Acta Non Verba

In this episode, Marcus Aurelius Anderson sits down with Robert Greene and Steven Pressfield for the first interview they have ever done together, a fly-on-the-wall conversation between two masters of the craft. Robert shares how a near-fatal stroke changed the way he saw the world and led him to finish his new book, The Law of the Sublime. Steven reads the invocation to the muse he recites before every writing session, and both men open up about tedium, psychedelics, their years in the Hollywood wilderness, and the long road to their first success. The conversation closes on resistance, the force that tries to stop us from becoming who we were born to be, and why we need it in order to grow.

Episode Highlights:

3:59: Robert explains how waking up from his stroke made the world look strange and new, and how that experience told him it was time to write The Law of the Sublime.

16:57: Robert defines the sublime as the moments when your mind travels outside the circle of culturally agreed reality and touches the world as it is.

43:32: Both writers agree that writing is lonely, tedious work, and anyone who wants to do it has to want it more than anything else in the world.

1:01:11: Steven breaks down resistance, the voice that tells you you're not good enough and strikes at predictable points in every project.

Robert Greene is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law (with 50 Cent), Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature, and The Daily Laws, and an internationally renowned expert on power strategies and human behavior. A classics student who studied ancient Greek at UC Berkeley, he worked in journalism, television, and Hollywood before writing his first book. His new book, The Law of the Sublime, written by hand during his recovery from a stroke, is out November 10, 2026. He lives in Los Angeles.

Steven Pressfield is the bestselling author of The War of Art, Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Before his first novel was published, he spent years as an advertising copywriter in New York and a Hollywood screenwriter. His work on resistance and the creative process has become a touchstone for writers, artists, entrepreneurs, and warriors around the world.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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In this episode, Dr. Megan McElheran, a clinical psychologist and CEO of Before Operational Stress, Inc. discusses stoicism's practical applications and the misinterpretations associated with it. Dr. McElheran shares her extensive work with trauma-exposed professionals, including military personnel and first responders, and highlights the importance of managing stress and trauma. Marcus and Dr. McElheran delve into the concept of post-traumatic growth, the necessity of facing adversities, and maintaining mental health resilience. The conversation also touches on Dr. McElheran's Bataan Death March experience, underscoring the significant lessons in resilience and determination.

Episode Highlights:

02:29 The Misconceptions of Stoicism

08:04 The Impact of Trauma on First Responders

29:32 Stoic Wisdom for Overcoming Hardship

31:10 The Hero's Journey and Personal Growth

32:22 Embracing Pain and Suffering

37:55 Curating Thoughts and Building Confidence

40:20 The Bataan Death March: A Lesson in Endurance

Dr. Megan McElheran, CEO of Wayfound Mental Health Group in Calgary, AB, is a Clinical Psychologist with 16 years of expertise in Operational Stress Injuries (OSI). Specializing in active-duty military, Veterans, and public safety personnel, she focuses on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Driven by a passion for OSI prevention and resilience enhancement, she developed the BOS program. Exploring innovative approaches, she's delving into psychedelic medicine for psychological injuries. A sought-after speaker and educator, Dr. McElheran shares her insights nationally. Her recent publication in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, "Functional Disconnection and Reconnection," sheds light on novel strategies for public safety personnel's well-being.

You can find out more here: https://www.beforeoperationalstress.com/

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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Rick Williams, author and host of the Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast, joins Marcus Aurelius Anderson to talk about the decisions that shape leaders and the organizations they run. Rick traces his path from physicist at Itek to Harvard Business School, Arthur D. Little, and founding The Equity Company, and explains why leadership and management are two different skill sets. He shares the Johnson & Johnson story that shows why a junior employee has to feel safe saying something is wrong, the Casablanca lunch where he sketched Create the Future on the back of a placemat, and his call to stop racing 100 miles from Bermuda after his boat lost its backstay. Rick also talks about driving donated supplies from Warsaw to Kyiv and what most Americans miss about the war in Ukraine.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

6:57: Rick explains why leadership and management are two different skill sets, and why successful leaders need management skills plus the ability to set a vision and build trust.

15:01: Rick shares how a junior Johnson & Johnson employee caught mislabeled bottles before they shipped nationwide, and why that only happens in a culture where people feel safe saying something is wrong.

44:41: Rick describes the lunch in Casablanca where he turned over a placemat and wrote down the title and core idea of Create the Future, that the decisions you make today create your organization's future.

48:09: Rick walks through the Newport to Bermuda race where a failed backstay 100 miles from the finish forced him to choose between crossing the line and protecting his crew and boat.

