Sarah | Profound Autism Mom is one of the most powerful voices and writers in the realm of neurodiversity. Rebelling against the common, linear milestone system for development, her Substack and podcast are called Inchstones.

Progress is unique to us all.

Mother to one typically developing child and two profoundly autistic, non-verbal children, Sarah has experiential wisdom to back her deep knowledge of neurodiversity and the culture around it.

Always willing to share her story and empowering perspectives, Sarah inspires curiosity, authenticity, and resilience.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* Atypical progress

* Choosing your perspective

* Behavior as communication

* The benefit of hard conversations

* Responding to hard days

While her mission is to be the voice of radical acceptance for mothers and caregivers of children with profound autism to encourage fulfilled living, her work inspires calm, gratitude, and joy for anyone in all domains of life.

Inchstones on Substack

Inchstones Podcast

My appearance on the Inchstones Podcast

Sam Alaimo is my favorite living writer. His exploration of the human condition through stories of extraordinary individuals in extreme conditions throughout time encourage deep and uncomfortable reflection.

Rather than provide how-to guides, Sam digs into what is possible despite adversity of all kinds. Leaving readers with questions, not specific answers, he allows us each to grapple with our own potential Why? and subsequent What?

If I was forced to recommend only one account on Substack to subscribe to, it would be his.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* Suffering

* Perspective

* Contemplating death

* Reframing adversity

* Self-command

* And much more

Find more from Sam at What then?

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Michael D. Ostrolenk has been working in various fields of resilience development for over 30 years. Founder of Resilience Optimized, he is continually exploring and applying methods for individuals, couples, and businesses to build physical, mental, social, and spiritual resilience.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* Domains and pillars of resilience

* Nuance

* Pursuing productive discomfort

* Abstract vs concrete

* Resilience vs Antifragility

* And much more

As demonstrated in this podcast, Michael is a wealth of knowledge with perspectives and strategies to build resilience in any domain of life. Check out his work to learn more:

Resilience Optimized Website

Resilience Redefined Podcast

Michael’s Substack

Michael on LinkedIn

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Chris DeMuth Jr is an incredibly successful hedge fund manager for Rangeley Capital, the investment company he founded in 2007.

As impressive as he is in the financial realm, it’s his personal life that makes him truly remarkable. A husband, father, mixed martial arts practitioner, fitness enthusiast, outdoorsman, writer, and interviewer, Chris invests in all domains of life.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* Presence

* Enjoyment vs. competition

* Cross-training

* Continuous improvement

* Passion paired with curiosity

* And much more

The interview series Chris conducts through Vale Tudo, his Substack account, is outstanding. Highly recommend checking out all of his work to include investment strategies to improve your life financially and in every other domain.

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Vicente Júnior is a 5th degree Black Belt, IBJJF World Champion, and multiple time IBJJF Pan American Champion. At 15 years old, Gabriel Silva is a 3x IBJJF Pan Kids Champion, 3x European Kids Champion, and a AJP Abu Dhabi World Youth Pro Champion. In 2023, Gabriel was ranked #1 in the IBJJF Kids Gi rankings followed by being ranked #1 in the Kids NoGi rankings in 2025. Both are widely regarded as two of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) competitors and coaches in the world. They’re also father and son.

I’ve had the chance to learn from and train with these two exceptional human beings for the past four and a half years. As you’ll hear in our conversation, their wisdom extends far beyond the mats.

In this conversation, we discuss:

* A champion’s mindset

* Knowing your why

* Managing pressure

* Setbacks vs failure

* Lessons from BJJ for life

* Curiosity

* Transcendence

* Remaining good while becoming great

* And much more

To become the best in the world at anything requires significant time, effort, and intention. While you need to be willing to make sacrifices to become great, you never need to compromise your character.

The stories and perspectives VJ and Gabriel share in this podcast can be applied to any life domain to become the best version of yourself. Find your path and use it to live life to the fullest.

Find more from VJ and Gabriel through their gym - Conquest.

More of VJ’s story and competition history can be found on BJJ Heroes.

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Lara ”LJ” Johnson is the founder of the Global GRIT System, a published author of the bestselling book “Hunt or be Hunted,” an international keynote speaker, a competitive Hyrox athlete, an executive coach, and a 9x Stevie Award winner to include “Woman of the Year,” “Female Executive of the Year,” and “Female Entrepreneur of the Year.”

What she has overcome in her life, however, is even more impressive than what she has achieved.

In this conversation, we discuss:

* Lara’s incredible story

* Grit components and types

* Pillars of health

* Adversity and trauma

* And much more

As a gift, Lara offered her Global GRIT Guide for free if you text “GRIT” to 33777.

LJ has one of the best personal websites I’ve come across. All of her resources and offerings can be found at: https://officiallaraj.com/.

She’s also very active on LinkedIn.

Her book, “Hunt or be Hunted,” outlines her Global GRIT System while delivering practical strategies to improve yourself and the teams you operate within. An easy read packed full of wisdom, I can’t recommend it enough.

