Category: Podcast

Boldness Is a Superpower with Fred Joyal

Boldness isn’t a personality trait you’re born with, it’s a skill you can build, one uncomfortable moment at a time. My guest on today’s show, Fred Joyal, originally appeared on my Marketing Speak podcast, and his insights felt so relevant that I wanted to share them here on Get Yourself Optimized. Fred actually grew up so shy he could barely make a phone call, yet went on to co-found 1-800-DENTIST, building it into a billion-dollar business over 30 years. He’s also a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, speaker, and comedian who has performed for audiences of thousands.

In this conversation, Fred shares how he transformed his relationship with fear and rejection, and how he now teaches others to do the same. We discuss why boldness and confidence are two very different things, how to shrink the group of people whose opinions actually matter to you, and why perfectionism is really just fear in disguise. Fred also breaks down practical exercises for expanding your comfort zone gradually, how to stop stacking regrets, and why the moments you hesitate are often the ones that define you.

This episode will give you a fresh take on fear, rejection, and what it really means to show up for your own life.

Surviving Death with Rosemary Thornton

Death is often treated as the ultimate mystery, something feared, avoided, or pushed to the edges of conversation. Yet those who cross that threshold and return sometimes bring back a radically different perspective on life, suffering, and what waits beyond the veil.

My guest on today’s show is Rosemary Thornton, a historian and author who has written extensively on architectural history. After decades of research and writing, her path took an unexpected turn following an NDE near death experience that transformed her understanding of life, healing, and the spiritual world.

In our conversation, Rosemary shares what happened when she bled to death in an emergency room and found herself in a place that felt more real than ordinary life. We explore the divine presence she encountered who described humanity as the “image and likeness” of the Original, the angels she continues to experience guiding her life, and the miraculous healing that followed when her cancer disappeared without medical explanation. Rosemary shares how gratitude and miracle lists can sharpen spiritual awareness, and why paying attention to everyday signs can open the door to profound guidance.

This episode opens a powerful window into what awaits beyond this life and offers a deeply reassuring reminder that love, meaning, and connection endure far beyond the body.

Why Your Brain is Sabotaging You with Dr. Don Wood

Unresolved trauma doesn’t just live in your mind. It lives in your body, quietly driving inflammation, suppressing immunity, and blocking your ability to heal. My guest on today’s show is Dr. Don Wood, founder of the Inspired Performance Institute and creator of the The Inspired Performance Program (TIPP), a breakthrough approach that clears trauma at the neurological level, often in a single session.

Dr. Wood’s journey began with his wife’s childhood trauma and took a critical turn when his daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and a rare autoimmune lung disorder that doctors said had no cure. That personal crisis became the catalyst for a decade of research and a method now helping thousands reclaim their health and performance.

In our conversation, we discuss how unresolved trauma creates chronic inflammation. We explore why conventional therapy often falls short, the difference between capital T trauma and the small t trauma, which he calls emotional concussions, and how the brain can be primed to heal itself rapidly. We also cover the role of brainwave states, memory reconsolidation, and powerful aftercare tools like hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

This episode opens up a fascinating new lens on how trauma shapes health, performance, and the patterns we can’t seem to shake. So, without any further ado, on with the show!

Reboot Your Nervous System with Dr. Amy Albright

There’s a difference between thinking your way through life and receiving your way through it. When the nervous system is braced—over-efforting, looping, scanning for danger—intuition gets muffled. But when safety is restored, something else becomes available: clarity that feels less like “figuring it out” and more like being guided.

My guest on today’s show is Dr. Amy Albright, a trailblazer in human potential who integrates neuroscience, Chinese medicine, leadership strategy, and spiritual intelligence. She works with everyone from high-performing executives to individuals navigating major life transitions, helping them build success that stays aligned with what matters most.

In this conversation, we explore her unprompted spiritual awakening at 18, how the body signals safety (and what happens when it doesn’t), and why “busyness” can become a subtle form of disconnection. We talk about accessing information beyond memory, what Dr. Albright means by thought forms, and how shifting attention changes what you can perceive. She also shares a simple three-step process for establishing safety, reconnecting to the “all that is,” and allowing real inner recalibration to take place.

This episode invites you back into coherence—so you can feel steadier, listen cleaner, and move through life with less force and more flow. So, without any further ado, on with the show!

The Antidote to Smartphone Addiction with Jim Sugel

Digital overwhelm isn’t just a productivity problem. It’s an attention problem. And for a lot of people, it becomes a spiritual problem, because the phone quietly trains the nervous system to seek relief, escape, and validation on demand.

My guest on today’s show is Jim Sugel, a digital marketing expert with a deep technical background and 22 years clean and sober in a Twelve-Step program. That lived experience led him to write The 12 Steps for Smartphone Addiction, along with a companion book on digital gaming addiction.

In our conversation, we explore what makes smartphone use cross the line from habit to compulsion, and why “just use more willpower” rarely works. Jim walks through how the Twelve Steps translate to modern digital life, including the 20-question self-assessment he created to spot warning signs early. We talk about why the phone tends to show up most when boredom, loneliness, fear, or stress hit, and how service, prayer, and meditation help rebuild choice. Jim also shares a practical definition of “abstinence” that works in a world where you still need your device.

This episode can help you reclaim your attention and bring you back to the people, peace, and purpose your screen keeps interrupting. So, without any further ado, on with the show!

