Why do leaders jump so quickly to giving advice? And why does it so often backfire? In this episode, Michael Bungay Stanier explains why the “advice monster” is one of our biggest leadership liabilities—and how seven simple questions can help you listen better, coach smarter, and build stronger connections. Filled with humor, story, empathy, and practical scripts, this episode is a masterclass in everyday leadership.

Memorable Quotes

1. “When you ask a question and they actually have to think about it, you're literally creating new neural pathways in their brain—or at least they're creating their own neural pathways—so they're literally becoming smarter right in front of you.”
2. “More deeply than an ‘answer,’ much of the time people want to feel deeply heard, deeply seen, and deeply encouraged. And your ‘answer’ often means they feel less seen, less heard, and less encouraged.”
3. “One of the great moments of claiming adulthood is being clear on what you want to say ‘yes’ to—and knowing that inevitably you have to say ‘no’ to things to get that.”
4. “Every time you jump in with your ideas and your opinions and your advice—particularly if it's your default reaction—you’re basically reinforcing, ‘I'm better than you are. I'm smarter and wiser and older and faster and just generally better than you. You are not as good as I am.’ There’s a degree to which you're diminishing that other person rather than helping them.”
5. “There's a time and a place where [giving advice] is the right thing to be doing. The way I define coaching is: Can you stay curious a little bit longer? Can you rush to action and advice-giving a little bit more slowly?”
6. “One of the phrases I've started saying to people who are going through a tough time is simply, ‘I'm Team Michael. I'm Team Megan.…I'm Team whoever that person might be.’ It’s my way of saying, ‘I love you and I want the best for you, and I don't even know what to do—or I can’t think of anything to do—so I'm just trying to be with you in this moment.’”
7. “One of the questions that I’ve found most helpful—particularly if I'm the more senior person in the relationship—is: ‘What needs to be said that hasn't yet been said?’”

Key Takeaways

1. The “Advice Monster” Is Real. Our instinct to help by offering answers often diminishes others. Curiosity, not certainty, is what truly empowers people.
2. Questions Create Ownership. When people generate their own ideas, they’re more confident, more committed, and more capable.
3. Seven Questions Change Everything. Michael’s practical framework gives you a simple playbook for better conversations. His personal favorite? “And what else?”
4. Curiosity Deepens Every Relationship. Parents, partners, bosses—everyone benefits when you resist the urge to fix and choose to listen instead.
5. Better Conversations Start With Permission. Rather than assume what someone needs, lead with humility and ask: How can I be most useful here?
6. Coaching Is for Everyday Life. You don’t have to be a professional coach for this to matter. These tools transform team meetings, parenting moments, and even difficult conversations at home.

Resources

• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
• The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier
• How to Work With (Almost) Anyone by Michael Bungay Stanier
• Box of Crayons (Curiosity-driven leadership program)

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/WOjq8aMbr5k

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

Why do some ideas spark movements while others fizzle? Joel—author of The Idea Machine, veteran publisher, and Chief Content Officer at Full Focus—explains how books transform vague thoughts into precise, shareable frameworks. You’ll hear the case for analog reading, how writing unlocks buy-in at work, and why AI and books actually belong together. Practical, contrarian, and deeply encouraging for any high achiever who wants clearer thinking and better communication.

Memorable Quotes

1. “Ideas that start in the mind of an author as just kind of a gooey, fuzzy idea. And in the course of writing, it forces them to get clear on it. It forces them to get specific about it and develop it in a way that actually becomes useful.”
2. “Not only can these ideas live in a way that we can understand them, but they can live through time. And that's one of the greatest things about a book—that it perpetuates ideas across time.”
3. “It forces you to get clear. It forces you to develop an argument. It forces you to develop a line of thought that other people can follow. And without that, you're kind of left with a grab bag of ideas that are probably cool. They're great, but they're not in a system that can be used or explained or anything like that.”
4. “I think this is true for leaders. They have a lot of personal charisma and people want to follow them, but that's not enough. You really do have to go to the discipline of getting these ideas clear for yourself so that they can be clear to other people.”
5. “Part of what we've done is we've just de-skilled ourselves in reading and we just need to re-skill ourselves in reading.”
6. “Never read a book 'cause you're supposed to. Read books because they delight. You read books because they're entertaining to you. Read books because you get something out of it that you really like.”