Her passion is intoxicating and it spans beyond her direct work with GRIT Global. She’s a board member of Warrior Rising, a nonprofit organization focused on veterans transitioning out of military service, and a committee member of Dignity Health’s Foundation “Heaven Hummingbirds,” a program that offers various kinds of support for parents who have lost children.

Resilient Mental State is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Shane Copeland is the writer behind the fantastic Substack newsletter - In Contrast. A man who has lived through many of life’s extremes, his work illuminates the benefit of the fulfilling middle between self-indulgent chaos and rigid order, specifically in the areas of fitness and nutrition.

As entertaining as he is wise, Shane understands the nuance. I constantly look for knowledge from experts who can simplify concepts while creating practical applications. Shane thrives in this area while also being hilarious.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* His powerfully transformative story

* Embracing life through exploration

* Leaving your comfort zone

* Limitations of discipline

* Intentionality

* Alignment

* Effective coaching

* And much more

I can’t recommend Shane’s platform, In Contrast, enough. In it, you will find thoughtful essays on practical approaches to fitness, nutrition, and life.

I brought up one of the best podcasts I’ve listened to between Shane Adam PT. Find it here:

The website Workaway was mentioned several times in our conversation. This is an online community that anyone can use to find exchange, volunteer, and/or house sitting opportunities around the world. Embracing life’s unknowns and using this platform led to Shane meeting his wife and becoming the man he is today. More info here:

Some of my favorite posts from Shane:

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Chris Wojcik is a professional jiu-jitsu athlete, published author, and extremely wise man.

At only 28 years old, he’s had success at the highest level in the biggest grappling competitions, recently was on the winning team of a $1M tournament, is known to be one of the best leg lockers in the world, and even has a move named after him - the Woj Lock.

You rarely find an elite athlete, especially one still on the rise with the success he’s already had, that is willing to be as open, honest, and vulnerable as Chris.

For as talented as he is, it’s his character and curiosity that make him most impressive.

In this conversation, we discussed:

* His evolution as a professional grappler and writer

* The power of consistency

* Mental health

* Resilience

* Skill development

* Success through failure

* Fear

* Lessons for life from the mat

* And much more

I’ve been a paid member to his Substack for over a year and have received tremendous value both from his content on grappling and writing. Highly recommend checking out his work:

His book, A Grappler’s Diary, is outstanding. For anyone who enjoys or is interested in jiu-jitsu, this book is an easy and insightful read.

Some of my favorite posts of Chris include:

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Dr. Julie Gurner is one of the world’s leading executive performance coaches. With more than 15 years in the arena, she has become a credible expert who helps high performers become exceptional.

In this conversation, Julie delivers insights as powerful as her writing. We discuss:

* Her origin story

* Clinical psychology concepts on the spectrum of performance

* The importance of caring

* Prioritizing commitments

* Emotional intelligence

* Cognitive flexibility

* Resilience training

* Psychological pain tolerance

* Compatibility

* Premeditation of future adversity

* Organizational resilience

* And much more

I’ve been a paying member of Dr. Gurner’s Substack account “Ultra Successful” for over a year and it has produced an incredible return on investment in both my personal and professional life. Her weekly posts will transform your mindset, strategies, and skills for approaching all aspects of life for anyone committed to growth. I can’t recommend it enough:

She also has an enormous platform on X where she shares more of her wisdom from over a decade of supporting the most successful people in the world:

Some of my favorite posts from Ultra Successful:

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Some conversations will stay with you for a lifetime. I just had one with one of my favorite living authors, Donald J. Robertson. No one is better at explaining the connection between ancient philosophy and modern, evidence-based psychotherapy.

There are levels to understanding and integration of concepts just like there are levels to writing. In this discussion, Donald demonstrated why he’s at the top of the heap in both.

Some of the topics we covered include:

* Human resilience

* Stoicism and CBT

* Stoic virtue and core values

* Limitation of strategies without an aligned identity

* Self-awareness and self-efficacy

* Social support

* Impressions of externals and yourself

* Dichotomy of control

* Voluntary hardship/intentional stress

* Acquisition vs application of skills

* Cognitive flexibility and coping flexibility

* Anger and fragility

* Emotional anger vs rational aggression

* Being the example as a parent

* Expressing your feelings and the why behind your actions

* Process vs outcome related goals and feedback

* The benefit of emotional labeling

* And so much more

If I hadn’t had to get my children to swimming lessons, I could have talked to this man for the rest of the day. I feel like he delivered five different master classes relating to resilience in the span of ninety minutes.

A conversation I’ll be listening to again to take notes in order to capture the pearls of wisdom he dropped in each sentence.

Donald is one of the primary reasons I came to Substack in the first place. His account continues to be an endless source of knowledge that I do my best to turn into personal wisdom. Can’t recommend it enough:

Several of his books rank among my favorite. Each one brings its own angle and insights. They’re all worth adding to your bookshelf if you read philosophy in any way:

Here are some of my favorite posts of his on Substack:

Resilient Mental State is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.