Amplify Hope Today

Simon T. Bailey
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Amplify Hope Today is a raw and deeply human podcast hosted by Simon T. Bailey, exploring what it means to lead, rebuild, and remain hopeful in a world marked by constant change and uncertainty. Through honest conversations about the topics most people avoid—grief, identity shifts, leadership under pressure, entrepreneurship, faith, communication, resilience, and the courage to begin again—each episode challenges listeners to expand their capacity and navigate life with clarity and purpose. This is not surface-level positivity. It is a practice of choosing goodness, taking action, and becoming hopeful so you can be helpful. Amplify Hope Today invites listeners into meaningful conversations that remind us hope is not passive—it is intentional, transformative, and necessary for the world we live in today.

  1. 2d ago

    30. Booked Solid and Burned Out: Victoria Angela on Redefining Success

    Victoria Angela's photography business looked like a success story. Inside, she was functioning but not fine. A conversation about burnout, boundaries, and redefining success. Victoria Angela was traveling the world, photographing major events, and working alongside celebrated professionals. Her calendar was full and her business was thriving. But underneath it all, she was functioning, and she wasn't fine. In this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Simon T. Bailey sits down with fourth-generation photographer and entrepreneur Victoria Angela. She shares what happened when financial, mental, and physical strain collided, and how she rebuilt her life and business on different terms. One of her biggest shifts: she stopped asking, "Will you be my client?" and started asking, "Are you the right client for me?" Because the wrong client has a price too. In this conversation: How to recognize burnout when your business still looks successfulDepression, mental health, and knowing when to ask for helpWhy not every dollar is good revenue, and how to choose clients who fitRebuilding your identity beyond your career, relationships, and inherited expectationsWhy prestige and visibility don't always equal expertiseLearning to trust your own judgment as you redefine successIf you're struggling with depression or thoughts of self-harm, you don't have to carry it alone. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Coming soon: Simon's new book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing. Barry's story is a living example of its central idea — that leadership isn't a title you wait to receive. It's something you practice from wherever you're standing right now. Subscribe to Amplify Hope Today with Simon T. Bailey for conversations about leadership, personal growth, purpose, service, and becoming an amplifier in the lives of others. ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  2. 3d ago

    29. Stop Replaying Your Past. Start Pre-Playing Your Future

    Are you still replaying a mistake from years ago, while the world tries to tell you who you should be? In this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Simon T. Bailey explores the first arrow from his new book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing: Fasten Your Identity. Social media, the news, AI, notifications, and other people's opinions compete for your attention every day. If you don't decide what shapes your thinking, something or someone else will. Simon shares a lesson from his mentor, Dr. Denis Waitley: what you read, listen to, internalize, and repeat ultimately becomes who you are. You'll learn how to: Stop replaying past mistakes and start "pre-playing" the future you wantBecome teachable without becoming timidRecognize who is influencing your thinking, and whether they align with your valuesThink critically in an age of information overloadFocus on what's right about you, not what's wrong with youBuild confidence and hope through intentional daily practices If you're wrestling with self-doubt, past mistakes, or uncertainty about what's next, this episode gives you practical steps forward. Your past happened, but you don't have to keep replaying it. Fasten your identity. Pre-play your future. Amplify hope. Coming soon: Simon's new book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing. Barry's story is a living example of its central idea — that leadership isn't a title you wait to receive. It's something you practice from wherever you're standing right now. Subscribe to Amplify Hope Today with Simon T. Bailey for conversations about leadership, personal growth, purpose, service, and becoming an amplifier in the lives of others. ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  3. Sep 20

