Ten Thousand Miles

Hear raw rock music stories from the legends in the industry.

ROCK LEGENDS. REAL STORIES. | THE BEST OF TEN THOUSAND MILES

Some of my favorite conversations on Ten Thousand Miles have been with the incredibly talented musicians who have joined me over the years. For this special episode, I've pulled together some of my favorite moments from six unforgettable interviews!

Featuring:

Dino Jelusick – Powerhouse vocalist and musician

Joel Hoekstra – Guitarist for Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and more

Steve Brown – Guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of Trixter

Eric Gales – One of the most electrifying blues-rock guitarists on the planet

Lorraine Lewis – Rock vocalist and former frontwoman of Femme Fatale and Vixen

Gus G – Guitar virtuoso, Firewind founder, and former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

00:43 - Dino Jelusik

6:25 - Joel Hoekstra

11:00 - Steve Brown

18:01 - Eric Gayles

22:44 - Lorraine Lewis

28:26 - Gus G.

Is working from home ruining your career advancement? Many professionals focus so heavily on daily output that they neglect long-term strategy. People... Interaction... Mentoring...Protect your professional growth by balancing immediate performance with proactive career planning. If you want to avoid hitting a ceiling, you need to start thinking about your next move before your current role ends. GET TO THE OFFICE!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

03:25 What Working From Home Costs Your Career

05:50 The Mentorship and Feedback You're Missing

09:38 Why Visibility and Relationships Drive Promotions

14:24 The Hidden Cost of Remote Work

16:44 Hybrid Work: Finding the Right Balance

21:27 How Employees and Leaders Can Build Career Growth

22:26 Final Thoughts: Don't Mistake Comfort for Growth

Is working from home ruining your career advancement? Many professionals focus so heavily on daily output that they neglect long-term strategy. People... Interaction... Mentoring...Protect your professional growth by balancing immediate performance with proactive career planning. If you want to avoid hitting a ceiling, you need to start thinking about your next move before your current role ends. GET TO THE OFFICE!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

03:25 What Working From Home Costs Your Career

05:50 The Mentorship and Feedback You're Missing

09:38 Why Visibility and Relationships Drive Promotions

14:24 The Hidden Cost of Remote Work

16:44 Hybrid Work: Finding the Right Balance

21:27 How Employees and Leaders Can Build Career Growth

22:26 Final Thoughts: Don't Mistake Comfort for Growth

Most people only show interest when you have already achieved success, not when you are struggling or in need. This conversation breaks down the reality of entrepreneurship and why a lack of genuine drive is the number one reason people quit their goals. If you are chasing a dream, you need to understand how to sustain your mindset when the money isn't there yet.

We explore the brutal honesty required for long-term business success and how to keep going when the world is against you. It is easy to stay motivated when things are going well, but the real test is how you handle the moments when you have nothing to show for your effort.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Show Teaser

01:14 From Cleaning Locker Rooms to Entrepreneur

06:55 The Hustle That Built Retro Fitness

14:45 Finding Your Passion and Purpose

23:56 The Secret to Scaling a Business

36:10 Learning to Let Go and Overcome Fear

47:35 Walking Away From Success to Start Again

57:25 Reinventing Health, Wellness, and Longevity

01:07:40 Success Leaves Clues: Discipline Over Motivation

AI job displacement isn't the real threat to your career. The person sitting at the next desk might be.

Many professionals spend their time worrying about automation replacing their roles. While the technology is advancing, the true risk to your stability often comes from human peers who are adapting faster and working smarter.

Improving your career advice strategy means focusing on what you bring to the table that software cannot replicate. When you shift your focus from the machine to your own professional growth, you stop fearing obsolescence and start building a career that thrives on workplace competition.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Show Teaser

00:45 Your Job Isn’t Safe: The Real AI Threat

02:50 What Past Technology Revolutions Teach Us

07:40 Why AI-Powered Employees Will Pull Ahead

10:05 How I’m Using AI to Transform My Work

17:15 From AI Assistance to AI Delegation

20:50 Turning Weeks of Work Into Minutes

25:35 Experience + AI: Your New Competitive Advantage

How do legends like Jeff Beck shape your sound? Andy Timmons breaks down the reality of finding perfect guitar tone.

Getting the right sound is not just about pedals or amps. Andy Timmons shares how his time touring with Olivia Newton-John and studying the playing style of Jeff Beck fundamentally changed his approach to the instrument.

This conversation is a masterclass in musical expression. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, you will learn how to stop chasing gear and start focusing on the emotional weight behind your notes to achieve a truly perfect guitar tone.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro Highlights

00:50 Andy Timmons: Early Breaks, Bad English & Danger Danger

10:17 15 Years with Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta

19:37 “Cry for You,” Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert & Jeff Beck

37:02 Songwriting, Melody & Finding Your Own Voice

48:12 The Lifelong Search for Perfect Guitar Tone

53:38 Daily Practice, Technique & the Pursuit of Greatness

1:03:39 Chopin, Outlier Nocturnes & What’s Next

Can neuroperformance technology reach peak human performance? We look at the data behind shifting your brain states.

