The Mind Matters Summit, at ThriveWHX in Cape Town features a slew of incredible speakers, the summit is set to reshape our mindset, boost our performance, and tap into our resilience. With that, it’s no wonder that one of the most highly anticipated speakers is Dr. Andreea Vanacker. Her impressive journey, which includes surviving a brain tumor, ensures that her talk will be deeply personal, scientifically grounded, and a powerful reflection on what it means to live with joy, purpose, and resilience.
Brain Adventures
Dr. Andreea Vanacker is the founder and CEO of One Million Years of Joy, an acclaimed author, entrepreneur, and, in 2024, she was named by Success Magazine as one of the Top 50 Women of Influence Shaping Our World. What’s more, her work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, and the National Post.
Yet, while she was reveling in her incredible accolades and accomplishments, she received an intense wake-up call that forced her to take pause and reflect on what’s truly important,
“I wasn’t drinking alcohol or smoking, and I was exercising a little bit. Even the shampoos I was putting on my head to the creams , and the foods we were eating, everything was really as much as possible organic. I could not even remember when I had a cold. I was also in the middle of the commercialization of a recently launched health tech application. Then, I was referred to a neurosurgeon.”
What then followed was a five-year period of time that Dr. Vanacker refers to as ‘two brain adventures.’
The first was her undergoing a nine-hour operation to remove a benign brain tumor, and later, about two years ago, she underwent another brain intervention to treat a brain aneurysm. Facing the harsh reality of what these brain adventures can do, Dr. Vanacker adopted an almost adult approach by revisiting her will and preparing her family and business partners.
Thankfully, she survived these traumatic experiences, both physically and emotionally, as she shed her identity as the diligent ‘superwoman’ and embraced a more purpose-driven life,
“As I now have a second chance at life, what should I do?” Vanacker asked herself following her procedures, and what emerged was One Million Years of Joy, a media company dedicated to exploring and spreading the science and soul of joy.
One Million Joyful Years
“It’s about tapping into what my heart was calling me to pursue, which led me on the path that I am on now. It was coming from a true desire to be more purpose-oriented and have a positive impact on this world.”
Shifting away from external validation and achievements, One Million Years of Joy allowed Vanacker to create something more emotionally essential, seeing her purpose transformed into how she can bring as much joy to this world as possible.
One manner in which Vanacker tackles this is through her podcast, One Million Years of Joy, which is available on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Featuring over 130 guests, Vanacker inquires about their definitions and recipes for personal joy, with each guest providing their own definition.
As for Vanacker’s definition?
“We first of all have to understand that joy is not about feeling happy,” she explains, “Joy is really more a deeper feeling where we’re content simply because we are alive. Joy is almost like celebrating that you are here, you are breathing, and able to experience life in all its glory.”
In addition to her podcast, Vanacker, alongside Christophe Fauconnier, co-wrote The Human Growth Code, which delves into change, human growth, and organizational growth. In doing so, the book explains how prioritizing four key dimensions can help encourage development within an organization. These dimensions are resilience, resourcefulness, relevance, and relationships, and, as Vanacker points out, joy fits in one of these four pillars.
Embracing Joy
Now, while you may think living more joyfully means avoiding uncomfortable feelings, Vanacker’s approach encourages approaching the good, the bad, and the ugly, calling it ‘psychological richness’.
“Psychological richness is when we are constantly curious about life, and we’re seeking novelty, new experiences, and those experiences may sometimes be very positive, but sometimes they may also be very negative,” she describes, adding that by embracing these moving novel experiences that really shift our perspectives, we can live a more joyful life.
Referencing a 90-second psychological rule that states our emotions can pass through our brain in as little as 90 seconds if we can name them and let them go, Vanacker adds that this moment of self-awareness is where transformation can truly begin.
Another central theme in Vanacker’s work is the Trilogy of Joy, which comprises three key components: gratitude, love, and confidence, all of which offer transformational changes when applied universally, ensuring a more joyful existence.
Resilience for Joy
Another aspect that’s also connected to joy and purpose is resilience, which Vanacker describes as “our capacity to bounce back despite adversity.”
She stresses that this resilience can be built and strengthened with specific lifestyle factors, such as sleep and exercise.
“Sleep is a superpower,” she says, explaining that a lack of sleep can increase anxiety by over 30%, lower IQ, and make us more scattered and more focused on amplifying negativity.
Vanacker adds that making healthier choices, especially in regard to our diets, can elevate our resilience and allow us to do incredible things.
Building a Joyful Future
With Gen Z and Millennials set to make up 74% of the global workforce by 2030, Dr. Vanacker warns of an impending mental health crisis, especially one that could be intensified by the rise of AI and automation.
“We need to urgently explore new ways and avenues to really engage in deploying more initiatives to help these future generations to build a brighter future,” she says.
Her suggestion? Purpose and connection.
Blue Zones are areas of the world virtually free of disease and inhabited by some of the world’s longest living individuals. Vanacker reveals how both purpose and authentic human connections are some core pillars of these communities.
“It’s really important that, despite the challenges in the world, we build those important relationships to continue connecting and continuing the conversations. If we are driven to take some small actions in the right direction, to have a positive impact on the world, it can be really tremendously powerful.”
Join the Mind Matters Summit
Dr. Andreea Vanacker’s journey is an impressive one. In her keynote address at the Mind Matters Summit, she will effortlessly blend scientific insight with raw vulnerability and practical strategies to ensure that we live with more resilience, joy, and purpose.
The Mind Matters Summit is designed to reshape your mindset, boost your performance, and tap into your resilience. Join Andreea Vanacker and be part of this limited group of pioneers shaping the future of mental well-being. The summit will show us how we can build our mental resilience, how we can change our lives, and how we can become more joyful and have a better purpose.
The summit is taking place on 4 September 2025 at ThriveWHX the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, and you can grab your tickets here.
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