The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Are you looking to break free from the trap of a 9 to 5 job in the modern economy? Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, as he shares the raw truths about artificial intelligence, sales, and the reality of building an empire.

Mark Cuban is a legendary American billionaire, investor, and former shark on ABC's Shark Tank, best known for transforming the Dallas Mavericks into NBA champions and building multi-million dollar tech enterprises like Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. Today, he is fully dedicated to disrupting the American healthcare industry through his revolutionary online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs.

In this episode, he explains:
■ The AI Illusion: How artificial intelligence is simply a brute force pattern matcher that lacks true human intelligence, meaning the real edge belongs to humans who leverage it to “out prepare” and “out learn” the competition.
■ The Power of Sales: Why very successful business is fundamentally built on sales, and mastering the ability to handle objections and rejection guarantees you a job for life.
■ The Danger of Quick Money: How modern social media algorithms feed youth an illusion of instant wealth, holding back a generation that refuses to put in the grueling preparation required to master a skill.
■ The Chemistry of Leadership: How turning around a failing sports franchise or a business requires ruthless commitment to team culture, hiring slowly, firing fast, and replacing ego with collective alignment.
■ The True Definition of Success: Why true wealth is ultimately about controlling your own time and destiny rather than buying luxury items, and prioritizing family above all else remains the ultimate life achievement.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:16 Why Being Adaptable Matters
00:03:09 My Upbringing
00:04:40 My First Business: Selling Garbage Bags at 12
00:06:18 How to Become a Great Salesperson
00:08:34 The Biggest Mistakes Young Entrepreneurs Make
00:11:17 What All Millionaires Have in Common
00:13:38 How I Transformed the Dallas Mavericks
00:18:48 Hate Your Job but Have Little Savings? Do This
00:22:16 The Sacrifices I Made to Become Successful
00:25:10 AI: Opportunity or Threat?
00:27:34 How Social Media Is Misleading Young Entrepreneurs
00:31:18 Are We in a Bubble?
00:33:10 Why Humans Will Always Be Smarter Than AI
00:37:44 Ads
00:40:02 How AI Agents Will Transform Work and Life
00:44:45 Why AI Isn’t Actually Smart (and Why I’m Not a Doomer)
00:49:05 Will AI Create a Utopia?
00:50:38 How AI Is Different From the Computer Revolution
00:51:35 Is AI Sending Us Into Debt?
00:57:27 Ads
00:58:28 How My Insecurities Drove My Success
01:01:04 What Becoming a Billionaire Changed in Me
01:03:06 Do You Have to Be Ruthless in Business?
01:04:52 The Cost of Fame and Losing Privacy
01:06:02 How Fame Impacted My Brothers
01:11:56 Should Everyone Be an Entrepreneur?
01:14:35 My Biggest Weaknesses
01:15:50 Why Hiring Is Everything
01:17:13 What the Mavericks Taught Me About Building Culture
01:23:23 How I Balance Family and Business
01:27:26 Cost Plus Drugs: My Take On The US Healthcare Industry
01:29:47 The Hardest Question I Wasn’t Asked

Follow Mark Cuban:
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The Diary Of A CEO:
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What if the biggest risk from AI isn’t the technology itself - but who controls it?

Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist covering the impact of artificial intelligence on society and the bestselling author of Empire of AI, an investigation into the rise of OpenAI and the race to build increasingly powerful AI.

In this moment, Karen Hao examines the assumptions driving the race towards AGI and asks why building technology that can replicate human capabilities became the goal in the first place. She explores the enormous resources behind that ambition, and the relationship between AI companies and the researchers and journalists scrutinising them.

