The Illumify Game Changer

47. Is the leader’s messaging compelling?

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

This episode holds the leader to account for expressing his vision so that it becomes meaningful to others as well. It takes more than this leader to ignite his big vision of change. So he has to be able to convey what he sees is possible, desirable and even necessary. Crafting his messages has proven a little challenging for him so far. There’s still some resistance. Can he overcome it?

01:12 Amplify Question 40: Are your messages compelling enough for them to choose to help ignite this?

08:30 Messaging so far.

16:45 Truth is the hard edge to my vision.

21:45 I know I’m resisting the notion of key messages.

22:45 This is not about making your vision mundane.

25:35 Do not put the full weight of expressing your vision on their shoulders.

27:31 You have to allow them to start carrying it with you.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:46 – “This is a different level of communication.” – A leader must be heard

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

To ignite change, leaders must be able to engage and align others. So being heard is essential. But what goes into being heard? In this minisode from episode 46, we speak about how stories triumph over facts when it comes to inciting action.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/46-how-can-a-leader-be-heard

Produced by NOVA

46. How can a leader be heard?

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

No matter how vital change may be, those leading it have to be heard if they want others to act to help realize that change. In this episode of The Illumify Game Changer, Jonathan considers how he can break through all of the noise today with messages that others will actually hear.

01:07 Amplify Question 39: What will they hear?

05:22 You have to use your voice.

06:40 The importance of consistency in your messaging.

08:14 When you express your vision, it has to be recognizably the same. There’s integrity to that.

10:00 Building awareness as a building block process.

14:04 Stories versus anecdotes

18:00 When you tell a story, you’re giving them a concrete example of how to surmount an obstacle.

22:25 You can’t be seen to be wavering in your own commitment.

22:40 They need to hear that something is at stake.

24:28 The need to be heard through the noise feels particularly difficult and challenging.

26:28 We build our ability to bend with the wind but not break.

27:44 The language will have to be carefully crafted so it doesn’t scare people.

29:15 We want to be able to contribute, ideally in the way meaningful to us.

31:53 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:45 – “This is critical to engaging and aligning a collective.” – The Leader’s Strategic Messaging

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

A leader’s meaningful change doesn’t ignite all by itself. It takes a collective of people thinking and acting consistently and congruently in the ways that realize it. This Illumify Game Changer minisode reveals how to ensure they hear and remember what is most essential to their common awareness of the leader’s change so that they ultimately act in alignment to help fulfil it.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/45-the-leaders-three-essentials

Produced by NOVA

45. The leader’s three essentials

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

A leader can’t point to a vision of change and tell people, “That’s what it is.” There’s nothing to point to as it doesn’t yet exist. Instead, leaders need to find the words that capture it in the way that helps others begin to see it. In this episode, Jonathan is challenged with identifying the three essential things that people need to know about his vision so he can begin to build their awareness of it. But there’s even more to it, as he discovers.

01:17 Amplify Question 38: What 3 things should they know about this?

04:18 The vision is an attempt to reconcile the private with the public, and why we took the wrong path.

07:16 It’s about creating a new way to live together in tune with our inner selves. What does it mean to be human today.

08:25 It’s not a prescription. It’s a new spirit, a new way of seeing.

10:52 The reason for three.

15:30 A headline vs. key messages.

21:48 Stepping beyond the question with two levels of essentials: Outside and inside the vision.

26:48 What do you want them to do upon hearing your vision?

27:50 A story about what happens when there’s no call to action.

31:40 Key messages are for them to remember and act upon.

36:38 Now I’m thinking more about the audience and what they need to know in order to act.

40:20 First you have to get them on side before they will act.

44:20 Why break with the past?

46:25 This is about the essence of your vision for them.

53:38 No resolution. To be continued.

Produced by NOVA

44. The Leader’s Headline for Change

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:34:36 +0000

A leader’s ability to convince others to help ignite a change means first being able to get their attention. And that’s no mean feat given all of the noise competing for our attention today. In this episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast, Jonathan is tasked with creating a headline that would cut through that noise enough to pique some initial interest.

01:10 Amplify Question 37: If you could write a headline for this significant change, what would it be?

06:00 It’s time to heal and build again. But rise is better.

09:00 After putting pen to paper, 4 headline options.

09:44 “Finding each other again.” What does that look like?

14:57 The sense of reciprocity is very important.

19:26 Since change is incremental, your headline can begin with an increment of your vision and then take them beyond.

21:38 “Let’s break with the past and return home together” is very interesting.

23:55 Finding the balance between comforting and reassurance and something more rigorous and demanding.

28:50 Final Answer.

31:00 The difference between raising awareness and reminding them.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:44 – “It gives a hint of the possibility.” – The Leader’s Headline

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Given how vast a vision of change can be, why would you even try to express it in just a headline? Well, there are a lot of reasons. It challenges you as a leader to find the essence of your vision. To distil it, and all its complexity, into just a few words. And for the audience, whether listening or reading, it makes it clear and succinct. You could do that, of course, without having to create a headline for it. But what a good headline has to do is make the “story” compelling enough to pull us into wanting to learn more. In his minisode, Jonathan learns why it’s worth the challenge.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/44-the-leaders-headline-for-change

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:43 – “This is who we are. This is what we can be” – The Leader’s Declaration

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

We hear leadership in particular ways. One is through the use of a linguistic construct called a “declaration”. There are different kinds of declarations, but the one most significant to leaders is a vision. In this minisode, Marianne explains how Jonathan’s vision is not just one declaration but actually a collection of them.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/43-the-leaders-vision-has-to-matter

Produced by NOVA

43. The leader’s vision has to matter

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Given that a leader’s vision is of the future and doesn’t yet exist, there’s no concrete evidence of what it is. It’s essential, therefore, to be able to describe it using the exact words that make it meaningful enough to others so they’ll listen and respond. That’s the very challenge Jonathan, a professional speech writer, faces in this next Illumify Game Changer question.

01:08 Reference Cards: Illumify definition, Enleaven definition, Guidelines

04:45 Does your vision now feel an integral part of you?

07:14 I feel I am walking back to the building site every morning and starting work again on my vision.

10:00 Now that you’re embodying your vision, do you see yourself as David or Goliath?

13:30 What vs. how, and his preference for why.

16:00 Amplify Question 36: How can you express your vision so it matters to them, not just to you?

20:50 A speech and a conversation at first glance appear very different.

23:22 The need for reassurance.

25:33 Are you expressing it in the way that matters to them, too?

29:25 The vision is a living, breathing thing that gives it the energy to reach beyond your inner circle.

31:42 Creation of the new always means destruction.

33:18 Spreading by word of mouth happens because it’s significant.

36:00 Each part of the vision would necessarily provoke and in some cases repel.

38:30 Jonathan begins to articulate his vision.

46:50 Jonathan expresses his vision more fully with the mastery of a speechwriter.

53:10 Deconstructing Jonathan’s “speech”.

57:05 We have to share the idea of what constitutes the good life.

01:02:23 Jonathan’s vision “statement” as a collection of declarations unified into one.

01:03:30 It’s through language that leadership emerges.

01:07:30 Final Answer to “How can you express your vision so it matters to them, not just to you?

01:10:55 Team members’ response to Jonathan’s vision: from confusion and shame to hope and inspiration.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:42: – “The moment they hear the vision, it has changed.” – The Leader’s Vision Comes to Life

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Your vision of meaningful change may start as just a glimmer of what could be. The more you tend it, reflect on it, and put words to it, as Jonathan has done in this leader’s journey, the more vivid and compelling it becomes to you. You may be determined to express it, and preserve it, just as you see it. But as this minisode reveals, your vision will change the very moment you share it.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/42-will-others-get-the-leaders-vision-of-change

Produced by NOVA

42. Will others get the leader’s vision of change?

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:12:31 +0000

One of the leader’s biggest challenges is to be able to express their vision of change in a way that other people “get it” enough to begin to see its significance for them. If not, they simply won’t act, and the leader’s vision of change won’t be realized. Jonathan already knows how important language is. In answering this next Amplify question, he sees that the words he would use could actually turn others off, and discovers how to prevent that. We’re joined in this conversation by Britanny, another member of my team.

01:18 Amplify Question 35: What don’t they get about this?

06:40 Language, like “Truth” and “Sacred Dignity,” may distract them because it’s overly moralistic and may sound like preaching.

09:45 From the broad sphere of your vision, what don’t they get about it?

12:10 It’s not about being pious. We are at our best when we together pursue the truth.

16:40 Journalists are not saints.

19:40 The gatekeepers determine the news that could unify us.

21:35 “Getting it” has a different level of complexity and precision than before.

26:30 A story of Watergate’s impact on journalism.

30:40 You have to give them permission to fail.

33:20 The danger of sounding intractable because of your language and tone of voice.

36:00 The importance of the word “we” as a call to come together.

38:37 Summarizing what they don’t get so far.

41:40 Truth doesn’t wrap itself around the vision. It’s good, clean, fresh air.

47:20 If truth is revitalizing, can it help spark your vision?

52:20 Final Answer

59:43 Finding the common thread through Inspiration.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:41 – “When you speak, you must be able to address and resolve their concerns in real time.” – The Leader Speaks To Their Concerns

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Even the most positive change provokes concerns. As this minisode of The Illumify Game Changer reveals, when leaders share their vision of meaningful change, they must be able to anticipate and resolve the concerns of those who could help them realize it. Otherwise even the most meaningful change will die on the vine.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/41-the-leader-speaks-to-their-concerns

Produced by NOVA

41. The leader speaks to their concerns

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

There are no half-measures when it comes to expressing your leadership. Knowing what concerns others may have about your vision is one thing; addressing them is quite another. In this episode of The Illumify Game Changer, the leader is asked to find the words to resolve those very concerns.

01:00 Reference Cards: Illumify Definition and Guidelines

08:25 Amplify Card 34: What can you say to resolve their concerns?

09:25 This vision is not a list. It’s a sphere, a collection of ideas that work together in tension with each other.

14:15 We start with freedom, and choose our own path.

17:25 Vision not a place of refuge but a solution.

20:20 It’s more important than ever that today we tell a true story about our past.

22:05 Can we find a way to organize ourselves that echoes the questions we face within our own selves?

25:25 We wake up every morning as humans, not as job seekers.

31:30 It’s perfectly understandable to worry about “strangers”.

33:40 Examples of pivotal historical events in Europe that speak to its value of freedom.

38:12 The truth of the European story is that we are a continent of refugees. All of us.

41:20 Is defending one’s home from others coming in a concern?

45:30 That’s where the story we tell is so important.

48:20 Are we able to tell the truth?

51:55 The real diversity is the one inside of us.

54:44 This is where we have to expand our notion of what “home” is.

