I Have Some Questions...

In this deep-dive conversation, Erik sits down with brain health expert Eric Collett to expose one of the biggest blindspots in leadership and longevity: your brain is not fixed—and it might be failing you in ways you can’t see. From inflammation and energy production to cognitive performance and misdiagnosis, this episode unpacks a radically empowering view of brain health as a strategic tool—not a static trait.

If you’ve ever struggled with focus, burnout, mood swings, or “fog,” this episode delivers scientific clarity, actionable diagnostics, and an entirely new way to approach your energy, leadership, and longevity.

👤 About the Guest

Eric Collett is a National Speaker and the Founder of A Mind For All Seasons, a brain health consultancy dedicated to helping people radically improve their cognitive function, mood, and longevity. With a background in clinical work and executive coaching, Eric merges science, systems, and human insight to make cutting-edge brain health research incredibly practical. He’s on a mission to help people realize: you’re not stuck with the brain you have.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• Why your brain's “hardware” might be the silent killer of your productivity
• The surprising link between inflammation, executive dysfunction, and emotional control
• What NFL players, foggy mornings, and French toast teach us about brain optimization
• The real reason modern medicine misses the root cause of so many mental health issues
• Glucose spikes, wearable tech, and why sleep matters more than you think
• How Erik used food, data, and curiosity to overhaul his own brain performance

💡 Key Takeaways

• IA/E (Immune Activation over Energy) is a powerful framework for understanding brain function
• Inflammation and poor fuel delivery—not personality flaws—often underlie anxiety, fog, and burnout
• Wearables offer useful data—but only if you know how to interpret them
• Optimal brain health is measurable, improvable, and deeply personalized
• Standard medical diagnostics often miss root causes by focusing on symptoms over systems

❓ Questions That Mattered

• Are you trying to fix a software problem… with broken hardware?
• Could your “mental health” actually be a brain fuel or inflammation issue?
• What if the supplements you’re taking are based on symptoms, not root causes?
• How do social habits, glucose crashes, and French toast affect your cognition?
• Are we solving the wrong problem with the wrong playbook?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“You are not stuck with the brain you have. You can absolutely improve it.” – Eric Collett

“Most people think they need better productivity systems. What they really need is better mitochondria.” – Eric Collett

“We’ve confused ‘common’ with ‘normal.’ But your bloodwork being in range doesn’t mean you’re functioning optimally.” – Eric Collett

“I started thinking differently about food when I realized: my diet should serve me, not the other way around.” – Erik Berglund

“Fixing your brain isn’t about trying everything—it’s about measuring the right things, then adjusting wisely.” – Eric Collett

🔗 Links & Resources

• A Mind for All Seasons
• Follow Eric Collett on LinkedIn

As Q4 drags on and burnout hits hard, Erik and guest co-host Alli Murphy explore what it really takes to finish the year with clarity, energy, and intention. From mindset shifts to calendar control to a radical idea called “Minimum Viable December,” this episode offers a refreshingly honest, funny, and practical take on how to navigate the end of the year without losing your momentum—or your mind.

Whether you’re sprinting toward deadlines or tempted to tap out early, this is the episode to help you pause, reset, and lead yourself (and others) more intentionally.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• Why December isn’t the time to start fixing the year—and what to do instead
• The emotional weight of unfinished goals and how to triage what really matters
• Alli’s concept of “Minimum Viable December” and why it’s a radical act of clarity
• How gamifying your tasks can help fight Q4 fatigue
• What it means to optimize for future-you (and why that’s different from hustling)
• The tradeoffs of adding vs. subtracting—and the unexpected ROI of doing less
• When empathy becomes a leadership crutch, not a strength
• How to shift from disconnection to gratitude when motivation is low

💡 Key Takeaways

• Less is a leadership strategy: Doing fewer things with clarity often leads to better results than forcing more effort.
• Finish the year for January, not December: Closing loops now sets you up to hit the ground running after the break.
• Your calendar is your energy engine: Block your time with intention and say no to anything that doesn’t serve your focus.
• Gamify to survive: Rewarding yourself (or your team) with small incentives can spark motivation and make big tasks more bearable.
• Empathy needs a boundary: Compassion is critical, but without a clear standard for accountability, it becomes a trap.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• What do we actually need to get done before the end of the year—and why?
• How do you tell the difference between important and urgent when you’re tired?
• What happens when you give yourself permission to subtract instead of add?
• Why do high performers feel guilty for doing less—even when it’s the right move?
• How can we build rhythms that honor rest and results?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“There’s no efficient way to do something that doesn’t need to be done.” – Erik

“I’ve done less… and things are working better. It’s wild.” – Alli

“This is the first time in seven years that I’m not sprinting through December—and I’m watching what unfolds.” – Alli

“If it matters, I’ll find the motivation. If it doesn’t, I need to be honest.” – Erik

“Minimum Viable December is about honoring the season, not fighting it.” – Alli

“Doing something future-you will thank you for—that’s the game.” – Erik

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this episode, Erik reflects on his recent interview with legendary sales consultant Gene McNoughton, extracting the most meaningful lessons about leadership, process, and growth. Gene’s clarity around sales process and change management not only reinforced Erik’s own experience but also re-anchored his commitment to building systems that scale through truth, repetition, and strategic design.

