The Jason Wright Show

Week in Review: Comprehensive Health Testing, Dopamine in an Age of Abundance, and Marijuana Reclassification Concerns Jason Wright opens with reflections on how fast the year is going and a personal tradition of watching The Holiday on June 25, then shares a clip from his conversation with John Goldman, founder of Rebel Health, about how comprehensive functional-medicine testing (DEXA, VO2 max, A1C and other labs) revealed Goldman was pre-diabetic with visceral fat, fatty liver disease, and other risk markers, prompting Wright to urge listeners to get thorough testing beyond standard annual checkups. He next introduces researcher Anna Lembke on dopamine, explaining that brains wired for survival struggle in modern overabundance, leading to down-regulation of feel-good neurotransmitters and the need to intentionally seek discomfort and reduce consumption. After a sponsor message for Authentic Health, Wright discusses a Wall Street Journal opinion on the Trump administration’s move to reclassify marijuana to Schedule 3, citing a UC San Diego study of 11,000 adolescents linking pot use to impaired brain development, and argues that weed can hinder self-improvement and widen outcome gaps. 00:00 Welcome and Time Flies 01:03 Rebel Health Origin Story 02:14 Testing and Knowing Your Numbers 04:50 John Goldman Health Wake Up 06:59 Dopamine and Modern Abundance 09:37 Seek Discomfort for Balance 11:26 Authentic Health Sponsor Break 12:21 Marijuana Reclassification Debate 16:20 Final Thoughts and Sign Off

Consume Less. Create More.

Low Stakes, Big Try: Why You Should Start (and Stop Making It Do-or-Die) Jason Wright shares a lesson from trying to relearn guitar using the GuitarTuna app: when he stopped treating practice as a performance and gave himself permission to fail, relax, and just learn, he unexpectedly hit a personal best. He connects this to a Will Ferrell interview about pursuing comedy with a safety net and the role of luck, plus a similar story about Stevie Nicks being encouraged to try music for four years before committing to college. Drawing on Carol Dweck’s mindset work and an example from learning tennis, he argues that many goals become “zero-sum” only in our heads, creating pressure that prevents growth or even starting. Referencing Daniel Pink’s work and the World Regret Project, he emphasizes that people regret what they didn’t do more than what they did, urging listeners to try what they want and avoid lifelong regret. 00:00 Guitar in Hand Intro 00:59 Will Ferrell and Luck 03:12 GuitarTuna Low Stakes 04:38 Fixed vs Growth Mindset 06:02 Tennis Lesson Let It Rip 06:48 Stevie Nicks Safety Net 08:29 Try Without Regret 09:48 World Regret Project 12:17 Final Challenge and Outro

Week in Review: Fat, Exercise Snacks, and Outsourcing Your Brain to Tech Jason Wright introduces the first Week in Review format, sharing clips and takeaways from recent conversations. From Dr. Jerry Nixon, he emphasizes that excess body fat is an active, harmful gland linked to inflammation, atherosclerosis, cancer, dementia, heart disease, bone and joint degeneration, and that Americans often live long lives with chronic disease. From Dr. Rhonda Patrick, he highlights “exercise snacks,” including structured vigorous bursts (about 1–10 minutes, reaching ~80–85% max heart rate) and unstructured vigorous intermittent lifestyle activity like fast stair climbs or brisk tasks; cited VPA research suggests 1–2 minute bouts three times daily are associated with roughly 50% lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and 40% lower cancer mortality, even in self-identified non-exercisers. He also promotes Authentic Health’s “foundational stack” and discusses a clip with Arthur Brooks on Cal Newport’s podcast about technology’s limits in solving complex human needs and how algorithmic tools can worsen loneliness. 00:00 Welcome and Format 02:07 Dr Jerry Nixon Clip 04:14 Exercise Snacks Intro 05:14 Rhonda Patrick Explains 05:56 Supplement Cabinet Story 08:04 Authentic Health Sponsor 10:35 More Snack Examples 13:27 Tech and Brain Health 15:22 Arthur Brooks on Phones 18:27 Wrap Up and Feedback 19:17 Credits and Subscribe

