The Grounded Man

What if you’re wealthier than your bank balance makes you feel?

In this episode of The Grounded Man, John continues The Defining Series by exploring the difference between wealth and money. He shares his own experience of undercharging, feeling uncomfortable asking for payment, and how focusing on the value he creates helped him change his relationship with money.

John also explores how tying your self-worth to your income can leave you feeling insecure, even when your life is rich in other ways. He explains how recognizing your strengths, valuing your relationships, and seeing money as a tool can help you define wealth for yourself and make more room for what matters.

Interested in joining our next Grounded Man Hike? Click here for more: https://www.derunation.com/TGM-Hike

00:01:22 — Defining Wealth and Money
00:02:01 — Self-Worth and Net Worth
00:04:19 — Scarcity and Feeling Deserving
00:06:43 — Recognizing Your Inner Value
00:08:04 — Undercharging and Asking for Money
00:08:57 — Focusing on What You Give
00:10:18 — Wealth, Wellbeing, and Flow
00:12:50 — Your Relationship With Money
00:13:43 — A Richer Life Beyond Money
00:15:17 — The Grounding Reflection

If nobody was watching, how would you measure your success?

In this episode of The Grounded Man, John opens The Defining Series by exploring what success and failure mean to you. He shares his experience of earning a high salary in Australia, returning to Ireland, and chasing the income and achievements he thought would make him successful, only to find himself burnt out and questioning his choices.

John also explores how measuring yourself by other people’s expectations can leave you feeling unsuccessful, even when you already have what matters most. He explains how recognizing your value, setting good intentions, and taking caring action can help you define success in a way that reflects who you are and the life you want to live.

Interested in joining our next Grounded Man Hike? Click here for more: https://www.derunation.com/TGM-Hike

00:00:58 — Introducing The Defining Series
00:01:54 — Whose Definition of Success Are You Living?
00:03:25 — Chasing Income and Burning Out
00:06:05 — Proving Yourself to Others
00:07:04 — Becoming a Man of Value
00:08:31 — Intentions, Actions, and Outcomes
00:10:49 — The Fear of Not Being Enough
00:12:56 — Recognizing the Success You Already Have
00:14:26 — Being Yourself as a Measure of Success
00:15:03 — The Grounding Reflection

Do you have a rhythm that protects your time and energy?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John brings the series together by exploring how to keep living and leading from the inside out. He shares his own struggle with wanting to work longer hours, take control of everything, and put himself last, and how choosing a morning run, reflection, and delegation helped him regain focus.

John also explores the six elements of the Deru Rhythm: clarity, a plan, a daily practice, training and tools, community, and coaching. He explains how building these into your days, weeks, and seasons can help you protect your energy, stay accountable, and enjoy growing your business while making time for the people and experiences that matter.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check 

00:01:50 — Bringing the Deru Way Together
00:03:16 — Choosing Presence Over Pressure
00:06:44 — Delegating to Protect Your Energy
00:08:19 — Revisiting the Five Seasons
00:10:50 — The Deru Rhythm
00:11:12 — Clarity and a 90-Day Plan
00:12:08 — Daily Practice, Training, and Tools
00:12:51 — Community and Coaching
00:14:55 — Building a Rhythm for Growth
00:16:33 — The Grounding Reflection

What if the next step in your growth starts with changing the environment around you?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John explores the season of Restore and what it means to create the right conditions to thrive. He shares how wanting more enjoyment in his work and more time outdoors led to the Grounded Man hike, bringing together his love of hiking, coaching, and community.

John also explores how the people, places, activities, and things around you influence your thinking and shape your everyday experience. He explains how bringing more of what you enjoy into your life, changing your mindset, and developing the skills and strategies you need can help you build an environment that supports your growth.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check

00:01:06 — The Seasons of Human Growth
00:02:34 — The Season of Restore
00:03:36 — Feeling Stuck in Your Environment
00:04:29 — Bringing More Enjoyment Into Work
00:06:01 — How the Grounded Man Hike Began
00:07:49 — Four Ways to Shape Your Environment
00:08:15 — People Who Energize You
00:08:41 — Activities You Want More Of
00:09:14 — Places That Help You Thrive
00:09:53 — What You Surround Yourself With
00:10:45 — Bringing What You Love Together
00:12:26 — Changing Your Mindset
00:13:21 — Building Your Skills and Adapting Your Strategy
00:14:40 — The Grounding Reflection
00:15:40 — Growing With the Deru Community

What if the way forward starts with changing how you make decisions?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John explores the season of Rise and what it means to turn clarity about your value into decisions and action. He shares his experience of returning from his honeymoon, feeling overwhelmed by business and personal commitments, and how a reminder to prioritize his energy helped him regain focus.