This review pulls back the curtain on the mindset and mechanics of high-impact organizations—and the hard truths they must be willing to face.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• All change starts by telling the truth. That requires courage and clarity—especially in messy orgs.
• The best salespeople aren’t smooth talkers. They’re process machines. Discipline > charisma.
• Most underperforming orgs don’t have a sales process. The absence of clarity is the enemy of performance.
• Incremental wins across key metrics beat big swings. Optimize the machine, not just the outcome.
• Role play is the secret weapon nobody uses. Teams that train like pros outperform those that wing it.

🧩 The Personal Layer

Erik shares why he chose not to build a sales consulting business—because people like Gene already do it best. This reflection isn’t about competition; it’s about clarity. Knowing your lane, your value, and how to contribute without ego is a leadership move in itself.

There’s also a candid reminder here: telling the truth, especially to ourselves, is the precursor to real progress. That applies in business, relationships, and the mirror.

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Audit your “truth infrastructure.” Where are the blind spots in your data, conversations, or CRM?
• Revisit your process (or lack thereof). Could someone new join your org and succeed just by following it?
• Map 5–7 KPIs that matter. Track the levers that move the machine—not just the final output.
• Make role play normal. Normalize practice as preparation, not punishment.
• Lead with honesty. Whether you're giving feedback or designing systems, truth is the starting point.

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“All change starts by telling the truth.” — Gene McNoughton

“Most salespeople are just using what they picked up along the way. That’s the problem.”

“You can’t optimize what you can’t measure. Process gives you the levers.” — Erik Berglund

“People say they want change. But most people want to be comfortable more than they want to grow.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• 💻 Gene McNoughton on LinkedIn
• 🌐 The Sales Edge
• 🎧 Listen to the Interview with Gene McNoughton
  
  

In this powerhouse episode, Erik sits down with renowned sales leader and consultant Gene McNaughton to break down what it really takes to turn around underperforming teams and drive scalable growth. From Gateway to Tony Robbins to 160+ consulting clients, Gene shares the exact frameworks he uses to ignite sales orgs—plus the truth about why most change efforts fail.

This is a masterclass on sales leadership, self-investment, and building organizations that actually execute.

👤 About the Guest

Gene McNaughton is the founder of The Sales Edge, a growth consultancy with a flawless track record: 160+ companies, 100% success rate. Formerly a sales leader at Gateway Computers and VP of Sales for Tony Robbins, Gene now helps companies design and execute sales systems that scale. He’s also a voracious reader, passionate journaler, and high-energy speaker known for blending mindset, metrics, and leadership at every level.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The life-changing moment Gene couldn’t afford a $6 book—and how that launched his sales career
• Why companies fail to scale their sales orgs, even with access to unlimited training content
• Gene’s exact playbook for fixing broken teams and leading change without direct authority
• What separates high-performing leaders from the pack: pain, pattern recognition, and preparation
• The psychology behind behavior change: the “cheese vs. cat urine” experiment and what it reveals about motivation
• The real reason most sales presentations suck—and how to fix them
• Why 0% of Gene’s clients have a clearly defined sales process when he shows up (and what happens when they do)

💡 Key Takeaways

• Access is not the problem—application is. You can Google your way to greatness, but most don’t.
• The best leaders don’t just tolerate discomfort—they train for it.
• All change starts by telling the truth. That applies to leadership, CRM data, and yourself.
• Sales success = mindset + process + measurement. Companies that ignore any one of those fail.
• Marginal gains over multiple KPIs are more powerful than one massive win. Aggregation is the unlock.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• How do you transform information into performance at scale?
• What do world-class consultants do differently when diagnosing a business?
• Why do most companies struggle with change—and how can leaders actually fix it?
• What motivates people more: the promise of cheese or the smell of cat urine?
• What’s the real cost of not having a defined sales process?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“When you pay, you pay more attention.” – Gene McNaughton

“All change starts by telling the truth.” – Gene McNaughton

“Most salespeople are just doing what they picked up along the way. And that’s the problem.”