Even Big Mama Is Using AI: Jason Wright’s Take on Adapting to the AI Revolution Jason Wright opens with a story about his wife’s aunt “Big Mama” posting an AI-altered senior photo of his sister-in-law on Facebook, using it to introduce his perspective on AI and why it’s now unavoidable. He reflects on decades of tech change—from the Commodore 64 and DOS terminals to pagers, early cell phones, BlackBerry, and AOL—then argues people should view AI as “me and AI,” not “me or AI.” He advises workers worried about displacement to befriend AI, start with tools like Gemini and free ChatGPT, and use it to edit rather than replace their own thinking. He cites an article featuring NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang advocating engineering, first-principles problem-solving, and becoming an “AI expert,” then shares how AI can help him edit writing and learn to code. He closes with quotes from Seneca and Zig Ziglar about changing oneself to adapt rather than seeking an escape from change. 00:00 Big Mama Meets AI 01:31 My Take on AI 02:50 Tech Then and Now 06:43 AI Anxiety and Strategy 08:00 Play With the Tools 09:23 Jensen Huang on Careers 15:08 How AI Helps Me Write 17:45 Seneca and Zig on Change 20:09 Wrap Up and Call to Action

Mike Stohler on Creative Real Estate, Syndications, and Boutique Hotels in Spain Jason Wright interviews real estate investor Mike Stoler, who built a portfolio spanning multifamily and hotels, including boutique castle properties in Spain. Stoler shares how Rich Dad Poor Dad and even a bad seminar sparked his start, early failures buying seller-financed homes from a university due to poor due diligence, and later lessons about inspections, leases, and learning operations by working for a property management company. They discuss creative financing (seller financing, assumptions), partnering and structuring deals via LLCs, joint ventures, and syndications with general and limited partners, accredited investors, preferred returns, and multiple exit strategies. Stoler explains why hotels differ from multifamily, how he recruited an experienced operator with incentive-based economics, his view of short-term vs midterm rentals amid regulation and saturation, and why Spain offers attractive boutique hotel valuations despite heavy paperwork and setup costs. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:35 Entrepreneurship vs Owning a Job 03:21 Mike’s Origin Story 05:13 Seller Financing Basics 07:23 Creative Deal Structures 11:00 LLCs and Partner Selection 13:32 Syndications Explained 18:57 Preferred Returns and Payouts 20:22 Exit Strategies and Refinancing 25:24 Short Term Rental Reality Check 28:32 Boutique Hotel Playbook 34:24 Why Spain Now 35:25 Castle Deals Shock 37:35 Paperwork And Setup Costs 39:23 Regulation And Rule Of Law 42:40 Preserving Historic Properties 44:39 Staffing The Boutique Hotel 47:12 Cost Of Living Advantage 48:28 Wealth Lessons And Mentors 53:21 Portfolio Scale And Strategy 54:58 Connect And Invest With Mike 55:58 Wellness Retreat Opportunity 01:00:35 Final Thanks And Outro

Stop Smoking Weed: The Cognitive Cost No One Wants to Talk About | Monday Morning Mentor In this Monday Morning Mentor follow-up on getting smarter, Jason argues that peak cognitive health matters more than ever amid the AI information onslaught and pleads with listeners to stop smoking weed, criticizing how frequently marijuana use is portrayed as normal or funny in shows and films like Your Friends & Neighbors, This Is Where I Leave You, Sam and Kate, and Love, Sarah. He says legalization doesn’t make cannabis harmless, takes issue with prominent pro-weed voices, and cites 2025 research summaries describing links between heavy or early cannabis use and reduced working-memory brain activation, poorer working-memory performance, slowed neurocognitive development, and chronic impairments in attention, executive function, memory, and learning, plus potential increases in anxiety and depression for youth. He adds that parents who use weed signal approval to their kids, and he frames the message as a non-moral argument about staying mentally sharp and harder to control. 00:00 Welcome and Context 01:00 Stop Smoking Weed 01:35 Weed Everywhere on TV 03:54 More Movie Examples 07:05 Legal Doesnt Mean Good 09:53 What the Studies Say 12:24 Why This Matters Long Term 18:39 Parents and Social Norms 19:35 Culture Pushback and Control 22:48 Final Advice and Sign Off

