Short Description: In this episode, former D1 Basketball Player and West Point Graduate Mike Canty shares his journey from West Point and Army service to becoming the founder of ARC, breaking down how military leadership, discipline, and decision-making translate into entrepreneurship and innovation.

Full Description: In this episode, Mike Canty shares an in-depth look at his journey from West Point and Army service to becoming a startup founder building mission-critical defense technology. This is a wide-ranging conversation about leadership under pressure, military decision-making, entrepreneurship, and resilience.

Mike reflects on growing up in Massachusetts, competing at a high level in sports, and attending prep school before being recruited to West Point. He walks through the reality of military training, leadership development, and the early moments that test commitment, discipline, and accountability. We explore what it’s really like to lead people in high-stakes environments and how those experiences shape long-term decision making.

The conversation moves into Mike’s time in the U.S. Army, including deployment experience, combat leadership, and the operational challenges that ultimately inspired the founding of ARC. Mike explains how gaps in battlefield communication and real-time situational awareness led to the core ideas behind ARC’s technology, and why solving real problems for people on the ground became a driving mission.

We also dive deep into the transition from the military to the private sector, including attending Columbia business school, Microsoft, and the leap into entrepreneurship. Mike breaks down the realities of building a defense startup, raising capital in difficult conditions, hiring the right team, and navigating failure, risk, and uncertainty as a founder.

This episode covers themes like leadership development, founder mindset, discipline, accountability, mission-driven work, innovation, defense technology, military veterans in business, startup resilience, and high-performance decision making. It’s an honest look at how hard experiences forge leaders — and why clarity of purpose matters more than comfort.

Whether you’re interested in entrepreneurship, military leadership, personal growth, defense innovation, or building something meaningful, this conversation offers practical insight and hard-earned perspective.

If you like Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson, Founders Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Diary of a CEO, Lex Fridman Podcast, Jocko Podcast, The Shawn Ryan Show, How I Built This, Mike Drop, Cleared Hot, SOFREP Radio, or Zero Blog Thirty, you’ll love this episode.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:08 Growing Up in Massachusetts

06:25 Sports and Competitive Drive

11:42 Prep School and Recruitment

17:28 Choosing West Point

23:06 First Day and Culture Shock

31:42 Leadership and Attrition

41:28 Transition to the Army

50:37 Combat Experience and Decision Making

58:52 The Problem That Inspired ARC

1:06:38 Military to Business and Microsoft

1:12:08 Starting a Defense Startup

1:20:28 Failure Risk and Founder Mindset

1:28:12 Building Mission Driven Teams

1:35:07 ARC Technology and Real World Impact

1:42:47 Final Leadership Reflections

1:44:28 Closing and Where to Connect

Tags: leadership, entrepreneurship, military leadership, West Point, Army mindset, startup founder, business leadership, personal growth, resilience, discipline, decision making, leadership development, innovation, ARC company, veterans in business, mission driven leadership, mindset, high performance, overcoming adversity, founder journey, Columbia Business School Graduates

In this episode, Lorin Jeppsen shares an unfiltered conversation about identity, leadership, discipline, and what it really means to live authentically. From being adopted and growing up in Utah, to flying B-52s in the U.S. Air Force, to transitioning into leadership consulting and personal development work, Lorin reflects on the moments that shaped who he is today.

This conversation explores the long road from military structure to self-led growth — including lessons from aviation, special warfare, faith, failure, curiosity, and passion. Lorin opens up about hyper-focus, masculinity, discipline, motorcycles, risk, purpose, and how childhood passions often point directly toward adult fulfillment.

Rather than offering surface-level motivation, this episode dives into real experiences: learning through discomfort, choosing responsibility over victimhood, and redefining success outside of titles or expectations.

If you’re interested in leadership development, military transition, identity, mindset, personal growth, or building a life aligned with who you actually are — this episode will resonate deeply.

Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction & setting the tone
Authenticity, open conversation, and why nothing is off-limits.

02:30 — Leadership, coaching, and current work
How Lorin approaches leadership consulting and personal development.

06:30 — AI, technology, and curiosity
Using tools to build, learn, and simplify creative work.

09:00 — Military roots & long-term relationships
How shared experiences shape lifelong connections.

12:45 — Flying, special warfare & discipline
What military training teaches about responsibility and performance.

18:00 — Hyper-focus, passion & identity
Why childhood interests often reveal lifelong purpose.

23:00 — Motorcycles, risk & freedom
The balance between passion, danger, and intentional living.