Listen to the full episode here!
Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/c6dLG2e595b
Apple: https://g2ul0.app.link/5tusFIE595b
Watch the Episodes On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos

Karen Hao: https://karendhao.com/

What does it truly cost a human being to lead a nation through an existential war while the world watches from afar? President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reveals the psychological toll of continuous survival, the grim realities of geopolitical negotiation, and what keeps him still standing.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the President of Ukraine, having led the nation through its darkest historical hours following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. A former lawyer, comedian, and actor turned wartime leader, he transitioned from satirical television to the global stage. His current administration focuses on securing Ukraine's sovereignty, managing international diplomacy, and defending democratic freedom against imperial aggression.

In this episode, he explains:
■ The Burden of Command: How constant psychological pressure and nightly military briefings push his endurance to its limits under relentless wartime pressure.
■ The Fatal Miscalculation: Why Russia's catastrophic military mistake came from a failure to recognize Ukrainians as a distinct people willing to fight for their freedom.
■ The Turning Point of Atrocity: How witnessing the aftermath of war in liberated towns transformed a political conflict into deeply personal tragedy where easy forgiveness became impossible.
■ The Cost of Staying: Why the refusal to evacuate Kyiv was driven by the absolute need to remain visible and prevent the nation from surrendering out of fear.
■ The Geopolitical Reality: How true diplomatic peace requires holding aggressive regimes fully accountable for their crimes rather than shifting the blame onto global energy markets.

This episode was recorded on October 16, 2026. The English audio for President Zelenskyy uses AI voice technology, with permission, based on human translation and editorial review.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:07 How Is Zelensky Really Doing?
00:06:15 "I Don't Sleep": The Human Cost of War
00:09:53 What Keeps Zelensky Going
00:11:24 Growing Up in Soviet Ukraine
00:13:18 His Family Killed by the Nazis
00:13:38 From Law Student to Comedian
00:15:50 He Played a President on TV, Then Became One
00:17:21 Why Zelensky Left Comedy for Politics
00:20:36 When Did the Russia-Ukraine War Really Start?
00:25:12 Putin's Plan to Rebuild the Soviet Union
00:33:31 Why Putin Invaded in 2022
00:36:46 Did Biden's Weakness Let Putin Invade?
00:40:12 The Warnings Before the Invasion
00:41:59 Where Zelensky Was When Russia Invaded
00:47:01 Would This Have Happened Under Trump?
00:49:06 How Russia Planned to Take Kyiv
00:53:32 The 40-Mile Convoy: Why Russia Failed
00:55:26 Biden's Evacuation Offer: "I Need Ammunition"
00:59:51 Was Zelensky Scared?
01:02:37 The Moment the War Became Real
01:05:19 Russia's Big Mistake: Parade Uniforms
01:12:40 The Battle for Hostomel Airport
01:15:04 What Happened in Bucha
01:21:20 His Hardest Day: "I Wanted Revenge"
01:23:55 How the War Has Changed Him
01:29:15 Being a Father During the War
01:32:22 His Mum's Daily Phone Calls
01:33:19 What Russia Occupies Now
01:36:12 Russia's Strikes Across Ukraine
01:37:14 What Putin Really Wants
01:39:37 Will Putin Use Nuclear Weapons?
01:41:09 Trump Says Ukraine Needs a New President
01:46:01 How This War Ends: Trump, Putin & a Ceasefire
01:48:22 Zelensky's Message to America

The Diary Of A CEO:
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What if everything you thought you knew about the final moments of life was completely wrong? Dr. Christopher Kerr dives into the  realities of dying and what over 1,500 patient interviews reveal about human consciousness.

Dr. Christopher Kerr is a pioneering hospice physician, neurobiologist, and CEO who has spent nearly three decades studying the profound psychological and spiritual experiences of the dying. His groundbreaking research on end-of-life dreams and visions challenges conventional medical views on mortality and grief. His bestselling book, Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End, aims to destigmatize the dying process and reframe how we understand the end of life.

Trigger Warning: Please note there are mentions of grief and death, including the death of children within this conversation.

