Quote · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
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Closing Tradition: The Miscarriage, Grief, and the Lesson of Slowing Down
At 2:35:26 · chapter starts 2:30:26
The episode closes with the podcast's signature tradition: the previous guest leaves a question for the next. This time: 'What is the most difficult thing you ever overcame, and how did it make you the person you are today?' Picard pauses visibly — Bartlett notes the shift in his energy — before describing how his fiancée suffered a miscarriage at three months. They went through it at home. The grief was total: confusion, physical horror, anger at the universe, victim thinking. Two days later, sitting alone and writing — his way of letting things flow — the question formed: what is there to learn from this? The answer that came was disarmingly simple: slow down. Picard had built his career on speed — a compressed PhD, rapid professorship, fast team growth. The loss revealed a shadow side: diminished sensitivity to others who couldn't match his pace, impaired compassion in leadership. He describes how the grief cleared the canvas and sharpened the contrast of what actually mattered. The chapter closes with Bartlett's deeply personal response — he and his fiancée are trying to have a child — and a mutual acknowledgment that this conversation has transformed how both see energy, life, and what it means to be human.
Dr. Picard and his fiancée suffered a miscarriage at three months. Two days later, sitting with the grief, he asked what there was to learn. The answer came clearly: slow down. His entire career had been built on speed — and the loss revealed that this trait, while productive, had cost him sensitivity and compassion.
