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Rise and Play Podcast

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by Sophie Vo

4.8(23 reviews)

189 episodes

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A Spark Of Awareness is a weekly 15-minute reflection practice for conscious leaders to practice self-awareness. Your time to pause, and sit with yourself. No distraction, just self-listening. Every week, Sophie Vo will offer a human prompt, drawn from real transformation work with tech and gaming founders, executives, and leaders to help you step out of old scripts, reconnect with your truth, and lead from integrity, presence, and self-mastery. Sophie is a leadership guide for high-achieving and conscious leaders. With 17 years of leadership experience in the tech and gaming industry, Sophie has built and led 30+ global teams across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has mentored over 200 executives across VC-backed startups and public companies. A four-time founder, her most recent venture scaled to six figures in its first year and evolved into ORIN, a curated global network redefining leadership for women. <a href="https://riseandplay.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">riseandplay.substack.com</a>

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Recent Episodes

July 14, 2026

From Leadership Shadows to Contribution: Our Highest Human Need

Over the past weeks, we’ve explored the six core human needs and the shadows they create when they unconsciously drive our lives and leadership.We began with the need for certainty, which often becomes the need for control. We explored the need for variety and how it can create instability. We looked at significance, our desire to be seen and recognized, and at love and connection, where over-giving and people-pleasing often emerge. Finally, we reflected on the need for growth and how the pursuit of constant evolution can become exhausting when it never allows space for integration.Today, I want to close this series with the sixth and final need:The need for contribution.In many ways, I see this as the most mature of the six human needs.But it is also the easiest one to confuse with the others.What Is the Need for Contribution?The need for contribution is the desire to create meaningful impact beyond yourself.It is the desire to give back.To leave something better than you found it.To use your skills, experience, and life for something larger than your own success.Many people describe contribution as the highest expression of purpose.Yet there is an important question we rarely ask ourselves:From which place are we contributing?Because contribution can easily become another disguise for an unmet human need.Are you contributing because you need recognition?Then perhaps significance is still driving your actions.Are you contributing because helping others allows you to belong?Perhaps the need for love and connection is underneath.Are you contributing because it helps you learn and evolve?Perhaps growth is still leading the way.Contribution itself is not enough.The intention behind it matters.When Giving Is Another Way of ReceivingOne of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that many of us give because, unconsciously, we hope to receive something in return.Recognition.Validation.Love.Belonging.Security.There is nothing wrong with these needs, they are deeply human.The invitation is simply to become aware of them.Healthy contribution begins when the act of giving is complete in itself.When giving is already fulfilling.When nothing needs to come back for the contribution to have meaning.That, for me, is where contribution becomes truly free.The Shadow of ContributionLike every human need, contribution also has its shadow.One of the most common expressions I see—particularly in women leaders—is over-giving.Helping everyone.Always being available.Giving expertise away for free.Putting others first.Feeling guilty for receiving.The intention is beautiful.But over time, it becomes unsustainable.Because contribution without receiving eventually creates depletion.Everything in nature exists in relationship.Breathing in. Breathing out.Giving. Receiving.Neither can exist without the other.One question