    28. Be a Schlepper: 37 Years Inside Disney's Leadership Playbook

    Barry Jacobson once ironed Bob Iger's shirt. He also started out as a lifeguard, held nearly 30 different roles, and spent 37 years inside The Walt Disney Company. In this episode of Amplify Hope Today with Simon T. Bailey, Barry shares the behind-the-scenes leadership and customer service principles that created Disney magic — and how any leader, in any organization, can put them to work. A paycheck is given to people who show up. Opportunities are given to individuals who think and work beyond what they're paid to do. — Simon T. BaileyBarry's most powerful lesson is also his strangest: be a schlepper. For Barry, being a schlepper means being willing to help, serve, connect, and do the work others overlook. It meant volunteering in housekeeping as a young lifeguard. It meant getting coffee for an executive. It meant ironing Bob Iger's shirt and finding a way to fulfill an unexpected guest request. Over 37 years, Barry learned that service creates visibility — and visibility creates opportunity. He also explains why great customer experience always starts with employee experience, why leaders should "solve for yes" instead of defaulting to no, and how Disney's philosophy of "plussing" turns an ordinary interaction into a moment a guest never forgets. Along the way, you'll hear stories from working around Disney executives, launching experiences around the world, serving Disney's passionate D23 fan community, and leading experiences at Golden Oak. Barry shares lessons from his work beyond Disney as well, including the Dallas Cowboys and other major hospitality brands, and explains why clear standards, empowered employees, real training, and a shared sense of purpose are what make a brand experience consistent. In this conversation, you'll learn: Disney leadership lessons drawn from a 37-year careerHow to create exceptional customer experiencesWhy employee experience drives customer loyaltyHow leaders build a culture of careWhy listening is one of the most important leadership skillsHow "plussing" creates surprise-and-delight momentsWhy working beyond your job description accelerates career growthHow to "solve for yes" instead of defaulting to noWhy relationships remain at the heart of great organizationsHow small, personalized gestures create lifelong customersIf you're a leader, entrepreneur, hospitality professional, customer experience professional, or anyone who wants to stand out in your career, this conversation is packed with lessons you can put into action immediately. Coming soon: Simon's new book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing. Barry's story is a living example of its central idea — that leadership isn't a title you wait to receive. It's something you practice from wherever you're standing right now. Subscribe to Amplify Hope Today with Simon T. Bailey for conversations about leadership, personal growth, purpose, service, and becoming an amplifier in the lives of others. ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  4. Sep 13

    27. She Bought Her Company Back...In the Middle of COVID

    In 2020, her entire industry went to zero. That's when she bought her company back. Jennifer Miller spent nearly thirty years building Access Destination Services into the largest destination management brand in North America. She became its first female CEO. She led through 9/11 and the Great Financial Crisis. She took the company through a major private equity transaction — and then, during COVID, when corporate travel had stopped completely, she bought it back and rebuilt it. She says she wasn't betting on the market. She was betting on the people. In this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Jennifer joins Simon T. Bailey for a conversation about what holds an organization together when the plan stops working. Why culture stops being a poster and starts being load-bearing. Why scaling is about multiplying leaders rather than revenue. And why, in her experience, people need hope before they can use a strategy. She also talks about the moment she knew it was time to leave — and what that realization taught her about what she'd actually been building. The goal was never to make herself indispensable. It was to build something that could thrive without her. You'll learn: Why hope has to come before strategyHow to scale without becoming the bottleneckWhy decentralized leadership produces accountability rather than chaosHow to lead through layoffs when no version of the decision feels goodHow a founder knows it's time to step awayWhy character is the one competitive advantage nobody can copySimon's twelfth book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing, releases October 1. ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  5. Sep 6

    26. You're Not Underperforming. You're Under-Recognized

    You may not have a performance problem. You may have a visibility problem. Most people who feel stuck at work assume they aren't doing enough. Simon T. Bailey thinks that assumption is often wrong — and that treating a recognition problem like a performance problem is why so many capable people work harder and get nowhere. In this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Simon introduces VITAL — Vision, Inputs, Tension, Action, and Life Source — a framework for figuring out where you're actually stuck before you start fixing the wrong thing. He covers how to become promotable before the promotion opens, which skills hold their value in an AI-driven workplace, and how to network by adding value instead of asking for favors. Then he takes a turn most career advice won't. Sometimes the next right action isn't doing more. It's serving someone else, getting still, listening, and reconnecting to why the work mattered in the first place. You'll learn: How to tell whether you're underperforming or under-recognizedHow to become promotable before the promotion existsThe five skills that hold value as AI absorbs the rest: creativity, adaptability, collaboration, emotional intelligence, and storytellingWhy accountability accelerates growth faster than effort doesThe difference between being busy and being effectiveWhat to do when the next right move is stillnessYou are more than your current job title, your circumstance, or this season of uncertainty. You are VITAL. ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  6. Aug 30

    25. The One Mistake Great Leaders Make with Guest Dr. Bahiyyah Maroon

    Two teachers got angry about the same note. Only one was angry about the right thing. Dr. Bahiyyah Maroon opens this conversation in a sixth-grade classroom — a cruel note signed by every student, a math teacher furious that his lesson was interrupted, and a science teacher furious about the cruelty itself. Those two men, she says, are the two prototypical business leaders. Most of us learned leadership long before we had a title. In Episode 25 of Amplify Hope Today, Simon T. Bailey welcomes Dr. Maroon — leadership anthropologist, PhD from UC Santa Cruz, and author of Black Lives, American Love — for a conversation about what actually breaks in organizations. Her diagnosis is one phrase: power failure. Power wielded on behalf of people it never consulted. She traces it through the diversity committee staffed by skin color rather than expertise, through the CEO reporting workforce sentiment to a board without having had the conversations, through philanthropy that arrives already certain what a community needs — and lands it on the question she says almost no leader answers honestly: Am I willing to share power, and to what degree? She also does something rarer. She refuses to tell half a story. Her argument about asset-based framing — that the questions we ask about communities determine the solutions we get — turns on a historical detail most listeners won't know, and it reframes the entire conversation about who needs help and who has been solving problems all along. You'll learn:Why "some" and "many" are the two most honest words in a leader's vocabularyThree questions that reveal whether you share power or only describe sharing itWhy grocery stores don't open in certain neighborhoods — and why the answer is a business-model problem, not a moral oneWhat Costco and Wegmans do structurally that most organizations refuse toWhy the real definition of ambition might be a thousand people succeeding because you made roomDr. Bahiyyah Maroon holds a PhD in anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and is the author of Black Lives, American Love, a collection of essays on race and resilience. Her second book is nearly finished. Get Black Lives, American Love wherever books are sold. Simon's twelfth book, Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing, releases October 1. Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  7. Aug 23