58:40 You can be attached to your (former) home, and carry it with you.

1:00:25 “We are all united in our need for home.”

1:03:55 You have to be aware of their real-time concerns and address them as well.

1:05:42 You can’t just switch off the light without empowering them on what they can do about it.

1:06:00 Final Answer

1:11:00 The metaphor of the visionary as a film director.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:40 – “They’ll tune out.” – How leaders can ensure they’re heard.

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

As a leader, every time you speak, you have an opportunity to advance your leadership initiative. But first they have to hear you, and you can’t assume they’re even listening. In this minisode from episode 40, Marianne reveals what you can do to ensure they tune in to your every word.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/40-why-they-could-tune-out-the-leader-1

Produced by NOVA

40. Why they could tune out the leader.

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

If leaders can’t engage others, they won’t be able to ignite their meaningful change. But don’t be fooled that when you speak, they are even listening. There are a lot of reasons why they may not even hear you. As Jonathan learns in this Illumify Game Changer episode, it’s better to know what those are before you open your mouth to speak.

01:03 Reflecting on the importance of language to leadership.

02:40 Reference Cards, and the meaning of “collective”

04:45 Amplify Card 33: What concerns them about this?

10:40 They may be mostly happy where they are so it’s irrelevant to them.

13:13 Some would be squeamish about those words and ideas.

14:25 The moral overtone might be too heavy for some people.

18:35 Importance of common factual reality of truth, with examples of life and death stories.

22:50 “I don’t think my vision works unless it applies to every individual.”

28:30 There’s deep truth in our need for each other.

33:48 How do you address concerns about sharing a home when others posed a threat in the pandemic and there’s value in working remotely?

36:15 The 3 parts of the vision.

42:35 It’s truth among us that leads to trust and gives a deep strength that runs through the whole community.

47:33 The importance of due diligence to ensure you are heard.

59:05 It can be quiet resistance. They just withdraw. Follow them to see what they do.

1:01:05 A story about how culture can have a huge bearing on how we interpret what we hear.

1:04:10 Due diligence questions.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:39 – “If they can’t see it, they will not act.”– The Leader Sees What They Cannot

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

One of the primary reasons that meaningful change fails to ignite is because those on whom it depends to be realized just don’t see it the same way as the leader does. In this brief episode from episode 39, Marianne explains that we are each a unique composite and that determines our perspective. Leaders must be able to distinguish between their own perspective and those of others, and bridge the gaps.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/39-the-leader-sees-what-they-dont

Produced by NOVA

39. The Leader Sees What They Don’t

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Leaders can’t ignite their vision of meaningful change all by themselves, or they would. But others won’t act unless they, too, can see what the leader sees could be, or at least have a glimpse of it. In this Illumify Game Changer episode, Jonathan answers the question that can ultimately determine whether his vision ever gets realized – or not.

01:30 Amplify Card 32: What can’t they see?

02:15 A narrative on perspective

07:18 Do you see how you have a different perspective from the others?

08:35 A story of how people need help seeing because they don’t see that it matters. Even when it’s visible.

14:16 The importance of symbolism to your communication.

18:40 Picking up different lessons from life can infuse my vision and help others see and feel things.

19:10 The more sentient your vision can be, the more it will appeal to a variety of people.

21:16 We are a “composite” of our experiences, expertise and insights that give us a particular perspective.

23:25 If they can’t see it, they will not act.

27:25 Helping people see what lies beyond.

29:18 Can they see what your vision of a “shared home” looks like?

30:55 The metaphor of being the only one moved by a scene in a film. What do you see that they don’t?

34:54 Why shame, and not embarrassment? And how they differ.

41:35 What I see is not a film. It’s really happening. It really matters.

45:00 What to do when they can see it but don’t want to see it?

48:50 Your responsibility as a leader.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:38 – “Assumptions are based on what was and what is, not to what could be.”– Vision vs Assumptions

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

In this brief excerpt from episode 38, Jonathan discovers the importance of surfacing prevailing assumptions as they can hold others back from seeing the leader’s vision of what could be. And if they can’t see that it is meaningful to them, they will not act to help realize it.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/38-the-leaders-costly-assumptions

Produced by NOVA

38. The Leader’s Costly Assumptions

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Leaders have to be heard before they can expect anyone to respond to their change initiative. But there are a lot of impediments to people’s ability to hear what is actually being said. As this episode reveals, one of the biggest is our assumptions. They’re countless in number, and exist both individually and collectively. Just speaking of the new can be enough to trigger them. Thankfully, leaders have powerful tools in their communication to nullify them.

01:45 Amplify Card 31: What do they assume about this?

06:45 I’m seeing the risk of assumptions that lead to misunderstanding.

09:55 The challenge is that each word you speak about your vision is going to trigger assumptions.

15:20 There are going to be assumptions about me before I’ve said anything from both those who know me and those who don’t.

20:20 A sampling of different kinds of assumptions: based on logic; value; trauma; political; cultural; private; and public.

23:20 All of these assumptions test both the vision itself and how we get people to come on board.

24:40 Posing the question, “What if?” can help them feel it and see it.

27:40 Counsel on how to harness the power of conversation by hearing them.

32:30 How a declaration can cut through assumptions.

35:40 Assumptions help you tailor what to say to them.

38:28 Metaphor can be used to unlock resistance and get them to act on your vision.

43:10 Can we create something new that’s not built on assumptions?

46:40 We can’t let our baggage weigh us down.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:37 “It’d be a lot easier if they were all similar.” – Leading The Diverse

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

To ignite change, leaders need to engage, align and mobilize a collective. But what if that collective is made up of individuals who have little or nothing in common? That’s just what Jonathan ponders in this minisode from Episode 37.

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifygamechanger.com/episodes/37-the-leader-surfaces-beliefs

Produced by NOVA

37. The Leader Surfaces Beliefs

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

When a leader’s vision comes up against beliefs, the beliefs win every time because we only act in accordance with our beliefs. In this episode, Jonathan searches for the beliefs held by those who could help ignite his vision. In the process, he surfaces three essential beliefs that underpin his vision. We also speak about the terrifying nature of truth, and the power of wonder to elevate and repair us.

01:15 Amplify Card 30: What do they believe about this today?

06:30 Beliefs are what we hold to be true.

09:18 I have to have confidence in the common ground in the things we hold to be true.

11:18 The central belief is that of sacred dignity.

13:37 Even amongst those who can help ignite the change, there’s been something missing.

14:40 There’s something deeper than human rights – the bedrock.

18:23 This vision isn’t for everybody.

27:10 Our need for each other at the heart of the vision is new.

30:15 We act in accordance with our beliefs.

34:08 Some people will be immediately turned off by language that smacks of religion.

37:35 Martin Luther King’s vision of our ability to live together.

40:10 The first step is recognizing that we walk through life with more than just one lens.

43:38 The danger is that what we see through the one lens we view as the truth.

49:50 The absoluteness of the perfect truth becomes terrifying.

51:20 How can we reach absolute truth as unfathomable complex individuals?

56:30 Each person’s distinct individuality is part of their sacred dignity.

59:25 “Kind of like a nudist colony.”

01:03:25 Retreating behind our own lens is terrifying because how then can we all live together?

01:05:20 When you say something that is inherently false but provocative, your voice will just blend in with everyone else’s.

01:14:15 I want the vision to be in tune with our inner life.

01:20:12 Does “wonder” have a place in this?

01:22:35 As adults, if we could capture a little bit of wonder in our lives, what would that do to elevate us?

01:27:50 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:36 – “You’ve hit on the very reason most significant change fails to ignite.” -- The Leader’s Greatest Risk.

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Leaders risk failure from the first moment they speak to others about their meaningful change -- unless they ensure they do what this minisode from Episode 36 reveals.

Listen to the full episode here: 36. The Leader Contemplates Feeling

Produced by NOVA

36. The Leader Contemplates Feeling

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Your vision as a leader has to matter to others in order for them to be willing to help you realize it. In this episode, Jonathan looks at whether those in his inner circle even feel that there’s a need for change. It’s very easy to assume they do, and then be disappointed when they don’t act. As he discovers, even when others lament what is, you may be the only one who can see what could be. And be willing to act to make it so.

00:00 Amplify Question 29: How do they feel about it now?

04:28 If your inner circle doesn’t get it, is that a signal to you?

06:15 If you have a vision and put your name to it, if you’re being truthful to it, you have to see it through.

08:30 If they don’t feel the need for change, you’ve identified another chasm to cross.

09:25 The vision is two things: an understanding of the now and rejection of it; and a response of what could be, something that is new.

12:35 How would they know there has to be a change if I haven’t even said it myself?

15:00 Diagnosis could identify a solution. Could it just be “observation” instead?

19:40 I’m a good conversationalist when there’s something at stake and we get to the heart of it.

24:50 Even when they feel the same as you, do they feel the need to change? Or do they accept what is?

27:00 Metaphor of being in a mine with the only light.

30:40 I’m not feeling enlightened by my vision because it comes from within.

34:22 You’ve hit on the crux of why most significant change fails to ignite.

38:33 We don’t need to be a leader in every dimension of our lives.

39:47 Relying on friends to feel the very same way as you sets you up for disappointment.

40:16 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:35 – “Leaders have to identify the right conversation and manage it impeccably.” – The Leader’s Call To Action

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Action is essential to leadership; otherwise things stay exactly the same and change fails to ignite. In this brief excerpt from Episode 35, Marianne reveals how action is essential to the leader’s conversation.

Listen to the full episode here: 35. The Leader Reflects on The Difference

Produced by NOVA

35. The Leader Reflects on The Difference

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Action is essential to leadership. Otherwise, nothing will change. In this episode, Jonathan reflects on what emerged for him in answering the previous question, “What difference would it make to them?” He confronts the shame over his own inaction so far; questions whether it’s even possible to have a vision that serves both others and himself; discerns the difference between private and public; and discovers how conversation and action are inextricably linked for leaders.

01:38 Reflections on the last card, “What difference would it make to them?”

03:50 The card took me to a lonelier, private place, asking if they share with me the desire to change?

06:00 I felt several moments of shame where my own inaction stares me in the face.

08:20 Can something be of Service to others and be self-serving without negating its Service component?

10:05 We don’t dissolve into a community. We stand within it and take action.

12:05 Love and respect for each other does not mean we agree. We have to be able to disagree on ideas, diagnosis and solutions.

14:17 Realizing your vision is only self-serving if you feel your work is done.

17:38 When we do something with love, can we highlight the conditions of that love?

25:18 Whatever the form of self-expression, it is good and serves the community because it allows the individual to express herself and become her true self over time.

27:10 Are the terms of engagement different in public and private?

30:35 The vision reaffirms the necessary and good differences between public and private without erecting a wall between them.

