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Michael Phelps won 23 Olympic gold medals. According to Jim Murphy, he only deserves 2% of the credit. In this episode, the mental coach behind world #1s, Olympic gold medalists, and Super Bowl champions, the author whose book AJ Brown was reading on the Eagles sideline (sending it from #523,000 on Amazon to #1 overnight and to #1 on the New York Times list) breaks down why self-centeredness is the root of all fear, why "winning" is a word he refuses to use, and why the path to extraordinary performance and the path to deep fulfillment are the exact same road.

We go deep on the 5 questions that reveal whether fear is running your life, the language pattern that keeps anxiety locked in place, why Aaron Judge struggles in the playoffs while Bryce Harper turns it on, and the moment a stranger told Jim he'd never actually been present, after he'd spent $90,000 and 5 years in the desert writing a book about presence.

If you've ever felt like you're chasing something you can't catch, this one's for you.

⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 — Introduction
1:13 — Why Self-Centeredness Is the Root of All Fear
5:50 — The Hidden Trap Inside Every Big Desire
9:27 — Beliefs Are What's Running Your Life
14:28 — Why He Refuses to Say "Winning" or "Losing"
16:40 — Master the Ego: Unembarrassable, Unoffendable, Unirritable
19:33 — The Ego Isn't Defending You to Others (It's Defending You to Yourself)
22:27 — 5 Questions That Reveal If Fear Is Running Your Life
25:30 — The PALMS Trap That's Holding You Back
26:35 — Inside the Cubs Clubhouse: How the Hierarchy Works in 3 Seconds
29:36 — Sean McVay's "Urgent Joy" and the Duality of Gratitude and Ambition
30:21 — How Extraordinary Performance and Deep Fulfillment Became the Same Path
34:30 — $90,000 in Debt and the Stranger Who Saw Right Through Him
39:09 — Why Michael Phelps Only Deserves 2% of the Credit (This Changes Everything)
46:46 — The Language Pattern Keeping You Anxious
50:37 — Why Aaron Judge Freezes and Bryce Harper Doesn't
55:08 — Where to Find Jim's Work

📖 Get Jim's new book, The Best Possible Life: [INSERT AMAZON LINK]
📖 Inner Excellence: https://www.amazon.com/INNER-EXCELLENCE-Extraordinary-Performance-Possible/dp/1734654805
🌐 Jim's website: https://innerexcellence.com

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

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Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

You know exactly what to do. You have the reels, the podcasts, the frameworks, the morning routines. And you're still in the same place you were six months ago.

In this solo episode, I break down the knowing-doing gap, why the information age isn't accelerating your growth but widening the distance between who you are and who you want to be, and the three things that actually move someone from permanently motivated to genuinely transformed. I also share a line from Sapiens that will reframe every anxious, overwhelmed feeling you've had this year in about thirty seconds.

We go deep on why committing to one voice beats consuming a thousand, why your relationship with yourself is the relationship that determines every other one, why gratitude isn't a feeling you wait for but the specific practice that breaks your attachment to outcomes, and why the question you're asking yourself right now might be the only real thing standing between you and the life you want. If you've ever felt like you know the answers but can't seem to live them, this one is for you.

⏱️ Chapters:

0:00 — The Gap Nobody Talks About (Introduction)

1:30 — Why More Information Is Making Things Worse

2:32 — I Was Stuck Too (The $3K/Month Turning Point)

3:00 — Commitment: The Decision That Changes Everything

5:13 — The Real Reason You Don't Know What You Want

6:00 — Half-Ass Time: Your Broken Relationship With Yourself

8:07 — Gratitude Isn't a Feeling. It's a Practice.

10:16 — The Arrival Fallacy (Stop Chasing the Ball and Chain)

11:00 — Your Brain Was Built for 250 People (The Sapiens Insight)

13:08 — Ask Better Questions. Get a Better Life.

14:45 — Two Coaching Spots Open

🔗 Work with Jack:

► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner

Episode 130 with Jim Britt

Most people think motivation creates change. The man who coached Tony Robbins in his first years as a speaker says it doesn't. Jim Britt picked cotton at six years old, dropped out of high school, made one sale in 3,650 attempts, and stood in his kitchen with 15 cents, an eviction notice, and no way to feed his family. What happened next turned him into a millionaire in 12 months and launched a 50-year career transforming nearly 2 million lives. This is the most cinematic origin story I've ever heard on this show.