Key Takeaways

1. Books Are Tech. Treat books as an information technology that lets ideas scale with precision and longevity.
2. Writing Creates Clarity. If you want buy-in, don’t rely on vibes—write the memo. Make your idea explicit and specific.
3. Right Format, Right Job. Use audio/ebook for breadth and speed. Reach for print when you need depth, notes, and recall.
4. AI Is a Companion. From library science to today’s models, AI extends the book’s mission—use it to augment (not replace) critical thinking.
5. Build a Daily Reading Habit. Aim for 30–60 minutes a day (top and bottom of day works). Follow your curiosity. Quit the books that don’t serve you.

Resources

• The Idea Machine by Joel J. Miller
• Miller’s Book Review (Joel’s Substack)

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/e36acyYWBnM

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

Why do so many high achievers secretly struggle with anxiety, burnout, and overwhelm? Dr. Elizabeth Stanley, Army veteran, Georgetown professor, and author of Widen the Window, joins Michael Hyatt to explain the hidden science behind stress and resilience. Drawing on her personal story of trauma, her background in the military, and her training in somatic therapy, Elizabeth reveals why talk therapy alone often falls short—and how body-based practices can change everything. This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply hopeful for anyone who feels stuck in patterns of stress.

Memorable Quotes

1. “We're all in it together and we're all experiencing the particular lawful ways that this human mind and body works in this particular poly-crisis world. Of course, people are struggling. It's kind of why it's my passion to help people understand ‘You're not alone in this.’”
2. “We are wired organically to be able to mobilize the energy to manage a crisis or a stressful situation, and then recover. Our ancestors that shared the same wiring that we have did not have 24/7 constant activation and constant demands the way that we do in modern life today.”
3. “The science term there is allostatic load, and the more our stress load grows, the less capacity we have in our mind and body to meet the next challenge, so that it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle, and we know that we're on the edge of our window or outside of our window of tolerance.”
4. “We are built so that we learn the downregulation through the soothing we receive from our parents and other early caregivers. And that presumes that our early caregivers and parents were regulated enough to do that for us.”
5. “If we're redirecting it somewhere that the survival brain perceives as safe, that actually starts conditioning. A process that makes the system move back in the way that we're organically built, which is to go through stress and recover naturally.”
6. “When we don't perceive agency, when we feel powerless or helpless, that actually leads to higher levels of arousal and it really resolidifies the prior conditioning. So being able to access that choice point is really critical in beginning to shift it.”
7. “If our parents had narrowed windows, if they were coping with a lot of stress and trauma, or if they were absent, if they had mental illness or they were incarcerated, they aren't able to help us wire those things. It's one of the ways that narrowed windows get transmitted intergenerationally and why trauma can become intergenerational.”

Key Takeaways

1. You’re Not Broken. Chronic anxiety and overwhelm are signs of dysregulation, not defects. They’re the evidence of what you’ve walked through—but don’t determine what’s ahead.
2. Your Body Knows the Way. Healing starts by listening to the signals of your nervous system. The key is not to minimize our reactions, but to listen and practice strategies that help us return to baseline.
3. Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough. True healing requires engaging the body and nervous system. Trauma-informed, body-based therapy can lead to breakthroughs when just thinking and talking isn’t enough.
4. Agency Is Key. Learning to notice choice points rewires the brain toward safety. The quickest way out of powerlessness is regaining a sense of agency.
5. Resilience Can Be Trained. Simple, repeated practices expand your “window of tolerance.” It takes time and intention, but you can widen your window.

