The Ben Price Experience

Lindsay Bruce joined the Army at 17 and passed Special Forces selection at 22. When he left, he was convinced the transition had been easy. It was years before he looked back and saw how much he had buried.

Before the Army, he was a shy boy who struggled at school and was told he would not amount to much. He lived with OCD that he kept to himself until he was about 30. In his early thirties he lost both parents close together, and he dealt with it the way soldiers are trained to. He ran gyms for 15 years and competed as a bodybuilder at the top amateur level in the UK. Only when bodybuilding ended did he see how much it had been holding together.

Lindsay now runs Modern Warrior and Warrior Expeditions. Ben and Lindsay talk about what to keep from military conditioning and what to let go of. They discuss why men’s spaces need structure as well as safety, and why the aim is not a life without problems but one where the same problem stops coming back. Lindsay also challenges Ben on a belief about age that Ben had not noticed he was carrying. He shares the idea that changed how he sees his own father: a man has matured when he could be his father’s father.

What did you leave behind to become who you are, and which parts are worth going back for?

If this feels relevant to where you are heading, book a call with Ben: https://bit.ly/15minswithben

In this episode
00:00 Introduction
00:14 From the infantry to Special Forces, gyms and coaching
04:02 Leaving the military: the struggle he did not see at the time
07:39 What to keep from military conditioning
08:21 The shy boy, school and dyslexia
12:41 The gym as a safe space, and OCD kept secret
14:11 Losing his parents, and the stiff upper lip
15:12 Why he started unpacking
17:52 Keeping the parts of you worth keeping
19:40 Balance, vulnerability and masculinity
22:52 Sunrise on Mount Rinjani
25:28 The lone wolf in business
26:59 Reframing a full diary
28:54 Self-doubt in successful men
30:43 When the same problem keeps coming back
32:38 Why men need to see strong men struggle
34:58 When support keeps men stuck
37:06 Banter, and when it gets in the way
39:27 Empathy from shared experience
41:53 Age, elders and a challenge for Ben
43:23 Imposter syndrome when your client has more
48:03 Taking the boy along with you
49:32 Becoming your father’s father
55:25 What makes a father proud
58:33 Bringing men into the room
1:02:27 Why men stay for the community
1:03:05 How Modern Warrior is structured
1:05:53 How to find Lindsay
1:06:33 What comes next

Connect with Lindsay
Website: themodernwarriorproject.com
Instagram: Lindsay Bruce Official https://www.instagram.com/lindsaybruceofficial/?hl=en

Enda Quealy was adopted through a mother and baby home in Cork. For years he could not answer two questions: who he was, and why he was here.

At 16 he found alcohol, and it gave him relief. For the next 16 years it also cost him relationships and opportunities. He stopped drinking at 32, then spent fourteen years sober trying to understand why he had been so set on working against himself. The answer did not come from talking it through. It came in 2019, the first time he listened to a hypnosis audio.

Enda now works directly with the subconscious to help people stop sabotaging themselves. Ben and Enda talk about outgrowing labels, the difference between healing something and managing it for life, and why the real work after any breakthrough is integration. Ben shares his three weapons for winning the war in the mind. Enda talks about raising his son with enough space to make his own mistakes, and to come to him when he does.

What are you still maintaining that you could resolve?

If this feels relevant to where you are heading, book a call with Ben: https://bit.ly/15minswithben

In this episode
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Adoption and the question of who he was
01:59 Walking into his first AA meeting
03:27 Outgrowing the label
04:24 Dublin, and the wheels coming off
05:51 Fourteen years sober and still asking why
07:19 The first hypnosis audio
07:43 Working with the subconscious
10:43 Working with his son
14:04 Guiding by giving space
15:23 Fathers, sons and initiation
18:34 Falling out with his own father
20:00 Wired for anxiety before birth
27:28 Why your story is rarely the real problem
27:58 Labels and diagnosis
32:19 Burnout in the music industry
34:46 Isolation in the west of Ireland
37:59 When your body stops being subtle
41:19 Escape, and what it showed him
44:48 Energy healing after his mother died
48:04 Finding the subconscious
50:05 Ben’s three weapons for the war in the mind
53:11 Enda’s mission
56:43 Healed, or still managing it?
57:40 Would you live it all again?
58:26 When talking goes in circles
1:04:22 Do men respond differently to talk therapy?
1:08:11 Psychedelics and the work of integration
1:10:25 Breakthroughs between sessions
1:12:18 A free taster audio
1:14:58 Curiosity, conditioning and refusing to be a small cog
1:17:07 How to find Enda

Connect with Enda
Website and free 22-minute taster

Website: https://endaquealy.com/

Group: https://stop.endaquealy.com/

One to One: https://wired.endaquealy.com/

LinkedIn: Enda Quealy

Most financial decisions are not made from strategy. They are made from emotion, and few of us are ever given permission to look at that.