    24. The Hidden Fear Driving Every Decision You Make | Kim Giles

    Why do two people facing the same pressure react in completely opposite ways? Why do some leaders build trust in a room while others quietly drain it? On this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Simon T. Bailey sits down with Kim Giles — founder of the 12 Shapes Behavioral Assessment and author of How Humans Are Wired — for a conversation about what's actually happening underneath human behavior. Kim's premise is that every person operates from one of two places: fear or clarity. And the fear comes in two forms. Fear of failure: I'm not enough. Fear of loss: I'm not safe. Everything else — how you lead, how you argue, how you parent, what you say yes to — is downstream of those two sentences. In this episode: The two fears underneath every human decision — and which one is running youWhy fear literally shuts down the part of your brain that thinks clearlyWhat personality tests get wrong (and why you keep testing as a different type)How to tell whether you're listening or just waiting to talkThe question that de-escalates almost any workplace conflictWhy the leader everyone trusts and the leader everyone fears are doing the same thing differentlyWhether you lead a team, run a business, coach, or are raising kids — this one gives you language for what you've been sensing but couldn't name. Here’s a link to take the assessment - https://www.12shapes.com/simontbailey Here’s a link to obtain a copy of How Human Are Wired - https://a.co/d/0bJBGN8s ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at: Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

  8. Aug 16

    23. The Media Empire of the Mind - Why You Can’t Let Go

    What is the Media Empire of Your Mind? It's the private broadcast running about you, inside you, most of it unexamined. You didn't write the programming. You inherited it — from family, from failure, from the one person whose opinion you never stopped carrying. And it quietly decides what you believe is available to you. Most people never think to change the channel. They assume the broadcast is the truth. In this episode of Amplify Hope Today, Simon T. Bailey shows you how to audit the station and take it back. He tells the story of snorkeling in the Red Sea and what fear looks like when you're forty feet down. He explains why capable people settle for crumbs and call it gratitude. And he traces the chain that runs your life whether you examine it or not: thoughts shape choices, choices create behaviors, behaviors decide your future. If you're stuck — in the career, the relationship, the finances, the body, the season — this is not a pep talk. It's an audit. You'll learn: How limiting beliefs operate below the level of languageWhy "settling for crumbs" feels like humility and functions like surrenderThe mindset shift that changes what you think is available to youWhy your first ninety minutes program the entire dayHow self-awareness became the price of admission to leadershipAbout the show: Amplify Hope Today is hosted by Simon T. Bailey, author of the forthcoming Amplify Hope: Lead From Where You Are Standing (Vital Intelligence Press, October 1, 2026). ----------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/@AmplifyHopeTodayShow Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amplify-hope-today/id1881115485?i=1000752112808  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OJS29kGxgcYTJnzZCoehb?si=b36e8692245b4551 STAY CONNECTED Follow Simon at: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/ Instagram: @SimonTBailey LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/simontbailey Follow our podcast at: Website: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/ Instagram: @AmplifyHopeToday ----------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to our partners: Hi Hello Labs in Orlando, Florida, for powering and producing this show. Sponsored by: Hi Hello Labs Produced at Hi Hello Labs Learn More: https://www.amplifyhopetoday.com/

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Amplify Hope Today is a raw and deeply human podcast hosted by Simon T. Bailey, exploring what it means to lead, rebuild, and remain hopeful in a world marked by constant change and uncertainty. Through honest conversations about the topics most people avoid—grief, identity shifts, leadership under pressure, entrepreneurship, faith, communication, resilience, and the courage to begin again—each episode challenges listeners to expand their capacity and navigate life with clarity and purpose. This is not surface-level positivity. It is a practice of choosing goodness, taking action, and becoming hopeful so you can be helpful. Amplify Hope Today invites listeners into meaningful conversations that remind us hope is not passive—it is intentional, transformative, and necessary for the world we live in today.

Information

  • Creator
    Simon T. Bailey
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Amplify Hope Today
  • Show Website
    Amplify Hope Today

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