Great Life Experiment Podcast

#40 From Hard No to Powerful Questions: How to Challenge Ideas Without Killing Creativity

Have you ever been in a meeting when someone proposes an idea, and your first thought is, “That will never work”? Maybe you hesitated to speak up because you didn’t want to come across as negative, or worse, shut down creativity. But what if that gut reaction could actually become your most powerful tool?
In this episode, Monique explores how diverse experiences, expertise, and biases can shape the way we respond to new ideas. She shares a practical framework for turning a “hard NO” into curiosity-driven questions that guide collaboration, uncover hidden opportunities, and help others think through their solutions. 
Whether it’s at work, in your side projects, or even in your home life, this episode shows you how to influence outcomes without dominating the conversation, how to walk through scenarios constructively, and how to create space for breakthroughs that might never have happened otherwise. Let’s dive in!
In this episode:
(00:54) - Reflections from an off-site activity with the team(01:50) - The challenge of diverse experiences and solution bias(02:52) - How to say “No” without shutting down the conversation(04:13) - Finding a common ground and aligning on the problem(06:35) - Walking through solutions with curiosity-driven questions(08:22) - Holiday reflections and sneak peek into 2026
 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8
 

#39 Grateful and Still Growing

Thanksgiving is more than just gratitude. It’s a mirror for what’s next. 
In this Thanksgiving episode, Monique invites you to reflect on your life in a way that honors what’s really good, while listening to the whispers of your next chapter. She offers a grounded, compassionate perspective on gratitude that goes beyond the usual “be thankful for what you have.” It’s an invitation to listen to the quiet nudges that often come up while we’re gathered around tables, traveling, missing people we love, or simply taking a breath between holidays. 
Whether it’s a small nudge towards better health, a new career challenge, or a subtle idea that keeps surfacing, Monique unpacks why the desire for a new chapter doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful, how to distinguish passing thoughts from meaningful whispers, and why December is one of the most powerful months to plant the seeds for your next evolution. 
In this episode:
(01:42) - Holiday reflections, stress, and opportunities(02:28) - Understanding gratitude beyond “being thankful”(03:31) - Loving your life while stepping toward growth(04:54) - Being grateful yet ready for more(05:45) - From overthinking to brave decisions(06:02) - Long-term results of starting today
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 

#38 Key Takeaways & Workshop Recap from Great Life Experiment: SPRINT

Missed the live workshop? Here’s everything you need to know to catch up and move your ideas forward. 
In this episode, Monique recaps the Great Life Experiment Sprint, sharing key lessons, breakthroughs, and exercises from the two-day workshop. From uncovering your real “why” to experimenting with new ideas and using AI thoughtfully, she distills the most important takeaways to help listeners move forward with clarity, purpose, and curiosity - experimenting in ways that actually create results. 
In this episode:
(00:53) - Great Life Experiment Sprint: Workshop Overview(02:38) - Uncovering your true WHY(05:27) - Turning ideas into small, testable experiments(08:44) - Using AI to amplify creativity without losing human insight(11:37) - Community and accountability(12:24) - Five Whys Technique
Missed the Workshop Live?
Access the Replay and Workbook Now | https://greatlifeexperiment.com/sprint 
The Great Life Experiment: Collective:
Join the waitlist | https://greatlifeexperiment.com/Collective 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8

#37 Clarify, Experiment, Move. 3 Product Lessons for Life & Business.

What if the same principles that build great products could help you build a life that feels more aligned, intentional, and alive?
In this episode, Monique reflects on the unexpected ways product thinking has shaped the way she creates, leads, and makes decisions that matter. She shares how the principles of discovery and design apply not just to business, but to family rhythms, unfinished ideas, and the quiet callings that never seem to fade. 
Through honest insight and practical wisdom, Monique invites you to rethink how you approach your own “soulful idea” and to start designing a life that can actually hold it. Because sometimes the difference between stuck and starting again isn’t more time or talent, but learning to see your life as the most important thing you’ll ever build. Let’s dive in!
In this episode:
(01:28) - The intersection of product and life(02:09) - Defining the problem you are solving for(02:52) - Applying product thinking to home projects and priorities(05:31) - Using AI wisely: how prompts shape your outcome(07:10) - Discovery and Design - why iteration matters(09:01) - The “Soulful Idea” and the struggle with capacity(12:09) - Sneak Peek of The Great Life Experiment Sprint(13:50) - Progress, not perfection - embracing constraints
Ready to move your “soulful idea" forward? Join The Great Life Experiment Sprint
Learn more and reserve your spot | https://greatlifexperiment.com/sprint 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8