John also explores how to invest your time, attention, and energy in what brings the greatest value to your life. He explains how asking better questions, setting higher standards, and protecting your headspace can help you make decisions that support your health, relationships, work, and enjoyment of life.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check

00:01:12 — The Season of Rise
00:02:52 — Returning to Overwhelm
00:04:28 — Prioritizing Your Energy
00:06:09 — Making Better Decisions
00:07:12 — Value Beyond Hours Worked
00:08:38 — Setting a Higher Standard
00:10:07 — Asking Better Questions
00:10:48 — Leading With Intention
00:12:44 — Protecting Your Time and Energy
00:13:37 — Five Areas of Life
00:16:25 — Examining Your Thoughts
00:17:00 — The Grounding Reflection

What if the value you have been chasing has been within you all along?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John explores the season of Rooting and what it means to move from being a pressured provider to a present provider. He shares his own experience of starting a business, struggling with money, pricing, and sales, and how chasing success and outcomes created more pressure instead of helping him move forward.

John also explores what it means to become a man of value by recognizing the strengths, experience, wisdom, and natural gifts you already carry. He explains how separating your worth from the hours you work, trusting the process, and contributing from a place of abundance can help you lead your business and life with more presence.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check 

00:01:10 — The Season of Rooting

00:03:34 — Money, Worth, and Pressure

00:05:12 — Understanding Value

00:07:10 — The Pressured Provider

00:08:30 — The Present Provider

00:10:30 — Stop Chasing Success

00:12:33 — You Are the Source

00:14:20 — Separating Worth From Work

00:17:13 — The Grounding Reflection

00:19:29 — Who Are You Behind the Titles? 

What are you holding on to that is getting in the way of your own growth?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John explores the season of Release and what it really means to let go. He shares how pressure, comparison, expectations, and the need for control can drain your energy and disconnect you from the present.

John also explores the difference between what you are responsible for, what you are responsible for, and what is outside your control. He explains how releasing fear, trusting the process, and creating space can help you move forward with more clarity and presence.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check 

00:01:51 — The Season of Release

00:03:15 — Feeling Behind

00:04:24 — Stepping Back Into Nature

00:05:09 — Acceptance Without Lowering Your Standards

00:06:21 — Returning to Your Purpose

00:07:04 — Letting Go of Outcomes

00:08:48 — Creating Capacity

00:10:15 — Responsible For vs. Responsible To

00:12:17 — Trusting the Timing

00:13:41 — The Four Ps of Fear

00:17:31 — The Season of Release in Nature

00:18:45 — Growth Starts With Subtraction

00:19:35 — A Reflection for Letting Go 

What happens when you stop forcing life and start returning to who you really are?

In this episode of The Deru Way, John explores the first season: Return. He shares a recent experience that left him frustrated and explains how awareness helped him see the real issue behind it, let go of the story he had created, and return to a more grounded state.

John also explores how fear, pressure, scarcity, and the need to prove yourself can disconnect you from who you are. He explains how stepping back, becoming more aware, and reconnecting with nature can help you move from survival toward greater trust, clarity, and presence.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check 

00:00:54 — The Season of Return

00:01:07 — In and Out

00:01:36 — Expectations vs. Reality

00:02:22 — What Was Really Bothering John

00:03:45 — The Power of Awareness

00:05:19 — Returning Your Energy

00:06:08 — Returning to Truth

00:06:19 — Leading From Survival

00:07:28 — Fear and Procrastination

00:08:59 — The First Season: Return

00:09:19 — Observing Yourself

00:10:55 — Scarcity and Ego

00:11:29 — Fear and Separation

00:12:03 — Reconnecting With Life

00:13:36 — From Force to Flow

00:15:24 — Everything Is Connected

00:17:20 — Putting Ego in Its Place

00:17:41 — Get Back Into Nature

00:18:24 — Going Outside to Go Within

00:19:25 — From Survival to Thriving 

Are you leading your business from presence, or are you leading from pressure?