Resources

• Widen the Window by Elizabeth Stanley
• Elizabeth Stanley’s Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT)

Watch on Youtube at:  https://youtu.be/Z607BPgbxi4

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

What if the key to a meaningful life isn’t doing more—but doing less, with intention? In this powerful conversation, Michael and Megan talk with Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, about the myths of productivity, the illusion of control, and why accepting our finite nature might be the best thing we can do for our peace, purpose, and productivity.

Memorable Quotes

1. “It's the relaxation of now I can just do the things that matter the most… I can just sort of dive in because I'm no longer trying to make all my actions feel like they are part of some process of eventually getting to total domination of my time and perfect optimization.”
2. “You are being confronted again with this ridiculous thing that it is to be a human—which is to be capable of imagining basically an infinite amount of possibilities and eventualities, but ultimately being a sort of finite material animal and having to choose only some of them.”
3. “Almost everybody who is trying to sort of optimize themselves into absolute control, you know, they're not succeeding. Life is miserable and they're letting people down all over the place.”
4. “There isn't any system or philosophy or approach or sports nutrition drink that is going to enable you to sort of win the battle with human limitation… Now, we figure out how to flourish in absolutely fantastic and wonderfully meaningful and interesting and lucrative ways within those limitations rather than running away from them.”
5. “There's a way of going with the flow that is actually more constructive and productive as well as more peaceful and meaningful.”
6. “I really found that just sort of expecting discomfort from things that matter to me—whether that is a piece of work or an aspect of relationships or parenting—just knowing that it's going to feel uncomfortable sometimes because it's bringing me to my edge and my limitations makes a huge, huge difference.”
7. “A lot of our productivity is the result of anxiety. And I would like to live a productive life for other reasons.”

Key Takeaways

1. Radical Acceptance is Key. Once you stop trying to win the battle with your human limitations, everything changes.
2. Distraction is Avoidance in Disguise. Most often, we’re dodging discomfort—and the way out lies in tolerating discomfort.
3. Optimization is Not Salvation. We think we can problem-solve our lives, but tools and systems will always fall short. They’re meant to augment, not make us infinite.
4. Meaning is Here, Now. The moments that build a life don’t happen  when everything is done—but in the doing itself.

Resources

• 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
• Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
• The Imperfectionist (Newsletter)

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/571YmI5h_Cs

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

What if the key to thriving isn’t managing your circumstances perfectly—but rooting yourself in the connections that matter most? In this heartfelt conversation, Michael and Megan talk with Elizabeth Oldfield, author of Fully Alive, about reclaiming depth, community, and soul-level steadiness in a culture addicted to speed and distraction. Elizabeth draws on ancient wisdom, modern insight, and her own experience living in intentional community to offer a hopeful path forward.

Memorable Quotes

1. “You need to put your roots down deep into love and work out how to find some steadiness.”

2. “When we are honest about our full humanity, we give other people permission to do that, and that's a necessary starting point for actually growing up our souls rather than pretending that we all know what we’re doing and we’re holding it all together.”

3. “Where we put our attention is essentially who we become.”
   “I have this sense that fully aliveness is in connection, deep connection, horizontally and vertically.”

4. “Hurrying and destruction are not how we flourish, and we’re constantly being encouraged to do those things. So we need to provide some counter pressure towards slowness and steadiness and presence.”

Key Takeaways

1. Connection Is the Core of Flourishing. Relationships—messy, costly, inconvenient—are where we become more fully human.
2. Attention Shapes Who You Become. Distraction isn’t just a nuisance; it’s a soul-shaping force. Guard your focus.
3. Structure Time Around Your Values. A “rule of life” puts what matters most in place first, so the rest fits around it.
4. Commitment Fuels Depth. Vulnerability without commitment fizzles; together they form lasting community.
5. Ancient Practices Still Work. Sabbath, liturgy, and shared rhythms anchor us in what endures.