30:15 — Adoption, family & growing up different
Identity, belonging, and being raised without a victim mindset.

36:00 — Responsibility, mindset & resilience
Why ownership matters more than labels or excuses.

42:30 — Redefining leadership beyond titles
What real leadership looks like in everyday life.

48:00 — Final reflections & life alignment
Choosing growth, curiosity, and intentional direction.

If You Like These Podcasts, You’ll Enjoy This Episode

• The Shawn Ryan Show

• The Diary of a CEO

• Lex Fridman Podcast

• Jocko Podcast

• The Tim Ferriss Show

Tags:

leadership, personal development, identity, military transition, air force pilot, b52 bomber, discipline, mindset, masculinity, self leadership, coaching, mental toughness, resilience, adoption stories, purpose driven life, authenticity, growth mindset, life after military, leadership coaching, personal growth podcast

In this deeply honest and wide-ranging conversation, Jeff sits down with Joshua Kahn to explore identity, trauma, purpose, and what it really means to grow when life refuses to follow a straight line.

Joshua’s story is shaped by movement — across states, countries, careers, and inner landscapes. Born in Texas, raised on a farm outside Atlanta, and educated through an unconventional mix of experiential learning and global travel, Joshua’s life has been anything but traditional. From spending his freshman year living on a school bus with the Audubon Expedition Institute, to traveling the world on Semester at Sea, to years of nonstop international exploration, his journey is defined by curiosity, discomfort, and deep reflection.

At the heart of this episode is a powerful exploration of unprocessed trauma. Joshua shares the story of a life-altering accident at 16, how it was buried for years, and how true healing only became possible when he found himself in a safe, emotionally honest community. This conversation dives into the cost of suppressing pain, the importance of vulnerability, and why growth often shows up in places we least expect.

Jeff and Joshua also discuss:

• Radical community and consensus-based living

• Near-death experiences and the pressure of “having a purpose”

• Travel as both seeking and avoidance

• Fatherhood as a catalyst for change

• Leaving behind success that no longer aligns

• Men’s work, emotional leadership, and learning to sit with discomfort

This episode is raw, thoughtful, and deeply human. It’s about identity, resilience, emotional maturity, masculinity, healing, and redefining success — not as achievement, but as presence.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between who you are and who you think you’re supposed to be, this conversation will resonate.

Additional Topics Covered:

• Healing trauma through emotional honesty

• Experiential education and alternative learning paths

• Masculinity, vulnerability, and men’s emotional growth

• Travel, purpose, and self-discovery

• Fatherhood and identity shifts

• Letting go of misaligned success

• Community, trust, and inner work

Contact Joshua: joshua@kahnsultations.com

00:00 – Introduction: Identity, Resilience, and Inner Work

01:25 – Growing Up Between Texas, Atlanta, and Two Worlds

03:30 – Rejecting the Traditional College Path

10:26 – Emotional Honesty, Vulnerability, and Deep Community

13:28 – Growing Up on a Farm and Connection to Nature

19:41 – Trauma, Suppressed Emotion, and the Cost of Not Processing Pain

25:52 – Healing Trauma Through Trust and Shared Experience

33:13 – Near-Death Experiences and the Question of Purpose

36:24 – Travel as Searching, Escaping, and Self-Discovery

41:08 – Seeking vs Avoiding: Learning to Sit With Discomfort

49:37 – Leaving the Program and Wanting a Normal College Life

56:06 – Designing an Unconventional Education and Life Path

59:26 – Semester at Sea and Traveling the World in 100 Days

1:02:48 – Years of Nonstop Travel and Life on the Road

1:05:38 – Settling in Northern California and Entering Agriculture

1:12:34 – Family, Fatherhood, and Moving to New York

1:44:10 – Men’s Work, Emotional Leadership, and Redefining Success

If you like, Diary of a CEO you'll love this episode.

Tags: trauma healing, emotional healing, men’s mental health, masculinity and vulnerability, emotional intelligence, personal growth podcast, self discovery journey, identity and purpose, healing childhood trauma, near death experience, life purpose, inner work, men’s work, emotional honesty, vulnerability and healing, experiential learning, non traditional education, audubon expedition institute, semester at sea, travel and self discovery, spiritual growth without religion, breaking generational patterns, fatherhood and identity, conscious parenting, redefining success, life transitions, burnout and alignment, sitting with discomfort, resilience and growth, healing through community, personal development podcast deep life stories, meaning and purpose podcast