#36 Birthday Reflections: Always More to Do Than Time to Do It

There will always be more time to do than the time we have to do it. 
In this intimate birthday reflection, Monique invites you into the truth most high-achievers avoid: There will always be more ideas, more ambition, more responsibility than there will ever be time. And strangely, accepting that might be the most liberating shift of your life. 
Monique explores the transition between seasons, the grace required, the courage to slow down, and the deep wisdom of listening to the whisper before it becomes a roar. This episode is for the person who is grateful and grounded, yet quietly overwhelmed with the weight of everything he carries, for the leader who cheers others on to rest but can’t give himself the same permission, and for the mother who can hold the world together but rarely has a moment to breathe. 
This isn’t about abandoning ambition. It’s about creating capacity for what your soul is actually asking for next. 
In this episode:
(00:00) - Introduction to the Great Life Experiment(00:44) - Reflections on Birthdays and Seasons(02:38) - The Importance of Health and Self-Care(06:35) - Taking Time Off for Health(08:50) - Creating Capacity for Personal Growth(11:37) -  Prioritizing What Matters Most(15:20) -  Invitation to reimagine capacity for the next season
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8
 

#35 How Great Product Leaders Think: Navigating the Future of Product Management ft. Ravi Mehta

Product leadership has always been about navigating complexity - people, priorities, and pressure to deliver. But in a world being reshaped by AI, where change is faster than our ability to process it, the real challenge isn’t what we do, it’s how we think. 
In this episode, Monique sits down with Ravi Mehta, one of the most respected voices in modern product leadership. Ravi has served as Chief Product Officer at Tinder, Product Director at Facebook, and VP of Consumer Products at TripAdvisor, where he led large-scale teams and helped drive billion-dollar growth. Today, he is a hands-on advisor to fast-growing consumer and AI startups and the co-creator of Reforge’s Product Leadership and AI Strategy Programs, where he teaches the frameworks that help leaders scale themselves, not just their products. 
Together, Monique and Ravi unpack the mental frameworks behind exceptional product leadership and how to build systems that think, not just teams that execute. They explore the necessity of self-promotion, the balance between speed and quality in decision-making, and the ethical considerations surrounding AI. Ravi shares insights on recognizing when to transition in one's career and the significance of aligning strategic goals with customer value. This is a conversation for anyone redefining what great leadership means and how to think like the kind of leader the future will need. 
Timestamps:
(05:53) - Why Product Leadership Needs Its Own Playbook(11:02) - Navigating Career Transitions(14:03) - AI’s Impact on Product Management(20:39) - Understanding Customer Needs(22:59) - The Escalator Analogy in Career Progression(25:56) - The “Impact = Environment × Skills” framework for career clarity(28:37) - The Power of Frameworks(32:01) - Recognition and Impact in Organizations(33:57) - Self-Promotion as an Act of Service(36:34) - Velocity vs Latency in Decision-Making(43:59) - Strategic Goal Setting: Why Goals Are Not A Strategy(51:23) - Ravi’s message to every product leader navigating AI change
Connect with Ravi:
Website | https://www.ravi-mehta.com/ 
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravimehta/ 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8
 

#34 Goals vs. Puzzles: A Better Way to Get Results ft. Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking

The best leaders aren’t setting goals. They are setting puzzles. 
In this episode, Monique sits down with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, to explore a new paradigm for leadership in a world obsessed with metrics. Radhika’s framework has been adopted across 40+ countries, helping leaders, founders, and teams replace goal-chasing with vision-led learning. 
Through her concept of puzzle setting, Radhika invites us to shift from controlling outcomes to cultivating curiosity, from chasing performance to building meaning. She explains why traditional frameworks like OKRs can erode creativity, and how leaders can learn to navigate uncertainty by framing better questions instead of setting faster goals. 
This conversation bridges innovation and introspection, challenging every listener to reflect not just what they’re building, but why. Whether you’re leading a team, a company, or your own transformation, this episode will shift how you think about leadership, from hitting targets to solving meaningful puzzles.
In this episode:
(01:37) - Radhika Dutt's Diverse Career Journey(05:42) - The Mindset of Puzzle Setting and Solving(10:00) - Challenging Conventional Goal-Setting: The OKR Debate(15:00) - The Limitations of OKRs in Complex Work Environments(22:07) - The Iterative Process of Learning and Experimentation(29:12) - Redefining Metrics: From Vanity to Leading Indicators(35:47) - Public vs. Private Companies: The Metrics Dilemma(44:10) - The Impact of Short-Term Thinking on Business Practices(47:04) - The Human Element in Business(52:48) - Long-Term vs Short-Term Mindset(48:52) - Navigating Existential Threats as a Leader(54:19) - Balancing Vision and Survival(01:02:16) - The Hippocratic Oath of Product(01:19:42) - Personal Vision and Life Experimentation
Grab your copy of Radhika’s Book:
Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter | https://a.co/d/cEe6HKA 
Connect with Radhika:
Website | https://rdutt.com/ 
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/ 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8