33:42 Privacy is a fundamental human spiritual need, along with equal need for belonging to something bigger.

37:33 Conversation & Action: The critical importance of conversation to a leader.

41:15 Managing meeting conversations impeccably.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:34 - “My vision is a new way of seeing the world.” – The Leader’s Vision

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:30:00 +0000

A leader’s vision isn’t meant to tell people what to do. It’s not a prescription, as Jonathan says in this brief excerpt from Episode 34. It’s a new spirit – one with an energy that sparks and ignites.

Listen to the full episode here: 34. The Leader’s Difference

Produced by NOVA

34. The Leader’s Difference

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Leaders are driven by their vision of meaningful change. But their vision won’t be realized unless those who can help ignite it see the value of that change. What actual difference will it make to them and their lives? In this episode, Jonathan reveals that his vision gives us what is essential to our very core.

01:15 Amplify Card 28: What difference would it make to them?

03:44 That first moment of meaningful change has to be a grabbing of attention, an opening of ears and eyes, because there’s something genuinely new.

05:35 How do you communicate a new approach to an ancient truth?

06:50 There’s a movement away from their posture of fear about their own sense of home.

09:35 There has to be a beginning of the recovery of trust.

12:40 The vision would be a renewal of a sense of belonging and shared purpose, and the courage to go back into the public square.

18:24 The importance of meaning and connection in our lives.

20:23 We become our true selves when we become part of something bigger.

24:10 What it means to “ignite”.

26:46 This vision would have to generate a new spirit.

31:40 Explaining the leader’s role in guiding others on how to act on the vision.

35:50 The need to crack them wide open from numbness.

37:55 We can’t be comfortable with ourselves so we need stimulation. We can’t be still.

40:25 “Enleaven” is the antithesis of numb.

41:46 The deep joys of life are with other people. We feel numb because we’re alone.

44:00 Final Answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:33 – “Our need to be part of something much bigger than ourselves.” – The Leader’s Service

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Do we have a compelling need to contribute? In this brief excerpt from Episode 33, we discuss what could be a leader’s very purpose.

Listen to the full episode here: [Link]

Produced by NOVA

33. The Leader Explores Home

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

When a leader has a vision of change, others have to be able to see it too or they won’t act to help realize it. That means they have to share the same understanding of what it is. In Jonathan’s case, his vision centres on a new shared home. It’s easy to assume that everyone knows what home is. But do they? What does home really mean? In this episode, Jonathan explores life with and without a home. Digging deep, he surfaces six different dimensions of home. He ultimately lands on feeling at home within ourselves and whether or not we can share a home when there are cracks within the walls.

03:05 What is homelessness to you, the visionary?

05:30 What I’m addressing is the normalization of homelessness.

07:35 It’s the pursuit of unity and integrity within yourself that matters.

14:30 Fearing it could be ourselves, we might close the door.

14:45 A story of how some respond to change on their terrain.

19:30 What degradation of our values allows us to tolerate a high degree of homelessness.

21:30 Culture develops from place and home, and ultimately shapes our values.

22:30 Some of what we lose when we’re homeless.

31:20 The bigger idea of home where you can be the person you want to be, whatever that is.

32:30 A summary of Jonathan’s 6 dimensions of homelessness.

37:30 You can lose your home even if you’ve stayed exactly where you are.

37:45 The risk of being in pursuit.

39:45 We can carry home with us wherever we go.

45:30 An anecdote about bringing people together in a Copenhagen café.

47:20 What would the “shared home” be?

51:35 How does “secret” inform home?

54:10 Exploring three different meanings of “secret”.

1:04:00 Does home being secret mean they can’t find it?

1:07:17 Is there an inner chamber that only some have the key to open?

1:10:13 It’s easy to understand that a group is nervous about encroachment.

1:12:12 What if the majority of individuals are missing that sense of home from within?

1:13:17 Jonathan’s vision of a shared home.

1:18:09 Central to my vision is that each person chooses their own path.

1:19:00 Contribution vs. Service

1:22:00 Our need to serve something much bigger than ourselves is so important.

1:25:50 How do you share a home when no one feels at home right now?

1:27:35 My sense is that the fractures within may take a little longer to repair.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:32 - “You can give them the facts ‘til the cows come home – The Leader Unlocks the Key to Action

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Realizing a big vision takes more than just one leader. So how do you invoke others to help? In this minisode from Episode 32, Jonathan discovers that it takes more than just facts.

Listen to the full episode here: 32. The Leader Struggles with Interest

Produced by NOVA

32. The Leader Struggles with Interest

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Leaders usually do one of two things: they meaningfully challenge the status quo; or they meaningfully resist a challenge to the status quo. In this episode, Jonathan discovers that he does both. He then struggles with his dislike for the word “interest” in answering this next Amplify question.

01:35 Reflections on how it feels to give that oldest part of you a voice.

04:07 The urge to escape the human.

05:38 Nostalgia is not a vision

06:13 Making our human life together better interests me.

09:18 Demonstrating two forms of leadership.

11:35 The need for tremendous discernment in leadership.

13:25 I have a deep sense that many are living in some form of resistance.

17:50 Do good people have to be swimming against the tide?

19:00 Reference cards: Illumify definition, Enleaven definition, Guidelines.

20:30 Explanation of the Amplify stage.

22:04 Card 27: Why is this in their interests?

24:50 If the vision is truthful, it will matter to people’s hearts first and foremost.

28:22 We can’t make decisions unless we feel something.

29:50 Quickly signing up or seeing it in their interests problematic.

30:50 Interest vs. self-interest.

36:50 The vision may always be self-serving for them, hitting at their secret fears.

38:40 The heartache is the key to action.

41:40 You have to appreciate their state of mind, even if you don’t share it.

43:20 How to harness individual private activity to a public good?

43:48 Final answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:31 - “Some paths feel more aligned with us than others.” – Marianne’s Reason

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Someone recently called this podcast Marianne’s “gift of love to the world”. In each episode, she’s revealing part of her Illumify® Method of igniting leaders and their initiatives. Listen to this brief minisode to discover why.

Listen to the full episode here: 31. The Introverted Leader Wrestles with Leadership

Produced by NOVA

31. The Introverted Leader Wrestles with Leadership

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Leadership demands a lot of us. So much that it can be tempting to turn away, if only to protect yourself from the barbs that come from challenging the status quo. In this episode, Jonathan grapples with his introverted self that tempts him to keep his vision to himself. Nor, as he discovers, can he expect others to assume equal responsibility for igniting his vision.

01:11 How does expressing your vision feel in the context of rallies?

05:23 “No one gets hurt if I keep this to myself.”

09:41 Jean takes scrutiny and rejection out of the equation when being of Service.

11:21 What if they are just as responsible for igniting your vision as you are?

13:00 Marianne’s cautionary note of failed change in “shared leadership”.

15:50 Challenging your own introversion to step up.

17:25 Where does the harm and hurt come from in speaking up?

20:31 Changing the pronoun from “your” vision to “the” vision.

22:51 Be an “ambassador” for the vision, and enable others to carry your message for you.

24:41 Speak in the present tense, not the future tense, to eliminate doubt and reassure.

29:01 Organizational leadership, Gandhi, Mandela and the depth of courage.

32:41 The voices of dissent are going to be there.

34:01 Is resistance enough for change?

36:33 How to lead in light of the two extremes.

38:26 The metaphor of Canada Geese for leadership.

42:01 Seeing the vision as public gives me confidence in me and the vision.

44:11 Dealing with excitement, rather than derision, around your vision.

46:05 Who doesn’t want to be heard?

48:31 What part of your vision do you decidedly disregard?

53:58 Marianne’s reason and hope for listeners.

56:01 When you know what you’re here to do…

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:30 - “Is the leader’s vision even on their radar?” – The Leader Searches for Help

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Leaders can't ignite meaningful change all by themselves. But who would care enough to help? In this minisode from episode 30 of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast, the leader looks beyond his inner circle to find them.

Listen to the full episode here: 30. Who’s Even Interested in the Leader’s Vision?

Produced by NOVA

30. Who’s Even Interested in the Leader’s Vision?

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When leaders speak about their meaningful change, it has to be of interest to listeners. If not, they’ll tune out, and it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get them to tune back in. In this episode, Jonathan considers whether his vision is of interest to those he sees could help him realize it. But could it be they’re too preoccupied right now to even have it on their radar?

00:00 Amplify Card 26: What interests them?

01:20 There’s a deep sense of worry about whether we are sharing a factual reality together. That’s when we start to lose our bearings even more.

06:00 We all have a deep need for privacy – to take refuge in our homes without intrusion.

08:15 What could be more important than how we connect?

11:25 Something else has changed. We’re losing the sense that we share a common sense of what’s happening.

15:03 A stranger’s offer of help.

18:25 Imagine if those in your collective asked, “Can I help”?

21:00 What would happen if you could show all the homeless the way home?

26:10 What if I spent a year just talking to the homeless? What could mean more?

28:00 The story of the young girl’s Lady Bug Campaign.

30:00 The change you ignite is at the level of what is most significant to you.

33:50 If what you see is a shared home, that makes your vision quite distinct.

36:40 The shared home is also out there on the street, in the city centre, in the world.

37:50 The question is what “interests” them, not what “concerns” them.

38:40 This is too big not to be preoccupied with.

42:30 Does it have to be on their radar?

43:38 I have to start with the idea that my vision would resonate. I have to have faith.

45:50 The question again: Is this change of interest to them?

47:20 If the vision has come from a long process of insight, it must contain some truth that will resonate with other people – even those I don’t know yet.

52:00 The beginning of the movement: Familiarity, belonging and recognition. Connection.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:29 - “The only thing you can do to reclaim your power is to let go.” – The Leader May Choose to Surrender

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When the leader faces a large chasm between what is now and what they know could be, it can be overwhelming at times. In this minisode from Episode 29, Katherine shares the powerful practice of Surrender.

Listen to the full episode here: 29. The Leader’s People

Produced by NOVA

29. The Leader’s People

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Leaders see what could be, beyond what is now. Their vision is of a future that doesn’t yet exist. As Jonathan knows, there’s a big chasm between the world now and the one in his vision. In this episode, he identifies those who may be willing to help him cross that chasm and ignite.

00:00 Reflections

3:45 Who do you see who should be on that first new ground with you?

7:30 What would the next circle be of people who would step up and help you ignite your vision of a shared home?

10:45 The European Movement

26:35 It’s an important part of my vision that it wouldn’t have to be geographically located.

28:10 We can root ourselves again.

32:00 I’m talking about the need to reconnect our political actions with our values.

35:00 Sacred dignity and your journey.

41:00 Gaining clarity on your vision is a continual process.

