16. Designing a Life That Works for You: Leadership, Identity, and Inner Truth with Abe Lopez

What if leadership was not about forcing yourself to fit into someone else’s definition of success, but about deeply knowing yourself and designing your life and work from that truth?In this episode of Unfiltered Leadership, Lindsay Yellin sits down with Abe Lopez for a powerful, expansive conversation about self knowledge, neurodivergence, permission, and what it really means to stop fighting who you are.Abe shares how embracing neurodivergence has shaped the way he leads, works, and designs his life. Together, Lindsay and Abe explore why self knowledge is one of the greatest leadership tools available, how honoring your truth creates more ease and impact, and why leadership is not about liking everything, but about alignment.This conversation invites leaders to question inherited rules, create permission infrastructure for themselves and others, and build lives and careers that feel both brilliant and true.Episode Highlights:Why self knowledge is the greatest leadership powerWhat it means to stop fighting your truthNeurodivergence as a leadership strength, not a limitationDesigning work and life around how you actually operateLetting go of the pressure to like everythingCreating permission infrastructure for yourself and othersLeadership through self trust and inner clarityHonoring differences without comparisonRedefining success on your own termsLeading with authenticity, compassion, and curiosityAbout your host: Lindsay YellinLindsay Yellin is an executive leadership coach, dynamic speaker, and certified ACC and CPCC who helps high-achieving creative leaders trade fear for possibility and self-doubt for self-trust. A former advertising executive, she has led in high-pressure, high-visibility environments and knows the challenge of staying connected to oneself while leading others.✨ Book a Coaching Chemistry Call with Lindsay: https://calendly.com/yellin-coaching/chemistry-call ✨ Get your espresso shot of leadership insight, join the Grounds for Growth newsletter: https://yellingroundsforgrowth.myflodesk.com/groundsforgrowth About Abe Lopez:Abe Lopez is a queer Latino creator who discovered his life's work by following what made him come alive - from plus-size modeling to award-winning social entrepreneurship to hosting Recess with Guncle Abe, a show teaching kids emotional health through joy. As managing partner of Lightward Inc alongside his husband Isaac, he helps build consciousness-first technology while proving that neurodivergence (ADHD/OCD) can be an asset to visionary partnership rather than an obstacle to overcome. He's been recognized by President Clinton, Sesame Street leadership, and Schmidt Futures, but his real metric is simpler: creating permission infrastructure so others can discover they're allowed to thrive exactly as they are. Whether he's on camera, in the gym, or building the next iteration of what's possible, Abe moves from a single question: **What if this could feel good *and* work brilliantly?** First-generation college student turned barrier-breaker, he's living proof that "more than you know how to know of" is actually accessible.Find Abe on Instagram @abelopez, on Tik Tok @imabethebabe, and on YouTube Recess with Guncle AbeCheck out Abe’s AI app Yours at yours.fyi Yours is a private workspace where you and Lightward AI work on your reality-generator together. Days turn over, conversations deepen, and what carries forward isn't history - it's the living resonance between you.