Listen On…
Episode 04 of FreshMinds gets personal. Mitch Simon, Ronen Gafni, and Simcha Gluck share their own stories of discovering their art, the pushback they faced along the way, and how they knew they had finally found the right frequency.
Passion Without Payment Is a Clue
Ronen shares that when he was building FreshBiz, he worked on it for years without being paid, purely out of passion. His test for knowing you have found your art is simple. You leave the work with more energy than you had going in. If a task drains you, it is probably not your genius. If it fuels you, you are likely close.
Getting Sued Over Your Own Passion
One of the more surprising stories in this episode comes from Ronen. Because he was so generous and passionate about sharing FreshBiz early on, a former partner later claimed rights to fifty percent of the game, despite having no real involvement in creating it. He ended up in Israel’s Supreme Court to resolve it. His takeaway is that when you are deeply in your genius zone, you can under price your work or let boundaries slip, and that opens the door for others to take advantage.
Defying the Boss to Lead the Retreat
Mitch shares two personal stories, first at General Instrument and later at Nokia, where he organized leadership retreats that his managers explicitly told him not to run. In both cases he ran them anyway because something in him knew it mattered. The retreats became turning points, both for the teams involved and for Mitch discovering that facilitating transformational conversations was where his real value lived.
Finding the Right Radio Station
Simcha offers a simple analogy for the search itself. Finding your art is like scanning a radio dial through static until you land on the one station that finally plays clearly. He also shares how he had to redefine what responsibility looked like for himself, separate from the model his father followed, since a traditional nine to five life never fit who he was.
The Voice That Pulls You Forward
Ronen introduces a distinction that shapes this whole episode. Most people live life being pushed by their past, where the next job is based on the last job and the next decision is based on old patterns. He suggests instead living by being pulled toward something, a pull that does not always make logical sense but is worth trusting anyway. He calls it listening for the whisper.
Presence Over Capturing the Moment
Simcha adds a cultural observation. Where people once fully experienced a moment, then moved to capturing it on camera, we have now shifted to simply waiting to see how others react to it online. He argues that finding your art requires returning to actual presence, quieting the noise long enough to hear the quiet, encouraging voice from within rather than the anxious one.
Three Things to Do After This Episode
Track your energy, not just your time. For a week, notice which tasks leave you more energized afterward and which ones drain you. That pattern is data.
Watch for the pull, not just the push. Before your next decision, ask whether you are repeating your past or genuinely being pulled toward something new.
Protect your boundaries around what you love. If you are generous with your passion, make sure you are also being fairly compensated and protected for it.
How to Create A High-Performance Remote Team:
Improve Remote Team Work:
Improve Remote Leadership Skills:
How to Be an Effective Remote Manager
How to Build Virtual Accountability
