Suleika Jaouad: Harnessing Creativity and Curiosity to Lead Through Uncertainty

For Suleika Jaouad, a best-selling author and 3-time cancer survivor, journaling became a life-changing creative outlet during her battles with leukemia as well as a powerful tool for navigating uncertainty. It also became a surprising way to connect with others leading to singular projects that have stuck a chord with hundreds of thousands such as her book, The Book of Alchemy, and her 300,000 member Substack, The Isolation Journals, projects that merge journal prompts and personal essays from the top creative minds of our time. She breaks down practical ways anyone can carve out time for reflection, curiosity and vulnerability and how such a practice can strengthen resilience and connection while sharpening clarity in an age defined by noise and loneliness. And in an era where we write prompts for AI, but question ourselves less and less, she reminds us of the role deeper thought plays in understanding our world and ourselves better. This is a conversation about choosing meaning over motion—and learning to live each day with intention.

About this episode: Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/suleika-jaouad-journaling-prompt-creativity-reflection About this guest: Book: https://www.suleikajaouad.com/the-book-of-alchemy Substack: The Isolation journals: https://theisolationjournals.substack.com/ Watch her session at the 2026 Annual Meeting in Davos: Healing With Sounds and Words https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2026/sessions/healing-with-sound-and-words/ Related episodes: Burnout: 4 leaders share real-world stories and how to cope Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5een2u52Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4backy24 Nick Thompson, The Atlantic: Why this CEO sets 'non-goals' - and what ultramarathons taught him about focus and mental toughness Watch here - YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xh9PLsyptgARead here - Transcript: :https://tinyurl.com/mtdhe37wListen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/bdbrspj7