life like never before and potentially suspend the aging process while robots and other technologies will do the work that has often filled people with meaning. In short, the changes that humanity has experienced are nothing compared to the changes that are to come. As these changes arrive, people are bound to gravitate toward the things they know in order to cope. Relationships and faith will become more important than they are now. Real leadership that offers solutions and helps people navigate rapid change will grow in importance and so will individual and organizational resilience. In an AI world where unprecedented longevity is possible, finding one’s purpose becomes of paramount importance. In this interview, Chaplain (Colonel) Karen Meeker joins the show to discuss all these topics. She talks about the importance of finding one’s purpose and how to go about finding it. She describes her work helping military leadership navigate the challenges in the aftermath of battle and she gives her perspective on the differences between resilience and perseverance. Chaplain Meeker goes on to share her insight on what the future of faith might look like, suggesting that the next pope could come from the continent of Africa and saying missionaries might one day originate from Africa and be sent to developed countries. She ends the conversation by discussing the mistakes humans are making today that the people of 2075 will look back at in disbelief. Chaplain (Colonel) Karen Meeker is a US Army Colonel and the Command Chaplain of US Africa Command. Raised in rural Pennsylvania, she received calls to serve God and the US military when she was growing up. Chaplain Meeker holds a Master Parachutist badge and was named Pathfinder School and Officer Honor Graduate at Basic Airborne School in Fort Benning, GA. She is also the first woman chaplain to serve in Special Operations and the first woman chaplain jumpmaster. Chaplain Meeker enjoys serving Soldiers and their Families through worship, preaching, discipleship, outreach, and also enjoys competing in an occasional endurance event. In 2020, Chaplain Meeker was inducted into the US Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame.

Marshall Goldsmith has been one of the world’s leading executive coaches for years. He has helped CEOs all over the world become better leaders and his books on leadership have sold millions of copies. The problem is that Marshall’s time is limited and he is very expensive. To solve this problem, Marshall has been trying to give away everything he has learned about leadership and coaching for free. He sees it as his legacy and the way he can most benefit humanity. Enter MarshallGoldsmith.ai - a bot that brings the compendium of Marshall’s knowledge and much, much more to leaders at no cost.In this interview, Marshall discusses his efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into his coaching philosophy and the competencies necessary to be an effective leader in an AI world. Marshall shares his thoughts on how AI will transform humanity and he talks about the mistakes we are making today, with an emphasis on the propensity of people to judge other people, that the people living 50 years from now will look back at in disbelief. Dr. Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Business Thinkers and the top-rated executive coach in the world. Published in 2015, his book Triggers is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times #1 Bestseller. He’s also the author of New York Times best seller and #1 Wall Street Journal Business Book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year. With nearly 40 years of hands-on experience, Marshall Goldsmith is the leading expert on leadership and coaching for behavioral change. His latest book, The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment, was co-written with Mark Reiter and was released in 2022.