Yellow Eyed Cats with Bernie Roth9 Jul 2025

8. Who are you really?

Bernie explores one of his most liberating concepts: your self-image is malleable. From a show business manager who found it "really hurt" to be nice, to students writing down "10 things you would never do" and then doing them, this episode considers how our perceptions of ourselves can both limit and liberate us.

We're joined by Jeff Brown, an engineer who transformed from a by-the-book government kid to a Silicon Valley CEO and climate entrepreneur. Jeff shares how Bernie's class gave him the confidence to see engineering as a superpower, and how his class project helped him manage a challenging health problem.

We also talk about “The House Fantasy” (Episode 8a. bonus) and Bernie also walks us through his "truth process" (Episode 8b. bonus)—a powerful exercise for examining the stories we tell ourselves and making problems “disappear” through radical honesty.

00:00 Bernie's philosophy: Your self-image is malleable

00:30 The show business lawyer who was "nasty" by design

02:54 Exercise: Write down 10 things you would never do... then do them

06:04 Where self-images come from

09:23 The truth process: Telling yourself what really is

13:23 Disappearing your problems

15:52 Introducing Jeff Brown

19:36 Using engineering as a "superpower for good"

21:34 Jeff's class project of self-healing

23:00 The House Fantasy visualization

26:01 Bernie at 92: "I still don't know what I'm gonna do when I grow up"

27:51 Bernie’s self-image

Co-hosts: Bernie Roth & Krista Donaldson; Producer: Krista Donaldson

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Episoder(16)

Bonus 12. The Designer in Society continues (to evolve!)

What happens when you take a leap without knowing exactly how it will turn out?In this bonus episode, Krista sits down with Bernie and Perry Klebahn, who now teaches The Designer in Society, to reflec...

6 Jan 34min

Bonus 11. Advice for Students

In this *mini* bonus episode, Bernie and David Janka, our guest from episode 11, share the advice they give students when asked about classes, careers, and first jobs.Bernie likes to tell students tha...

17 Sep 20254min

11. Life is a C***shoot

In this (final official!) episode, Bernie reflects on how the most meaningful turns in life often come from chance rather than careful planning. He shares his own serendipitous journey to becoming a p...

20 Aug 202531min

10. Projection and other useful tools

In this episode, Bernie explores how learning from others helps us learn about ourselves, especially when we are seeking assistance. From mantras collected from colleagues ("We don't have enough time ...

6 Aug 202531min

9. We're all in this together

In this episode, we talk about the importance of shared humanity within teams or groups. Bernie explains his original, and often awkward, icebreaker “When was the last time you…” and explains how Stan...

23 Jul 202531min

Bonus 8B. The Truth Process

In this bonus episode, Bernie walks you through his exercise, “The Truth Process.” Using simple guided imagery, he shares a helpful way to tackle something you’re struggling with or to let go of what ...

2 Jul 202519min

Bonus 8A. The House Fantasy

In this bonus episode, Bernie guides you through his exercise, “The House Fantasy.” By imagining and exploring a house as a stand-in for yourself, you might discover new insights about who you are and...

2 Jul 202515min