Mentioned in this episode:

Authentic Health Foundational Stack

The Psychology of Leadership with Sebastien Page: Listening, Strategic Quitting, and Long-Term Thinking Jason Wright interviews Sebastien Page, T. Rowe Price’s Head of Global Multi-Asset and CIO overseeing $500+ billion, about his book The Psychology of Leadership and the mindset and habits behind effective leadership. Page argues leadership is often counterintuitive: listening can matter more than communication; quitting—like selling an investment or stopping a failing project—is harder than persistence; and stress is inevitable but can be used as performance fuel. They discuss goal-induced blindness (including Everest examples), the importance of long-term thinking and meaning (the “three bricklayers” analogy), and mentoring high-achievers beyond wealth or fame. Page highlights basics for sustained performance—sleep, diet, exercise—and uses box breathing before high-stress moments like CNBC appearances. They also cover growth mindset, process-oriented excellence, and Page cites GE CEO Larry Culp as a leadership exemplar. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:32 Energy Management Talk 05:28 Leadership Myths Flipped 08:51 Strategic Quitting Skills 11:08 Goals and Everest Lesson 14:31 Born or Made Leaders 18:43 Growth Mindset and Excellence 22:32 Process Goals and Mastery 25:02 Leadership Basics 26:06 Sleep Diet Exercise 28:10 Breathwork Under Stress 29:44 Positive Self Talk 31:46 Mental Rehearsal Mastery 34:31 Avoid Toxic Positivity 38:07 Long Range Goals 39:35 Meaning Over Money 41:56 Mentoring High Achievers 48:40 Book Takeaways Wrap 50:15 Leaders Worth Studying 52:05 Final Sign Off

Monday Morning Mentor: Focus on What You Can Control Jason Wright discusses a New York Magazine article by Xochitl Gonzalez that uses renewed nostalgia for smoking to express a cynical, nihilistic “nothing matters” reaction to a “deranged year,” framed around political events and a belief that the future is too bleak to justify good habits. Wright argues this mindset shows up in everyday life when people give up on health, appearance, and discipline because they feel powerless over society and current events. He shares a lesson from a former manager about concentrating on the “circle” of things you can control and applies it to personal standards: grooming, dressing well, being kind and respectful, working hard, sleeping, eating well, exercising, and staying hydrated. He recounts adopting these habits in college to build character and self-respect regardless of what others do or what happens in the world. 00:00 Welcome and Subscribe 00:22 Provocative Smoking Article 02:17 Reading the Article Excerpt 05:49 Nihilism and Giving Up 07:32 Circle of Control Lesson 08:21 Daily Grooming Standards 10:16 College Habits and Self Respect 12:44 Character and Closing Thoughts

Monday Morning Mentor: 10 Parenting “Don’ts” for Raising Well-Adjusted Kids In this Monday Morning Mentor episode, Jason Wright reflects on parenting his daughters Ryland (26, newly married) and Abby, sharing a list of “not to do” parenting lessons shaped partly by his own experience with conditional love growing up. He advises parents not to make love conditional, not to guilt-trip kids about costs or sacrifices, and not to praise intelligence over effort to avoid a fixed mindset (citing Carol Dweck’s work). He warns against spoiling children and recommends teaching delayed gratification through goals or matching contributions. Other “don’ts” include letting kids get tattoos, accepting important messages by text instead of calls, allowing sloppy dress, and letting a day pass without meaningful conversation or without saying “I love you,” emphasizing agape love as action. 00:00 Welcome and Support 00:41 Why Parenting Matters 02:13 Parenting Donts Setup 02:51 Avoid Conditional Love 04:29 Skip the Guilt Trips 05:28 Praise Effort Not Smarts 07:54 No Spoiling Teach Earning 11:17 Think Twice About Tattoos 15:03 Calls Over Texts 17:02 Dress With Self Respect 20:09 Daily Real Conversations 22:25 Say I Love You Daily 23:33 Wrap Up and Sign Off