Shirzad Chamine on Saboteurs, Sages, and Positive Intelligence

Shirzad Chamine experienced a traumatic childhood, raised in Iran by a father who was full of a frightening rage.  Following high school, Shirzad decided to move to the United States and make his future there.  Along the way, he heard an inner whisper telling him to make a positive influence on a worldwide scale.  After a variety of education experience, he developed innovative theories that resulted in the New York Times bestselling book, Positive Intelligence.  In this Blue Sky episode, you’ll learn more about Shirzad Chamine’s remarkable life and inspiring work. 

 

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome Shirzad Chamine 
Shirzad shares his early childhood in Iran, a turbulent upbringing with a rage-filled father, and how this traumatic experience later became a gift. 

01:43 The Whispers of a World Stage 
Shirzad recounts his journey to the U.S. seeking new possibilities and the powerful whisper in his heart that guided him towards transforming millions of lives. This whisper, present since childhood, fueled his pursuit of a path to make a significant impact on the world stage. 

05:19 From Psychology to Engineering to Business 
Shirzad discusses his unconventional educational path and explains how his disillusionment with the ‘California New Age’ approach to therapy led him to seek a more rational and scientific method for understanding and changing human lives. 

08:30 The Birth of the Saboteur: The Judge 
Shirzad shares a pivotal moment at Stanford Business School where classmates’ feedback about his judgmental nature led to a profound epiphany. This realization birthed the concept of the ‘Judge’ saboteur, a character in his mind that constantly finds fault with others and himself, sabotaging his relationships and self-perception. 

12:51 Saboteurs and Sage: The Inner War 
Shirzad explains how his childhood experiences and the Stanford epiphany led to the development of the Positive Intelligence framework, which describes an internal war between inner saboteurs and the inner sage.  

16:09 The Root Cause Operating System 
Shirzad critiques traditional coaching for failing to create lasting habits and treating symptoms rather than root problems. He introduces his ‘root cause operating system’ derived from factor analysis research, identifying 10 saboteurs (negative response factors) and 5 sage powers (positive Jedi powers) that optimize well-being and performance. 

20:44 Sustained Transformation with the PQ App 
Shirzad explains that despite the book’s success, readers often reverted to old habits because insights don’t build mental muscle.  

25:43 Understanding and Managing Your Saboteurs 
Bill Burke and Shirzad discuss the ‘Pleaser’ and ‘Avoider’ saboteurs, explaining how saboteurs are overused natural strengths.  

30:44 Don’t Judge the Judge: Quieting Saboteurs 
Shirzad emphasizes that saboteurs never fully disappear but can be diminished from a ‘megaphone to a whisper’ through consistent practice.  

38:05 Performance and Saboteurs 
Shirzad explains how saboteurs impact performance, using a basketball analogy to show how self-doubt can cause choking in critical moments.  

44:31 Normalizing Saboteurs in Teams 
Shirzad discusses how leaders can create a more effective team environment by openly sharing their saboteurs. By normalizing imperfection, teams can move past defensiveness and foster authentic communication, leading to better collaboration and problem-solving. 

49:04 The Shift to Compassion 
Shirzad describes his personal transformation from a judgmental mindset to one of deep compassion, driven by rewiring his brain through mental fitness practices.  

52:52 Mission for Mental Fitness 
Shirzad shares his mission to bring mental fitness education to humanity, starting in schools, believing it could transform society by equipping future generations with tools to manage their minds.