42:00 I’m blind, fumbling my way in the dark, yet can see things others can’t.

43:30 You shift from living your life for yourself to living it for others.

45:50 They see you completely differently. And you don’t notice–because it’s not about you anymore.

48:00 You’ve voiced what is so typical of leaders.

49:30 To whom does your vision matter?

56:00 Being here in Toronto is aligned with my vision as I’m taking action thousands of miles from home.

58:45 The concept of home is where life starts.

1:02:00 What it means to surrender.

1:07:00 Final Answer: To whom does your vision matter?

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:28 - “Most Leaders’ Communications Don’t Reflect Who Is Listening” – The Leader’s Vision Matters

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

The key difference between a leader’s communication and all other types of communication is that it needs to drive a response. To do that, you need to first know who to reach. This minisode from episode 28 speaks to why that matters.

Listen to the full episode here: 28 - The Leader’s Vision Matters

Produced by NOVA

28 - The Leader’s Vision Matters

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Igniting a big vision of change takes real leadership. You have to be able to engage, align and mobilize all those who can help. But if your change doesn’t matter to them, they won’t listen or act. So how do you ensure they care about it? First, as Jonathan discovers in this episode, you have to know who they are.

01:04 Amplify Question 25: To whom does this matter?

02:52 Why do you say it’s not your job to make it matter?

06:30 “Part of my job is to make it matter.”

07:08 It’s not about salesmanship.

09:00 My vision goes beyond a political one to the idea of nesting.

11:22 We move through culture to values to a political system and then ultimately out of it.

14:31 What does it mean to be human goes beyond politics.

19:06 Moving around is not normal. The human need to stay at home is strong.

23:31 I do believe that a lot of people today are feeling uprooted, disoriented, dislocated and fragmented, not feeling they’re a part of anything. We lack a common sense of purpose.

28:19 I think you can be someone who has lived in the same town for 20 years and feel equally uprooted and lonely.

32:04 Nomad definition: “A member of a people who have no permanent home but move according to the season.”

35:33 Is it about inspiring them to help you ignite your vision?

36:50 At some point in the future, I would want the political system to respond to this.

42:30 The moral legitimacy of taking my vision into Denmark where some of these values already exist.

44:51 You can live in a place that’s in tune with your values and still have a sharp sense of things needing to change.

47:33 Is there a European ideal of a shared home?

48:47 This question is designed to identify who you need to engage? Put a face on it.

55:55 How can you begin to identify the vehicle if you don’t know who you need to reach?

56:47 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:27 - "Too many people do not feel at home within themselves." - The Leader’s Affected

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

There’s an epidemic of loneliness in the world today. In this minisode from Episode 27, Jonathan sees that it’s something his vision of a shared home must help resolve.

Listen to the full episode here: 27. The Leader’s Affected

Produced by NOVA

27. The Leader’s Affected

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Having a vision of meaningful change is the first monumental step in your leader’s journey. But it’s essential to know if your change would matter to others as well – enough that they may even help you realize it. In this episode, Jonathan explores who would most benefit from his vision of a shared home.

01:29 Reference Cards: Illumify Definition;

02:32 Enleaven definition and the Enleavening experience

8:34 Guidelines

09:28 Perhaps the hardest part of this is the leap into the unknown.

10:33 You’re now able to stand in the known, and lead them into the unknown.

11:37 Amplify Question 24: Who will this affect the most?

14:53 If your vision speaks to a need, the first to respond would be in tune with your vision.

22:04 Some of those early responders might be those who completely reject the vision.

24:48 What makes your heart ache gets to what’s urgent and intolerable, beyond anger and rage.

26:00 The most urgent wrong that must be righted is physical homelessness.

28:22 The most nourishing and fulfilling freedom is the one that allows you to become what you want to be.

33:27 I believe we can build a shared home that responds to our basic needs as human beings.

37:18 There are many ways people leave a home.

39:27 The epidemic of loneliness because too many do not feel at home within themselves.

40:30 Finding your own path is a vital part of the vision.

44:18 If the individual is not at home within themselves, how do they become part of a shared home?

48:03 The loneliness we feel even when with other people is not a loneliness that comes from distance. It’s something else.

49:40 Do you have a better sense now of who your vision affects the most?

51:56 Final Answer

54:31 Making the chasm deeper with “What if?”

1:03:35 Jonathan’s distinct ability, his “super power”, on loneliness

1:05:55 The connection between loneliness within and our choices in society.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:26 - “My new desire to step up has been triggered by these conversations." - The Leader’s Journey So Far

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jonathan has arrived in Canada to continue his leader’s journey. In this minisode from episode 26, he shares whether he is still feeling the same about being a leader as he did when we began.

Listen to the full episode here: 26. The Leader’s Journey So Far

Produced by NOVA

26. The Leader’s Journey So Far

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

We’ve left London to head home to Toronto, where a few weeks later, Jonathan joins us to continue his leader’s journey. He begins by reflecting on what’s emerged for him from these Illumify questions and how he’s now feeling about igniting his vision of change.

00:59 The Illumify Game Changer experience so far.

10:26 Does Artificial Intelligence’s ability to consume your words stifle you from vocalizing your vision?

14:25 What if your words get so refracted that no one can hear you?

16:30 At some point you just have to get out there as a leader standing before the crowd.

17:54 Leadership emerges through language, and is made credible by action.

23:28 Illuminate can verify for you if you’re on the path you’re meant to be on.

28:58 All of our conversations were swirling around in my head.

34:52 Feeling some fear.

38:41 Values like expediency, speed, and convenience have led us down the wrong path.

41:27 Why and how leaders use a pause when they speak.

47:53 In my vision of the good life, we all find our own path.

50:05 The question of how and where we direct our attention is absolutely essential to the quality of our life.

54:30 To dig down and find the truth about yourself and accept it takes courage.

54:38 How do we build a bridge to cross the chasm between me and my vision?

59:07 What if the chasm is filled with the new ground?

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:25 - “Does a good true vision need something in it that offers reconciliation?” – The Leader’s Uncomfortable Change

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Change can make some people uncomfortable, even when what is now isn’t serving them well. In this minisode, Jonathan reveals what he can do as a leader to help them be more comfortable with his vision of change.

Listen to the full episode here: 25. The Leader’s Uncomfortable Change

Produced by NOVA

25. The Leader’s Uncomfortable Change

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A leader’s vision of meaningful change can make others very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable in fact that they may even fight it furiously. Why is that when it’s change that could better their lives? In this episode, Jonathan reveals the answer and what he can do about it.

01:00 Amplify Question: How might this change make some people uncomfortable?

06:24 If our assumptions are part of our identity, the story we tell ourselves, then breaking with them will be painful.

09:11 I’m hearing and voicing the criticism. This is how it would make some people uncomfortable. And angry.

14:13 If we’re breaking with an old world, and want to bring people with us, then we have to gently separate them from that identity.

16:33 The new vision doesn’t tell people what to do.

18:59 Not comfortable with a vision which sees in its mission changing people’s behaviour.

21:50 My rejection of what is now is because I have a deep conviction that too many people are having to live against the grain of the prevailing conditions of choice.

25:34 What to say to those whose life is most in tune with what is now.

29:03 If not guiding, do you see your role as leading?

36:39 The road of the past had become a dead end.

41:48 If I’m confident to break with the past, it’s not because I am judging you. I’m judging the conditions.

44:45 A story of crossing the chasm of change, and who goes first.

57:10 A story of scientists sharing shaped by the environment.

01:00:01 Adding not subtracting choice. It has to feel like an expansion of possibility.

01:03:26 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:24 - “Who are you to make this happen? Come on!” – The Leader’s Own Resistance

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When you have a big vision, it’s all too easy to give in to the voice inside you that shouts, “Who do you think you are to do this?” As Jonathan discovers in this minisode of Episode 24, leaders must overcome any self-limiting beliefs and just take it one step at a time.

Listen to the full episode here: [Link]

Produced by NOVA

24. The Leader’s Own Resistance

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Even leaders who have a vision of meaningful change can engage in self-sabotaging thoughts and actions. In answering this next Amplify question, Jonathan looks within to reveal anything he might do to impede his own ability to ignite his meaningful change.

00:58 Amplify Question 22: What could impede your ability to ignite this change?

02:59 My vision feels right and true. I can put my arms around it. But then…

04:18 The questioning voice that says, “What do you see yourself as here?”

06:13 Action is so important, as the first step and every step.

06:29 “What is really magical is that these self-sabotaging endeavours have any power over the small, constructive step.”

09:42 There’s a necessary loss of balance. I’m feeling the freedom of letting go and being off balance for a while.

13:18 Being on your path reinvigorates and refuels you. You need the courage to take that first step.

15:53 I know that there is part of me that doesn’t allow myself joy in difficult times.

17:44 That joy is fuel means it’s necessary to rediscover the joy of work.

18:51 Final answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:23 - “We have built institutions that go against the grain of who we are.” – The Leader’s Barriers To Change

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

As Jonathan says in this minisode from Episode 23, each of us is complex. And that’s a good thing. Yet our institutions don’t reflect it; they deny it. “Today, we break with the past”, he declares, “because we have to.”

Listen to the full episode here: 23. The Leader’s Barriers to Change

Produced by NOVA

23. The Leader’s Barriers to Change

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Leaders challenge what is now: the status quo. And that always provokes resistance from others who prefer, for whatever reason, for things to stay just as they are. As a leader, it’s not about protecting yourself from the barbs. It’s about expressing your vision of change so it becomes meaningful to them too. So meaningful that it quells their resistance, and they willingly help you ignite it. First, though, you have to be aware of where the resistance is right now, and why. And that’s what Jonathan confronts in this episode as he answers the next Amplify question.

01:27 Amplify Card 21: What is preventing this change right now?

04:17 We have built institutions that go against the grain of who we are.

04:44 People don’t want to be measured; they want to be appreciated.

07:56 With our idea of progress, what is the vision the technology serves?

08:36 AI-generated email as a violation of trust.

13:18 Institutions as the embodiment of ideas and assumptions.

14:07 Politics as the idea of working together to find solutions rather than a war between competing interests.

16:41 Given the human complexity of even one individual, how can we as a community only have the choice of a “blue” team or a “red” team?

18:26 Our current system of politics is preventing change because it denies who we are.

19:50 In the real world, complex organizations get things done.

22:36 My vision seeks to defeat, to undo, those institutions that deny the pluralism within each one of us.

23:07 “Today we break with the past. Because we have to.”

23:51 When the assumptions are considered to be true: “this is who we are”

24:55 Crevices within a country create deep fissures that ultimately lead to anger and resentment.

27:22 Katherine’s story of a rollerblading injury analogous to the anger seeping into those living in a fractured world.

