The Limitless Podcast with Nick Jonsson

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Matt Formston, a legally blind world champion athlete, world record holder, professional surfer, executive, board member, author, speaker, husband, and father.

Matt has no central vision and only a small amount of peripheral vision, but blindness was not the part of his story that struck me most. What stayed with me was his honesty about the years when bullying, anger, bad behaviour, and living for other people’s perception pulled him away from accountability and self respect.

One of the defining moments came on Christmas Eve, when Matt woke up at a bus stop covered in someone else’s blood, with no memory of what had happened. It was a painful image of a man who had been fighting the world, but had not yet taken full responsibility for his own life.

From there, Matt began rebuilding through standards, goals, discipline, and what he calls the Why Not mindset. We talk about disability, identity, leadership, psychological safety, parenting, self trust, and the danger of believing the excuses the world hands us.

Matt also shares what it took to surf a 51 foot wave at Nazaré as a blind surfer, and why trust is never built in the big moment alone. It is built through the small commitments we keep when nobody is watching.

This conversation is for anyone who has been underestimated, bullied, held back, or quietly using old pain as a reason not to change.

Contact Matt to collaborate:

Website: https://mattformston.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-formston-am-gaicd/ 

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast

Some wake up calls arrive quietly. Roy Reid’s did not.

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Roy Reid, founder of The Trust Transformation, executive coach, speaker, strategist, and coauthor of The Trust Transformation, for a conversation about survival, isolation, trust, gratitude, and the second life that began after his body could no longer carry what he had been holding inside.

Roy survived an acute aortic dissection, a stroke, emergency surgery, a coma, and moments of being medically dead on the operating table. His heart had split open, his chance of survival was almost impossible, and for days there was no clear prognosis.

But what makes this conversation so powerful is not only the medical crisis. It is what Roy saw when he looked honestly at the years leading up to it: pressure, resentment, anger, unhealthy patterns, and the kind of isolation many successful leaders hide behind while still appearing functional on the outside.

Roy’s recovery became more than physical healing. It became a rebuilding of relationships, family connection, humility, gratitude, and trust. He speaks openly about making amends, walking as a daily practice, repairing what mattered most, and learning that ego often keeps leaders from asking for the help they need.

His message is clear: trust is not a soft leadership idea. It is an operating system for how we live, lead, repair, and connect.

This episode is a reminder not to wait for a life or death moment before choosing humility, gratitude, and the people who matter.

Contact Roy to collaborate:

Website: https://www.roywreid.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/royreid/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast

Some forms of abuse do not arrive as one obvious event. They build quietly through confusion, self doubt, emotional manipulation, and the slow loss of trust in your own reality.

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Chelsey Brooke Cole, licensed psychotherapist and specialist in narcissistic abuse, relational trauma, gaslighting recovery, and rebuilding self trust. What makes this conversation powerful is not only Chelsey’s clinical insight, but the fact that she understands this subject personally, from growing up with a narcissistic father to later finding herself in narcissistic relationships as an adult.

We explore why people often stay far longer than they expected, not because they are weak, but because betrayal blindness, positive projection, and the need to make sense of love can keep them trapped in a cycle of trying harder. Chelsey explains why narcissists often target strength rather than weakness, and why one of the deepest wounds of gaslighting is that it disconnects people from themselves.

The turning point in healing is not simply leaving the relationship. It is learning to hear your own voice again after someone else’s has been living inside your head.

This episode goes into narcissistic partners, narcissistic bosses, boundaries, no contact where possible, and the small daily practices that help people rebuild self trust.

For anyone who has wondered, “Am I the problem?” this conversation offers clarity, language, and a way back to yourself.

Contact Chelsey to collaborate:

Website https://www.chelseybrookecole.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseybrookecole/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast/

Jenn Lim helped build a global movement around happiness. As the Co Founder of Delivering Happiness with Tony Hsieh, and now founder of Beyond Happiness, she spent years helping leaders and companies create cultures built on purpose, values, and human connection.

But behind that mission, she was carrying a very different reality.

In this deeply honest episode of Limitless, Jenn opens up about writing Beyond Happiness during one of the darkest periods of her life. COVID had changed the world, deadlines were closing in, and just five weeks before the book was due, she lost her close friend and long time collaborator, Tony Hsieh.