In this episode, he explains:
■ The Reality of Death: Dying is a gradual, peaceful dimming of the senses rather than a painful or terrifying medical event.
■ End-of-Life Visions: Over 80% of patients experience remarkably vivid, comforting dreams and visions of deceased loved ones as they approach death.
■ The Shift in Priorities: Dying individuals stop caring about worldly achievements or legacy, focusing entirely on relationships and ensuring they are not a burden to family.
■ Healing Old Wounds: Terminal patients frequently experience profound psychological transformation and resolve deep-seated childhood trauma in their final days.
■ The True Meaning of Life: Human existence is ultimately defined by our capacity for interdependency and love rather than individual accomplishments.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:11 Why I’ve Interviewed Over 1,500 Dying Patients
00:03:29 Do Dying People See Their Loved Ones Who’ve Passed?
00:09:14 The Interview That Changed Me Most
00:11:31 How Deathbed Dreams Differ From Normal Dreams
00:13:46 Is This Biological or Spiritual?
00:16:03 Are Dying Patients Just Delirious?
00:17:04 The Biggest Misconceptions About Death
00:18:25 Do People Really Have Regrets When They Die?
00:19:17 What Dying Patients Actually Care About
00:21:29 Are We Chasing the Wrong Things in Life?
00:26:39 Is Dying Painful?
00:27:42 How Dying Patients Find Peace
00:28:42 How Modern Medicine Has Changed the Way We Die
00:31:37 Making Peace With People Before You Die
00:32:45 Lessons From the Dying You Can Use Today
00:33:43 Facing Extreme Regret at the End of Life
00:39:03 Ads
00:41:12 Do Dying People Want More Time?
00:42:48 Is the Longevity Movement Missing the Point?
00:43:50 What Determines a Peaceful Death
00:44:30 What Happens When People Die Alone
00:46:53 How Dying Brings Unresolved Trauma to the Surface
00:48:17 Is There Life After Death?
00:51:00 Psychedelics at the End of Life
00:51:41 Should We Worry About Having Regrets?
00:52:51 What Caring for the Dying Taught Me
00:53:26 How to Cope When Someone You Love Dies
00:59:05 Losing My Father
01:03:36 Ads
01:04:46 How Hope Changes as We Die
01:07:05 Do People Stop Living Once They Know They’re Dying?
01:07:43 Do We All Die Alone?
01:08:52 How Death Can Heal
01:10:08 Why We Need to Stop “Fighting” Death
01:12:29 My Cancer Diagnosis & How It Changed My View of Death
01:15:45 What Is the Meaning of Life?
01:17:03 How Death Is Different for Children

If you’ve been affected by the themes in this episode, support is available.
UK: Cruse Bereavement Support - cruse.org.uk
The Compassionate Friends - tcf.org.uk
US: The Compassionate Friends - compassionatefriends.org
The Dougy Center - dougy.org
International - findahelpline.com

Follow Dr. Christopher Kerr:
Facebook - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/9WpG1ky
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LinkedIn - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/6uC41Jv
YouTube - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5YduPEb

Book: Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life’s End - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/53Kcbph
More information on his studies and patient videos can be found at: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/4vkysI3
To contact: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/91kvvNr

The Diary Of A CEO:
◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/
◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK
◼ Shop The Diary Of A CEO collection: https://thediary.com/collections/shop
◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E
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Sponsors:
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Do we find meaning in life - or do we have to create it ourselves?

Join three guests in a meaning discussion: Greg Koukl, a Christian apologist and founder of Stand to Reason, Alex O’Connor, philosopher, writer, and host of the Cosmic Skeptic channel, and Dr K, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, mental health educator, and co-founder of Healthy Gamer.

In this moment, they explore what happens when faith, philosophy and psychology attempt to answer the same question. From our fear of death to the need for control and something bigger than ourselves, this discussion reveals some unexpected forces that may be shaping how meaningful our lives feel.

Listen to the full episode here!

Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/p43YVx5X95b
Apple: https://g2ul0.app.link/D5jelW9X95b
Watch the Episodes On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos