This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

In the popular imagination, leaders are visionaries.

They are single-minded.

Like Morpheus in the Matrix films, they know exactly how to rally the troops when catastrophe

looms.

Or take the world of Wall Street in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a ruthless stock

trader.

At one point, he gives a motivational speech to his sales team.

Are you behind on your credit card bills?

God, pick up the phone and start dialing.

Is your landlord ready to evict you?

God, pick up the phone and start dialing.

I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich.

In Hollywood's imagination, leaders often have messianic vision and unshakable conviction.

I can't accomplish a f*** damn thing of any human meaning or worth until we cure ourselves

of slavery and end this pestilential war.

Especially in the United States, we celebrate certainty and look down on those who express

doubt, caution and hesitation.

Over the past few weeks, our YouTube.io series has explored the inner voices that can chip

away at our self-confidence.

We've looked at how we can narrow or broaden our focus to solve different problems and

how we can use the wisdom of friends, family, even strangers to make better choices for ourselves.

...