30:46 Being on the edge of the abyss with everything at stake.

31:35 Redefining the word “humanity”.

35:25 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:22 - “If our work denies who we are, we’re on the wrong path.” – The Leader's Vision Uplifts Us

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Whether we work to live or live to work, our work doesn’t define us. In this minisode from episode 22, Jonathan speaks to how our work can be aligned with our true selves.

Listen to the full episode here: 22 – The Leader’s Vision Uplifts Us

Produced by NOVA

22 – The Leader’s Vision Uplifts Us

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

As a leader, realizing your vision of change takes more than just you. So it also has to matter to all those who can help you. In this episode, Jonathan looks at how his vision of a shared home enleavens to change lives and restore the true value of their work.

01:00 Reflections on the previous question of what difference it will make.

07:00 This is not about certainty. There is a necessary suppleness built into the vision.

08:55 Reference Card: Definition of “Enleaven”.

09:19 Amplify Question 20: How does this enleaven the world?

10:25 Postures of surrender: worship, defeat, Truth.

12:21 Standing up together, uplifted.

17:05 Rising up individually.

18:36 A film’s depiction of recognition and integration into the community.

21:25 It’s the ground that is the vision.

24:24 Preserving what we know to be true in the house we build together.

26:25 The invisible architecture of our souls.

28:25 How our day begins alone.

35:55 We are complex, containing many different things.

41:47 We awaken into our dignity and freedom.

43:56 Living in a country where workaholism is a badge of honour.

50:52 Through work we can become our true selves.

53:36 If we work in the ways that deny who we are, we are on the wrong path.

58:58 The metaphor of a tree having to be rooted in good healthy soil.

1:02:05 Redefining work as “contribution”.

1:04:58 Rescuing the word “competition”

1:09:40 Competition as the reason turns life into comparison.

1:15:02 Craft is the idea that anything we do, we can do with love, care and attention.

1:15:47 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:21 - “You have established a sense of peace within you.” – The Leader’s Reward

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When only you can see what could be, the world can be a lonely place. In this minisode from episode 21, Jonathan speaks to how quenching that loneliness for a leader doesn’t come from other people affirming that what you see matters. It comes from within yourself and bears gifts.

Listen to the full episode here: 21. The Leader Sees The Difference

Produced by NOVA

21. The Leader Sees The Difference

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Realizing a vision of meaningful change takes a lot. There will be resistance both from those who are benefitting from what is now and from those who would prefer to hang onto the familiar, even when they know it’s not ideal. So why would anyone be willing to do the hard work of leading the way to realizing a vision? In this episode, this leader questions whether it’s worth the effort.

01:12 Card 19 Amplify

05:10 The power of language to convince others and bring them along with you.

07:46 How would the texture and content of my day-to-day change?

14:21 How much of your current life would you be willing to change?

16:19 A question of your relationship with familiarity.

19:07 Working for an institution vs. doing everything yourself

22:00 Reconciling the need for balance in life.

26:49Curating what’s on your path with discernment.

31:11 It’s not about doing it. It’s about how your world will feel when you have done it.

34:06 Feeling promise in the world; the promise of a better day.

37:10 Being true to the vision you’ve seen.

47:13 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:20 - How Do We Know Leaders?

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

In this brief minisode from Episode 20, Marianne shares how leadership emerges and what makes it credible. And Jonathan speaks to the power of the possible.

Listen to the full episode here: 20. The Leader’s Big Why

Produced by NOVA

20. The Leader’s Big Why

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

There are lots of things in our lives that are important to us. But “important” is all relative. Something can be important to us right now but be easily replaced by something else tomorrow. Our willingness to keep it or protect it when it’s threatened is a measure of its importance to us. And that’s for things that exist already. When you instead have a vision of what doesn’t yet exist, there’s another measure. Why does it matter? And not just to you but to those who could help you realize it. If it doesn’t matter enough to both you and them, a leader has no chance of igniting it. Jonathan’s big vision rests in large part on his answer to this next question.

01:35 Reference Cards: Illumify Definition; Enleaven; Guidelines

03:25 Amplify Question 18

05:56 We have to tell a story of ourselves which is truthful.

09:54 Why does my vision matter? Because, at the heart of it, in what it’s trying to repair.

13:44 1984 and a personal story illustrating the power of mother and memory.

18:22 Why it matters is the loss of dignity in the world where we need to break with the past.

21:50 The loss of dignity both inside and outside the house, and the need to be willing to defend it from those who seek to destroy it.

32:26 Is this leadership that is meaningfully challenging or meaningfully resisting challenges?

37:44 We can build an economy nourished by trust and respect for each other.

41:28 If we sign up to this vision today, it’s important that we declare and celebrate victory as it happens

42:13 How leadership emerges through words and actions.

46:34 Final Answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:19 - “It’s new ground but not a new planet” – The Need for Significant Change

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Today’s minisode comes from episode 19, where Marianne and Jonathan explore the discovery of the need for significant change. Tune into this clip as we unpack what it means to work from new ground and its role in a vision… and that we don’t need to escape to another planet to stand on it.

Listen to the full episode here: 19. The Leader’s Story

Produced by NOVA

19. The Leader’s Story

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

We are each on our own journey. We can travel the very same roads and yet see very different things from one another. And even when something draws our attention, we can choose to turn away or not. That’s what makes the leader’s journey different. There’s no turning away. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it if you know that changing it matters. In this episode, Jonathan shares the story of how his vision of meaningful change emerged as he journeyed through life.

01:21 Amplify Question 17

03:02 It’s the life I wanted.

04:22 I wouldn’t have felt this opportunity for change 20 years ago because the world was in a place of deep optimism.

06:20 It’s new ground but not a new planet.

10:50 One of the urges in my vision is to find a way of addressing how we find ourselves fractured across a fractured community.

13:33 The vision of change comes from scanning the landscape with acuity, and feeling it.

19:35 It comes back to my story of what Europe is and can be.

22:30 My vision speaks to the idea that there are people who feel uprooted, disconnected, alienated even within their own home.

25:28 There are people who have not left home but still feel uprooted.

27:42 No human being can get to the perfect definitive truth about themselves because there are mechanisms of denial and delusion within ourselves. But do we want to try?

29:30 A moving story of a film sparking you to say “Enough! This can’t go on.”

33:37 Seeing the false note in the realm of truth enables you to see the patterns.

37:09 When you can’t reform your way out because the soil needs to be changed.

37:55 The power of the storyteller.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:18 - Language as a Tool for Greater Awareness

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

This minisode from episode 18 is one of our favorite moments from this conversation, as Marianne and Jonathan explore the metaphorical process of digging not just downwards to unearth the truth, but moving forward into new spaces of understanding. Tune in to learn about the growth and expansion of consciousness through the power of words.

Listen to the full episode here: 18. The Leader’s Willingness to Change

Produced by NOVA

18. The Leader’s Willingness to Change

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Surfacing what matters most to you that doesn’t yet exist takes a lot of self-inquiry. In answering all of the questions so far, Jonathan has delved deep with courage and tenacity. He has a vision, and now has to turn his focus away from himself onto those who can help him realize it. In this episode, he discovers some of what’s involved in leading them. Leadership is not for the faint of heart. So before we move forward into “Amplifying” his vision, he’s asked one more time to reconfirm his commitment to igniting it.

01:05 Introduction to Amplify

04:30 Reference Cards: introducing Enleaven

07:14 “I feel that my own consciousness has expanded into a new space that we’ve created together through the conversation.”

13:07 Michael Angelo’s David and expansion.

15:25 “Even before we get to Amplify, I do have a sense that we have expanded to get to the vision.”

18:25 To rise up, you have to leave behind what’s holding you back.

27:55 From gaining clarity and confidence and expanding yourself, we move now to enabling you to lead the collective that can help you ignite your vision.

47:45 A story about nesting (and pockets).

49:37 The moment we wake up is not as part of the economy but as individuals.

55:22 A shared culture that can produce trust.

01:01:29 On the new ground, the economy can be embedded in the nest of dignity.

01:04:38 Why do we not have truth embedded in our constitutions? Is it too vast?

01:06:45 Amplify Question 16

01:11:35 A sense of purpose and return of confidence go hand-in-hand.

01:17:00 Declarations that change social reality.

01:22:30 The effects of shame and judgment on you.

01:33:58 Is there anything you’re not willing to change about yourself?

01:42:46 Re-examining, and rescuing, the virtue of humility.

01:51:42 Do we need to stay open to challenging even things within the core of truth?

02:01:17 Being open to a replenishing of values.

02:03:32 The vision needs to reflect diversity.

02:05:08 Final answer.

02:17:11 Where integrity fits.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:17 - Finding Truth and Redemption through Moments of Despair

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Having completed all of the Illuminate questions and surfaced his vision of meaningful change, in this minisode from episode 17, Jonathan reflects candidly on how he has found his path through moments of despair. He shares the mantra that has guided his life so far: “There is no one secret to life here”.

Listen to the full episode here: 17. The Leader’s Journey So Far

Produced by NOVA

17. The Leader’s Journey So Far

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jonathan is at a crossroad in his leader’s journey. He’s completed all of the Illuminate questions and surfaced his vision of meaningful change. In this episode, he reveals how it feels to lose himself before finding his true path. As he embarks into the next phase of his leader’s journey, I explain what it means to “Amplify”, and then ask him what he’s bringing with him of all that he’s illuminated.

01:50 The power of conversation to bring things to the surface. There is a good and necessary confrontation in each question.

06:50 You’ve captured what Illuminate is all about – clarity.

07:29 When it’s just out of reach, you sense the ground falling away and you’re in free fall. For a moment, we lose ourselves.

10:54 “I’m keenly aware that I’ve discovered pathways and chambers that I’ve never been in before.”

12:26 “The conversation is the thing.”

18:05 The paradox that we have to lose ourselves before we can find ourselves.

26:01 A “shared home” is the beginning and the heart of the vision.

29:09 There’s nothing worse than the idea that you reach a moment in your life and you realize you have not lived your life well and it’s too late to change that. What an awful feeling that must be.

31:25 A mother’s anger.

35:13 Knowing your north star can be a powerful compass to the good life.

37:45 The leader arrives in Amplify

38:00 Having found your path, you’re no longer travelling solo.

38:12 What are you bringing with you from Illuminate?

41:14 They need to feel why this is necessary, urgent, why the past was intolerable.

42:29 You yourself are not the vision. You’re the emissary for it.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:16 - Overcoming Anxiety Through Action

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

This brief minisode from episode 16, The Leader’s Courage, unravels the intricate layers of courage, particularly in the realm of leadership. In this segment from our conversation, Jonathan delves into moving towards a vision to let go of anxiety and embrace action.