In the first episode of The Deru Way, a special six-week series of The Grounded Man Podcast, John explores why there has never been more opportunity to grow a business, but also never been more noise and distraction competing for your attention. He explains why staying grounded and present is becoming increasingly important, and how being reactive, firefighting, and spending too much time on low-value work can take you away from the areas where your time matters most.

John also looks at the cost of losing presence both in business and at home. He explains why time itself isn’t the problem, but how present you are within those hours, and explores the difference between leading from pressure on the outside and leading from presence on the inside. John also shares the meaning behind Deru — to be solid, firm, and steadfast — and why returning to who you are behind the work, roles, successes, and failures creates greater trust in yourself and the process.

John then introduces the five seasons of The Deru Way: Return, Release, Rooting, Rise, and Restore. He explains how each season reflects a natural part of growth, from developing greater self-awareness and letting go of limitations to finding clarity, taking aligned action, and creating an environment that supports who you want to become. He closes with two reflections on what a lack of presence may be costing you in your business and in your life at home.

Want to check how present you are in your business and life? Book your Deru Presence Check here: https://calendly.com/johndouglas-coaching/deru-presence-check 

00:00:54 — Introducing The Deru Way

00:02:16 — Are You Present for the Opportunity?

00:03:26 — The Cost of Noise and Distraction

00:04:54 — How Distraction Shows Up in Business

00:05:26 — What Would 10 Hours of Presence Be Worth?

00:06:40 — The Cost of Distraction at Home

00:07:25 — Time Is Not the Problem

00:08:17 — What Deru Means

00:09:09 — Leading From Presence vs. Pressure

00:11:45 — Introducing the Five Seasons of Growth

00:12:41 — Return: Coming Back to Truth

00:13:19 — Release: Letting Go to Grow

00:14:33 — Rooting: Creating Clarity and Direction

00:15:04 — Rise: Becoming the Man You Want to Be

00:15:18 — Restore: Creating the Right Environment

00:16:08 — Growing Yourself and Your Business

00:17:21 — What Is Distraction Costing Your Business?

00:18:26 — The Grounding Question 

How do you grow a family business without losing the values that built it?

In this episode, John is joined by Michael O’Reilly, second-generation Managing Director of Pneumatics Group, for a walk-and-talk about his four decades in the family business. Michael reflects on its humble beginnings, why holding stock became a competitive advantage, and how learning every part of the company has been both a strength and a challenge.

Michael also shares the story of buying the business from his dad, navigating recessions and difficult family moments, and the important role his mam played in creating the heart and energy of the company. He explains why reputation, trust, and looking after people have remained central to how the family leads and grows the business.

John and Michael also explore the value of outside support, the impact of working with Deru, and how greater clarity and accountability have helped Michael focus on the areas where his time matters most. Michael discusses achieving the company’s most profitable years in decades, making decisions with greater confidence, and creating more space for his family and life outside the business.

Interested in joining our next Grounded Man Hike? Click here for more: https://www.derunation.com/TGM-Hike

00:01:48 — Introducing Pneumatics

00:04:31 — The Early Days

00:05:43 — Why Holding Stock Pays

00:06:44 — Taking More Responsibility

00:08:08 — Knowing Everything: A Strength or Weakness?

00:11:43 — Reputation Is Our Goal

00:12:09 — Reputation Pays

00:14:11 — Being the Conscience of the Company

00:17:31 — Building a Brand

00:18:20 — Buying the Business Off Dad

00:21:42 — Overcoming Challenges as a Family

00:25:57 — The Role Our Mam Played

00:30:56 — Getting Support to Lead and Grow

00:33:23 — Working with Deru

00:41:16 — The Most Profitable Years in Decades

00:43:34 — Growing with Confidence

00:45:36 — How Michael Leads Outside the Business

00:49:05 — The Deru Mechanism

00:50:13 — What Surprised Michael About Deru

00:52:13 — What Michael Is Most Excited About