If Only
If Only
Brenda McGregor
Choose The Good Day
48 minutes Posted Mar 24, 2026 at 11:00 am.
Welcome And Guest Background
An If Only Without Regret
Title IX And A Can-Do Childhood
From Accounting To Capitol Hill
Building Future City From A Kitchen Table
Empowerment As A Leadership Strategy
Brain Surgery And Choosing Happiness
NASA Work And Technical Confidence
Learning To Write And Take Credit
What Future City Actually Teaches
Values-Aligned Giving And Legacy Planning
Resilience AI Challenge For Students
Family Legacy And Final Principles
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Show notes
If your inner voice defaults to doubt, Carol Rieg brings a radically practical alternative: treat optimism like a decision, not a personality trait. We sit down with Carol, a philanthropic strategist and longtime nonprofit leader whose career spans Capitol Hill advocacy, the Future City STEM competition, corporate social responsibility, and NASA. Her “if only” isn’t a regret. It’s a challenge to choose the good day and keep moving, even when the path looks messy or the next step feels unfamil...