Everyone talks about the strategy of being a CEO. Almost no one talks about the inner toll it takes.

Charbel Zreik went from collecting cans on the street as a refugee from civil war to running companies, then spent years as a full time yoga and meditation teacher after his first CEO seat nearly broke him. Today he teaches at Wharton and works with CEOs on something most leadership conversations completely ignore, the inner journey behind the title.

In this raw, deeply personal episode of CEOs Unscripted, Charbel sits down with Jane Gentry to unpack the five internal shifts every CEO needs to make to thrive under pressure, without sacrificing who they are to get there.

Key Topics Covered:

• The five shifts every CEO must make to thrive instead of just survive
• Why risk is not just intellectual, it lives in your body, and how to manage it
• The nervous system tools Charbel uses including cold plunging, breath work and meditation
• How to recognize when your ego has been triggered before it takes control
• The difference between being nice and being kind as a leader
• Why dropping your attachment to outcomes makes you more effective, not less
• How to lead with low ego and a clear mission without losing yourself
• Why nearly 90 percent of founders are unhappy a year after exiting, and how to avoid becoming one of them

📌 Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Cold open: The hidden weight every CEO carries on their shoulders
• 01:05 — Welcome to CEOs Unscripted
• 02:40 — Meet Charbel Zreik, CEO and founder of DHA Laboratory
• 02:58 — The story behind his name and his namesake saint
• 03:53 — From civil war refugee to food stamps to Cornell, Charbel’s backstory
• 05:33 — The people who believed in him before he believed in himself
• 07:14 — Becoming an observer of CEOs and the inner journey nobody talks about
• 08:44 — The breaking point that started it all, his first CEO seat in 2014
• 10:33 — The five shifts to inner mastery as a CEO
• 12:34 — Why all five shifts happen concurrently, not in order
• 12:51 — Shift one, leading from a safe body
• 14:55 — Becoming a master of your own nervous system
• 15:32 — The practices Charbel uses daily, meditation, breath work, cold plunging
• 17:04 — The special forces technique of naming what you feel
• 18:49 — Why young leaders catastrophize and how to break it down step by step
• 20:20 — What to do when you feel completely frozen
• 21:13 — Shift two, leading with an open courageous heart
• 22:29 — Why high performers become critical of others without realising it
• 23:57 — How your nervous system silently affects everyone in the room
• 25:37 — Shame, change and why being the change agent makes you a target
• 26:59 — The difference between being nice and being kind as a leader
• 27:26 — Shift three, a present and centered mind
• 28:30 — Why the mind never stops solving problems, even at 4am
• 28:55 — Dropping attachment to outcomes and committing to the process instead
• 30:43 — How heavy planning actually creates more presence, not less
• 31:45 — Jane’s calendar confession and the cost of moving too fast
• 33:29 — Jane’s nighttime notebook trick for quieting a racing mind
• 34:24 — Shiny object syndrome and constant mental movement
• 36:35 — Charbel’s nightly checkout ritual to tell his mind it is done for the day
• 37:57 — Why you have to experiment to find what actually works for you
• 38:35 — Shift four, leading with low ego and mission orientation
• 39:23 — The 90 percent statistic on founders who regret how they exited
• 39:58 — Knowing your personal ego triggers and catching them in real time
• 41:32 — Jane’s story of one-upping a network president and catching herself
• 42:28 — Why naming the trigger disempowers it instantly
• 43:10 — Why fewer people tell the truth the higher you climb
• 44:39 — The CEO who insisted ego never gets in the way, and what happened next
• 45:55 — Succeeding without sacrificing who you are
• 46:01 — Shift five, leading a highly disciplined lifestyle
• 47:32 — Why none of these shifts happen without daily and weekly rituals
• 48:30 — Charbel’s simple parting advice, ten minutes of quiet to start every day
• 49:13 — Jane’s closing thoughts

🎙️ About CEOs Unscripted:

CEOs Unscripted is a bi-weekly podcast for mid-market CEOs, no fluff, no jargon, just real conversations from leaders who have been in the trenches.