The other day I was hanging out with my good friend Vaughn Kohler—co-founder of Charismatics, our medical mastermind, and also a literary nerd, former pastor, and co-host of the MFCEO Project. We got to talking about something that really stuck with me: The Great Gatsby. Yeah, the book you probably faked your way through in high school. Vaughn recently reread it and actually enjoyed it this time, which led us into a conversation about obsession, chasing dreams, and the brutal wake-up call that sometimes comes when you realize what you wanted… isn’t what you want anymore.

Jay Gatsby spent years building a life to impress someone from his past. And when he finally gets her back, he learns she’s not the woman he remembered. That fantasy he chased? It was a ghost. And it hit me—entrepreneurs fall into this same trap all the time. We build businesses, grind day and night, and chase a version of success we dreamed about years ago. But what happens when that dream changes? If we don’t evolve our vision, we end up stuck—burned out, unfulfilled, wondering how we got there.

So this episode is about how to not be Gatsby. It’s about checking in with yourself regularly. Asking: Do I still want this? It’s about getting brutally honest about what matters to you now, not what mattered five years ago. And it’s about refusing to let nostalgia or fantasy hijack your journey. As Yoda would say—stop looking to the horizon or clinging to the past. Focus on where you are, who you are, and what lights you up today. Because the worst thing you can do is spend years chasing something only to realize... it was never really yours to begin with.

Welcome to The Spinoso Podcast hosted by CEO, doctor, comic book geek, and car guy, Alex Spinoso. I help people and companies grow - especially in the medical business. While my experience and expertise is in scaling all types of medical businesses to 7, 8, 9-figures or more, I can be a mentor to anyone who wants to take ownership of their lives, become a better leader at home and at work, and overcome any obstacle that stands in their way.

(0:00) - Intro

(1:50) - Discussion on "The Great Gatsby"

(3:02) - The Dangers of Chasing Old Dreams

(3:54) - Practical Advice for Avoiding Burnout

(7:27) - Conclusion

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