We go deep on why Jim walked three miles in 100-degree heat carrying a bucket of carpet shampoo and what was waiting for him when he arrived, why he believes we don't attract things but create them, where fear actually comes from (his answer will surprise you), and what his 10-year-old son's cookie business reveals about the beliefs holding you back. If you've ever felt stuck and wondered whether the problem is outside you or inside you, this one's for you.

⏱️ Chapters: 0:00

— Introduction 01:19

— Picking Cotton at Six: "Hard Work Won't Get You There" 03:38

— The Gas Station, the Factory, and 457% Efficiency 07:54

— 3,650 Rejections and One Sale 08:52

— The Bucket Walk (This Changes Everything) 11:16

— The Builder's Offer That Changed His Life 15:46

— He Built It in 8 Months. Everyone Said 14. 17:10

— 15 Cents to Millionaire in 12 Months 19:37

— Why He Believes the Law of Attraction Is Wrong 24:36

— "Resourceful" Means Full of Love 30:07

— Where Fear Actually Comes From (This Will Surprise You) 33:05

— The First 6 Years That Program Your Entire Life 37:59

— Why Motivation Is Like a Warm Bath 49:31

— His 10-Year-Old's Cookie Empire 54:51

— "I Thought They Didn't Want a Cookie" 1:04:22

— The Legacy Jim Wants to Leave Behind 1:07:42

🔗 More from Jim Britt:

► Website: https://jimbritt.com

► Coaching: https://jimbrittcoaching.com

► Book, Cracking The Rich Code Vol. 20: https://us.amazon.com/Cracking-Rich-Code-Jim-Britt-ebook/dp/B0DX7H7CH4

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner episode 129
Guesting ⁨@solhyde⁩

He made everyone proud. His parents. His friends. Everyone who told him that corporate consulting job was incredible. Then he sat in the chair and realized the only person he hadn't made proud was himself.

Sol Hyde quit that job, moved to the other side of the world, and built a six-figure-per-month online coaching business in under a year. But this conversation isn't about the money. It's about the moment he heard one sentence from a colleague on his first day and knew he was surrounded by people engineering their escape from life, while the people he'd met in Bali were building lives they never wanted to leave.

We go deep on why the first three hours of his corporate job told him everything, why he chose Cape Town over Dubai when every entrepreneur he knew was going the other direction, why going viral is the worst strategy for making real money online, and the solo trip ritual he does every year that most people are too afraid to try. If you've ever felt trapped in something you worked hard to get into, this one's for you.

⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 — Introduction
01:18 — "I made everyone proud apart from me"
02:53 — The promise he made at his lowest moment
04:16 — How long it took him to actually leave
05:46 — The sentence that changed everything (three hours in)
07:00 — "Why do you want time to go faster?"
09:13 — The trap most online entrepreneurs fall into
10:17 — Why he refused to move to Dubai
11:22 — The solo trip that rewired his priorities
14:27 — Working ON your life vs. IN your life
15:59 — Seasons and chapters, not grind forever
18:01 — How he built an offer with no plan
20:01 — The post that blew up and started everything
22:24 — Can you coach people more successful than you?
26:05 — The invisible expert problem
28:53 — "You're doing people a disservice by not posting"
30:43 — Why virality doesn't make money
32:27 — Trust is the real sales system
36:16 — "Results pay for a lifetime. Sales pay for dinner."
38:01 — Why conviction comes from product, not mindset
40:41 — How to build belief when you're starting from zero
42:51 — His 10,000-person mission
45:27 — You can change your life in a year

🔗 Follow Sol:
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sol.hyde/
► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-hyde/
► Free Thinkers Club: https://freethinkersclub.net/

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

She's built companies worth over a billion dollars. She's been on the cover of Inc. Magazine. She was the youngest woman ever accepted into Y Combinator. And what she told me in this conversation is something she says most founders at her level are too scared to admit publicly.