Dr. David Bach discusses how specific neuroperformance technology can shift your brain states to optimize output. This conversation breaks down the experiment that started it all and how these methods apply to your daily routine.

If you are looking for new productivity tools to refine your decision-making, this session provides a clear roadmap. We examine proven results suggesting you can achieve sharper focus and faster mental clarity through these protocols.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Highlights

01:51 – From Harvard Doctor to Neurotech Founder

06:44 – Can We Measure the Zone?

14:50 – Training Your Brain for Peak Performance

20:49 – The Iron Man Vision for AI

29:30 – How Optios Reads Human Performance

36:00 – AI, Neurofeedback & Real-Time Intervention

46:23 – Transforming Sports and Athlete Performance

58:26 – The Future of Human + AI

Learn to master your emotions to change the trajectory of your life. The subconscious mind drives 95% of your daily actions.

Most people operate on autopilot, unaware that their internal programming dictates their external results. In this conversation, we break down why your subconscious mind is the actual engine behind your habits and how you can begin to audit that programming to shape your reality more intentionally.

Understanding these mechanisms is the first step toward true personal growth. When you stop reacting to the world and start managing the beliefs that drive your behavior, you regain control over your outcomes. We discuss practical ways to bridge the gap between what you want and what you actually do.

Subscribe for weekly success mindset breakdowns, and let me know in the comments: what is one habit you are currently working to change?

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:45 What Is Emotional Mastery?

11:26 Constance’s Journey

18:29 When Persistence Becomes Denial

22:33 When Career Becomes Your Identity

30:47 Emotional Mastery for Leaders

47:25 The Patterns Holding You Back

01:06:12 The Success Trap

You might be on the one-yard line and not even know it. Why quit now when you are closer than you think?

We often measure our progress by external milestones, but real growth is usually invisible until it hits the tipping point. If you feel like your effort isn't paying off, you might just be dealing with the gap between action and results. This is where most people abandon their goals, failing to see that their persistence is actually compounding beneath the surface.

Only 32% of our community is currently subscribed, which means many of you are missing the specific tools needed to maintain a high-level success mindset. Whether you are building a business or chasing a personal milestone, stop judging your journey by lagging indicators. Start trusting the process that happens before the breakthrough.

Subscribe for weekly success mindset breakdowns, and let me know in the comments: what is the one milestone you are currently pushing toward?

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Please Subscribe

00:30 - What If You’re Closer Than You Think?

02:20 - Why the Scoreboard Can Lie

09:54 - Hindsight Makes Success Look Inevitable

12:59 - The One-Yard-Line Problem

16:57 - Persistence vs. Stubbornness

20:00 - 3 Questions to Ask Before You Quit

26:25 - The Invisible Compound Effect

Luck, success, leadership, career growth, resilience, relationships, preparation, and opportunity. Vic Pepe explains why “lucky” people may not actually have more luck. They build a bigger landing pad for it.

In this episode, I pull a lesson from my first book, The Lucky 13: The Definitive Set of Core Competencies for Great Leadership, and dig into something I've thought about for most of my career: What if you could actually increase your chances of getting lucky?

I used to call myself “the luckiest guy in technology.” And I've absolutely had breaks I couldn't manufacture. I met the right people. Opportunities appeared at exactly the right moment. Doors opened that I couldn't have predicted.

But that's only half the story.

I believe luck becomes powerful when it meets preparation, resilience, relationships, timing, choices and the willingness to act.

I share how a failed career in the music business led me to an $11-an-hour technology job, how one relationship helped change the trajectory of my career, and how relentlessly learning and expanding my skills eventually helped put me in the CIO seat.

We also talk about why maintaining relationships for decades matters, why you have to take calculated risks before you feel completely ready, and why some of the worst breaks of your career can eventually become the moments you're most grateful happened.

I also give you an exercise I've used for years: identify the 13 moments that made you who you are today. Don't just list accomplishments. Include the people, failures, decisions, accidents, opportunities, wins, losses and turning points.

Then look for the pattern.

You may discover that some of the moments you once considered incredibly unlucky were actually responsible for getting you exactly where you needed to go.

You can't control when opportunity knocks. You can control whether you're home to answer the door.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please subscribe and leave a comment, and share it with someone who could use this message.

And tell me in the comments: What's one moment in your life that felt unlucky at the time, but turned out to be a blessing later?

The Lucky 13 by Vic Pepe is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover and eBook.

Chapters

00:00 - Please Subscribe + What Does It Mean to Be Lucky?

03:05 - The Black Hawk Theory: Build a Bigger Landing Pad

04:36 - The Lucky Break That Changed My Career

09:19 - How to Create More Opportunities for Luck

11:45 - Relationships, Risk and Playing the Long Game

14:00 - When Bad Luck Is Actually Redirecting You

19:48 - The 13 Moments That Made You Who You Are

23:00 - How to Become “Luckier” in Life