Think Mastery with Dr. Yishai

Dr. Yishai
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Built for high-performers who don’t need help. Just leverage.This is the show that breaks what quietly kills performance at scale. Especially the mental patterns slowing down even the smartest founders.If you never want to get dragged down by pressure, burnout, or hesitation… welcome home.Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr. Yishai Barkhordari. 

  1. 13H AGO

    Why Founders Stay Busy but Avoid the Work That Matters (Nicholas Louise) | 378

    A founder blocks time for sales. The calendar fills anyway. Client work. Slack messages. Problems that feel urgent. By the end of the day, nothing new entered the pipeline. Not because the founder lacks discipline. Because some work feels heavier than others. Nicholas Loise helps founders build sales teams that scale beyond them. In this conversation, something uncomfortable shows up. Why the work that grows a company is often the work founders quietly avoid. About Nicholas Nicholas Loise helps founders build and manage sales teams so the business no longer depends on them to sell. INSIDE THE EPISODE • Why founders fill the day but the pipeline slows  • How “I should prospect” quietly creates resistance  • The moment business development starts feeling heavier than delivery THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Founders who know the growth work but avoid it  • Leaders whose days fill while the pipeline shrinks  • Operators who feel busy but not moving forward GUEST LINKS Learn more about Nicholas Loise and his work here:  Sales Performance Team Website: https://www.salesperformanceteam.com Email: Nick@salesperformanceteam.com  WHAT TO DO NEXT Share this with a founder who is working hard but avoiding the work that actually moves the business. Ask them, “what do you know you should be doing, but you end the day without getting it done?” It will land, and they’ll know you are the person who cares about their success mode. Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ Let’s Chat Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    53 min

  2. MAR 5

    AI Scales Startups. It Also Breaks Them. (Amos Bar Joseph) | 377

    AI allowed the 3-founder company to scale with zero hiring.  A co-founder had a baby. Great news! But the company almost stopped moving. It started with one week of chaos. They managed about 20% of the missing workload. Momentum slowed. Decisions stalled. Customers waited. Not because they lacked skill. They're brillaint. It's because the company was built for leverage. Three founders. Hundreds of customers. AI agents running go-to-market systems. Everything worked. Until one person stepped away. That’s when something became visible. The faster a company runs on leverage, the more fragile it can become. Amos Bar Joseph is building Swan AI around human-AI collaboration. Here's the tension, though: more leverage creates more dependency.  When companies optimize for sunny days, what happens when one key person disappears? About Amos Amos Bar Joseph is the CEO and co-founder of Swan AI, building a company designed to scale revenue with AI agents instead of hiring armies. INSIDE THE EPISODE What broke the week a co-founder stepped awayWhy redundancy is measured by coverage, not headcountWhat AI can document as knowledge and context, and what it can'tTHIS EPISODE IS FOR Founders building lean teams and proud of the leverageLeaders scaling fast but sensing hidden fragilityOperators asking what AI actually changes inside companiesGUEST LINKS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amos-bar-joseph/  Website: https://www.getswan.com/  WHAT TO DO NEXT Share if you’re building with AI and thinking deeply about leverage, send this to someone who’s scaling a company right now. They’ll feel the tension. And they’ll see you as the person thinking 3 moves ahead with them. Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ Let’s Chat Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    49 min

  3. MAR 5

    You Built It. Now You Can’t Step Back. (Christoph Merrill) | 376

    You built the company. So why does it still feel like you can’t step away? You delegate. You hire well. You try to step back. And somehow, you still step back in. Even when you promised yourself you wouldn’t. You tell yourself you’re helping. Being responsible. Protecting the standard. But something still feels heavy. Christoph Merrill, founder of Habit Freak, sits inside a tension most founders never say out loud. The instinct that saved the company early on can quietly keep your team from ever fully owning their work. Nothing breaks overnight. Progress just slows. At some point, every founder faces a question they rarely admit they’re asking. This conversation starts exactly there. About Christoph Christoph Merrill is the founder of Habit Freak, helping leaders build habits that hold up when pressure hits. INSIDE THE EPISODE • Why delegating feels right, then founders quietly take work back • How pressure exposes habits leaders never meant to build • The invisible line where ownership quietly becomes control • What slowly stops improving when teams wait for founder approval • The ping-pong-ball moment that changed how he led his team THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Founders who feel responsible for everything • Leaders who still fix work after delegating it • Operators carrying more weight than their role requires • High performers who struggle to fully step back • People who know they should let go but can’t yet GUEST LINKS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophmerrill/ Website: https://habitfreak.com  WHAT TO DO NEXT Share Send this to someone who takes ownership seriously. They’ll feel understood while listening. And they’ll know you sent it because you see a version of them who doesn’t have to carry everything themselves. Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ Let’s Chat Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    58 min