Lesley Thomas is the founder of the Money Confidence Academy. She works with organisations on how financial pressure affects judgement, decisions and culture. A founder’s relationship with money, she explains, shapes how comfortable he is with debt, scaling, hiring and trusting other people’s judgement.

Ben and Lesley talk about where money stories begin, often with something we saw as children and misread. They discuss how comparison erodes what you have built, whether a man’s income has anything to do with his worth, and why men take longer to start this conversation but tend to commit fully once they do. Ben also shares the story of the car he bought to raise his own status, and what it actually did for him.

For fathers, there is practical guidance on talking to children about money. That includes why it is fine to say you do not know the answer and go and find it together.

What would change if your sense of worth no longer depended on the number?

If this feels relevant to where you are heading, book a call with Ben: https://bit.ly/15minswithben

In this episode
00:00 Introduction
00:38 How financial pressure affects judgement in organisations
02:06 How a founder’s money story shapes business decisions
04:12 Why financial decisions are rarely just strategic
05:47 Money as a forbidden topic
06:41 Good or bad with money is a story, not a fact
11:20 The need to be liked
12:27 How you do money is how you do everything
13:34 Awareness first, then accountability
16:46 Worry, catastrophising and controlling the controllables
20:17 Do men inherit their money story from their fathers?
22:17 What children pick up from what we do not say
25:14 Teaching children about money in a digital world
27:14 Games, goals and finding answers together
32:58 Why men find it harder to start the money conversation
40:25 Does a man’s income decide his worth?
43:44 The neighbour’s garden: comparison and self-worth
47:42 Crying in a Ferrari or a Fiat
49:06 Ben’s Tesla story
52:43 Attachment, need and your relationship with money
55:49 Beliefs about money worth challenging
1:00:24 If it is humanly possible
1:03:27 Is there a spiritual side to money?
1:08:49 Radical responsibility
1:10:03 How to find Lesley

Connect with Lesley
Website, free resources and socials: themoneyconfidenceacademy.com
Book: Parents, Let’s Talk Money

Episode description

Sending your team on a mental health first aid course is a good instinct. Sarah Piddington argues it is not a strategy.

Sarah draws on her time with British Transport Police, where she used trauma risk management with officers, to explain what most businesses miss. Who is suitable to volunteer as a first aider, and who decides? Who supports them after a difficult conversation? Where do their notes end up? And where does someone go when the problem is their own manager?

She also shares the story of a first aider who supported a colleague in crisis without knowing what her employer expected of her, and what changed once she did.

If someone in your business reached a crisis tomorrow, would everyone know what to do next?

In this episode
00:00 Why mental health first aid needs more than good intentions
01:39 Supporting your first aiders and protecting what is shared
02:48 Plans, escalation routes and what to do when the manager is the problem
04:39 Lessons from trauma risk management in policing
06:14 Wrapping up

Connect with Sarah
https://safeandwelltogether.com/how-we-work/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahpiddington/

Connect with Ben

www.initiators.co.uk

Paddy Burt was running a team of 60 in the City. To everyone around him, he was the positive one, the life and soul of the party. Then one morning he stood up from his desk, walked out, got on the train and cried all the way home.

That was the first of three breakdowns. It took a move to the countryside, a job managing a friend’s farm and a decision to stop drinking for good before Paddy started listening to what those moments were telling him.

Paddy now runs The Rural Reset, a four-day retreat for men in nature. There is no alcohol and there are no phones. The men do green woodworking, ice baths and tai chi, and they hike the Brecon Beacons in cloud so thick you cannot see your feet. On his first retreat, ten men, most of them strangers, were talking openly around the fire on the very first night.

Ben and Paddy talk about the masks men wear, the warning signs that are easy to miss when work is going well, and what happens when men are given a high-trust space to speak.

Where are you still playing a role you have outgrown?

