🌟 Deep Thinkers, Creative Leaders, and Purpose-Driven Souls—This Episode Is for You.

This week on The Optimist Project, I had the honor of sitting down with multihyphenate creative strategist and cultural force, Mir Harris.

As the founder and CEO of MirSays, Mir has built a career rooted in storytelling, social impact, and the kind of optimism that doesn’t ignore reality—but reshapes it.

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, we unpack realistic optimism—what it looks like to hold faith and clarity through dark moments, how rituals and community ground us, and why leading with integrity is a revolutionary act.

We also explore Mir’s rich and layered career journey—spanning music, media, activism, and beyond—and how her love for storytelling, faith, and service fuels every chapter.

✨ Mir drops gems on navigating burnout, honoring your voice, and staying creatively inspired—even when the world feels heavy. And in our Giving Flowers segment, she pays tribute to the artists and changemakers lighting the way forward.

What helps you stay rooted in optimism? What’s your personal ritual for staying ready?

📩 We want to hear from you—DM us, send a voice note, or drop us a message and share your light.
📲 @optimistprojectpod // The Optimist Project Podcast
✨ Executive Producer: @yarashahidi // Yara Shahidi
✨ Executive Producer: @chocolatemommyluv // Keri Salter-Shahidi
🎙 Guest: @mirsays // Mir Harris
📞 Voicemail: (323) 761-0837

🎧 Tap in and join the conversation—because optimism gets more powerful when we share it.

🌊 Truth Seekers, Legacy Builders, and Lovers of Deep Stories—This One’s for You.

This week on The Optimist Project, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with award-winning storyteller, explorer, and changemaker Tara Roberts.

Tara is the voice behind the National Geographic podcast Into the Depths and the first Black woman to grace the cover of Nat Geo as an Explorer. Her work dives—literally—into the stories of lost slave shipwrecks, amplifying ancestral truths that were almost erased by time.

In this soulful, searching, and ultimately empowering conversation, we explore what it means to pursue purpose with courage, how optimism can be a form of resistance, and why honoring our histories is a path to healing.

✨ Tara shares wisdom on listening to your calling (even when it takes you underwater), following curiosity as a compass, and turning passion into something beautifully transformative. We also talk about her journey from magazine editor to global explorer—and how her life has become a living archive of resilience, remembrance, and radiant hope.

If you’ve ever felt called to do something bigger than yourself, if you’re trying to reconnect with legacy or ignite a new chapter—you’ll find fuel in this episode.

📩 What histories are calling you forward? How are you choosing optimism in your everyday life? We want to hear from you. DM us, leave a voice note, or send us a message and share your light.

📲 @optimistprojectpod // The Optimist Project Podcast

✨ Executive Producer: @yarashahidi // Yara Shahidi

✨ Executive Producer: @chocolatemommyluv // Keri Salter-Shahidi

🎙 Guest: @tararoberts_explorer// Tara Roberts

📞 Voicemail: (323) 761-0837

🎧 Tap in—and let this conversation remind you that even the deepest waters hold light.

🚀 Visionaries, Space Dreamers, and Changemakers—This Episode Is for You.

This week on The Optimist Project, I had the privilege of sitting down with Anousheh Ansari—engineer, explorer, entrepreneur, and the first female private space traveler.

From gazing at the stars as a curious child in Iran to launching into orbit and later into impact-driven innovation through XPRIZE, Anousheh’s story is one of perseverance, purpose, and profound optimism.

In our conversation, we dive into what it means to aim higher than seems reasonable, how to reframe setbacks as rocket fuel, and why inclusive storytelling is critical to shaping the future. Anousheh reflects on building bridges across disciplines, cultures, and generations—and how we all play a role in pushing humanity forward.

✨ She shares wisdom on staying grounded while reaching for the stars, the healing power of nature, and why joy and service are revolutionary tools for change.

What’s the biggest dream you’ve ever dared to name? What keeps you reaching for more?

📩 We’d love to hear from you—send us a voice note or tag us with your reflections.

📲 @optimistprojectpod // The Optimist Project Podcast

✨ Executive Producer: @yarashahidi // Yara Shahidi

✨ Executive Producer: @chocolatemommyluv // Keri Salter-Shahidi

🎙 Guest: @anousheh_x// Anousheh Ansari

📞 Voicemail: (323) 761-0837

🎧 Tune in and blast off with us—because optimism, like space, has no limits.