 

Rick Williams is a keynote speaker, author, and board member who shares his experience as a scientist, management consultant, company founder, and CEO. After studying physics at the University of Pennsylvania, he worked on high-level optics and reconnaissance systems at Itek, then went on to Harvard Business School and spent more than ten years at Arthur D. Little before founding The Equity Company, an award-winning real estate investment and development company. Rick is the author of Create the Future: Powerful Decision-Making Tools for Your Company and Yourself and hosts the Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast, a forum for leaders to share the tough decisions they have made for their organizations. He is also an offshore sailor who has raced from Newport to Bermuda, and he has helped drive donated supplies into Ukraine. Learn more at rickwilliamsleadership.com.

 

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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Richard Kaufman, known as The Comeback Coach and host of the Vertical Momentum Resiliency Podcast 2.0, sits down with Marcus Aurelius Anderson to talk about what happens when the identity you built your whole life around is taken away. Richard shares how he went from being thrown out of the military for addiction to being named Soldier of the Year, and how losing his vision and his uniform in 2012 left him asking who he was without it. He opens up about the moment his six-month-old daughter pulled him back from the edge on Labor Day 2012, the lunch with Gary Vaynerchuk that launched his podcast, and the Ed Mylett lesson that everything in his life happened for him. Together they talk about why nobody is coming to save you, how success leaves clues, and why taking full responsibility for your life is where living begins.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

13:50: Richard shares how a lunch with Gary Vaynerchuk led to the push to start a podcast and write a book before he had any social media following at all.

18:37: Richard explains that the biggest revelation from 14 years of therapy is that nobody is coming to save you, and how Ed Mylett taught him that nothing happened to him, it all happened for him.

22:34: Richard describes how losing his military ID and his identity as Sergeant Kaufman left him asking who he was, and why so many veterans and first responders struggle after taking off the uniform.

25:53: Richard describes how a George Strait song about a father seeing his daughter for the first time came on the radio seconds before he planned to end his life, and how thinking of his own daughter saved him.

 

Richard Kaufman, known as The Comeback Coach, is a military veteran, author, speaker and host of the Vertical Momentum Resiliency Podcast 2.0, which has passed 1,400 episodes and nearly five million downloads. After being discharged in 1988 for drug and alcohol use, he fought his way back into the Pennsylvania National Guard, was named Soldier of the Year and served more than 20 years before his medical retirement in 2012. Richard has been sober since 1989 and is the author of A Hero's Journey From Darkness to Light, a book about recovery, addiction and depression, and The Podcast Blueprint, a guide to starting and sustaining a podcast. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three kids.

 

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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In this solo episode, Marcus Aurelius Anderson introduces his newly released book Acta Non Verba, drawing on his harrowing personal story of being paralyzed from the neck down and flatlining twice on the operating table. He reads from the book's opening section on adversity, laying out his core philosophy: that adversity is the ultimate catalyst for change, the gateway to self-awareness, and the force that strips away everything you are not to reveal who you truly are.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

1:25 — Marcus describes spending four years writing, scrapping, and rewriting the book based on his own near-death experience and recovery.

4:28 — He explains why knowledge that is acquired but never put into practice is no different from ignorance, and why reading alone can never equal mastery.

5:22 — Marcus reframes a familiar idea: "Necessity is not the mother of invention. Adversity is," arguing that adversity strips away pretense to reveal your true self.

7:15 — He connects adversity directly to self-awareness, calling it the gateway through which every great philosophy in history has been built.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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George Bryant sits down with Marcus Aurelius Anderson for a conversation about what happens when you survive a childhood no child should survive, serve 13 years in the Marine Corps, build a seven-figure business, and then realize none of it filled the void. George shares his story of growing up in Massachusetts surrounded by addiction and abuse, nearly losing his legs in Somalia, attempting to take his own life, and eventually finding God in a Costa Rican jungle through a shaman who refused to give him plant medicine. They talk about the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, the danger of distracting yourself from your own feelings, and how the person you are most qualified to help is the person you used to be. This is a raw, honest conversation about doing the work you have been avoiding and learning to sit with yourself.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• 3:13: George opens the conversation by sharing that his mother is on hospice and explains the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.
• 14:53: George reveals he was named honor graduate out of 1,300 Marines after spending 13 weeks believing he was a complete failure.
• 42:03: A shaman in Costa Rica refused to give George plant medicine and instead asked him one question about the purpose of his life that changed everything.
• 1:16:30: George breaks down his triage nurse approach to emotional regulation and how to know when to push through versus when to pause and process.