Resources

• Fully Alive by Elizabeth Oldfield
• The Sacred podcast by Elizabeth Oldfield

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/-anckhHSdHM

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

After experiencing burnout and adrenal fatigue, author and entrepreneur Chris Ducker realized hustling harder wasn’t the answer. He gets candid about burnout, recovery, and why joy-filled practices are essential for leaders who want to last. Two of his favorites: bonsai gardening and birdwatching. He also makes a compelling case for getting outside. It’s a refreshing invitation back to an embodied, sustainable way of life.

Memorable Quotes

1. “I hadn't necessarily been burning the candle on both ends. But what I had been doing was a little too much of pretty much everything.”
2. “You don't need to break in order to take a break.”
3. “Self-care actually is a strategy, and it's a strategy that you can use to your advantage, particularly from a business owner standpoint.”
4. “Ultimately you're the engine, you're the spark, you're the difference maker. But even engines need a little maintenance.”
5. “Hobbies, particularly creative hobbies, if you spend a minimum of two hours a week on your hobby, you will be as much as 30% more productive in your work.”
6. “Any kind of success that costs you your health or your family or your joy isn't really actually success.”
7. “We want that big win, that big roar. And you only get that by being really consistent and the real game here is patience. It's consistency, it's showing up when it's not sexy, when it's not flashy, it's doing the unsexy work.”

Key Takeaways

1. Burnout Isn’t Just Overwork. Stress from life, context, and even unsustainable pace can take you down. Your body always keeps the score.
2. Self-Care Is Strategy. Leaders last when they guard their health and energy—because even engines need maintenance.
3. Hobbies Heal. Joyful pastimes don’t just prevent burnout; they restore creativity and can boost productivity by up to 30%.
4. Step Outside. Just 15 minutes in nature can reset your mind and body. Make it nonnegotiable.
5. Small Shifts, Big Change. Consistent micro moves compound into lasting transformation.

Resources

• The Long Haul Leader by Chris Ducker
• Youpreneur community

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/GOLw7Vz4kRA

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

If your conversations are starting to feel more like combat, you’re not alone. In this powerful episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Jefferson Fisher—trial attorney, social media sensation, and author of The Next Conversation—to talk about the small shifts that create major breakthroughs in communication. From regulating your nervous system to choosing connection over triumph, this episode is packed with practical, actionable tools you can use today.

Memorable Quotes

1. “When you set out to win an argument, you often will lose the relationship. If you only see it as something to win, that means you’re going to lose a lot more.”
2. “Who wants to be around the person who always has to be right? That is somebody who is lonely.”
3. “Instead of seeing arguments as something to win, you see them as something to unravel.”
4. “You don’t have to like it. You just gotta understand it.”
5. “That’s the key with connection: I can disagree with you and still connect with you. I can still be unhappy, I can still be mad at you, and still connect with you.”
6. “You are in complete control of the pace of the conversation.”
7. “When you don’t say it with control, you end up reacting rather than responding. It’s just your natural fight or flight will take over and you’re going to start responding more emotionally.”
8. “You gotta let them pour it all out before they’ll ever be willing to accept anything that you say.”

Key Takeaways

1. Arguments Aren’t Battles. If your goal is to win, you’ve already lost. Reframe arguments as something to unravel, not conquer.
2. Start With Self-Control. Nervous system regulation is the key to effective communication—especially when things get tense.
3. Use “Small Talks.” Short, verb-based phrases like “be still” or “practice kindness” can center you in high-stakes conversations.
4. Connection > Agreement. We don’t always have to be on the same page to cultivate a meaningful relationship.
5. Confidence Follows Action. Speak with assertiveness, not apology. Confidence grows as you use your voice.

Resources

• The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More
• Jefferson Fisher on Instagram
• The Jefferson Fisher Podcast

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/kJsQe3S3rw0

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

What do you do when business feels hard—and you assume it’s your fault? In this raw and rich conversation, Michael and Megan sit down with Dave Ramsey to talk about what really goes into building a business that lasts. Drawing from his 30+ year journey with Ramsey Solutions, Dave shares stories of failure, clarity, succession, and the slow handoff of legacy—along with what most founders get wrong about growth. If you’ve ever felt behind, discouraged, or unsure how to lead your business into the future, this episode will show you the next light on the path.