worth reflecting on is:How comfortable are you receiving?Can you receive money without guilt?Can you receive appreciation without minimizing it? Say ‘Thank you’.Can you receive support without feeling indebted?Many people who love to contribute discover that receiving is actually much harder than giving.And yet both are necessary.My Own ShiftWhen I look back on my own career, I can clearly see how this need evolved over time.For many years, I worked in the gaming industry.I loved the creativity.I loved the innovation.I loved building teams and creating products that reached millions of people.I also received a great deal in return.Meaningful work.Recognition.Financial security.Growth.But eventually, a deeper question emerged.What am I contributing to?The games we created generated engagement, screen time, and significant revenue.From a business perspective, they were successful.But I also knew who some of our players were.I knew stories of people spending thousands of euros in games.People whose behavior resembled addiction more than entertainment.And I had to ask myself:Is this the impact I want to have?That question changed everything.It wasn’t a judgment of the industry.It was an honest reflection on my own values.I realized that my deepest need was no longer growth.Or recognition.Or achievement.It had become contribution.That realization eventually led me toward coaching.Toward conscious leadership.Toward creating spaces where leaders examine not only what they build, but the impact they create on the people around them.When Contribution Becomes a Different QuestionAt some point in life, many people reach a quiet transition.They’ve achieved.They’ve grown.They’ve accumulated experience.And the question changes.Instead of asking:“How can I become more successful?”They begin asking:“What do I want to leave behind?”Contribution is no longer about building something bigger.It becomes about building something meaningful.For me, that has become the work.Helping leaders move from fear to love.From leading through control, ego, and survival...To leading from awareness, integrity, and the heart.That doesn’t happen through strategy alone.It requires inner work.Because the quality of what we contribute will always reflect the quality of the place we are contributing from.Looking Back at the Six Human NeedsAs we close this series, I invite you to reflect on all six human needs.* Where do you seek certainty and control?* Where do you constantly chase novelty?* Where do you need recognition?* Where do you sacrifice yourself to maintain connection?* Where do you push yourself to keep growing?* And finally…How do all of these needs shape the way you contribute to the world?Every need is valid.Every need has a shadow.The goal is never to eliminate these needs.The goal is to become aware of them.Because awareness is where freedom begins.Reflection QuestionsTake some time to journal with these questions:* Which of the six human needs drives most of your decisions today?* When you contribute, what are you hoping to receive in return?* How comfortable are you with receiving?* What impact are you truly creating through your work?* If recognition, money, and status disappeared, would you still choose the same path?Closing ReflectionFor me, contribution is not about saving the world.It is about bringing more consciousness into it.Helping people move from fear to love.From unconscious patterns to awareness.From reacting to choosing.If this series has taught us anything, it is that our shadows are not something to eliminate.They are invitations.Invitations to understand ourselves more deeply.Because once we understand what has been driving us, we finally become free to choose a different way of leading, living, and contributing.And perhaps that is the greatest contribution any of us can make.Thanks for reading Rise and Play! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.I am opening the registration for a unique event on Sept 4-7, a medicinal retreat in Europe for conscious leaders ready to go to the next level.We are curating a selected group of 12. Book a discovery call for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://riseandplay.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">riseandplay.substack.com</a>