“If you don’t have a clear sales process, you’re not scaling—you’re surviving.”

“Leadership is painting the picture of a future worth running toward.” – Erik Berglund

🔗 Links & Resources

• 🌐 Gene on LinkedIn
• 📸 Gene on Instagram
• 🧠 TheSalesEdge.co – Gene’s consulting firm

In this refreshingly honest episode, Erik and returning co-host dive headfirst into the unspoken expectations of professionalism—how we dress, how we show up, and who gets to decide what “looking the part” really means. What begins with a t-shirt story becomes a deep, nuanced look at power, performance, self-expression, and cultural bias in the workplace.

From tattoos and team meetings to hammocks and sweatpants, they ask the real question: Are we showing up with intention—or just following outdated rules?

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The t-shirt that sparked a whole conversation on internalized expectations
• Why Erik’s decision to wear a hat is really about casual competence
• Tattoos, team calls, and the myth of the “professional” Zoom square
• How Alli used a hammock to model culture—and what happened next
• Why intentionality might matter more than polish

💡 Key Takeaways

• Professionalism is made up. If it’s not serving your team, change it.
• We all run an internal playbook every morning. The question is: whose rules are you playing by?
• Your appearance is a signal—make sure it’s intentional.
• Trust is earned by consistency, not clothes.
• Leading with purpose beats dressing for perception.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• What are you wearing for you—and what are you wearing to appease an expectation?
• Who decided what professional should look like?
• How much does your outfit actually impact your performance—or just your perception?
• What would change if you led your team from a hammock?
• Are you dressing for power—or proving you don’t need it?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“I don’t need a particular type of clothes to do my job well.” — Erik Berglund

“What are your preconceived ideas of what ‘professional’ looks like—and are they actually serving you?” — Alli Murphy

“If you're going to show up in gym clothes, you better bring it. But if you do—who cares?”

“The world was built around a very narrow definition of professionalism. Maybe it's time to question it.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• 👤 Alli Murphy on LinkedIn
• 🧠 The Elevate Lab
• 💌 Subscribe to The Thrive Report

 🧠 Erik’s Take 

In this reaction episode, Erik revisits his interview with parenting expert Cassandra Asleson, not just as a host but as a dad who's lived the transformation she helps create. With signature candor and strategic insight, Erik reflects on how Cassie’s approach reframes what’s “normal” in parenting—and how accepting support can radically shift the emotional and logistical weight of raising young children. This episode unpacks why working families feel crushed and what’s actually available on the other side of overwhelm.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• It doesn’t have to be this hard — We accept too much pain in parenting as normal. Cassie’s work shows there’s another way.
• Regulation is everything — Emotional dysregulation isn’t just a kid thing. It’s a whole-family system challenge.
• Support isn't weakness — Asking for help isn’t failure. It’s how functional families get built.
• YouTube won’t solve this — In-the-trenches guidance beats fragmented, piecemeal internet advice every time.
• It’s okay to say it sucks — Naming the exhaustion and impossibility of modern parenting isn’t complaining. It’s liberating.

🧩 The Personal Layer

Erik brings raw honesty to the reality of parenting two young girls. He speaks openly about how his kids have thrown public tantrums, how exhausting the logistics can be, and how the myth of “figuring it out on your own” holds families back. From teaching his daughter to scream into a pillow at three years old to recognizing how much structure helps his family thrive, Erik shows what leadership looks like at home—not through control, but through emotional intelligence and humility.

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Normalize asking for help — Whether it’s a sleep consultant or a parent coach, bring in allies early.
• Create regulation rituals — Start small. A consistent bedtime, food schedule, or “calm-down” space makes a huge difference.
• Shift your mindset — Challenge the belief that hard equals noble. Instead, ask: What would make this easier for everyone involved?
• Invest where it matters — Don’t be afraid to spend on support that changes your family’s daily quality of life.
• Talk about it — Name the challenge in your circles. Make it okay for other parents to say, “This is brutal.”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“It doesn’t have to be this hard to be a parent. We just don’t know what we don’t know.”

“The word regulation wasn’t even in my vocabulary until Cassie came into our lives.”

“You might find these resources on Reddit or YouTube, but let’s be honest—you won’t pull it together in the middle of sleep deprivation.”

“If you want your kid to be a functional member of their community, it starts with learning to regulate emotion at home.”

“It’s not complaining to say parenting is hard. It’s the first step toward doing something about it.”

