Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Tim Spector, a world leading gut health expert, medical doctor, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, bestselling author, and co founder of #ZOE.In this conversation, Dr Spector explains why the gut microbiome is one of the most important control systems in the human body, shaping metabolism, immunity, mood, cravings, inflammation, and even the way the brain functions.He breaks down complex science in a way anyone can understand, and challenges some of the biggest assumptions people still have about food, calories, supplements, protein, fasting, and weight loss.This episode is one of the clearest and most practical conversations you can watch if you want to understand what to eat, what to avoid, and how to build a healthier body and mind through better everyday decisions.You will learn• Why calories do not tell the full story, and why two people can eat the same food and have completely different responses• What the gut microbiome actually is, and how it affects your brain, immune system, weight, mood, and energy• How to identify the foods that are quietly driving inflammation, hunger, and overeating• Why ultra processed foods are designed to make you eat more, and how to spot the worst offenders• What a healthy day of eating should really look like, from plants and fermented foods to protein and meal timing• The truths about keto, fasting, creatine, alcohol, supplements, and OzempicFollow Dr. Spector:https://www.instagram.com/tim.spector/https://twitter.com/timspectorhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/timspector/Dr. Spector Books:https://amzn.to/4m1KJNDFollow ZOE:https://www.youtube.com/c/ZOE-healthhttps://www.instagram.com/zoe/https://www.facebook.com/joinzoe1/https://www.tiktok.com/@join_zoehttps://zoe.com/zoeverse#GutHealth #Microbiome #Nutrition #HealthyEating #Wellness #TimSpector #Podcast #HealthScience #FoodMatters #ZOE #thrivingminds

This week Alberto sat down with Thom Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, one of the UK’s most recognisable and successful pizza brands.Thom shares the real story behind building Pizza Pilgrims from a single van into a national business with over 800 employees, and what it actually costs to scale in hospitality. From long hours and financial pressure to the emotional toll of leadership, this conversation goes far beyond the highlight reel.They explore the early days of the business, the realities of growth, why hospitality is often romanticised from the outside, and how pressure, responsibility, and risk change as a company scales. Thom opens up about burnout, identity, and the challenge of staying grounded while building something that demands everything.You will learn• What it really takes to build and scale a restaurant business• The personal cost of entrepreneurship in hospitality• How leadership pressure changes as a business grows• Why success does not remove stress or uncertainty• How to build something meaningful without losing perspectiveFollow Thom & Pizza Pilgrimshttps://www.instagram.com/pizzapilgrims/https://www.youtube.com/@UC_LiCe5657Ynu5G7lIzHGjg https://www.tiktok.com/@pizzapilgrimshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-elliot-9115ab2b/#podcast #entrepreneurship #pizzapilgrims #startupstory #hospitality #founderstories #businessjourney #streetfood #smallbusiness #motivation #thrivingminds

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Andy Cope, also known as The Happiness Doctor, a world leading positive psychology researcher, speaker, and best selling author, best known for his work on human flourishing, and for the idea that happiness is the goal behind all your other goals. In this conversation, Andy breaks down what happiness actually is, why we confuse short term pleasure with long term contentment, and why chasing happiness as a destination usually makes us feel worse. They explore destination addiction, the modern obsession with being busy, and how consumer culture trains people to believe that the next promotion, the next purchase, or the next milestone will finally make them feel fulfilled. This episode is simple, practical, and immediately usable, it is a toolkit for feeling better on ordinary days, not just special ones.You will learn• What happiness really is, and why you do not need to be happy all the time • Why happiness is often a starting point, not the reward at the end • The four minute rule, and how the first four minutes of any interaction can change everything • The simple habits that make you more present, gratitude, better questions, and fewer distractions • The relationship ratios that predict thriving teams and thriving families, and how to apply themFollow Andy& Art of Brilliancehttps://www.instagram.com/thehappybloke/https://www.facebook.com/Art-of-Brilliance-185597948129457/https://x.com/beingbrillianthttps://www.instagram.com/artofbrilliance/https://www.linkedin.com/company/art-of-brilliance/Get Andy's Books:https://amzn.to/4bkTT2U#Happiness #PositivePsychology #DrAndyCope #Mindfulness #MentalHealth #PersonalDevelopment #ThrivingMinds #Wellbeing #SuccessMindset #SelfImprovement

