Meet Angela Shurina

 

We were lucky to catch up with Angela Shurina recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

Many people think optimism comes from an easy life, good luck, or even genetics.
Steve Jobs famously said, “you can only connect the dots looking backward”, looking backward I’ve learned that consistent optimism is a choice—focusing on the bright side despite life’s challenges.

And I’m no exception.

Growing up, like many, I faced my share of tough experiences in my family and in school. Instead of dwelling on them, I looked to the future to cope, believing I could bend the odds in my favor, believing the future is bright. My Siberian upbringing, with its harsh climate, played a part in shaping this mindset. I often joke that if we waited for sunshine in Siberia to get things done, we’d never get anything done! So, you learn to focus on the positive, however small, have fun, and embrace life’s daily gifts, rain, snow or shine.

As an entrepreneur, especially over the tough past couple of years, I’ve embraced what Brad Stulberg, author, researcher, coach calls “Tragic Optimism”—the idea that you can still find happiness and hope amid hardship. Entrepreneurship is a constant exercise in problem-solving; setbacks are daily, and you are the one who needs to turn things around. It’s our job to push through so that eventually, luck meets hard work and vision becomes reality.

Plus, neuroscience backs this up—optimism is a productivity hack. It pushes you to act instead of procrastinating, increasing your odds of success.

So, where does my optimism come from?
Life’s little challenges, my Siberian upbringing, and knowing that optimism is a tool for success.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I grew up in Siberia, Northern Russia, falling in love with learning, superheroes (A Trekkie), and the far-off places I read about in National Geographic.

Superheroes fascinated me.

I’ve always believed that each of us has unique superpowers and a purpose to make the world better.
This passion fueled my obsession with self-development—Tony Robbins’ tapes were my go-to “band” as a teen. I devoured everything I could on unlocking my best self, the superhero within, and eventually, I got good at helping others do the same.

After earning a computer science degree, I realized it wasn’t my path.
I wanted to travel and coach people, which launched my career with a one-way ticket to Thailand. Over the past 15 years, I’ve lived in 15+ countries, coaching in fitness, nutrition, recovery, sleep, productivity, and executive leadership as a digital nomad.

Now finally, after 15+ years, I feel closer than ever to living my true purpose—helping purpose-driven “modern-day superheroes” unlock their potential to create a positive impact. I work with entrepreneurs, leaders, organizations and teams to unleash their best selves, building the vision, building a world where everyone thrives.

I combine health resilience, growth mindset, and meaningful productivity training with system design and culture-building to drive progress. Currently, my work spans 1-on-1 coaching, group programs, corporate culture-building, and supporting startup founders cohorts around the world in tech, impact, and innovation.

My vision is to scale a science-backed system to millions, creating a global culture of high-performing leaders, modern-day superheroes, who excel and thrive, building our brighter future.

I’m especially passionate about working with startup founders cohorts to ensure the success of world-changing ideas, and purpose-driven companies that put people first.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Long-Term Thinking
People often compliment my grit, discipline, and tenacity—and they hire me to help them develop the same. But what I actually teach is building a strong connection to your future self and vision. When you can vividly see and feel your future as if it’s a hologram in the present, today’s hard choices become easier.

For example, if I envision myself as a high-performing athlete, saying no to a cookie isn’t about discipline—it’s a no-brainer. I’m already living as that athlete, and a cookie doesn’t fit into that reality.

Alex Hormozi says, the bigger the “building,” the more upfront investment it requires. Are you willing to pay the price today for the future prize you say you want?

This mindset is a skill, and like any skill, it requires reps.

I teach clients to reframe their thoughts, get clear on their vision, and understand the actions they need to take today to build that skyscraper. Vision boards and letters to/from your future self are some of the tools I use.

Emotional Competency
In the past, I let my emotions drive my decisions, change my plans, and even alter my vision when I hit setbacks. That was my biggest stumbling block.

I thought emotions were there to help me.

But neuroscience and coaching opened my eyes—emotions are just a bunch of chemicals released in our body and brain, based on past experiences, designed to keep us safe and comfortable. Sometimes they’re useful, but often, they need an upgrade to help us create a bolder, a different future.

I learned to create the emotions I needed by changing the stories I told myself, shifting my focus, and curating what I consume—a mix of Tony Robbins, Rich Diviney, and Tim Ferriss. Now, instead of being crushed by life’s waves, I surf them.

How do you train this?

Curate your content: who you surround yourself with, what you read, watch, or listen to.
Shift your focus to empowering thoughts, experiences, and perspectives.
Tell yourself a better story: reframe setbacks and ask, “What else could be true?”

Exercise, good sleep, and meditation also help create emotions that serve your future self better.

A Great Filtration System
Clients often ask, “How do I focus on the right things when so much is pulling me in different directions?” Without focus, even with unlimited resources, you won’t make progress.

Why?
You’ll spread yourself too thin. The bigger the impact you want, the more intense your focus must be. Think of any great entrepreneur—they’re known for ONE thing.

People think they need to eliminate distractions, but the real trick is clarity.
What do you need to focus on?
When you know exactly what you want in all areas of life, your brain filters out the rest. The Reticular Activating System (RAS) in your brain acts as a filter, blocking the noise once it knows your true focus.

What’s helped me and my clients get clear?

Vision boards
The 5 WHYs exercise
Letters from your 80-year-old self
The tools are plenty. You just need to use them.

What got me here—and will drive my future success—is setting up the right filter: knowing exactly what I want.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Collaboration Over Isolation

One of my biggest obstacles, aside from managing my emotional roller-coaster, was not realizing early on that maximizing impact requires collaboration. When people come together, results multiply.

I spent much of my life as a lone wolf, chasing fulfillment and impact, but never quite finding it. Eventually, I learned the truth: life is a journey best traveled with others. Sooner or later, everyone gets it.

Now, I’m actively seeking partnerships and collaborations to amplify value, create greater positive impact, and serve the world better.

I’m specifically looking for:

Impact-driven organizations supporting entrepreneurs in solving the world’s biggest problems;
Purpose-driven companies that are looking to create more positive impact by helping people thrive and excel;
Opportunities to speak and lead workshops at leadership, tech and innovation events, conferences, other initiatives.

My mission is to help grow bold visionaries—modern-day superheroes—so we can build a thriving world, together.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

The picture of me doing a split, and the one in white and orange are done by https://www.linkedin.com/in/impactimageorg/

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