Uplevel Your AI with Dr. Gary Sanchez

Clarity is a spiritual practice. Not the fuzzy kind—real clarity that cuts through noise, names what matters, and turns uncertainty into movement. When the world speeds up, that inner steadiness stops being “nice to have” and becomes the difference between feeling behind and feeling aligned.

My guest on today’s show is Dr. Gary Sanchez, founder of the Why Institute and creator of the Why Operating System, a process that helps people put language to who they are and what drives them. He returns to build on our last conversation and takes the work into a new arena: how to use AI without losing yourself in it.

We talk about why “who first, then what” changes everything, and how your tools get dramatically more helpful when they actually know you. Dr. Sanchez explains how to upload frameworks like your WHY, strengths assessments, and other self-knowledge into AI so it can tailor outputs to your voice and direction. We also explore meta-prompting, prompt optimizers, and practical ways to rebuild messaging that sounds like a human, not a resume.

This episode equips you to use AI with intention, alignment, and real-world usefulness. So without any further ado, on with the show!

Turn “No” Into Fuel with Greg Reid

Being told what you can’t do becomes fuel when you refuse to believe it. Greg Reid, my guest on today’s show, is a bestselling author featured in 157 books across 45 languages. He’s also a filmmaker and entrepreneur with a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame. Here’s the twist: he’s severely dyslexic and can barely spell. His secret is simple—focus on what you’re great at and hire people to cover the rest.

In our conversation, we discuss how 268 rejections led to a thriving career in publishing. Greg shares his process for working with ghostwriters who transform his ideas into bestselling books. He tells the story of creating an Oscar-contending film about Make-A-Wish founder Frank Shankwitz and explains how rigorous honesty keeps his relationships strong, even with ex-wives. We explore his vision for Web3, his ownership of the .prompt domain, and why tokenization will change how we handle property and personal data. Greg also reveals how he’s teaching his 13-year-old son lessons in leaning into your strengths by hiring him for digital content creation instead of traditional chores.

This conversation offers a fresh perspective on embracing your strengths, building meaningful relationships, and creating impact that extends beyond yourself.

Invite Serendipity with James Eder

Connection isn’t something you “network” your way into. It’s something you practice—through attention, courage, and the willingness to be moved by the moment in front of you.

My guest on today’s show is James Eder, author, entrepreneur, speaker, and work–life coach with more than 20 years of leadership experience. He co-founded Student Beans (part of Pion), a global platform that helps brands build trust with Gen Z through verification, insights, and engagement. His new book, The Collision Code, donates all royalties to charities including the British Heart Foundation, Cardiomyopathy UK, The King’s Trust, and Young Enterprise.

In our conversation, James shares the health wake-up call that put everything in sharper focus for him, and the unexpected gifts that came with it. We explore how serendipity becomes more than luck when you choose intention. James breaks down his “code” for creating meaningful collisions—permission, confidence, and context—and how vulnerability quietly opens doors that strategy can’t. We also talk about living with mortality in view, why gratitude shifts the nervous system fast, and how small moments of courage can reroute an entire life.

You may walk away from this episode wanting to say yes to the next small moment that taps you on the shoulder. So without any further ado, on with the show!

Flipping Your Story with Joel Steele

Success isn’t about avoiding failure—it’s about transforming it into fuel. Joel Steele, my guest on today’s show, went from facing jail time and bankruptcy to owning stakes in a professional sports team and getting an NBA championship ring. His journey from restaurant failure and half a million dollars in debt to financial independence wasn’t luck—it was a deliberate practice of flipping what he calls his “Life Switch.”

In our conversation, Joel elaborates on the “three P’s” that power this transformation. He breaks down why most people suppress the very emotions that hold their greatest wisdom and how tuning into these feelings becomes your personal roadmap. We discuss practical strategies to delete doubt the way you would skip a bad song, why asking yourself “why” in critical moments changes everything, and how to recognize when your life switch has flickered off.

Joel shares the psychology behind his turnaround, including how staring at a jail cell as a teenager set him on a path to help others, and how his lowest point—getting robbed while drowning in debt—became the catalyst for his biggest breakthroughs. We also explore the power of writing your own story one day at a time.

This episode offers a framework for turning struggles into strength. So without any further ado, on with the show!

Hacking Your Health with James Schmachtenberger

Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when you understand the body as an interconnected system, not a collection of parts.

My guest on today’s show is James Schmachtenberger, co-founder and CEO of Qualia Life. He applies complex systems science to human health, building products designed to support the body at a foundational level. His path into this work began with severe adrenal failure in his early twenties. An experimental NAD therapy didn’t just restore his health. It expanded his empathy, focus, and cognitive capacity in ways he hadn’t experienced before.

In our conversation, we explore why high-dose, periodic supplementation works differently than daily dosing. We discuss why stem cell support and senescent cell removal matter for regeneration, and what happens mentally when brain chemistry comes back into balance. James shares firsthand experience with elimination diets, PRP therapy, and methylene blue. We also unpack the neurochemistry behind procrastination and how social media reshapes attention.

At the core of it all is mitochondrial health. James explains why energy, resilience, and clarity begin there, and why treating the body as a complex system opens healing pathways that isolated fixes miss.

This episode will change how you think about supplements, cellular health, and what’s possible when the body gets the right support. So without any further ado, on with the show!