Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zippy Abla. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Zippy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

You know, I’m a happiness scientist who teaches people how to build a life they don’t need to escape from… and yet even I sometimes look at 9-to-5 folks with their neat, predictable calendars and think, “Wow… must be nice to know when your next paycheck is coming.”

The last time I had that thought was earlier this year. Picture this:
It’s 11:47 PM. My twins are finally asleep after a full-scale bedtime negotiation that could’ve qualified me for the UN. My laptop is open. I’m reviewing a proposal for a corporate client, prepping for a masterclass the next morning, and replying to a dean about accreditation language — all at the same time.

And for a moment, my brain whispered:
“Zippy… you could be watching Netflix right now like normal people.”

I laughed, but underneath the laugh was a real question:
Would life be easier if I just had a regular job again?

So I sat with it — the way I coach my clients to.
I breathed. I checked in. I asked myself the JOY questions:

J — What am I actually feeling in this moment?

O — What outcome do I want for my life, long-term?

Y — Is this aligned with my “Yes,” my purpose?

And what came up was crystal clear.
I didn’t feel stressed.
I felt stretched.
There’s a difference.

Stress drains you.
Stretching grows you.

What I was experiencing wasn’t burnout — it was expansion. It was the feeling of building something meaningful, something that lets me serve the world the way only I can. It was the same feeling I had when I first came to America with two suitcases, a thick accent, and a ridiculous amount of hope.

In that moment, I remembered:
I chose this life.
I built this life.
And I’m happiest when I’m using my gifts to help people transform theirs.

Do I sometimes wonder what life would look like with a neat, predictable W-2 job? Of course. I’m human.
But every time I imagine it, it feels like putting myself in a box I’ve already outgrown.

So the conclusion I always come back to is this:
A regular job would give me stability, but business ownership gives me sovereignty — and that, for me, is joy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I usually introduce myself this way:
I’m Dr. Zippy Abla — an executive happiness strategist, social scientist, and founder of Zippy Consulting Group. But the real story started long before the titles.

I came to America with two suitcases, a thick accent, and one fierce conviction: I may not know everything, but I can outlearn anyone.
That belief carried me through graduate school, leadership roles, and eventually into building my own company. I didn’t just enter the field of leadership development — I lived it, researched it, and rebuilt myself in the process.

I got into this work because I kept seeing the same painful pattern:
Brilliant, hardworking professionals were burning out.
Leaders were overwhelmed.
Organizations wanted results but were ignoring the single biggest driver of performance — well-being.

So I built a different kind of consulting practice, one grounded in the science of happiness, positive psychology, and leadership. I created the JOY Framework™ — Journal, Optimize, Yield — a simple but powerful system that helps leaders take responsibility for their own happiness, rewire their brains for resilience, and build cultures where people actually thrive.

What I offer:
I work with HR leaders, executives, and emerging managers through masterclasses, keynotes, corporate training, and fractional L&D partnerships. I help them:

Reduce burnout and turnover

Build psychologically safe, high-performing teams

Launch scalable onboarding and leadership programs

Increase productivity through happiness science

Transform culture into a competitive advantage

In other words, I solve the “people problems” that quietly cost companies millions.

What sets me apart:
I’m not just teaching leadership — I’m teaching leaders how to lead with joy.
My work is backed by neuroscience, research, and 15+ years of experience, but my delivery is deeply human. I’ve lived the immigrant grit, the corporate climb, the academic rigor, and the burnout cycle. I don’t sugar-coat; I tell the truth with empathy and humor. And I teach well-being in a way that’s actually practical, not performative.

Clients often say they come to me for strategy but stay for transformation.
One HR executive told me, “You helped me see that joy isn’t fluffy — it’s fuel.”
Another said, “You don’t just teach leadership. You restore people.”

What I’m most proud of:
The ripple effect.
When a leader becomes happier, emotionally healthier, and more grounded, their entire team shifts. Productivity increases. Innovation returns. People feel safe again.
I’m proud of helping leaders reconnect to their humanity — and then lead others from that place.

What I want potential clients and followers to know:
My mission is simple:
To help organizations turn happiness into a strategic advantage and help individuals lead a life they don’t need to recover from.

Everything I create — from the JOY Framework, to masterclasses, to the JOY-Driven Culture Lab — is designed to make work feel purposeful again.

If you work with me, expect depth, clarity, science, and a whole lot of joy.
Expect to grow.
Expect to breathe again.
And expect to build environments where people don’t just survive… they actually flourish.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the most defining moments of my resilience came the day I was laid off from what most people would call a “dream” tech job. Great salary, great benefits, predictable schedule — the whole cushy package.

But when the layoff hit, it knocked the wind out of me.
Not because I doubted my skill — but because I had built so much of my identity around being the reliable, overachieving, high-performing professional. Suddenly, the structure I relied on disappeared overnight.

For 48 hours, I did what any normal human would do: I spiraled, panicked, and started Googling “jobs hiring immediately.”
But then something remarkable happened — I got quiet.

And in that quiet, I asked myself the question that changed everything:
If I’m truly honest, what kind of life do I want to build now that the slate is clean?

The answer came fast and clear:
I wanted time freedom.
I wanted money freedom.
I wanted the autonomy to choose the projects, clients, and missions that aligned with who I am — not who a job description needed me to be.

That layoff, which felt like a disaster at first, became the doorway to my entrepreneurship journey.

I remembered the girl who came to America with two suitcases and an accent thicker than my courage — the one who promised herself she’d always bet on her own capacity to learn and grow.
So I honored her.

I built my consulting practice with intention.
I created the JOY Framework.
I stepped into leadership development and happiness science full-time.
And I stopped asking for permission to live a life that actually fit me.

Looking back, that layoff wasn’t a setback — it was a sacred redirection.
It pushed me toward the freedom and impact I now teach others to create.
It taught me that resilience isn’t about “bouncing back.”
It’s about breaking open into a version of yourself that was waiting all along.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was this:
Being hardworking and being worthy are not the same thing.

I grew up believing — like many immigrants and first-gen professionals — that if you just outworked everyone in the room, everything else would fall into place.
Work hard enough, and you’ll be safe.
Work hard enough, and you’ll be chosen.
Work hard enough, and you’ll be unshakeable.

That belief served me… until it didn’t.

The backstory?
Years ago, when I was in my cushy tech job, I was that employee who said yes to everything: the stretch project, the late-night assignment, the “quick favor” that was never quick.
I wore overachieving like a badge of honor.

Then the layoff came — the kind that shows up like an unexpected plot twist in your own life.
All that loyalty.
All that excellence.
All that overfunctioning.
And still… the job disappeared.

In that moment, it hit me like a cold bucket of truth:
My worth wasn’t something a company could validate — and it certainly wasn’t something a company could take away.

So I had to unlearn the belief that grinding equals value.
And replace it with something healthier, truer, and far more freeing:

Rest is not laziness.
Saying no is not rebellion.
And joy is not a reward for finishing your to-do list — it’s a prerequisite for doing meaningful work.

That unlearning is what ultimately pushed me into entrepreneurship.
It’s why time freedom matters so much to me.
It’s why I chose a business model where I can pick my clients, design impactful programs, and build a life that aligns with my values — not someone else’s metrics.

It’s also the foundation of the JOY Framework I teach today.
I help leaders and professionals break out of the old scripts that keep them exhausted and step into a way of working that’s sustainable, human, and soul-aligned.

So yes — unlearning hustle-as-worthiness changed everything for me.
And I’m proud I get to help others unlearn it too.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctor.zippy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zippy.nyaga
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zippyabla/