Jess Mah has been quietly tracking the happiness scores of high-performing CEOs for over a decade, and the results are devastating. We go deep on why getting your F-U money doesn't actually make you happier, why Silicon Valley rewards founders who lie about how hard it is, how she finds billion-dollar opportunities in boring industries, and why the smartest people she knows are diversifying their happiness the same way they diversify their investments.

If you've ever chased a goal thinking it would finally make you feel enough, this one's for you.

CHAPTERS:
(00:00) The Best Secrets Aren't on YouTube
(02:36) How Jess Finds Billion Dollar Ideas by Talking to People
(04:48) The 5-Hour Brainstorm That Changes Everything
(07:04) Starting a Business at 11 Years Old
(09:14) Why She Builds "Boring" Businesses
(11:09) Getting Calls from Billionaires
(12:13) How Giving Without Expectation Creates Opportunity
(15:03) Finding Ideas in Obscure Industries
(17:18) How to Meet Experts When You Have No Credentials
(19:47) The Happiness Data on CEOs (This Will Shock You)
(23:18) Why Most Successful Founders Score 5-7 Out of 10
(25:40) Richard Branson's Secret to Actually Being Happy
(26:32) Happiness Diversification (Not Just Financial)
(28:51) Why Hustle Culture Is Destroying Founders
(30:38) Silicon Valley Rewards the Act
(33:16) Is This Conversation Work?
(35:27) Focus vs. the Richard Branson Route
(38:53) 50% of the Time Still Feels Like Running Uphill
(39:49) Why Famous Entrepreneurs Won't Be Honest on Podcasts
(42:46) The Purpose Expert Who Needed Help Finding Purpose
(44:10) Why We're Addicted to the Illusion of Enlightenment
(49:16) The Return to Classical Wisdom

🔗 CONNECT WITH JESS:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessmahofficial

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jessicamah

Twitter/X: https://x.com/jessicamah

Website: https://jessmah.com

Mahway: https://mahway.com

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner episode 127
Guesting Blaine Bartlett

He wrote a bucket list at 18 with 20 goals he had no idea how to achieve. By 24, every single one was done — without ever asking "how."

Blaine Bartlett has spent 53 years studying how people actually succeed. He's coached executives across five continents, co-hosts Office Hours on Apple TV with David Meltzer, and wrote his first book alongside Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Brian Tracy. Bob Proctor called his work "some of the best material on prosperity I have experienced."

In this conversation, Blaine reveals why asking "how" too early is the trap that kills every goal, what Napoleon Hill's banned book Outwitting the Devil says about why we drift through life, and why the real purpose of a goal is never to get; it's to grow. He also shares the moment his wife received a terrifying diagnosis and the five words she said that changed their entire journey together.

This is one of the most important conversations I've ever had on this podcast.

⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 — Introduction
1:05 — Marcus Aurelius: "Spend Time with the Dead"
2:30 — Your Belief Systems Are Manufactured
5:01 — 20 Goals at 18, All Done by 24
8:11 — Napoleon Hill's Banned Book
10:09 — Why "How" Should NEVER Come Up Early
12:19 — BECOMING the Commitment (Not Just Making One)
17:35 — What He Calls a "Growl"
23:37 — A Letter from Harvard Changed Everything
28:29 — Energy Follows Attention, Not Intention
30:26 — "It Already Happened. I Just Haven't Arrived."
34:08 — Why You Feel Empty After Getting What You Wanted
42:24 — The Duality of Gratitude and Ambition
44:20 — His Wife's Diagnosis: "There Is an Unexpected Opportunity Here"
46:40 — Be a Center of Distribution

🔗 Connect with Blaine Bartlett:
► Website: https://www.blainebartlett.com
► LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/blainebartlett


📖 Blaine's books on Amazon:
→ Compassionate Capitalism: https://www.amazon.com/sk=blaine+bartlett+compassionate+capitalism
→ The Leadership Mindset Weekly: https://www.amazon.com/sk=blaine+bartlett+leadership+mindset

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambit

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

She was about to die and her first instinct was to check her calendar. Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist at King's College London, former Google executive, founder of Ness Labs, and bestselling author of Tiny Experiments. In this conversation we go deep on the hidden scripts running your decisions, why "find your purpose" is doing more harm than good, how your brain is designed to keep you stuck, and the science of using curiosity to actually build a life that feels like yours.

