Today’s guest is one of the most fascinating people you’ll ever meet, with one of the most unexpected career journeys you’ve ever heard.

Alexandre Stipanovich is a neuropharmacologist whose PhD research on the molecular mechanisms of addiction was published in Nature. After completing postdoctoral work at Yale and Rockefeller Labs, he took a wildly creative detour into the cultural industries, designing cultural programming for creative agencies and luxury brands (where we had the great pleasure of working together), launching an independent record label, and founding a boutique event production agency. He now runs Cascades Analytics, a consultancy at the forefront of psychedelic science and the neuropharmacology of consciousness.

In this episode, Alex explains the neuroscience of failure — why rejection feels so physically painful, how our brain chemistry shapes our appetite for risk-taking, and what science can teach us about creativity, ego, and bouncing back from failure.

This episode blew my mind, and I think it will do the same for you.

Alex breaks down:

• How failure activates the same parts of the brain as physical pain, and why it can feel painful and personal

• Why brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin influence creativity, motivation, and our appetite for risk

• The delicate dance between ego and fragility in creative work, and how too much of either is never a good thing

• Why some people spiral after failure while others grow — and how mindset, emotional regulation, and awareness determine resilience

• How embracing uncertainty and curiosity can turn fear into fuel for creative breakthroughs

• How reframing failure as a natural part of the creative cycle could unlock more empathy, experimentation, and progress

A fascinating and thought-provoking conversation that blends science and creativity, revealing what failure can teach us about who we are and how we grow.

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Stay Connected with Alanna (Host) & Alexandre (Guest)

• Alanna Lynch Instagram: @meliorfuturi
• Alanna Lynch Linkedin: alannalynch
• (FAIL)UP Instagram : @failupbymeliorfuturi
• Alexandre Instagram: @astipanovich
• Alexandre Linkedin: Alexandre Stipanovich

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own organization, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

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