What followed was grief, depression, emotional exhaustion, and the quiet pressure of trying to hold together an identity built around happiness while struggling internally.

This conversation goes far beyond workplace culture. We explore unresolved grief, burnout, coping mechanisms, emotional numbness, and the danger of constantly saying “I’m fine” when you are not. Jenn shares how losing Tony also forced her to confront the earlier loss of her father, and how years of intellectualising pain had disconnected her from fully feeling it.

One line from Jenn captures the heart of this episode:

“If I didn’t go deep, I wouldn’t feel this light anymore.”

We also discuss her upcoming book Beyond the Bullshit, why she believes the future of work is human, and what happens when leaders stop performing strength and finally start telling the truth.

This is a raw and deeply human conversation about grief, identity, healing, self deception, and the inner work required to rebuild yourself honestly from the inside out.

Contact Jenn to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byjennlim/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Tane Hunter, CEO and cofounder of Future Crunch, coauthor of Full Stack Human, and a voice I deeply respect on science, technology, adaptability, and what it means to stay human in a world moving faster than ever.

What stayed with me most was not only his thinking around AI, attention, or the future of work. It was the personal story behind it.

Before becoming a cancer researcher, data scientist, science communicator, and futurist, Tane was a professional mountain biker and former US champion. That identity disappeared almost overnight after a serious back injury ended his athletic career. What followed was pain, depression, and the difficult realization that when your whole life is built around performance, losing the thing you perform through can feel like losing yourself.

His line, “Your body doesn’t send you memos, it sends you invoices,” captures the heart of this conversation.

We speak about achievement syndrome, success amnesia, the pressure to chase the next goal, and the danger of ignoring what the body and mind are trying to tell us. Tane also challenges the fear economy around AI, reminding us that the real advantage today is not becoming more machine like, but protecting our curiosity, attention, relationships, and humanity.

This conversation is for leaders, entrepreneurs, and high achievers who have tied their identity to success. Sometimes rebuilding begins when life forces us to stop, fall apart honestly, and choose a more human way forward.

Contact Tane to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanehunter/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Afeef Hussain at LUX* South Ari Atoll in the Maldives for a conversation that begins with leadership, but quickly moves into something more personal: what we carry, what we avoid, and what it takes to keep going when life feels heavy.

Afeef speaks about lifelong learning, mentorship, purpose, and giving back with a calm honesty that stayed with me. His message is not about chasing another goal or building a louder version of success. It is about understanding that purpose is deeper than achievement, and that real leadership often begins when we are willing to ask for help, release emotional weight, and stop pretending we can carry everything alone.

One line from Afeef captures the heart of this episode: “Nobody’s coming to save you. You’re going to save yourself and the world needs you.”

That is not a harsh message. It is a wake up call. For anyone who feels stuck, lonely, tired, or unsure of what comes next, this conversation is a reminder that your current situation does not have to become your future.

We also explore why men often struggle to open up, how mentors can help us through difficult seasons, and why giving back can become a path from survival to significance.

Afeef leaves us with a simple question that cuts through the noise: What good will I do today?

Contact Afeef to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afeef-hussain-281b113/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast/

Olympic gold can look like the ultimate finish line from the outside, but as Emma Snowsill shares in this episode of Limitless, the body often keeps score long after the race is over.

Emma is one of the greatest Olympic distance triathletes of all time, Olympic gold medalist from Beijing 2008, three time ITU World Champion, and World Triathlon Hall of Fame inductee. Yet the part of this conversation that stayed with me most was not the winning. It was what happened after the winning, when the identity, pressure, and physical cost of elite performance finally caught up with her.

After Beijing, Emma knew something was wrong. Her body had been sending warning signs for a long time, but like many high performers, she kept pushing. Eventually, a virus, parasites, and an immune system collapse took her from Olympic peak condition to barely being able to walk 600 meters to the beach without needing hours of rest afterwards.

This episode is not simply about sport. It is about what happens when discipline becomes denial, when resilience turns into self neglect, and when the mindset that helps you win starts to break you.

Emma speaks with honesty about recovery, identity beyond performance, and the painful but necessary shift from all or nothing to balance, patience, and support. Her story is a powerful reminder for athletes, leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ignored the quiet signals from their body and mind for too long.

Performance matters, but not if we lose ourselves in the process.

