Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack answers, they struggle because they’re disconnected from the emotional patterns shaping their decisions.

One Spark Away is a global podcast exploring emotional intelligence, leadership and the small inner shifts that quietly change how we lead, decide, and relate to ourselves.

In a time many researchers describe as an emotional recession, this conversation opens space for a different kind of leadership. Not louder voices. Not faster solutions. But deeper awareness of what’s already at play beneath our habits, reactions and choices.

For the very first episode, I’m joined by my sister Sorana and we co-create this opening conversation together, from a place that shaped both of us in who we are today: Timișoara, Romania, our hometown.

Filmed in the beautiful studio @vivoproduction.ro, this episode is both a beginning and a return home.

As you listen, notice what resonates and what doesn’t.

Your spark often appears in that awareness.

In this episode, we explore:

-Why this podcast matters now

-Honest emotional intelligence exercises that help name, notice and relate differently to our emotions

-What the “spark” in One Spark Away truly stands for, and the long-term vision behind this space

-How transformation often begins through lived experience, including moments from the founder’s own journey

-Why quieter voices, inner work and presence deserve space in a world that rewards visibility over depth

What we discuss:

00:00 Welcome to One Spark Away

00:58 Why this space exists and why now

01:15 Arriving emotionally: the opening ritual

04:30 The meaning of “one spark”

05:04 Why awareness shapes change more than effort - transformation story based on pattern recognition

07:15 About sustainable change - becoming aware of what is shaping us

08:30 Why do we need spaces like these now - conscious voices instead of loud

09:56 Who this podcast is for

12:30 The role of presence, lived experience and conscious leadership

13:25 What is the vision for One Spark away? What would it really shift?

14:37 Emotional integration: what shifted during the conversation

One Spark Away is for people who understand that awareness is the beginning of real power.