If this feels relevant to where you are heading, book a call with Ben: https://bit.ly/15minswithben

In this episode
00:00 Introduction
01:22 Life in the City and the day Paddy walked out
08:43 Three breakdowns, and what they were telling him
10:12 Ben on alarm bells and your reason for being
11:28 Alcohol, the missing off switch and the life-and-soul persona
16:00 No booze, no phones: what changed on the retreat
17:46 How The Rural Reset began
21:56 What the farm taught him
23:39 Inside the first retreat
31:33 Why men drop the mask when the judgement goes
34:07 The Digital Reset: getting 16 to 18-year-olds off their phones
38:09 Social media and the under-16s
39:08 Tribe, and why people miss war
41:30 What comes next for The Rural Reset
43:42 Marketing an offline business
48:06 How to get in touch with Paddy

Connect with Paddy
Website: theruralreset.com
LinkedIn: Paddy Burt

A business automated a three-hour weekly report down to one click. Steve Jones asked a simple question: what does she do with those three hours now? Nobody knew.

"Strategy should drive AI. AI shouldn't drive strategy."

In this conversation, Steve explains why most businesses will waste the capacity AI creates, and why staff who save time with AI often hide it. He shares how IKEA chose to redeploy thousands of staff instead of cutting them, and why that decision generated far more than the chatbot ever saved.

Inside:

• Human beings, not human capital
• A 90-day review rhythm for people and AI
• Why AI will stop being a differentiator within years
• What "it's not personal, it's just business" really means

Chapters
0:00 Who is Steve Jones?
4:12 Turning On the Profits Tap
4:42 The 180-item job description
7:08 How Fitness First won on positioning
8:07 Your standards vs your X factor
8:47 Product, market, service and price
9:58 Finding your ideal client
12:10 Find: who are your supermarkets?
15:32 Running the sales meeting and the close
16:58 Time and capacity
18:51 When the tap is blocked
19:37 £100k from one referral partner
21:21 The five fears that stop people referring you
25:18 Human beings, not human doings
26:03 Why write a book?
28:38 Writing and editing with AI
33:02 A 90-day plan for people and AI
34:54 AI saved three hours. Now what?
36:21 The IKEA story
38:58 Why staff hide the time AI saves them
41:11 Strategy should drive AI
43:50 Human beings, not human capital
44:44 Initiation and the path from boy to man
47:59 Brotherhood and elders
53:12 The three-year itch and the job Steve couldn't wait to leave
56:20 Becoming the voice of human performance beyond AI
58:12 Why your book needs to be on Audible
1:00:31 Where to find Steve

About Steve
Steve Jones helps fast-growth SMEs build the leadership, culture and engagement they need to scale. He was part of the Fitness First journey from one club to a global chain. He went on to work on UK employee engagement with a government task force. He is the author of Turning On the Profits Tap and co-author of Mapping Motivation for Engagement.
Website: skillsforbusinesstraining.co.uk
LinkedIn: Steve Jones https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejonesmotivation/

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"An affirmation really is a wish."

If you have ever said something positive to yourself in the mirror and heard your inner critic laugh, you already know the problem. Fiona Mary Ferrar explains why. Flipping a judgement over like a pancake leaves the roots in the ground.

In this episode of The Ben Price Experience, Fiona explains how she builds declarations with her clients. First you find the old judgement, then you forgive yourself for it, and only then do you create a new truth. She has spoken her own declaration every day for over four years.

We discuss:

• The lavender bush that kept growing back
• Why you have to learn it by heart, not by head
• Why breadcrumbs on the breadboard no longer bother her
• Moving from aspirational to declarative

Chapters
0:00 Who is Fiona Mary Ferrar?
5:06 Drawn to the masculine
6:44 Testosterone, anger and what men are allowed to feel
9:51 Giving men the words for their emotions
11:07 What raising a son taught her
15:21 Do boys still need initiation?
19:16 What initiation would give boys and society
22:25 Honour and the lost idea of a gentleman
22:49 Are we afraid of our young men?
27:00 Is it ever too late?
29:27 The overgrown garden
31:34 Declarations vs affirmations
32:51 The lavender that kept coming back
38:06 Breadcrumbs on the breadboard
39:39 Learning it by heart, not by head
43:19 The Way of Mastery
48:51 The golden rule starts with yourself
50:26 Forgiveness as daily cleaning
52:16 The message that arrived the same day
55:55 Holding people hostage in your mind
1:00:35 The two monks and the river
1:04:11 Forgiveness is for you
1:06:09 What happened vs the story you tell
1:09:14 Useful or not useful?
1:11:00 Declarations for children
1:13:09 All war starts in the mind
1:18:28 AI, politics and conscious custodians
1:24:06 The rain is neutral
1:25:33 Love, live and lead
1:25:56 Where to find Fiona

About Fiona
Fiona Mary Ferrar helps people create inner peace and lead their lives with agency, through her work on love, life and leadership. She works with men and serves what she calls the divine masculine. She also co-hosts a three-year study community for The Way of Mastery.
Website: fionamaryferrar.com
LinkedIn: Fiona Mary Ferrar https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionamaryferrar/

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This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse (around 1:02:36).

