About this episode

Former CIA spy Jonna Mendez shares insights on reading people, building courage, and navigating life's challenges.

Today, a former spy and the former Chief of Disguise for the CIA is taking you inside the heart-pounding world of espionage and the secret life she lived working undercover for 30 years. Jonna will share the tactics and strategies you need to read anyone and spot a liar, offer a powerful warning about the state of the world today, and give you practical wisdom to find courage and face life’s hardest moments. For decades, Jonna helped intelligence officers assume new identities, disappear in plain sight, and carry out high-risk operations. Jonna created disguises convincing enough to fool the President of the United States and the Secret Service. Together, Jonna and her late husband, Tony Mendez, co-authored the bestselling book Argo about the CIA operation he led - the true story that inspired the Academy Award-winning film Argo. But what makes this conversation so powerful is not just the spy stories.It is Jonna’s deeply personal reflection on courage, reinvention, trust, loss, and what it means to keep going when life feels scary or uncertain. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why courage does not come first and how confidence and preparation create it - How to stay calm under…

People in this episode

Host: Mel Robbins

Guest: Jonna Mendez

Topics covered

• espionage
• courage
• trust
• intuition
• self-improvement
• mental resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA, Secret Service

Books & works: Argo

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