July 7, 2026

Leadership Shadow #5: The Insatiable Need For Growth

In this series on the six human needs, we’ve already explored certainty, variety, significance, and love and connection.Today, we’re looking at the fifth human need:Growth.For me, this has been one of the strongest drivers throughout my life.Growth has shaped how I learn, how I lead, how I build businesses, and how I relate to challenges.It has also been one of my biggest teachers.Because like every human need, growth is beautiful.And like every human need, it also has a shadow.What Is the Need for Growth?The need for growth is the desire to learn, evolve, and become more.People with this need often love challenges.They enjoy learning new skills.They seek transformation.They are energized by difficult situations because every challenge becomes an opportunity to grow.If this is your dominant need, you probably recognize yourself here:* You love learning.* You constantly seek new perspectives.* You are rarely intimidated by difficult problems.* You often feel excited by change rather than discouraged by it.Growth becomes a way of life.There is nothing wrong with that.In fact, growth is part of nature.Everything alive is constantly evolving 🌱.The question is not whether you should grow.The question is how you grow.When Growth Becomes a Survival StrategyLooking back, I can see that my need for growth didn’t begin as a conscious choice.It began as survival.Growing up in a family of immigrants, I inherited a simple belief:If we don’t grow, we won’t survive.We came to France with very little.Everything had to be rebuilt.A new life.A new future.A new generation.Growth wasn’t simply encouraged.It became associated with safety.Without realizing it, I carried that belief into every part of my life.At school, in my career, in my leadership, in business, and personal development…If I wasn’t growing, I felt like something was wrong.And even today, I can still feel that pattern if I don’t pay attention.The Shadow of Constant GrowthThe shadow isn’t growth itself.The shadow is never allowing yourself to stop.Always learning.Always improving.Always achieving.At first, this looks admirable.But eventually it becomes exhausting.I’ve experienced this personally.There were periods where I was so focused on growth that everything else became secondary:Relationships.Rest.Integration.Presence.Even joy.Growth became another thing to optimize.Instead of allowing experiences to settle, I was already looking for the next course, the next project, the next transformation.Ironically, I wasn’t integrating any of it.Hypergrowth Isn’t Always HealthyI also see this pattern in founders and leadership teams.Many organizations celebrate hypergrowth.Grow faster.Scale bigger.Raise more.Expand quicker.But organizations have nervous systems too.People need time to adapt.Teams need time to integrate change.Culture needs time to mature.When leaders push growth faster than people can absorb it, exhaustion follows.Not because growth is bad.But because sustainable growth requires rhythm.Just like breathing.Expansion.Then integration.Movement.Then rest.More Learning Doesn’t Always Mean More GrowthOne pattern I recognize in myself is the tendency to consume too much information.Four courses at once, several books, multiple trainings…Always learning.The result?I knew many things.But I hadn’t embodied them.Real growth isn’t measured by how much information we collect.It is measured by what we integrate.Sometimes learning one thing deeply creates more transformation than learning ten things superficially.Depth often matters more than volume.What Happens When You Stop?A useful question to ask yourself is:What happens inside you when you stop growing?When you don’t read another book.When you don’t sign up for another course.When you don’t work on yourself for a day.Can you simply rest?Or does anxiety appear?Many people discover that stopping feels surprisingly uncomfortable.Not because they enjoy constant movement.But because their nervous system has associated movement with safety.Growth has become the way they regulate themselves.The Leadership Practice: IntegrationThe practice isn’t to stop growing.The practice is to pace your growth.Growth also happens through: rest, reflection, repetition, integration…Silence.Sometimes doing nothing is part of growing.Sometimes the deepest transformation happens when we stop adding something new and begin living what we already know.This is particularly important in leadership.Because leaders who never pause often create organizations that never pause.The pace of the leader becomes the pace of the culture.Practices for Balancing the Need for GrowthIf you recognize this pattern, here are a few practices to explore.🔵 Practice One: Integrate Before You AddBefore starting another book, another course, or another project, ask yourself:Have I fully integrated what I already know?🔵 Practice Two: Schedule Rest as Part of GrowthTreat rest as a discipline rather than a reward.Integration is part of learning.Not separate from it.🔵 Practice Three: Observe Your AnxietySpend a few moments doing nothing.Notice what happens.If anxiety appears, stay curious.Ask yourself:What am I afraid will happen if I stop?🔵 Practice Four: Choose Depth Over VolumeRather than constantly seeking something new, spend more time mastering one thing.Depth creates wisdom.Volume creates information.They are not the same.💡Reflection QuestionsTake a few moments to reflect:* Is growth one of your strongest human needs?* Do you associate slowing down with falling behind?* What belief makes rest feel uncomfortable?* Are you integrating your learning—or simply collecting more of it?* What would sustainable growth look like for you?Closing ReflectionGrowth is one of the most beautiful expressions of being human.We are meant to evolve.The invitation is not to grow less.It is to grow more consciously.Because growth without integration becomes exhaustion.Growth with awareness becomes wisdom.And sometimes the greatest sign of growth is not how fast you move forward.It is knowing when to pause.Thanks for reading Rise and Play! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.I am opening the registration for a unique event on Sept 4-7, a medicinal retreat in Europe for conscious leaders ready to go to the next level.We are curating a selected group of 12. Book a discovery call for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://riseandplay.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">riseandplay.substack.com</a>