This one changed the way I think about goals, success, and what it actually means to thrive. If you've ever felt lost, stuck on autopilot, or like you're living someone else's version of success, this is the episode.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 – Why most people don't understand their own lives

02:45 – The blood clot that changed everything

06:30 – Why external success feels empty

10:15 – Your brain is designed to survive, not thrive

14:00 – Tiny experiments: how to override autopilot

18:20 – Do you need goals or questions?

22:45 – The 3 cognitive scripts running your life

30:10 – The sequel script, the crowd-pleaser, and the epic script

36:40 – Why "find your purpose" is ruining people

40:15 – Curiosity vs ambition: the experimental mindset

44:30 – The duality of gratitude and ambition

48:00 – How curiosity saved her from depression

📖 GET DR. LE CUNFF'S BOOK: Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World → https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Experiments-Freely-Goal-Obsessed-World/dp/0593715136

🔗 FOLLOW DR. ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF:

Website & Newsletter: https://nesslabs.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/neuranne

X/Twitter: https://x.com/neuranne

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alecunff

Threads: https://threads.net/@neuranne

Personal site: https://anne-laure.net

🎙️ FOLLOW JACK & THE GRATEFUL PODCAST:

Website: https://jackwagoner.co

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jack_wagoner_

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jack-wagoner-05a843341/

Email: jackcwagoner@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wa

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.

Send us Fan Mail

If a picture is worth a thousand words, why do most leaders still rely on words alone to get their most important ideas across?

Todd Cherches is a TEDx speaker, three-time award-winning professor at NYU and Columbia, a member of Marshall Goldsmith's elite MG100 coaches, and the creator of the patented VisuaLeadership methodology. He spent a decade in Hollywood working at Disney, CBS, and Columbia Pictures before a series of layoffs, terrible bosses, and one life-changing trip to China completely redirected his career.

In this conversation, Todd breaks down why most leaders fail to communicate their vision, how a trip to China where nobody spoke English forced him to discover visual thinking, and the four categories of visual leadership that can make anyone a more effective communicator, thinker, and leader.

► WAGONER20 for 20% off Magic Mind Mental Performance shots and 48% off subscriptions ⬇
https://www.magicmind.com/WAGONER20

⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 — If a Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words, Why Do Leaders Still Use Words?
00:42 — Shout Out to Chris Schembra
01:10 — The Gaps Between the Bullet Points on Your Resume
01:54 — Todd's Career Roller Coaster: Queens to Hollywood
04:20 — Moving to LA With No Plan (And Becoming a Bouncer)
05:23 — The Rock-Throwing Analogy for Career Direction
06:15 — The China Trip That Changed Everything
09:06 — How Do You Get People to See What You're Saying?
10:37 — Bad Bosses in Hollywood and What They Taught Him
12:15 — The Road Not Taken: Leaving Television Forever
13:45 — The Trainer Didn't Show Up. Todd Had to Teach 12 CEOs.
15:33 — Why the Worst Moments Become the Best Turning Points
16:43 — Walking to the Museum of Natural History After Getting Laid Off
17:00 — The Childhood Dream of Superman
19:23 — [SPONSOR] Magic Mind
20:22 — When You See the Light Bulb Go Off in Someone's Mind
22:29 — The 4 Categories of Visual Leadership
25:39 — Can We Control the Pictures in Our Head?
30:27 — What Great Leaders Say Differently Than Everyone Else
31:17 — Vision Without Trust Is Just a Pipe Dream
33:09 — The Bricklayer Analogy: Purpose Changes Performance
35:34 — 1,500 Books in 28 Years: How Todd Learns
37:55 — Where Do You Find Time to Read, Teach, Coach, and Lead?
40:24 — Why Todd Doesn't Chase Instagram
46:13 — AI Writing Posts to AI Reading Posts: What's the Point?
46:27 — The 4 G's: Genuine, Generous, Gracious, Grateful
48:09 — The Paradox of Generosity: Why Givers Receive
50:

Support the show

☕ Magic Mind — My daily performance shot:
→ https://magicmind.com/wagoner20
Use code WAGONER20 for 20% off a package or 48% off a subscription.

🧠 More from Jack:
► Website: https://jackwagoner.co
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner

⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

Stay grateful, stay hungry.