#33 Mastering Collaboration Using the P.A.I.D Model

Collaboration doesn’t have to feel complicated. With the right framework, teamwork can become clear, aligned, and surprisingly easy. 
In this episode, Monique introduces the P.A.I.D Model, a framework designed to bring clarity to collaboration. By identifying four key roles — Pilot, Advisors, Informed Stakeholders, and Decision Maker —  teams can navigate complexity with less friction. 
Monique explores what happens when these roles aren’t clearly named, why decisions often stall without a clear decision-maker, and how leaders can step into the courage it takes to pilot an initiative. She also shares practical examples of how she has used this tool in her own career, and why it remains one of her most relied-upon frameworks. 
This is one of those episodes, you may want to come back to because the P.A.I.D Model isn’t a “one and done.” It’s a tool you’ll practice, refine, and return to every time you find yourself in the middle of group dynamics. 
In this episode:
(02:45) - The two tools Monique always comes back to in leadership(03:25) - Introducing the P.A.I.D Model(04:42) - When to use the P.A.I.D Model(05:55) - The Pilot: Bringing direction and focus(07:18) - Advisors: the right input vs too many voices(08:35) - Informed Stakeholders: Keeping everyone aligned without overwhelm(09:27) - Decision Makers: The most overlooked but critical role(10:48) - How to diagnose what’s missing when collaboration feels stuck(13:02) - Why leaders hesitate to pilot or decide - and how to step in(17:17) - Applying the P.A.I.D Model in real projects and organizations(18:23 ) - Recap and encouragement
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8

#32 Unlock Your Career Potential with the Career Roadmap Activity

We’ve all had those seasons where our career feels stuck, where the questions are loud, but the answers feel far away. But what if the way forward isn’t another job search, but a different way of seeing your path?
In this episode, Monique shares a simple yet powerful framework that has guided her own career moves. This practical tool helps you uncover what you truly want out of your career, recognize the strengths you already bring, and map the future experiences you need to grow. It’s not about having everything figured out. It’s about creating a structure that frees you from feeling stuck and empowers you to move forward with intention. 
Whether you’re building a corporate career, dreaming of entrepreneurship, or navigating a pivot, this process will give you a way to evaluate your options, expand your opportunities, and unlock your potential. 
In this episode:
(01:45) - Why overthinking often does not lead to clarity(03:09) - Writing down what you really want(05:49) - The 3-Step Career Roadmap Activity(06:56) - How to spot your strengths, gaps, and growth opportunities(09:14) - What to do when your current job can’t give you the skills you need(12:17) - How to apply the Career Roadmap to your own path(14:18) - Your free downloadable template + next steps
Put the Career Roadmap Activity Into Action Today
Sign up and Receive Your Free Career Roadmap Template | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8

#31 How Are You Really? Protecting Your Energy When Everything Feels Too Much

How are you, really? Sometimes it feels easier to give the polite answer than to name what’s true when the world feels heavy and your heart is carrying more than words can hold.
In this reflective solo episode, Monique opens up about what it means to live with the weight of so many emotions at once and why protecting our energy is our first responsibility. She shares the small but powerful practices that kept her grounded - closing the door on noise, making space for joy, and giving herself permission to feel without staying stuck. Because when life feels too much, and the world feels broken, the question isn’t how to fix it all. The question is: how do we keep showing up whole for ourselves, our families, and the people who depend on us?
If you’ve been feeling stretched, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward, this is an invitation to pause, to be honest about how you’re actually doing, and to remember that you’re not alone in the weight of it all. 
In this episode:
(00:53) - When “How are you?” isn’t just small talk(01:47) - Carrying sadness, anger, fear, and confusion all at once(02:41) - Why managing your energy is the non-negotiable(03:53) - Choosing light and joy when you can’t fix the brokenness(05:37) - Creating boundaries with media and inputs to protect your heart(06:59) - It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility(08:30) - You are not alone
Connect with Monique:
Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ 
Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer 
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment 
Ask Monique
Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem? 
'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together. 
https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8