Listen to the full episode here: 16. The Leader’s Courage

Produced by NOVA

16. The Leader’s Courage

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jonathan began his Illumify Game Changer experience protesting that he’s not a leader. And yet after a lot of what he calls “digging”, he has illuminated a vision of a change that could be meaningful not just to him but to countless others in Europe and beyond. Challenging the status quo is no small feat though. This final Illuminate question asks if he has what it takes to lead.

We’re still in London, so you’ll occasionally hear Moose, the iconic English corgi, stepping into the conversation.

01:24 Reference Cards: A better sense of Illuminate.

09:58 Bringing the vision to light lets go of some anxiety, moving beyond it towards action.

11:53 Becoming whole again, having found your truth.

14:22 This is what fills me. You’ve pulled me up. We all need a sense of identity.

17:04 Coming home vs. homecoming.

18:10 Illuminate Question 15

22:02 Some fortitude down there has kept me going.

24:00 How does courage play into respecting your vision?

28:25 Where do you access courage?

36:07 Not doing what you know is true is a form of self-imposed violence.

39:02 Self-acceptance requires courage.

41:08 The truth you’re holding is bigger than you.

42:08 Difference between a change that’s just for you and igniting one that’s in service to the collective good.

46:42 Leadership as a huge commitment.

50:50 Sometimes courage comes from the anger that comes from care.

59:12 Leaders have a distinct voice that can echo.

01:03:29 Relationship between courage and faith. Your faith in your own vision requires courage.

01:07:58 The payoff of courage.

01:10:48 Individual stories of courage.

01:23:28 Courage and leadership.

01:29:44 How to replenish courage.

01:32:58 Recycling strategy of converting courage.

01:35:23 Leader as a transformer.

01:40:32 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:15 - The Leader’s Feelings

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

To be a visionary can feel like carrying the world itself—an unseen weight that presses heavier than stone. Yet when the visionary accepts their role, the vision expands. Words become chords, ready to be struck, resonating with truth and dignity. The leader’s task is not only to hold the vision but to curate it—choosing which notes to sound so that others can hear their own reflection in its music. This is how possibility becomes shared purpose.

Listen to the full episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast to explore how leaders move from vision to resonance—and how Illumify can guide you to ignite meaningful change at illumifyinc.com.

15. The Leader’s Feelings

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Jonathan surfaces what is essential to standing on that new ground and breaking with the past. He’s starting to see more of the big picture, and how to express it as a leader. In answering this next Illuminate question, he then reveals that his vision means we look at each other differently as we walk the city streets.

REFLECTIONS

01:11 Expands on his vision and where language fits into it.

06:57 Today we break with the past and stand on new ground.

10:25 Expressing leadership.

14:00 What leadership is.

18:15 How leaders make powerful declarations.

27:29 What makes the new ground fertile are values and beliefs.

32:45 A story of holding to your values.

38:00 The importance of listening and treating others with respect.

42:15 Your responsibility as a leader.

43:50 How does it feel to have surfaced your vision?

49:58 The chord of resonance. Honouring the visionary. The weight of the vision. Acceptance of leadership role allows the vision to expand. The words compose the chords.

52:38 One ask of the visionary: be willing to accept that you know which chord to pluck to reach them.

54:32 The leader as curator making hard choices without hardening.

59:17 Values and inner wisdom.

1:01:50 A story of the curator’s journey.

1:03:40 What it means to “break with the past”.

CARD 14

1:04:26 Illuminate Question 14

1:09:13 My vision is of a world where we feel less lonely and less anxious.

1:10:22 Today we leave the path that led us to loneliness and despair.

1:12:20 To feel less lonely is to feel we all belong. We are connected, and begin to see each other again.

1:14:29 We will have a new understanding of how important it is to be with each other.

1:16:58 Looking each other in the eye without fear.

1:19:28 To move away from fear, we want to move towards trust.

1:23:02 On the street of a city, we flirt through our eyes.

1:24:35 Flirtation and the spark of light as recognition that “I see you.”

1:26:15 Rescuing the word “flirt”. There’s something more at stake: a light-heartedness and innocence.

1:28:42 It can only happen in a culture of trust.

1:30:57 Eye contact in light of cross-cultural differences and diversity.

1:34:14 Being seen.

1:37:45 An uplifting story of seeing.

1:39:45 Final answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:14 – The Leader’s Willingness

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Certainty is an illusion. The leader’s task is not to wait for guarantees, but to choose the path that feels true and act with conviction. The moment you step onto that path, the fear of “what if I choose wrong” begins to dissolve. You may not know what the future holds, but you know this much: you are moving in alignment with who you are and what matters most. That choice—liberating, decisive—is where action begins.

Listen to the full episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast to explore how leaders to explore how leaders can discover and pursue their true path—and how Illumify can guide you to ignite meaningful change at illumifyinc.com.

14. The Leader’s Willingness

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When you see what could be that isn’t yet, as Jonathan now does, that can be a change in itself. You’re now in a different place, at a fork in the road. Where do you go from here? Do you stay on the path you know, the one that promises more of the same? Even when less than ideal, there may be some comfort in that. Or do you step off that well-trodden path into unfamiliar territory, knowing that the path to your vision doesn’t yet exist and will have to be cleared by you?

This episode questions whether Jonathan is willing to do what it takes to ignite his meaningful change.

01:25 Illuminate Question 13

02:10 “I’ll work until I’m dead on this.”

05:46 I have a deep desire to save myself.

08:29 Finally becoming intolerant towards yourself so you can save yourself by living your truth.

09:00 How do the people in your life accept this new version of you?

11:54 What I’m beginning to feel is a way of finding rebirth and regeneration.

15:10 On this day, I perhaps lose the fear forever that I’m on the right path.

16:30 This isn’t therapy. It’s the power of conversation.

23:10 Following your path, even when not obvious.

26:30 Examining what it feels like to find your path.

28:31 You know it’s the only thing that counts.

31:25 Have a love affair with your path.

32:50 The elevated state of poise and calm.

36:30 Final answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:13 – The Vision Lands in Reality

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A unifying vision is more than a set of goals—it’s a living force that draws every person, in every role, into the same current of purpose. True leadership means creating a shared sense of belonging where each contribution, no matter its form, is recognised as part of the whole. It’s the leader’s role to hold that vision steady, to embody it so fully that it becomes the air the organization breathes.

When people wake each day knowing they are part of something larger, their work gains meaning, their presence gains weight, and the collective moves with clarity and cohesion. This is how leaders turn a vision from words on a page into the lived reality of a community in motion.

Listen to the full episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast to explore how leaders can shape and sustain this kind of unity—and learn how Illumify can support your own journey to igniting meaningful change at illumifyinc.com.

13. The Vision Lands in Reality

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Having a vision of change is how leadership begins to emerge. It represents the difference between what is now and what could be. It takes effective leadership to bridge that gap and that can be quite daunting. Could seeing into the future help?

00:58 Illuminate Question 12

02:38 There are people who are swimming against the tide because their inner life is not in tune with the values of society.

05:28 I sense a huge appetite for something different, something better.

06:30 Hope comes first. Regaining it.

08:42 What would it feel like if people could actually breathe life not fear? And be accepted simply for being themselves?

10:00 You’ve brought the vision down from the stratosphere into where we need to be – the ground.

11:25 The power of a vision to unify people

14:28 In its early seconds, a vision has to give hope.

16:24 There has to be evidence that the hope is valid.

17:45 The limits of the language

18:30 How do you convey truth when it may be unrecognizable?

20:22 The limits of hope in politics

22:30 Do you give yourself permission to know what can be?

25:00 “Today we break with the past and stand on new ground.”

28:38 The evidence of what I know to be true.

29:28 Allowing your voice to come through.

30:30 Final Answer.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:12 – The Leader’s Vision Emerges

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A vision for community isn’t just a blueprint for how we live together—it’s an ongoing act of reconciling what’s inside us with the world we’re building outside. We all carry competing urges: the longing for freedom and the pull of responsibility, the comfort of our tribe and the need to reach across differences. True leadership means naming these tensions, not erasing them, and shaping a shared home where our values echo both our inner lives and our collective aspirations.

We need new language, renewed intention, and a deeper commitment to building communities that honour both individuality and belonging. This is how we move from coexistence to true connection.

Listen to the full episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast to explore how leaders can shape a vision that’s both political and profoundly human—and learn how Illumify can support your own journey to igniting meaningful change at illumifyinc.com.

12. The Leader’s Vision Emerges

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Jonathan is about to hit pay dirt after all the digging he’s done to surface the change most meaningful to him. In mere minutes, he expresses what he now sees that could be that doesn’t yet exist. His vision of it becomes even more vivid and compelling as he reflects.

04:15 Final Answer

07:02 The individual’s freedom can not be violated.

10:38 How do we reconcile individual freedom with our need for each other?

11:42 “Unity in diversity is perhaps the most difficult tension to reconcile. But we have to do it. How do we find the unity of purpose to take action together?”

13:15 This vision is the answer to the question, “What does it mean to be human?”

13:58 It’s a vision, and not a list.

15:10 Is it new?

17:40 It goes beyond Europe.

19:35 This vision starts with the idea of a shared home.

19:50 Is there a correlation between the concept of home and freedom?

20:58 Idea of home where you feel safe but not because we’re enclosed inside the walls of the house.

22:10 A bigger vision of home where we live together in a way that corresponds to our human spirit.

24:58 Reconciling our competing interests, duties, tribes and more in tune with our humanity.

26:58 Vision reconciles the fragmentation inside our selves with how we do that outside in our community.

30:35 Language as the life blood of the vision.

30:57 We need to rescue words and restore them to their original sense and value.

32:19 David & Goliath

34:01 The sculpture of David as a political symbol

35:01 My desire to be the underdog

35:07 Childhood memory of deliberately picking a weaker team

36:36 Doesn’t everyone like an underdog?

38:03 The sense that we would make up the difference.

40:37 Maintaining sacred dignity makes one not of the norm.

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:11 - The Leader’s Reliance on Others

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Truth isn’t a relic we can set on a pedestal. It’s an ongoing, collective pursuit—one that demands courage, sacrifice, and the willingness to repair what’s been fractured. In a world where some work tirelessly to undermine the very idea that truth matters, our task as leaders is to revive and defend the pursuit itself.

We need new language, new institutions, and above all, a renewed commitment to seeking and sharing what is real, together. This is how we flourish, both as individuals and as a society.

Listen to the full episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast to explore how leaders can ignite a vision of truth worth pursuing and learn more about how Illumify can help you ignite the change that matters to your leadership at illumifyinc.com.

