Time, Fuel, & Money
Time, Fuel, and Money is a conversation for founders, investors, operators, and high-performers who want to understand the deeper forces that shape how we live, build, lead, and make decisions. Hosted by Deborah Moorad, Karim ReFaey, and Vassili Kotlov, the show blends neuroscience, psychology, business, energy, and human behavior—turning complex ideas into practical, emotionally intelligent frameworks.
Each week, we explore what really drives progress: alignment, awareness, relationships, incentives, momentum, and the hidden energy behind ambition. Through stories from biotech, venture capital, government, aviation, engineering, and everyday life, we break down how time, fuel, and money work together—and how they quietly shape careers, companies, and character.
This is not a hustle show. It’s a clarity show.
A place to think deeper, grow wiser, and operate with more intention—without losing your humanity.
New episodes weekly. Join us and rethink the rules.
Time, Fuel, & Money
All about Hope: The Holiday Trap and the Way Out
Why “hope” can create anxiety, how agency changes the equation, and why sometimes the best move is no move
Episode 31 of Time, Fuel, and Money lands in that strange pocket between Christmas and the New Year, when the world slows down just enough for everything you’ve been suppressing to surface. Deborah and Karim welcome Vassili back to the mic and unexpectedly end up in a deep conversation about what hope actually is and why, for a lot of people, it doesn’t feel comforting at all.
In this episode, Vassili offers a sharp reframe: hope can quietly pull you into the future, and once you live in the future, you start wanting things from it and that’s where anxiety and suffering begin. Deborah connects it to the holiday season pressure, when reflection turns into self-criticism, and Karim pushes the idea further, separating grounded hope tied to action from naive hope that becomes cognitive dissonance. The conversation moves through faith, agency, and the temptation to outsource your sense of security to jobs, systems, or other people.
The episode closes with a counterintuitive takeaway that hits especially hard this time of year: sometimes the most powerful form of hope is “no action” in the moment letting emotions pass, releasing the pressure, and choosing your next move from clarity instead of momentum.
This episode is about staying present, rebuilding agency, and entering the new year without being dragged around by outcomes.