  4. FEB 26

    Why Founders Struggle to Let Go (AJ Cassata) | 375

    You built the team. You hired well. You know you should step out of the day-to-day. But every time you look closer… you find something missed. So you step back in. It feels responsible. It feels like leadership. And slowly, the business learns to depend on the very habit that keeps it from growing. Nothing breaks. Clients stay happy. Yet growth feels slower than it should. In this conversation, AJ Cassata and Dr. Yishai explore the moment founders discover that responsibility and personal involvement quietly stop meaning the same thing. About AJ AJ Cassata is founder of Revenue Boost, helping B2B companies build outbound systems that keep businesses alive through consistent pipeline and growth. INSIDE THE EPISODE • Why founders still feel the urge to double-check work they’ve already delegated • How catching small mistakes quietly reinforces staying involved • What keeps pulling leaders back in during high-stakes moments • How teams unintentionally learn to escalate back to the founder THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Founders stuck between operator and leader • Leaders whose standards keep pulling them back in • High performers still acting as the safety net • Owners whose business works but growth feels constrained • Builders beginning to suspect they may be the bottleneck WHAT TO DO NEXT Share with a founder who keeps stepping back into the weeds. They’ll feel seen. And know you understand what leadership actually costs – and what it takes to level up. Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/  Let’s Chat Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself.  ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    45 min

  5. FEB 12

    When Your Team Stops Hearing You at Scale (Rob te Braake) | 374

    You built the company by thinking fast. Now it’s bigger. Twenty people. Thirteen countries. But growth adds complexity. Complexity creates gaps. Gaps create pressure. Pressure either becomes fuel or failure. Rob te Braake built and exited multiple companies. Now he leads a global team helping 7- and 8-figure founders turn messy books into clear, decision-ready dashboards. He knows how numbers scale.  In this episode, he asks the harder question: What if the real bottleneck isn’t skill… But the way you’re thinking about it? INSIDE THE EPISODE ·       Why your words stop landing the same as your team grows ·       The cycle that turns smart delegation into more pressure ·       The belief that says, “That’s not my thing,” and why it costs you ·       How changing your thinking removes the bottleneck instead of adding more force WHO THIS IS FOR ·       Founders whose team is bigger, but clarity feels smaller ·       Operators and execs who feel pressure rising at every level ·       Leaders who delegate the message but still own the result ·       High performers who’ve quietly thought, “I’m just not built for that”  GUEST LINKS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-te-braake/ CFO Insights Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7366383292553609218/  Website: https://www.financeinsightmatters.com/  WHAT TO DO NEXT • Share this with the founder who keeps adding pressure every level. Ask them this: “What part have you decided is not yours?” They will not forget that question. • Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ • Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself.   ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    53 min

  6. JAN 29

    What Breaks When You Try to Sound Responsible (Jimi Gibson) | 373

    You are doing the job right.  But your words are starting to slip. Meetings sound fine. Decisions take longer. People nod, then hesitate. You wonder if it’s ego. Or doubt. Or if you are slowly losing the room. Jimi Gibson was asked to become the public voice of a company he didn’t found. In one meeting, a single sentence landed flat. Nothing broke out loud. But authority cracked. Most leaders try to smooth that moment away. That is when trust starts thinning. Press play to hear why the tension you want gone is the same thing that keeps your voice sharp and how to catch the moment before it costs you. ABOUT JIMI Jimi Gibson has spent decades inside fast-growing companies watching what actually moves people and where influence quietly breaks under pressure. He has helped shape how hundreds of leaders speak when the stakes are real and mistakes linger. INSIDE THE EPISODE • When your message stops landing clean • The pressure of speaking for something bigger • The move leaders make that dulls authority • The shift that turns tension into leverage • A real meeting moment where it changes THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Leaders carrying visibility they did not expect • Founders whose words no longer land • Executives stepping into public authority • High performers who second guess themselves • Builders who want clarity without sanding edges GUEST LINKS Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: https://thriveagency.com/ WHAT TO DO NEXT • Press play and notice the moment that sounds familiar. Then share this with the leader who feels it too. Ask them: “Where did your words last lose weight?” • Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ • Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    48 min

  7. JAN 22

    The Real Reason Leaders Hesitate at the Next Level (Ari Galper) | 372

    You feel the stretch. The game is bigger now. The move looks right on paper. But something doesn’t settle. Ari Galper has spent decades building trust at the highest levels with companies. When invited into an advisory role, a new hesitation showed up. We didn’t push past it. We listened. It became data. Ignoring it would have slowed the move. Listening told him exactly how to step in cleanly. ABOUT ARI:  Ari Galper is the world’s #1 authority on trust-based selling, with 25 years showing leaders how to collapse long sales cycles into one honest conversation. INSIDE THE EPISODE • Why a bigger role creates hesitation before anything goes wrong • How identity shifts show up before skill gaps ever do • The mistake leaders make when they force clarity too early • The moment hesitation becomes useful data instead of resistance • How clear signals create a clean entry without second guessing THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Founders stepping into a bigger role • Leaders invited into advisory positions • High performers who feel subtle resistance • Executives who want clean next moves • Builders who do not want false confidence GUEST LINKS • Website: https://arigalper.com/ • AriAI: https://arigalper.ai/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arigalper/ WHAT TO DO NEXT • Share this with the leader stepping into a bigger game. Ask them: “What are you ignoring that might be data?” • Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ • Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.     ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    36 min

  8. JAN 15

    Why Leadership Feels Heavier Than It Should (Kira Shishkin) | 371

    Uncertainty shows up. Not as noise. But as pressure. Not as failure. But as something you want to escape. Most leaders either push it away or get stuck inside it. You still lead. You still decide. But something feels heavier than it should. And when things feel heavier, everything moves slower. This conversation stays in that moment. Kira Shishkin brings a sharp perspective on how leaders cut through noise while carrying real pressure. And shows a different way through it. INSIDE THE EPISODE • When doubt feels heavier than it should, even when things look fine on the outside • How uncertainty turns into pressure when it gets treated like a problem to fix • The moment pushing harder stops working and everything feels slower • What changes when doubt is read instead of fought THIS EPISODE IS FOR • Leaders who carry the weight of decisions quietly • Founders who still move forward even when it feels heavy • High performers who feel pressure no one sees ABOUT KIRA Kira Shishkin is a founder helping busy professionals cut the noise and keep the signal. He cares deeply about understanding the people he serves. And he is honest about the pressure of leading through uncertainty. GUEST LINKS https://www.informed.now - Your news concierge to beat information overload. Minimal. Factual. No bias. No ads. Know more. Read less. Connect with Kira Shishkin - https://l.informed.now/kira WHAT TO DO NEXT Know a founder who carries a lot without saying much? Send this to them and ask: “Does this match how leadership feels for you lately?” It may help them breathe easier about what they’re carrying. And they’ll remember you as someone who gets it.Connect with Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/Book your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself.ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. The truth is simple. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. This show helps you fix that. Stop outworking the slowdown. Upgrade the machine. We make hyper-performance simple and accessible for every founder ready to unlock real speed. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, co ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed. But right now you feel slower than you look on paper. Most founders try to outwork that slow-down. It only burns them out. Your mind is the only machine your company doesn’t upgrade. So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing. Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

    44 min
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About

Built for high-performers who don’t need help. Just leverage.This is the show that breaks what quietly kills performance at scale. Especially the mental patterns slowing down even the smartest founders.If you never want to get dragged down by pressure, burnout, or hesitation… welcome home.Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr. Yishai Barkhordari. 

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Yishai
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    382
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Think Mastery with Dr. Yishai
  • Show Website
    Think Mastery with Dr. Yishai