George Bryant is a Marine Corps veteran, New York Times bestselling author, and host of The Mind of George Show podcast. He built a seven-figure food blog brand called Civilized Caveman, wrote a cookbook that spent 22 weeks on the bestseller list, and launched an app that Apple named the number one health app of 2015. After losing everything and rebuilding from scratch, George developed his Relationships Beat Algorithms model and now helps companies scale through customer journey consulting, email marketing, and leadership coaching. He has appeared on close to 10,000 podcasts as a guest and lives in Montana with his family.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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In this episode of Acta Non Verba, Marcus Aurelius Anderson sits down with Leigh Martinuzzi, host of The Hidden Why Podcast and a multi-award-winning real estate entrepreneur from Australia's Sunshine Coast. They explore how a suicidal brother led Leigh to podcasts, how a radical move to Japan reshaped his understanding of freedom, and how the loss of his father forced him to slow down and realign his life. The conversation covers the power of listening, the discipline of patience, and why internal values matter more than external accolades.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• 3:11: How a brother's darkest moment introduced Leigh to the world of podcasts and planted the seed for his own show.
• 18:48: The moment of elation jogging through a Japanese country town that gave Leigh a profound sense of freedom and clarity about what matters.
• 36:30: How losing his father forced Leigh to slow down, reassess his workaholic tendencies, and reprioritize health, family, and self.
• 1:01:25: Leigh explains what "The Hidden Why" means and why connecting to internal values beats chasing external motivators.

Leigh Martinuzzi (he/him) is a personal development expert, author, speaker, and the host of The Hidden Why Podcast, one of Australia's leading mindset podcasts with over 1,100 episodes featuring thought leaders from around the world.

Based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Leigh is also a multi-award-winning real estate entrepreneur and director of Martinuzzi Property Group, ranked the number one agent in Palmwoods for four consecutive years. His career spans senior management roles at ALDI Stores and Masters Home Improvement, two years teaching English in Japan, and a real estate practice built on doing things his own way.

Leigh is the author of The Ultimate Life Map, Delegate to Freedom, and Four Pillars of Success. His mission is to help people live more meaningful, purposeful lives by understanding themselves and turning awareness into practical action.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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Marcus Aurelius Anderson sits down with bestselling author, high-performance coach, and podcast host Chad Hyams for a wide-ranging conversation about living with authenticity and taking massive action. Chad shares unforgettable stories from his time behind the scenes of the world's largest production show in Las Vegas, his TEDx experience, the philosophy behind his Question Ladder, and how a drunken bet in Cabo turned him into a marathoner. They explore love languages, physical totems of success, and why cooperation will always outperform competition.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• 2:10: Chad recalls a dragon that forgot to breathe fire during the world's largest production show in Las Vegas.
• 7:17: Chad blanks on stage during his TEDx talk after making eye contact with his daughter in the audience.
• 25:30: Chad breaks down the Question Ladder and reveals which of the six question words is the most powerful.
• 34:50: A drunken bet in Cabo forces Chad to train for a marathon with zero running experience.

Chad Hyams is a bestselling author, high-performance coach, and host of the Win, Make, Give and Achieve Your Apex podcast. He is a dedicated husband, father, and cycling enthusiast who helps leaders kill the drift, master their routines, and take massive definitive action to reach their ultimate peak and fulfillment.

Chad is a TEDx speaker, a certified Spartan coach, and a former entertainment professional who worked behind the scenes on the world's largest production show in Las Vegas. He has authored two books: the children's book Ketchup Can't Hurt and the self-help business book Achieve Your Apex.

You can connect with him at chadhyams.com or by texting the word Chad to 59559.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marcus Aurelius Anderson breaks down the philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli, focusing on fortuna versus virtue, using excerpts from his upcoming book, Acta Non Verba: Transforming Adversity into Victory (out 10/13/2026). He explores how Machiavelli's concepts of luck and personal will apply to leadership, adversity, and resilience today, closing with reflective "Acta Non Verba" questions for listeners.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• 1:31 – Marcus explains Machiavelli's core idea that fortuna (luck) and virtue (bravery, power, will) are the two forces that determine a prince's fate.
• 3:51 – A key quote from The Prince, Ch. 25: fortune controls only half of our actions; the rest is up to us.
• 5:54 – Machiavelli's warning that no principality is secure without its own army, since mercenaries can't be trusted in battle.
• 8:07 – Marcus reframes adversity as a gift from fortuna, meant to test princes (and us) on the path to greatness.

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

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What could your mind do with just a few moments of silence? This week Robert Greene explores the liberation that comes from practicing enlightenment through silence, and how recognition of death tragedy help him manage adversity in his daily life. Listen in as we discuss why manipulation is part of our makeup, why recognizing our failings makes us better people, and how a near-encounter with death changed his perception of adversity.

 

Robert Greene is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, and The 50th Law. His highly anticipated fifth book, Mastery, examines the lives of great historical figures such as Charles Darwin, Mozart, Paul Graham and Henry Ford and distills the traits and universal ingredients that made them masters. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, Greene’s books are hailed by everyone from war historians to the biggest musicians in the industry (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

 

Greene attended U.C. Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

 

You can see a full collection of Greene’s work here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IGV3IS/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=33a4f706-a8ef-4d25-8162-c1f038681070

 

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.