June 30, 2026

Leadership Shadow #4: The Unhealthy Need To Belong

In this series on the six human needs, we’ve already explored certainty, variety, and significance.Today, we’re looking at the fourth human need:Love and connection. At first glance, this need seems harmless.Who doesn’t want love?Who doesn’t want meaningful relationships, belonging, and connection?The challenge is not the need itself.The challenge is what happens when our need for connection becomes stronger than our willingness to be truthful.What Is the Need for Love and Connection?The need for love and connection is the desire to feel close to others.To belong.To be included.To feel connected to family, partners, colleagues, teams, and communities.People with a strong need for connection often thrive in collaborative environments.They enjoy working with teams.They build deep relationships and bring people together.They care deeply about harmony.These are beautiful qualities.But like every human need, this one has a shadow.And the shadow often appears in leadership.When Connection Becomes DependencyThe shadow side of love and connection is not love.It is dependency, over-giving.It is people-pleasing.It is sacrificing your truth to preserve harmony.The fear underneath is simple:If I disrupt the connection, I may lose it.This fear shows up everywhere.A leader keeps an underperforming team member because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.A founder avoids difficult conversations with a business partner because they want to stay friends.A coach overextends themselves to keep clients happy.A person remains in an unhealthy relationship because leaving feels more painful than staying.In all these situations, connection becomes more important than authenticity.And eventually, that comes at a cost.The Hidden Cost of Keeping the PeaceMany leaders don’t recognize themselves as people-pleasers.The behavior often looks different at senior levels.It may appear as:* Avoiding difficult conversations* Delaying necessary decisions* Keeping partnerships that are no longer aligned* Over-accommodating others* Struggling to set boundaries* Carrying emotional burdens that aren’t theirsFrom the outside, it can look like kindness.Inside, it often feels like exhaustion.Because maintaining harmony requires energy.And when harmony is maintained at the expense of truth, the cost is usually paid by the person carrying the burden: You.Where Does This Pattern Come From?For me, this pattern has roots in my upbringing.Growing up in an Asian family, I learned very early that harmony mattered.The harmony of the group mattered.Keeping peace within the family was associated with safety.Breaking harmony felt dangerous.Being excluded felt unsafe.Of course, as children, these adaptations make sense.Belonging has always been tied to survival.Our nervous system still carries traces of that evolutionary reality.The challenge is that many of us continue operating from those old assumptions long after the original circumstances have passed.We act as if disagreement will lead to abandonment.As if honesty and boundaries will destroy connection.But is that actually true?The Leadership Practice: BoundariesThe practice is not to love less.The practice is to love differently.To learn that connection does not require self-sacrifice.To learn that boundaries do not destroy relationships.In fact, healthy boundaries often strengthen them.A question worth exploring is:Can you feel connected without giving everything away?Can you maintain a relationship while saying no?Can you disagree without withdrawing?Many people discover something surprising:The relationship survives.And sometimes it becomes stronger.Because authentic connection requires truth.Not performance.What Happens When Love Isn’t Reciprocated?This is another place where people struggle.Some people naturally give love very freely.They are generous, open-hearted and supportive.But not everyone knows how to receive love.And not everyone expresses it in the same way.When love isn’t returned in the way we expect, we often make it personal.We assume:“They don’t appreciate me = They don’t love me.”But reality is often more nuanced.People simply express love differently.The Five Languages of LoveOne framework that has been helpful for understanding this is the concept of the Five Love Languages (<a target="_blank" href="https://5lovelanguages.com/learn">Resource</a>)People tend to express and receive love through different channels:* Acts of Service* Quality Time* Gifts* Physical Touch* Words of AffirmationProblems arise when we expect others to love us in our preferred language.For example:You may need words of affirmation.Your partner may express love through acts of service.You may need quality time.Your colleague may show appreciation through practical support.The love is present, but the language is different.Recognizing this can soften resentment and create more understanding in both leadership and personal relationships.The Deeper PracticeUltimately, the practice is not about getting more love from others.It is about cultivating enough love within yourself that connection becomes a choice rather than a necessity.Can you feel worthy even when someone disagrees with you?Can you stay connected to yourself when a relationship changes?Can you remain open-hearted without abandoning your boundaries?These are the questions that transform the need for connection from a dependency into inter-dependency.A Personal ReflectionThis need has been very present throughout my life.But what has changed is how I relate to it.I’ve learned that sometimes love requires difficult conversations.Sometimes it requires saying no.Sometimes it requires risking disappointment.And paradoxically, those moments often deepen connection rather than destroy it.Because authentic relationships are not built on agreement.They are built on truth.Reflection QuestionsTake a moment to reflect:* Where are you sacrificing your truth to preserve harmony?* What relationship are you afraid to challenge?* Where are you over-giving in the hope of receiving connection?* What would happen if you trusted that real connection could survive disagreement?Closing ReflectionThe need for love and connection is one of our most beautiful human needs.It reminds us that we are not meant to navigate life alone.The invitation is not to need less connection.The invitation is to create healthier connection.Connection rooted in truth, supported by boundaries.Connection that allows both closeness and individuality.Because real love does not require you to abandon yourself in order to belong 💛Thanks for reading Rise and Play! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://riseandplay.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">riseandplay.substack.com</a>

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What is Rise and Play Podcast?: A Spark Of Awareness is a weekly 15-minute reflection practice for conscious leaders to practice self-awareness. Your time to pause, and sit with yourself. No distraction, just self-listening.

Every week, Sophie Vo will offer a human prompt, drawn from real transformation work with tech and gaming founders, executives, and leaders to help you step out of old scripts, reconnect with your truth, and lead from integrity, presence, and self-mastery.

Sophie is a leadership guide for high-achieving and conscious leaders. With 17 years of leadership experience in the tech and gaming industry, Sophie has built and led 30+ global teams across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has mentored over 200 executives across VC-backed startups and public companies. A four-time founder, her most recent venture scaled to six figures in its first year and evolved into ORIN, a curated global network redefining leadership for women. <a href="https://riseandplay.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">riseandplay.substack.com</a>
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates weekly.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 10 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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