Memorable Quotes

1. “The dirty little secret is: Everyone’s money is messed up.”
2. “As long as I can clearly see the next step, it gives me tremendous energy and focus and hope.”
3. “We’ve learned with all the bruises to look for the next thing but not to sell out to it.”
4. “You gotta change the word. The word is: I experimented. I didn’t fail.”
5. “You give other people the credit when things are right and take the hit when things are wrong. Because it is your job as the leader.”
6. “People are our greatest blessing and they also give us the most trouble.”
7. “I have to constantly stop and say: Let them do it. You did hand it off. Don’t take it back. They’re doing okay.”

Key Takeaways

1. Business Is Hard. If you’re a small business owner struggling to make it all work, you’re in really good company. The struggle is normal, and you’re not alone.
2. Cut Through the Fog. You don’t need to know the whole path. You just need enough clarity to light your next steps.
3. Good News: You’re the Problem. If your business is stuck, look in the mirror. That’s not shame—it’s a solvable problem.
4. Succession Starts Now. Planning for legacy doesn’t mean you’re quitting. It means you’re a good steward. Whether you have five team members or 500, the time to start is now.

Resources

• Build a Business You Love by Dave Ramsey
• The Ramsey Show
• Ramsey Solutions
•  EntreLeadership

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/oOoV5G1Zi8E

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

What if the answer to your overwhelm isn’t a new planner or app—but a walk around the block, a shared meal, or a Saturday spent gardening? In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Arthur Boers, author of Living into Focus and Shattered, to talk about the kind of practices that help us resist the pressure of a hyperconnected world and even heal from generational trauma by reconnecting to what matters most. If you’ve ever longed to feel more grounded, whole, or present, this conversation will give you the language—and tools—you’ve been missing.

Memorable Quotes

1. “Technoloy itself is not the problem. Technology is human manipulation of nature for human priorities… The question is: Do we master technology or does technology master us?”
2. “What we ought to do is raise the thresholds against things that are not the priority… And then the other thing is lower the threshold for things that are your priorities."
3. “Focal practice is just helping us reclaim things that we knew or did before and helping us prioritize them, helping us have a different perspective on them.”
4. “Compassion is the way forward. It doesn’t help to school people who are struggling with these things—but to listen to them with patience and kindness and compassion can, in fact, make a difference.”
5. “Focal practices are about getting away from just acting automatically. That’s how I was raised: If you act automatically, it’s right. You’re justified… I’ve had to unlearn that.”
6. “It means a willingness to live with ambiguity and to live with pain and to live with things that aren’t resolved and hold there—that’s a hard learning.”

Key Takeaways

1. Focal Practices Are More Than Habits. Focal practices aren’t just routines—they’re meaningful rhythms that require intentionality, foster connection, and reorient us to what matters most.
2. Technology Calls For Discernment. Technology isn’t going anywhere—but the way we engage with it should be thoughtful. The key to balance? Honest conversations in community.
3. We Need Yellow Lights. In a culture of nonstop green lights (and plenty of red-light alarmism), we need more yellow lights—space to pause, reflect, and consider what’s truly right for the moment.
4. Brake Your Enthusiasm. Eager to dive headfirst into focal practices? That’s your cue to slow down. Start small, stay consistent, and let the benefits build over time.
5. An Unexpected Path to Healing. Focal practices don’t just bring focus—they can bring healing. By creating spaces of safety, embodiment, and rhythm, they can support recovery from trauma and help us move toward greater wholeness.

Resources

• Living into Focus by Arthur Boers
• Shattered: A Memoir by Arthur Boers
• The Way is Made by Walking by Arthur Boers
• ArthurBoers.com

Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/ypJvOm0z8IU

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound