Burn The Rules with Chet Hirani is where performance, and mindset meet and where we will rewrite the rules of modern leadership together.
Hosted by leadership expert, TEDx speaker, and bestselling award winning author Chet Hirani, this podcast brings you direct conversations with people rewriting what success looks like from business leaders and athletes to entrepreneurs and creators.
Each episode breaks down how high performers think, adapt, and lead from within without the over-complication. You’ll hear honest stories, straight talk, and proven habits that help you take control of how you lead, work, and live.
If you’re ready to stop playing by outdated rules and start defining your own version of leadership and success this is your place.
They called it a quick chat.
Marisa Kamall was on maternity leave. Still recovering from pneumonia that had nearly killed her. Her newborn was in the next room. And HSBC the company she'd given 15 years to, the one where she'd grown from analyst to Managing Director, leading teams of thousands across four continents called to restructure her role. Over Zoom.
When she cried, her manager said: 'I didn't think you'd react like this.'
That moment taught her something that no performance review, no promotion, and no amount of over-delivering ever would: no company will care about your career the way you do. The system wasn't built to make room for her. And the life she has now GAIA, the leadership community, the coaching, the mission only exists because she stopped waiting for it to.
This is one of the most honest conversations we've had on Burn The Rules.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome + Marisa’s journey into the conversation
04:05 — The inside reality of corporate success
10:10 — Why Gaia exists and the mission behind it
20:43 — The “quick chat” call that changed everything
26:02 — Rebuilding identity, confidence, and leadership after corporate
31:48 — Stop rehearsing the person you think you should be
38:08 — What it really means to lead from within
42:55 — The triple hit: motherhood, illness, and restructuring
47:07 — Fitness, discipline, and regulating mind, body, and soul
57:13 — Why the system doesn’t make room for you
58:48 — How Gaia grew from an idea into a real community
64:29 — ChatGP She and women shaping the AI era
68:12 — The questions every leader should ask themselves
69:09 — Ten and Done quickfire round
72:35 — Who Gaia is for + how to connect
73:54 — Final message: speak up and take care of yourself
Connect with Marisa:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisakamall/)
GAIA: www.GaiaRises.com (http://www.GaiaRises.com)
For more information about me go to: chethirani.com (http://chethirani.com)
Get my 2 x Award Winning Bestselling book:
Burn The Rules Here (https://geni.us/BurnTheRules)
Connect, Follow & Subscribe:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chethirani/)
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@chethirani)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chethirani/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hiranichet)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@chethirani)
23 Jun 2026
The Cost of Being Liked.
How many of your decisions this week were shaped by what you actually believe and how many were shaped by what you wanted other people to think of you?
This is the most camouflaged leadership trap I know. It doesn't look like weakness. It looks like being collaborative. Like being emotionally intelligent. Like being a good person. But it's approval-seeking and it's costing you more than you know.
And for the first time in the series, it doesn't just diagnose. It shows you a way through.
I share my parents' story a love marriage that cost them everything the community approved of, and gave them everything that actually mattered. And a 2012 workshop that fell apart completely and taught me the most important thing I know about what happens when you finally drop the mask.
The version of you that stops trying to be liked is the version that finally starts to lead.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: The leadership trap of approval seeking
02:54 How approval seeking manifests in leadership behaviors
04:48 The story of the speaker's parents and leadership values
08:21 The importance of authenticity and dropping the mask
10:14 Action steps to overcome approval seeking in leadership
14:51 Redefining Leadership
15:20 The Practice of Leadership
More on me:
Take the Pressure Pattern Check (https://the-pressure-pattern-check.scoreapp.com/)
For more information about me go to: chethirani.com (http://chethirani.com)
Get my Award Winning Bestselling book:
Burn The Rules Here (https://geni.us/BurnTheRules)
Connect, Follow & Subscribe:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chethirani/)
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@chethirani)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chethirani/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hiranichet)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@chethirani)
2 Jun 2026
She Scheduled Her Own Breakdown. Here's What She Found on the Other Side.
Most high-performing leaders spend years building a life that looks exactly like success is supposed to look. The title. The salary. The house. The holidays. The family photo that belongs on the front of a magazine.
Deepika Sandhu had all of it. And she still felt profoundly, quietly empty.
So she did something that almost nobody does. She scheduled her own breakdown. Put it in her calendar. Showed up for it. And in the space that created the slowing down, the silence, the sitting with herself she found the clarity that 25 years of relentless performance had never given her.
Today, Deepika is the founder of Soul Sparks Press North America's fastest growing publishing house, built to over 106 authors in 21 months. She's a six-time award-winning bestselling author, CEO of the Year at the Unicorn Summit, and someone who now describes her life not by what it looks like but by how it feels.
This conversation is between two people who are genuinely inside each other's worlds. Which is exactly why it goes to places most podcast conversations don't.
Chapters
00:00 The Pressure of Silicon Valley Leadership
04:45 Transitioning from Corporate to SoulSparks Press
07:41 Redefining Success and Impact
10:26 The Journey of Self-Discovery
13:07 The Power of Scheduled Breakdowns
15:51 Dismantling Old Beliefs
18:45 Taking Risks and Embracing Entrepreneurship
21:48 Managing Pressure and Doubt
24:24 The Importance of Support and Community
27:11 Flow vs. Deadlines in Creativity
30:01 The Evolution of Self and Business
32:56 Navigating Pressure Moments
35:42 Overcoming Doubt and Inner Critic
39:38 Trusting the Process
45:44 Owning Your Choices
50:36 Lessons from Life Transitions
56:24 Finding Your Authentic Voice
59:31 The Power of Storytelling
01:10:29 Redefining Leadership
01:10:57 The Practice of Leadership
Connect with Deepika:
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/deepikasandhu.co/)
Soul Sparks Press on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/soulsparkspress/)
Soul Sparks Press Website (https://soulsparkspress.com/)
More on me:
Take the Pressure Pattern Check (https://the-pressure-pattern-check.scoreapp.com/)
For more information about me go to: chethirani.com (http://chethirani.com)
Get my Award Winning Bestselling book:
Burn The Rules Here (https://geni.us/BurnTheRules)
Connect, Follow & Subscribe:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chethirani/)
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@chethirani)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chethirani/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hiranichet)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@chethirani)
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