In this episode of The Ben Price Experience, Simon shares what he has learned from studying the best in the world. That includes Olympians, F1 pit crews and a world barista champion. He explains why some of the greatest performers never loved what they did, and what happens to them once the rewards arrive.

We discuss:

• Agassi, Tiger Woods and success without passion
• Why Simon's parents believed work was not meant to be enjoyed
• Obsession versus passion as a long-term driver
• Being world class without losing yourself

Chapters
0:00 Who is Simon Hartley?
2:33 Everyone has the potential for greatness
3:47 Great at something you don't love
7:14 Successful and miserable at the same time
8:55 "Work's not there for you to enjoy it"
10:23 Feeling trapped by your own success
12:26 Prove the concept before you leap
14:14 You have more choices than you think
15:05 What the ego really is
19:13 The questions to ask when you feel stuck
20:35 Finding purpose in what you already do
24:44 What makes a great leader?
26:34 Should, need and want
28:42 World-class teams have world-class leaders
29:33 Align, empower, engage
32:42 Ask great questions, then give people space
34:42 Living your values, not just writing them down
38:58 A value always has a cost
41:21 Character is the tree, reputation is the shadow
42:01 How to find your values
44:31 Promoted to incompetence
48:20 What the military gets right about succession
50:39 Is leadership lonely?
57:05 The Atlantic rowing crew and the GPS
1:00:37 Celebrating progress along the way
1:02:25 Simon's new book on curiosity
1:04:54 What AI is doing to curiosity
1:08:41 Where to find Simon

About Simon
Simon Hartley is a performance psychologist who began his career in elite sport and Olympic programmes. He studies world-class performers and teams across sport, business, medicine and the military. He is the founder of Be World Class and the author of How to Develop Character.

Website: be-world-class.com
Free resources: worldclassresources.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beworldclass-simon/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimonHartley

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"Your life demonstrates what it is that you really value."

Many capable men believe they have lost their sense of purpose. Seamus Fox, a coach to founders and business owners for over two decades, argues it never left. It shows up in where you spend your time, money and energy.

In this episode of The Ben Price Experience, Seamus explains how to spot your real values and why "should" and "have to" often point to someone else's. He also explains why the work you would do for free is usually where your business grows fastest.

We discuss:

• Your hierarchy of values and how it shapes your identity
• Imperative language and the values we absorb from others
• Following your joy without ignoring the work that pays
• Why people are drawn to a man doing what he loves

Chapters
0:00 Who is Seamus Fox?
1:00 Purpose and your highest value
4:07 The car crash that changed everything
6:34 From shy PT to gym owner
8:12 Why people quit the gym by February
10:47 Identity and your hierarchy of values
14:37 "Should" and "have to": spotting borrowed values
16:54 What your life shows you value
19:33 Follow your joy
23:22 The dark side of personal development
26:31 Never outsource your highest value
28:07 Go with the flow or change the flow
30:25 We see things as we are
33:05 Why your partner doesn't need to share your vision
34:07 Founders, guilt and family
37:49 People pleasing and fair exchange
39:39 Is investing in yourself selfish?
45:06 Accountability and being a man of your word
50:30 What your triggers are telling you
58:03 The unconscious handbrake
1:02:05 Growth beyond the business
1:04:09 Fatherhood and learning to let go
1:10:29 Where to find Seamus

About Seamus
Seamus Fox is a coach and mentor to men in business, from founders to CEOs. He spent over 20 years in the fitness industry before selling his business and moving into coaching full time. He runs [ACADEMY NAME: CHECK SPELLING], a community for male business owners with regular meetups in Derry.
Instagram: [LINK] | LinkedIn: [LINK] | YouTube: [LINK]

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James O'Keefe was arrested many times for fighting and stealing. Today he teaches men, and professional boxers, how to use the breath to stay in control.

In this episode, James breaks down what he does when he feels the old reaction rise. He takes a breath, questions whether the feeling is true, and asks what his part is in the situation. Ben shares the difference between anger and rage, and the moment a feelings wheel showed him where fear sat in his body.

Inside:

• Why your nervous system decides before your logic does
• "Go in first before you go out"
• Why James avoids anger release work on his men's retreats
• Whether fighting builds emotional control or feeds the ego