I used to walk into every room and scan it first. What do they need from me? How do I come across as credible without coming across as too much?I built a real career that way. I was also exhausted in a way I couldn't name.In this episode I'm being honest about something I don't talk about enough - the performance. The softening. The slow, quiet habit of making yourself smaller so other people feel more comfortable. And what it actually costs you every single day you keep doing it.I share the specific moment it started to crack for me, what I found on the other side, and three questions that might change something for you if you sit with them long enough.This one is for you if you're building something real and you know - somewhere deep down — that you're still not showing up as your full self.In this episode:— Why softening yourself doesn't make you more likable, it makes you trust yourself less— The difference between humility and hiding— What changed for me when I stopped performing: in my clients, my energy, and my income— Three questions to find out where you're still playing small🎙 Rise to More is a weekly podcast for founders, executives, and anyone building a life that actually means something. New episodes every Tuesday.

Guest: Tony Sanneh — Former U.S. National Team soccer player, 2002 World Cup veteran, 2026 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, and founder of the Sanneh Foundation

Episode Description

There's a version of Tony Sanneh's story that ends with the World Cup. Boy from St. Paul makes it to soccer's biggest stage, wins, lives well. The end.

That's not his story.

In this conversation, Tony and Jasna talk about what happens after the trophy — the fifteen years he spent building a free youth foundation that's now a ten-million-dollar organization, the moment fame nearly disconnected him from who he actually was, and the fear he carried for decades that he was finally ready to name out loud.

This one is personal for Jasna. Her own kids learned to play soccer on a field Tony built, years before she knew the full story behind it.

What We Cover

Growing up in St. Paul and the moment his mother told him he could be anything

The 2002 World Cup, and the strange, full-circle nature of his career in Germany

What fame does to a person — and the friend who refused to let it change him

Starting the Sanneh Foundation while he was still a professional athlete

Building a $10 million, 130,000-square-foot dome that funders told him was impossible

The Bush Foundation Fellowship and the fear he finally confronted at 30+ years in

Why most professional sports organizations get philanthropy wrong — and what real partnership looks like instead

What he wants his son to understand about him, and why it has nothing to do with the Hall of Fame

Quotes Worth Sitting With

"I'm more concerned about the world around him than I am with him."

"Athletes don't change. The people around us change — and sometimes that changes us."

"If someone's going to say no, I'm going to say why. My job is to make you understand it."

"We didn't say we're going to come and fix you. We said: we have these resources, how can we work together to make your life better?"

Tony built more than a soccer dome — the foundation now runs free youth camps, after-school mentoring, a food security program, a community center on St. Paul’s East Side, and job training for young adults entering the workforce.

If this episode moved you, here’s how to get involved:

Donate · Volunteer · Explore Programs · Follow on Instagram

Most people wait until they’re ready.Greta Siedow raised her hand when she was 80% there, and ended up leading one of the largest women’s sporting events in the country.

In this episode of RISE TO MORE, Greta — VP at Optum Rx and General Chair of the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine, shares what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start trusting what years of showing up quietly build.1,300 volunteers.50,000 fans.One championship.Decades in the making.But this conversation is not really about golf.It is about courage.About raising your hand before you feel fully ready.About opening doors for others because someone once opened one for you.

In this episode, we talk about

-Why waiting until you feel “ready” may be holding you back.

-The moment she raised her hand for a role nobody handed her

-Leading through influence instead of authority

-Building trust across 1,300 volunteers and one shared missionWhy women supporting women changes careersFaith, pressure, purpose, and sustaining yourself through seasons of growth

-What it means to make sure all ships rise

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Because sometimes the biggest moments in life begin with simply saying:I think I can do this.