Dr. Yishai

07/31/2026

Lots of founders think their time is the bottleneck.

You can delegate everything, and still have no time.

Because of how many decisions still come back to you.

Ever experience this?

You hand off the task, and finally feel good to have it off your shoulders.

But tomorrow they come back asking more questions about it.

I sat with Forrest Derr, who knows the pain and the solve.

One time, he gave a founder a stack of Post-its and told them, "write one every time you make a decision, even the small ones."

Two days later the guy couldn't see his desk.

What do you think would happen if you tried it?

Oh, and there's one more thing you can do to make that pile of Post-its useful:

Split it into two stacks:

decisions only you can make
ones somebody else could have made.
That second stack is the job you actually need to hire for.

Forrest and I also cover what has to change before that hire actually goes well.

Link to our full convo: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235264/episodes/19572421

07/10/2026

Lots of leaders think getting their team to use a new tool is a training problem.

It isn't. It's a fear problem, and you can't train past a fear.

You send the links, run the session, show them the wins, and the reasons it won't work keep coming back.

Nisarg Mehta has moved a team of 120+ through every tech wave since 2009. He knows adoption.

When we sat down, he named the exact moment it turns. He said, "Either [new tech] could be friendly to you, or it could be a threat to you."

The brain picks a side before anyone gives the tool a fair shot.

So before your next rollout, stop selling the tool. Sit with the person who's fighting it and ask what they think it costs them. Answer that honestly, and the fear starts to drop on its own.

In the episode, Nisarg gets into why the most skilled person is often the first to write it off, and what it takes to get a whole team moving as one.

Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235264/episodes/19438198

06/25/2026

Lots of founders are proud of how carefully they spend money.

To the right investor, that pride can be a red flag.

Being careful with a dollar keeps a company alive early.
Past a point, it stops looking like discipline and starts looking like a founder who can't tell what their own time is worth.

Adam Spector has backed more than 200 startups, 14 of them now unicorns.

When we sat down, he told me about a decision he'd made that week. Invited to speak, 45 minutes away.

He could drive himself for free, or pay for a car and work the whole way down.

He said, "My time is worth $2,000 an hour. I use it as my rule."

By that math, paying for the car to get ninety minutes back wasn't close. And he was honest that it's still hard sometimes.

So before you do the cheap thing, put a number on the hour it costs you. What it's really worth to you and your company.

Listen to the full episode for more.
Link in the comments.

06/05/2026

Most leaders treat loyalty like a trait.

That's not really how it works.

I had Gaurav Sabharwal on the show. He's built eight companies and leads around 300 people, and he sees loyalty completely differently.

People aren't loyal because it's in them to be loyal. They're loyal because of how you make them feel about themselves.

Loyalty isn't something they walk in with. It's something the work creates, or it doesn't.

So the real question was never "is this person loyal." It's "what is it like to work for me."

We got into picking the right people, what to do when a team starts to come apart, and why he calls culture the most abused word in business.

Full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235264/episodes/19173990

11/21/2025

High performers... We can be really hard on ourselves.

But, what if that's not the whole story?

11/20/2025

Ever felt like you're to hard on yourself?

What if that's actually a super power?

Watch to learn how...

05/06/2024

Season 7 is coming!

New look. New Name. New trailer.

Better mission:
"Become limitless by leveling up in business and life."

Think Mastery with Dr. Yishai

Welcome to a new world of mastery. It's closer than you think.

04/22/2024

I spend all day creating change and transformation in people’s lives. 🌱

Using one tool only… 🔧

Words. 📖

I listen and understand the words my clients use... and the thinking underneath it. 🧠

🤔 The kind of thinking that helped them solve one problem...
But isn’t helping to solve another. Or once expanded what was possible, but now limits their vision.

You might believe that your thinking is “right” or “powerful.” And it is. 💪

⛓️ While at the same time it’s limiting you (in your business, relationships, and/or life) – the solutions and possibilities you come up with.

The words we use are powerful. 💬

“Have to,” “Should,” and “Can’t” create limits. 🚷

But also reveal a deeply held belief (sometimes so deeply we don’t even realize it’s there). 🤯

Becoming a better thinker, problem solver, or leader (partner or parent too) comes down to being intentional with our language.

The words we use in our own minds, and the words we use with others. 💭

Right down to the knee-jerk reaction you get when you see a message or call from "that person" (you know who they are). 🙄

The one who you roll your eyes, sigh, and brace yourself for.

Just the simple act of re-setting and using intention with the words you think and speak can have a powerful impact. 🌟

On you and everyone around you. 🌍

04/02/2024

When something goes wrong, what do you say to the people around you?

You might think that explaining what happened or why it's not your fault is the fastest way to move forward.

But really, it just holds you back in the long run.
(And you might get secretly judged for it.)

Why?

Because you’re focusing on what’s NOT your fault.
Which ends up justifying why the situation is out of your control.

And the more you pay attention to what you can’t control and think it’s the reason you don’t show up on time, meet a deadline, or fulfill a promise…

The less you feel you CAN DO to make it different or better next time.

Which gets us stuck in a self-defeating pattern and cycle.

If you focus on figuring out how to do better next time, you’ll uncover all kinds of opportunity to improve.

Then, new doors for what’s possible – and how to create the change you want – will open up.

Most elegant solutions (the simple and impactful ones) are on the other side of how we *think* about a situation or problem.

Which is why up-leveling your thinking is the best investment you can make in yourself, your business, and your future.

03/11/2024