In this grounded, friendly and insightful conversation, Erik talks with Cassandra Asleson — a seasoned newborn care specialist and postpartum consultant who helps families move out of chaos and into confidence during one of life’s biggest transitions. They unpack how leadership shows up in home life and work, how guiding others in their most vulnerable moments mirrors leading teams, and why support systems matter just as much as systems. If you’re a leader, parent, or both — this episode gives you a fresh perspective on influence, care, and presence.

👤 About the Guest

Cassandra Asleson is the founder of Cassandra & Co., a firm focused on newborn consulting and postpartum support. Based in Tulsa but serving families regionally and beyond, she brings nearly two decades of experience as a certified newborn care specialist and professional nanny. Her mission: simplify and support the early parenthood journey so families can bond, sleep well, and avoid the overwhelm of decision‑fatigue, conflicting advice, and isolation. 

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• Cassandra’s journey: from nanny to trusted advisor for families preparing for and recovering from birth.
• The connection between the “first 90 days” of a baby’s life and establishing strong foundations in any high‑stakes environment.
• How parenting systems (registries, nurseries, routines) parallel leadership systems in organizations.
• The value of support, delegation, and presence — whether for a baby or a team.
• What happens when you lead without the script: embracing uncertainty, creating calm from chaos.
• How the “helping role” in family life sharpens insights about culture, care, and influence in work life.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Support isn’t a luxury — it’s a strategic advantage. Whether in a household or a business.
• Clarity under pressure matters more than intensity. In those early parenting weeks and in leadership transitions.
• Delegation builds trust. The same way a parent relies on a skilled consultant, a leader relies on a capable team.
• Systems + heart = sustainable impact. You need both the structures and the care to thrive.
• The foundation phase is leadership practice. If you can lead through grief, change, and sleepless nights — you’ve built real capacity.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “What did you learn about influence from your time as a nanny and newborn care specialist?”
• “How do you build systems that create calm — not just control?”
• “What’s the leadership parallel in helping a family prepare for a baby?”
• “How do you help people trust their own decisions when the options overwhelm them?”
• “What does ‘presence’ look like when everything else is spinning?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“I’m not just helping with gear — I’m helping families trust they’ll find themselves in the fog.”

“The choices you make in the first few weeks determine more than the sleep schedule — they shape presence.”

“Systems aren’t rigid — they’re the container that allows connection, care, and clarity.”

“You don’t wait until stabilize — you lead while it’s unstable.”

“When you support someone who’s terrified and exhausted — you learn more about leadership than any boardroom ever could.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Connect with Cassandra & Co.: cassandraandcobaby.com

This episode is a much-needed intervention on the culture of busy. Erik sits down with Alli Murphy, leadership coach, founder of The Elevate Lab, and creator of The Thrive Report, to unpack the toxic myths of productivity, the glorification of hustle, and how to actually define what matters most.

Together, they explore what it looks like to lead with intention, how to give yourself permission to rest, and why the high performers we admire (from LeBron to airline pilots) build recovery into their systems—not as an afterthought, but as a strategy.

This isn’t just a conversation about burnout—it’s a roadmap out of it.

👤 About the Guest

Alli Murphy is a leadership and team development expert with a bold mission: help people and organizations actually thrive. Through her work with The Elevate Lab and The Thrive Report, Alli equips mission-driven leaders to step back, refocus, and redesign how they lead—with more permission, more clarity, and more joy. She brings warmth, humor, and serious strategy to the conversation on how we work and live.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• Amy Poehler, 104-degree fevers, and the productivity myth that just won’t die
• When Erik kicked a rep out of a sales meeting for showing up sick—and why Alli did the same remotely
• How to break the reflexive “just get it done” mindset that keeps us exhausted
• The hidden brilliance of asking, what really has to happen today? (and then asking it again)
• A nervous system “recess” as a productivity tool
• Why elite performers like LeBron James and airline pilots treat rest as non-negotiable strategy

💡 Key Takeaways

• Urgent and important are not the same thing. And 95% of “urgency” is human-made chaos.
• Rest isn’t a reward—it’s part of high performance.
• Clarity beats hustle. Ask: “What actually has to get done today?” Then ask it again.
• Permission is leadership. Especially for yourself.
• High-functioning teams normalize recovery, not overextension.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• What does it actually mean to take a sick day—and why is it so hard for leaders to do it?
• Is our obsession with urgency just a distraction from strategic work?
• What would it look like if rest was baked into your calendar like a meeting?
• Who are we really trying to impress by staying busy?
• Can two priorities a day be enough?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“You have permission to use your sick days.” — Alli Murphy

“Rest isn’t a reward. It’s part of the strategy.” — Erik Berglund

“Most urgent things at work? Human manufactured.” — Alli Murphy

“If everything’s on fire, nothing’s on fire.”