This week Alberto sat down with Maria Hatzistefanis, founder and CEO of the Rodial Group, bestselling author, and a Dragon on Dragons Den Greece.Maria grew up on a small island in Greece, dreaming of a bigger world. She moved into magazines, studied business at Columbia, entered investment banking, then got fired at 25, a moment that forced her to choose what she actually wanted.With 20,000 in savings and no beauty industry experience, she started Rodial from home, faced investor rejection, and built the brand through focus, persistence, and product storytelling. She took a suitcase to Cosmoprof, met suppliers stand by stand, found the lab she still works with today, and launched with a tight initial range, because focus beats noise in the early days.You will learnHow Maria built Rodial from home, with limited capital, no funding, and no industry backgroundWhy launching with focus beats launching too many products, and how to pick a niche that travelsHow to win attention without huge budgets, naming, storytelling, press strategy, and consistent brand positioningHow to think about influencers realistically, what works now, what changed after Covid, and why long term partnerships matterHow to handle failure, cash flow pressure, and decision making, including the lesson from a mistake that nearly ended everythingFollow Maria:https://www.instagram.com/mrsrodialhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/maria-hatzistefanis-64b7985https://www.tiktok.com/@mrsrodialhttps://twitter.com/MrsRodialGet Maria's books:How to Make Your First Million: Build wealth with style and audacityhttps://amzn.to/4crK3P1How to Make it Happen: Turning Failure into Successhttps://amzn.to/46B3DENHow to Be an Overnight Successhttps://amzn.to/4b1ACmVHow to Live Your Best Life: Transform your mindset and manifesthttps://amzn.to/4blUL8F#entrepreneurship #founderstory #startupjourney #mariahatzistefanis #mrsrodial #rodial #beautybrand #businesspodcast #startupadvice #femalefounder #thrivingminds #marketingstrategy #brandbuilding #entrepreneurlife #dragonsdengr

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Erin Hope, a leading clinical psychologist, bereavement specialist, and founder of The Loss Foundation, a national charity supporting people after cancer loss.Grief is something every human will experience, yet almost none of us are taught how to understand it, process it, or support others through it. In this conversation, Dr Erin explains why grief is not a disorder, not a weakness, and not something to get over, but a deeply human response to love and loss.This episode also offers practical guidance, for those grieving right now, and for those trying to support someone they love. From what to say at a funeral, to how to check in months later, to how workplaces and parents can better support grief, this is a compassionate and deeply grounding conversation.This is not about fixing grief. It is about learning how to live fully while carrying it.You will learn• If the the way you grieve is healthy and normal• How grief shows up mentally physically and emotionally• Why avoidance helps short term but harms long term• How to support someone grieving without trying to fix them• How to build a meaningful life while carrying loss• How long does grief really last#grief #bereavement #personalgrowth #mentalhealth #loss #coping #podcast #healing #griefsupport

This week Alberto sat down with Lee Warren, a world leading persuasion and communication expert, keynote speaker, and advisor to senior leaders and global organisations.Lee’s work challenges one of the most common myths in business and leadership, that people are persuaded by logic, data, and facts. In reality, most decisions are made emotionally first, and only justified rationally afterwards.You will learnHow to influence people without being manipulativeHow to build trust in the first moments of a conversationWhat makes someone instantly more persuasiveHow to tell when someone is trying to persuade youThe golden methods to network and communicate without feeling awkward or fakeFollow Lee:https://www.instagram.com/leewarrenspeakerhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyzgGQAJw9tsTljLJYYr_zghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leewarrenspeakerhttps://twitter.com/leewarrenspeakshttps://www.facebook.com/leewarrenspeaker#LeeWarren #AlbertoZandi #ThrivingMinds #Persuasion #Networking #PublicSpeaking #CommunicationSkills #Influence #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

This week Alberto sat down with Colin Corby, a leading digital detox expert with over three decades of experience in technology, health, and behavioural change.In this conversation, they explore how constant stimulation, multitasking, and screen exposure quietly erode focus, sleep, energy, and emotional resilience. Colin explains why technology itself is not the enemy, but how it replaces movement, rest, presence, and human connection.This episode is about reclaiming control, not rejecting technology, and learning how to live and work with it without sacrificing your health.You will learn• Why constant phone stimulation increases stress and burnout• How technology kills attention span and focus• How to break phone addiction without quitting technology• How boredom silence and presence improve clarity and creativityFollow Colin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/colincorby/https://www.youtube.com/@thedigitaldetoxcoachhttps://www.instagram.com/the_digital_detox_coach/https://www.tiktok.com/@thedigitaldetoxcoachhttps://www.facebook.com/techologywellbeing.coachhttps://x.com/ColinDCorbyhttps://linktr.ee/TheDigitalDetoxCoachhttps://TheDigitalDetoxCoach.com#DigitalDetox #TechAddiction #MentalHealthAwareness #ThrivingMinds #AttentionMatters #ScreenTime #ColinCorby #AlbertoZandi #Wellbeing #PodcastLife

This week Alberto sat down with Gavin Stone, a former British intelligence officer with over two decades of experience working across government agencies and international intelligence operations.Gavin shares what life inside the intelligence world actually looks like, how spies are recruited, trained, and deployed, and why the real work is nothing like the movies.This episode you will learn:• How intelligence officers detect lies and stress in real conversations• Why body language should be read in clusters, not isolated gestures• How persuasion and manipulation actually work• Why people are easier to influence when emotions are activated• How governments and organisations shape narratives• How to think more critically and protect yourself from manipulationThis is a rare look inside the psychology of intelligence, trust, and influence, and how these skills apply to everyday life.Follow Gavin:https://www.instagram.com/gavin_stone1/https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-stone-146ab1240https://www.facebook.com/gavinstoneauthor/Read Gavin's latest books:https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B015HWIKGG#GavinStone #AlbertoZandi #SpyPodcast #IntelligenceOfficer #BodyLanguage #Lying #MI6 #CIA #TruthOrLie #Polygraph #HumanPsychology #CovertOps