11. The Leader’s Reliance on Others

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This episode begins with Jonathan continuing to explore the meaning of home, all the while holding his ground on how to express his purpose. He then answers the very question that can determine whether or not he even needs to be a leader.

00:58– 1:00:30 Reflection: Jonathan shares his concept of nest, reflects on the state of disrepair inside and out, the need for protection, and the fundamental importance of trust.

1:00:35 Reference card reading

1:02:03 Illuminate Question 10

1:06:55 How we get to the truth matters

1:11:20 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:10 – The Leader’s Reason for Being

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 05:00:00 +0000

True leadership begins with the ability to see what doesn’t yet exist—what could be, should be, must be. Language helps us shape that vision, communicate it, amplify it—but it cannot replace it.

In this episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast, we explore why vision is not something we explain into being—it’s something we must see first, and then speak into the world.

You can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts. And to learn more about the Illumify methodology, visit illumifyinc.com.

10. The Leader’s Reason for Being

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

How do you distill your life’s purpose into just 5 words? Even for the wordsmith, this proves challenging. But if you want to spend your life doing what is most meaningful to you, you have to know what that is. As this episode reveals, even when we give ourselves clues, it can still be difficult to piece it all together.

01:05 Illuminate Question 9

10:30 Language and writing has to be a central part of the rest of my life.

15:17 Part of why I’m here is to bring people together.

16:06 Revealing the 5 words

17:48 “We need to turn Europe into a feeling. That’s why it’s at the heart.”

18:54 “If language is the lodestar for the rest of my life, that has huge significance.”

21:40 Why could clarity spoil your life?

26:41 If we want to rally people around the vision, that’s through language.

29:20 “New ground is new words put into a particular sequence for the first time.”

31:14 “You build this inner voice within you when you know that something is not true.”

36:50 “You need the unity of purpose to get things done at some point, and be unified around a vision. But the diversity is important.”

40:52 The metaphor of interplay between a conductor and the music

45:28 Vision begins as an expression of yourself, your truth.

47:55 Creating a sentence

49:23 We need to find a language for people who don’t have a home.

52:29 What is home to you?

56:00 Regenerating a notion of home which can thrive in deeply uncertain times.

01:10:33 Home is a part of the vision

01:17:06 Will that be the defining moment of your life?

01:21:55 A singular purpose or overarching vision?

01:31:00 Can you string those 5 words together?

01:35:00 The headline vs. the conversation

01:47:20 The stadium as a metaphor for illuminating

01:53:33 Final answer?

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:09 - "Inviting Back the Joy We’ve Forgotten"

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Sometimes joy isn’t something new—it’s a return to what we’ve left behind, an invitation to remember who we are at our core. In the latest episode of The Illumify Game Changer Podcast, we talk about what it means to “unforget” our joy and reclaim the practices that expand us. The Illumify Game Changer Podcast reveals our award-winning methodology for expressing the leadership that induces others to help ignite meaningful change. Learn more at illumifyinc.com.

09. The Leader’s Search for Joy

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This episode goes right to the heart of it, exploring the connection between joy and igniting meaningful change. It’s interesting that Jonathan, a self-described non-believer, is so attuned to the soul.

00:55 Reference Cards: The difference between “I think”, “I believe”, and I know”

05:40 Illuminate Card 8

11:00 There’s joy in being with the crowd. It’s uplifting.

12:35 What does worship mean?

15:25 Joy as an outpouring, going over the limits, uncontained

16:00 Joy as the fuel of the soul

18:40 Digging for dignity, where the human starts, the part that can’t be taken away.

20:55 Feeding vs fueling the soul

22:55 Is it possible to admire one’s self?

25:00 Fully accepting all of one’s self is not easy

29:30 Surviving vs. thriving

35:00 “Come on then” -- A childhood story never told before

40:55 “At some point, fear becomes intolerable.”

45:29 Back to worship… A plea or a provocation?

50:45 Going to a concert is a conscious desire to go beyond your limits.

52:05 “As a non-believer, I am very comfortable saying that worship is healthy and necessary, and fulfilling some deep need that I don’t fully understand.”

55:55. “When we’re radiant, I see it as the soul expanding at that moment and filling the person. At that moment, there’s nothing but the soul.”

58:20 An anecdote of joy walking

1:03:50 Joy is a unique emotion, deeply connected to the soul.

1:04:44 Can we ignite meaningful change without tapping into our soul?

1:11:50 Going back to the source where we refuel ourselves.

1:13:00 What brings you joy? [“A moment of expansion when we become bigger than ourselves.”

1:14:47 Lack of joy in state of survival

1:17:00 Final answer [“We just need to be plugged in again.”]

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:08 - "If you can’t make the emotional argument, please stay home."

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

We often believe that facts alone will convince, but lasting change is rarely born in the realm of logic. Brexit was a lesson in what happens when heart and emotion are left out of the conversation. Even the most rational arguments can fall flat if they fail to connect on a human level. The truth is, transformation—personal or collective—requires more than information. It asks us to reach each other, not just with ideas, but with feeling. That’s where real change begins.

Listen to the full episode here: 08. The Leader’s Resistance

08. The Leader’s Resistance

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 18:02:50 +0000

This episode begins with Jonathan reflecting on why he hit resistance with the last question, delving into pride, nationalism, and the power of emotion to sway. He considers the importance of focused attention and its relationship to meditation. Then he answers the next Illuminate question, diving deeper into what matters to him: the power of language, finding your true voice, and how humans don’t need AI in order to connect with each other.

01:06 Reflections on Card 6

02:00 “Resistance comes from your attachment to your identity. That’s why letting go is so hard.”

04:50 A lot of this is linked to pride. It’s the death star.

08:22 As the evidence stacks up that we were wrong, we double down and shout louder.

13:40 I see more clearly how through our conversation together, we had made our way to a more unified image of what meaningful change is: language and its relationship with truth.

18:16 European Union as a human experiment in our desire and need to reconcile competing values, competing interests, doesn’t deny our national identities. It holds them together.

20:08 The slogan “Unity in Diversity” is brilliant, a brilliant attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable.

26:50 Hammering people with the facts and ignoring the emotion

30:30 Reference Card Reading: focused attention, distraction, getting lost in what matters

40:07 Illuminate Question 7

41:03 “I have something to say.”

43:00 Language’s ability to convey volume, force and fragility

44:50 Why can it be so debilitating for many to use their voice?

49:13 Importance of authenticity

52:46 A story of speaking up

55:56 “I’ve found the courage to accept that language is what I do.”

1:08:45 “Choosing the word that comes next is one of the most human things we do.”

1:12:13 Through language, we get to dig to get a sense of what it means to be human.

1:15:00 “The truth is in the words” has changed me

1:16:35 We have gone down the wrong path in so many ways

1:22:10 If we communicate through AI, what happens to our trust in language?

1:23:15 We tune out to leaders speaking with banalities and platitudes.

1:27:33 Humans don’t need machines to help us connect with each other.

1:31:33 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:07 - "Meaningful Change Demands More Than a Memo"

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

So many organizations launch change from the top—then move on, expecting the rest to follow. But meaningful, lasting change isn’t a one-time announcement or a quick handoff. It requires persistence, patience, and a willingness to face resistance—both from others and from ourselves. When we treat change as a checklist item, it rarely takes root. Real transformation happens only when leaders are able to engage, align and mobilize others to act to ignite the change. That doesn't happen in an instant. Leaders have to be able to express the change so it becomes meaningful enough to others to quell their resistance and evoke them to act.

Where have you seen change initiatives succeed—or stall—for these very reasons?

07. The Leader’s Opportunity for Change

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This next question proves challenging – so challenging that at one point Jonathan, the master wordsmith, is at a loss for words. And that’s ok because it reveals a lot about why resistance to change can come from deep within ourselves, even when we know something has to change. Fasten your seatbelt for this one as there are a few sharp curves in the road. But we have a few laughs along the way.

01:12 Reference Cards – why do we repeat, particularly words and phrases?

07:45 Repeating’s role in changing thought and action

11:35 Amplifying

12:55 Two levels of “illumifying” –you and your meaningful change

15:05 Illuminate Question 6

16:55 When we want deep, enduring change across a community, it needs to take root everywhere.

20:53 An idea, a vision, may need time to reach everybody.

24:03 The moment of creation of a vision is much more explosive within the person.

25:12 The visionary’s need to be proactive.

26:30 A story of resistance to change

33:00 What the visionary does

34:48 Everywhere all at once?

41:20 What do YOU see as the opportunity for meaningful change from the perspective of where you stand?

45:55 Struggles to articulate what the opportunity for meaningful change is

54:19 A new understanding of the truth and why it’s so important.

56:20 Could it be some aspect of a truth that is currently invisible to them?

1:00:25 What if there are certain individuals who have the capacity to help the many?

1:06:54 Could you be the visionary shining the light on what needs to change but not the leader igniting it?

1:08:15 Definition of “ignite”

1:11:50 The risks of creating a vision as a group.

1:14:10 Modesty vs superpowers vs gifted

1:22:20 How does being lost for words feel?

1:25:22 “I’ve never been at peace with my silence.”

1:30:00 A story of what emerged while walking his dog

1:35:51 The necessity of being heard, and pain of not being listened to

1:39:40 Good conversations wake you up.

1:41:38 A funny story about death :)

1:46:35 “Know thyself” would be my t-shirt: Katherine

1:47:37 A story illustrating a “David Lynch moment”

1:51:00 The link back to “new ground”.

1:55:30 Where we land

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:06 - “We can unite around a single vision that respects our diversity.” – The Leader’s Inner Wisdom

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

How does a community unite when its members are fundamentally diverse? In this minisode from Episode 6, Jonathan declares that it’s not just possible; it’s true. Because we know we have lived it before.

Listen to the full episode here: 06. The Leader’s Inner Wisdom

Produced by NOVA

06. The Leader’s Inner Wisdom

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Jonathan is prompted to answer the question by listening to his inner wisdom. Within mere seconds, he answers with a powerful declaration of what could be different. The conversation then veers into community, how it’s unified and fragmented, and explores unison and truth. It’s another big conversation. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear Moose, our beloved English corgi, settling in to listen at our feet.

00:00 Illuminate Question 5

02:07 “I know that we could live together better. We have to stand on new ground.”

07:03 While the vision itself must be entirely new, we need to take from our past what we know to be true.

22:30 Ritual gains strength over time.

28:00 More than tradition, there’s this wisdom. We know why it matters.

33:00 A community is unified through its shared memories of the local football club.

37:12 Nottingham City of Rebels: The story of a new vision emerging within the football stadium.

50:54 Concept of “necessary fragmentation”

54:00 Stumbling through life, we pursue wholeness and integrity and accept and understand our fragmentation.

56:00 The idea that we pursue wholeness and integrity

57:00 The moment of surrender when we cannot deny the truth that we now see, and realize that we have been going down the wrong path.

1:04:00 The necessary intolerance of “Never Again” came after surrender.

1:05:00 Unison: how does it fit into your vision?

1:08:40 Unison vs harmony, and the time when we need to silence the Parliament of voices and find unity within ourselves

1:11:58 “We can live differently together.”

1:16:00 “Where we live together as a community, the recognition of our diversity is clearly not enough. Unity is necessary as well.

1:19:00 Democracy’s own ambition makes it fragile.

1:20:44 European Union is trying to reconcile competing visions and ideas of the good life.

1:25:46 What’s on that new ground?

1:32:48 “We need unity around Truth. When we are united in a single vision of why truth matters, then we can pursue it in our own way.”

1:34:10 Final Answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:05 - What is there are a lot of people in the world waiting for your vision?” – The Leader’s Integrity

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

As a leader, igniting your vision of change isn’t just a “Wouldn’t it be nice if?”. In this minisode from Episode 5, Jonathan sees that for his vision to be true, it also has to be necessary.

Listen to the full episode here: 05. The Leader’s Integrity

Produced by NOVA

05. The Leader’s Integrity

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Jonathan answers the Illuminate question designed to reveal what is most meaningful to him. You could say his answer gets to the heart of the matter. Integrity plays a pivotal role in this conversation, and we see new dimensions of a leader’s vision.

00:58 Reference Card Reading

03:12 Illuminate Question 4

07:11 The heart as tool of discernment and ultimate filter

11:11 Accessing courage

15:53 Renewing our heart to connect, function and act

10:25 Integrity ( wholeness, facing yourself, accountability)

28:00 Necessity for visionary not to have tolerance for anything but the purest of integrity

30:50 Relationship between necessary and intolerable

33:18 The vision represents something new and whole versus woolly and vague

50:00 Great leaders make powerful declarations

55:18 All visions are declarations, painting the big picture of a world that does not exist yet

58:56 Empathy

1:03:56 Do we need to take on the feelings of others?

1:07:34 Final Answer to Illuminate Question 4

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:04 - “What makes my heart ache is the suffering of children.” – The Leader’s Heartache

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

To help identify what change would be meaningful to you, you can look to your heart to see what makes it ache. That’s what Jonathan does in this minisode from Episode 4. And it leads him to capturing it with words that are not usually part of his vocabulary.

Listen to the full episode here: 04. The Leader’s Heartache

Produced by NOVA

04. The Leader’s Heartache

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This episode focuses on the heart to help point Jonathan to what he cares about that needs to change. He speaks of dignity, wholeness and heartache, all while experiencing a wide range of feelings coming from his heart.

00:58 Illuminate Question 3

05:07 What makes my heart ache is the suffering of children.

08:18 Dignity not always the word in the Constitutions but the digging takes us to sacred dignity.

10:10 In every newborn child, there is a dignity that doesn’t need to be earned. It’s inherent in the spirit, the soul, of the child.

13:22 The word “wholeness” is important here. We can borrow religious language into our secular life.

25:27 Our journey is one of repair. We are walking down that road to character, becoming the better version of ourselves.

31:32 The two ideas of dignity and brokenness can co-exist. I think there is a sanctity in the human soul. It lies below wholeness and sin and is inviolable.

42:40 Even just seeing it, the child suffering produces enough heartache for a lifetime. We carry it around with us.

44:44 The heart also aches because your own idea of the world, what you believe in, is being violated at the same time.

47:34 The book “1984” signals the extinction of humanity, that it could happen.

49:09 We have to understand the power of ideas to mobilize people.

54:08 What’s inspiring about the European Union is that it’s a constant, a permanent, attempt to reconcile all these competing voices. That’s what makes it heroic. Trying to reconcile competing visions of the good life.

59:06 I’ve got things to say and want to say them. What am I waiting for?

1:11:43 Digging together, you feel this is the only thing that matters because of the power of conversation.

1:19:45 Consciousness is the page.

1:27:17 Father Europe vs. Mother Europe

1:37:38 Revival or stagnation?

1:46:02 Final answer

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:03 - “Politics is about the choices we make.” – The Leader’s Intolerance for What is Now

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Jonathan has spent a lot of his professional life in the political realm. Perhaps as a result, he sees beyond what politics is now to what it could and should be. In this minisode from Episode 3, he shares his perspective on politics, and discovers that it’s part of what makes him and his leadership distinct.

Listen to the full episode here: Season 1: 03 – The Leader’s Intolerance For What Is Now

Produced by NOVA

03. The Leader’s Intolerance For What Is Now

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This episode begins with Jonathan sharing his reflections on the last question where he grappled with the prospect of being significant. This next Illuminate question gets to the heart of him seeing what perhaps only he can see that needs to change. But first he has to wrestle with intolerance and how words can serve the truth.

01:01: Reflections on last card: Significance

09:40: Reading the Reference cards

17:30: The second Illuminate question

20:32: Intolerance as aggressive

23:34: Decisions as an act of intolerance

25:11: Commitment to excellence

32:48: “What triggers me is that we live in a post-truth world”.

34:50: Why isn’t truth in the constitution of democratic societies?

41:30: Is it possible to accomplish this without being significant?

42:55: “It’s the truth inside the words that matters.”

44:58: Words matter, despite what the body language experts say

47:07: You can articulate what you see through your mastery of language.

49:01: Giving people a choice to act or not to act

50:10: “I recognize the anger within me.”

52:00: “Vision is absolutely fundamental. Your starting point. It’s why you exist.”

55:18: The importance of a vision and how it’s articulated

1:03:00: A different awareness of relationship with vision?

1:04:00: “I have things to say, and I want to say them.”

1:06:14: The legitimacy of the European Union

1:08:00: The thread of his vision emerges

1:12:50: What does the word “visionary” mean to you?

1:19:40: “I do want to create a new way of seeing Europe.”

1:21:16: “Politics at its most fundamental level is about the choices we make.”

1:24:45: Recognize your unique capacity to ignite meaningful change.

1:27:00: Truth with a capital T, and how values influence it

1:37:40: Connection as sharing, unified with each other

1:50:14: Does a visionary need to be a mechanic?

1:57:57: Is it an advantage to have multiple voices in your head?

2:07:50: “I often see my own mind with its different voices as a Parliament.”

2:09:58: Consciousness, tea bags and the visionary

2:13:19: We all contain multitudes but do have unity through memory.

2:16:00: Are we able to unify all those voices into a common vision?

2:23:11: The power of conversation to slow things down

2:28:12: Final Answer to Illuminate Question 2

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:02 - "There's something in that word "significant" that is so loaded..."

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Igniting significant change takes real leadership. How do you lead if you don’t see that you are significant enough to make this change? In this minisode from Episode 2, Jonathan grapples with his own significance.

Listen to the full episode here: 02. The Leader’s Significance

Produced by NOVA

02. The Leader’s Significance

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Now the Game Changer begins. This is the first in the Illuminate phase of the questions, each of which surfaces insights to illuminate the change most meaningful to you. This first question is a loaded one, deliberately.

00:59: Reference Cards: Illumify Definition & Guidelines for Play

09:00: Listening with your heart instead of your head

15:00: Who are the lost?

16:32: The first Illuminate question

18:58: Feeling small and insignificant

25:52: Is significance visible or invisible?

34:21: Struggling to see own significance

35:16: Culture’s impact on significance

39:30: Modesty as control mechanism

41:46: Is it possible you’re a natural winner?

45:24: “Inequality is antithetical to everything I believe in.”

50:28: “We need a new political vision that restores and revives a true idea of equality.”

52:58: “At some point the world calls you and tells you what you need to do.”

55:54: Waiting versus knowing what is meaningful to you

1:01:09: The desire to serve the community runs deep

1:09:38: What scenario would make you significant?

1:17:35: Seeing the contradictions with your significance

1:18:22: The difficulty in seeing yourself as significant

1:19:31: “Significant change takes significant leadership.”

1:21:28: You can illumify on two levels.

1:25:59: “A vital aspect of the good life is trying to be better than we were yesterday.”

1:26:25: What happens after pursuit of excellence is achieved?

1:35:04: “The pursuit of excellence in itself is a virtue.”

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:01, Part 2 - “ Every child is born with a sacred dignity that can never be taken away.” – The Leader’s Journey Begins

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 30 May 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Jonathan and Marianne explore the foundations beneath human rights—the sacred dignity and soul inherent in every child. In this minisode, they reflect on the limits of language, the role of faith and metaphor, and the profound truth that grounds our shared humanity.

Listen to the full episode here: 01. The Leader's Journey Begins, Part 2

Produced by NOVA

01. The Leader's Journey Begins, Part 2

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 27 May 2025 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we explore the power of vision and storytelling in leadership, diving deep into the pursuit of truth. Jonathan examines how leaders balance looking forward with honoring the past, and how authenticity, competition, and dignity shape the path to meaningful change.

00:37 Distinction between visionary and storyteller

11:19 “The pursuit of truth matters”.

27:07 Communicating a vision of the future in current times

31:45 The importance of pursuing the truth

41:11 Vision versus agenda

47:01 “Human rights sit on the idea of the soul”.

47:40 “Every child is born with a sacred dignity that can never be taken away.”

54:13 Do you hear yourself when you speak?

57:56 Why do you see a social setting as a competition?

01:05:08 Friendship is almost the absence of competition

01:13:11 A unique voice

Produced by NOVA

Minisode 1:01, Part 1 - “You can be part of a cause without leading it.” – The Leader’s Journey Begins

Marianne Gobeil — Fri, 23 May 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Jonathan begins his leader’s journey by first denying that he is in fact a leader. But in this minisode from Episode 1, he soon reveals that there are causes dear to his heart, and that he “has things to say.”

Listen to the full episode here: https://illumifyinc.com/podcast/01-the-leaders-journey-begins-part-1/

Produced by NOVA

01. The Leader's Journey Begins, Part 1

Marianne Gobeil — Tue, 20 May 2025 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we begin the leader’s journey by meeting Jonathan who, upon agreeing to play the Game Changer publicly through this podcast, cautioned me “I’m not a leader”. As you listen, you may hear him reveal otherwise -- whether he recognizes it yet, or not.

1:54: Discovery of language

3:00: Love for Europe begins

10:38: Urgent need to talk about Europe

15:00: The state of the world

23:00: What does the word “leader” evoke?

28:35: Expectations of the Illumify Game Changer

36:21: Do you see yourself as a leader?

43:00: “I do feel I have things to say and want to say them.”

58:00: Stories are not enough. We need to put our bodies on the line.

1:14:37: The word vision has gone missing.

1:19:50: Vision is vital to igniting change.

Produced by NOVA