“Busy isn’t impressive. Clarity is.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• 👤 Alli Murphy on LinkedIn
• 💌 The Thrive Report Newsletter
• 🧠 The Elevate Lab

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this deeply reflective debrief, Erik unpacks the powerful themes that emerged from his conversation with Michael Bostarr—especially the tension between performing and leading. Drawing from his own experience coaching high achievers, Erik dives into how identity, trust, and team dynamics shape the evolution of a leader. This episode gets personal, strategic, and practical as Erik reveals the emotional undercurrents of leadership that often go unspoken.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• High performance can become a trap: When your identity is built on being the best doer, letting go becomes terrifying.
• Trust isn’t about belief—it’s about action: If you’re over-functioning, your team will under-function.
• The hardest shift for leaders is internal: Moving from control to collaboration requires unlearning old success patterns.
• Unspoken agreements breed stagnation: Without challenging team norms, even great performers can plateau.
• You don’t rise to leadership—you grow into it: And that growth often begins with letting go.

🧩 The Personal Layer

• Erik shares the quiet toll of being the “go-to” person for everything—how it feels validating but ultimately unsustainable.
• He reflects on moments when he realized his leadership habits were rooted more in proving than empowering.
• The vulnerability of trusting your team before they’ve “earned it” is real—and necessary.

🧰 From Insight to Action

1. Audit your leadership identity: Are you still winning by doing, or have you made space for others to rise?
2. Practice “trust reps”: Give away responsibility before you're comfortable—and hold the space as they grow.
3. Watch where your team looks: If every head turns to you in meetings, your system still centers you.
4. Challenge your team norms: What's unspoken but holding performance back?
5. Name the fear: What are you afraid will happen if you truly let go?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“The more a leader over-functions, the more a team under-functions.”

“Your identity is not your output. But if no one’s ever told you that, you’ll keep chasing validation in the doing.”

“Letting go isn’t passive. It’s a radical act of leadership.”

“Don’t just trust your team. Train them. Then trust them.”

In this candid and energizing conversation, Erik sits down with Michael Bostarr — a coach, creative, and former sales leader who made a bold pivot from performance-driven achievement to values-based leadership. Together, they explore how to shift from chasing external validation to living and leading with clarity. Michael shares the real story behind walking away from big roles, the surprising weight of “almost” success, and what happens when you build your identity from the inside out. Whether you’re mid-career, mid-pivot, or just feeling the grind, this episode is a permission slip to do things differently.

👤 About the Guest

Michael Bostarr is a leadership coach, poet, and former sales leader with a talent for helping high-performers turn inward to unlock deeper clarity and meaning. His path has spanned sales leadership at early-stage startups, coaching work that centers wholeness and humanity, and creative expression that invites others to slow down and pay attention. He brings the rare ability to pair deep introspection with grounded business experience — and isn’t afraid to challenge hustle culture while still pursuing excellence.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• What it really feels like to "almost" make it — and why it can be more painful than failure
• The mental gymnastics of being in the top 10% but feeling like you're underperforming
• Why "performer energy" breaks down in leadership — and what to do instead
• Michael’s moment of clarity: leaving a prestigious job without the next step lined up
• Why identity work is central to sustained success — and how Michael helps clients do it
• The difference between leading from essence vs. leading for optics
• Why poets and entrepreneurs have more in common than you'd think

💡 Key Takeaways

• Performing and leading are different sports. You can’t outwork your way to leadership presence.
• The pain of “almost” can keep you stuck longer than failure. Until you get honest, it lingers.
• Identity clarity is underrated. When you know who you are, you stop needing every win to prove it.
• Letting go of the plan creates space for what actually wants to emerge. But that’s terrifying.
• Coaching isn’t about having answers — it’s about expanding the questions.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “When did you realize the cost of performing had gotten too high?”
• “What’s the difference between coaching someone’s role and coaching someone’s soul?”
• “How do we lead when we’re still in the fog?”
• “What did it feel like to step away from something everyone else wanted?”
• “Where do you notice people outsourcing their clarity?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“Being 95% of the way to your goal can be more brutal than failing.”

“There’s a moment in every leader’s journey where they realize performing no longer works.”

“I realized I was playing a game I didn’t even want to win.”

“I’ve coached founders, artists, sales leaders… The thread is always the same: they want to be more themselves.”

“Sometimes the scariest leadership move is choosing not to fill the space with answers.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Follow Michael on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaelbostarr
  
  
• Read More about 'Happy We Met' at www.happywemet.com