What if remembering that you will die is the way to feel more alive? In this live conversation, Anu Arora talks with John (Hoppy) Hopkins, a former film director turned soul midwife.

Recorded live, this episode opens with a short grounding meditation and closes with a practice done together.

Hoppy is the creator of Aliveness, a newsletter and daily practice built on the idea that normalizing your mortality is what lets you stop taking life for granted. After years as a film director and the founder of a drone light show company, panic attacks and a persistent question pointed him toward end-of-life work. He trained as a soul midwife and sits with dying people, including patients in hospital who have no one else with them.

Anu and Hoppy talk about:

• Why death is a difficult subject in Western culture, and how other traditions prepare for it, including the Hindu stage of life known as Vanaprastha and the principle of vairagya, or non-attachment

• How Hoppy and his wife sold their possessions, traveled with their three children on one carry-on bag each, and settled in a community in Costa Rica

• What fades at the end of life, and what stays: being brave enough and kind enough

• Why Hoppy believes the fear of death sits beneath our smaller fears, and how gentle conversation can turn fear into courage

• Anu on a year of limited mobility, the impermanence of ability, and the Tibetan sand mandala

• The two-minute daily aliveness practice: remember you are mortal, feel grateful, do one thing you have been putting off, then check in at night

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About John (Hoppy) Hopkins: Hoppy writes the Aliveness newsletter and offers a six-part mini-course.

• About Anu Arora: Anu is an executive and team coach, speaker, mindfulness teacher and host of this podcast, working at the intersection of neuroscience, mindfulness and leadership.
• Website
• Substack
• Instagram
• Watch the video on YouTube
• Read the essay on Substack

This episode discusses death and dying. If it brings up difficult feelings, please reach out to someone you trust. In the US you can call or text 988, and findahelpline.com lists free support lines in many countries.

What happens when you arrive in a new country with a master's degree and discover you aren't allowed to work? Mindset coach and storyteller Niya Desai spent eight years on an H-4 visa before she could start her career, and she shares how she rebuilt her sense of identity along the way.

In this conversation with Anu Arora, Niya talks about the years she thought she'd lost, how interviewing hundreds of founders on her own show taught her that obscurity is expensive, and why she now believes that what we're going through isn't our struggle, it's our story. The episode closes with a playful rapid-fire round on mindful leadership where Anu and Niya each answer the same questions, and the answers are sometimes different and sometimes surprisingly alike.

Key takeaways:

• A hard season is a chapter, not the whole story

• Trust yourself first, before you reach for anyone else's advice

• Stop comparing your life to other people's

• Don't confuse your identity with your productivity, your paycheck, or your title

• A good mentor, who is not your spouse, tells you the truth and holds you accountable

• Mindful leadership is creating a pause between what happens and how you choose to respond

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About Niya Desai:
Niya Desai is a mindset coach, podcast host, speaker, and video storytelling strategist who helps founders, leaders, and high-performing professionals communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and authenticity.

Her own journey has been anything but conventional. After moving to the U.S., she spent years unable to work because of visa restrictions, navigated significant personal and professional setbacks, rebuilt her career from the ground up, and ultimately found her voice through storytelling. Today, she uses those experiences to help others overcome self-doubt, lead with intention, and show up more powerfully in both business and life.

As the host of The Niya Desai Show, Niya has interviewed entrepreneurs, executives, and changemakers whose stories reveal the human side of leadership. Her work has been featured on KING 5 News, and she is passionate about conversations that remind us that success is built not only through strategy, but through resilience, self-awareness, and the courage to evolve.

Connect with Niya:
Website: https://niyadesai.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niya-desai-00bb628/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationswithniya
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theniyadesaishow

If this conversation spoke to you, please subscribe, follow, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Connect with Anu Arora:
Website: https://anuarora.com
Podcast home: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindful-leadership/id1675397867
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anu.mindfulleadership
Substack: https://www.mindfulleaders.info