Here are the complete short versions based on the YouTube description provided.

Contact Emma to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-snowsill-85ba7565/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_snowsill/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast/

Not every life changing challenge arrives as a sudden collapse. Sometimes it stays with you for decades and quietly shapes the way you think, work, lead, and live.

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with Michael Hofer, Chief Financial Officer at Navajo Transitional Energy Company, for a conversation about pressure, health, resilience, and the discipline required to keep perspective when life becomes demanding.

Michael grew up in Austria and moved to North America for what was meant to be a short assignment. Nearly 15 years later, after more than 30 M&A transactions and a global finance career, he speaks honestly about the difficulty of living between cultures, leading through integration, and being the person expected to translate between different worlds.

But the centre of this conversation is his experience of living with type 1 diabetes since the age of 11.

Rather than allowing diabetes to define him as limited, Michael learned to use it as a source of structure. Exercise, mindfulness, nutrition, meditation, and a deliberate morning routine became more than habits. They became the foundation for how he manages pressure and stays grounded as an executive.

This episode is especially relevant for leaders caught in constant meetings, cost pressure, AI disruption, M&A complexity, and burnout. Michael’s reminder is simple and honest: do not become a to do list.

There is more to leadership than performance. There is health, family, mental wellbeing, and the bigger picture we often forget when the pressure builds.

Michael’s story is a reminder that limits do not always stop us. Sometimes, they teach us how to live with more discipline, gratitude, and purpose.

Contact Michael to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhofer1/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast/

What happens when the title, income, and career you built your life around suddenly disappear?

In this episode of Limitless, I sit down with John Ravaris, Founder of UVPsolutions and author of Define Value, Drive Growth, for a deeply honest conversation about identity, self worth, career loss, and rebuilding from the inside out.

From the outside, John had everything many leaders spend decades chasing, executive status, financial success, recognition, and a career that looked perfect. But privately, he admits he was “miserable in my perfect life,” trapped in a cycle of validation, performance, and external success that slowly disconnected him from himself.

When his corporate role ended abruptly, it forced him into a painful period of self reflection. Without the title, the structure, or the identity he had attached himself to for years, he found himself questioning his value, confidence, and sense of purpose.

What stayed with me in this conversation is how many leaders silently carry the same fear today. AI, disruption, and uncertainty are reshaping careers faster than ever, and many people are realizing they have tied their identity too closely to what they do instead of who they are.

John shares how journaling, reading, reconnecting with family, and learning to define value internally became the foundation for rebuilding his life. We also explore the hidden emotional weight behind career transitions, the “golden handcuffs” that keep people stuck, and why hanging on is not a real strategy for the future.

This conversation is not just about business growth or leadership. It is about grief, reinvention, self worth, and the difficult process of learning who you are when success no longer defines you.

If you have ever questioned your value beyond your role, your income, or your career, this episode will stay with you.

Contact John to collaborate:

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ravaris-128a46a/⁠

Find more episodes: ⁠https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast⁠

Most people avoid conflict because they believe it protects the relationship. But as Sanjay Yadav explains in this episode of Limitless, avoiding difficult conversations often creates the very distance, resentment, and emotional disconnection we fear most.

Sanjay, Founder and Managing Partner of PurpleSky Partnership, shares why negotiation is not just a business skill, but a deeply human one. The ability to navigate conflict, communicate honestly, and move from “me” to “we” can transform not only relationships and leadership, but emotional well being itself.

What makes this conversation especially powerful is how personal it becomes.

Sanjay opens up about losing his corporate role, feeling disconnected from purpose, struggling with loneliness, and quietly turning to alcohol while trying to hold everything together. Beneath the surface, he found himself emotionally collapsing, isolated from both himself and the people around him.

One line stayed with me throughout the conversation:

“The irony is that the rock bottom was the launching pad for where I am today.”

What followed was not a quick fix, but a gradual rebuilding process through discipline, meditation, inner work, and learning how to face difficult conversations instead of avoiding them.

This episode explores conflict, emotional health, communication, self awareness, and the hidden cost of silence inside relationships and leadership. It is a reminder that conflict itself is not the danger. Avoidance is.

If you have been avoiding a difficult conversation, struggling with resentment, or feeling disconnected despite trying to keep the peace, this conversation will stay with you.

Contact Sanjay to collaborate:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjayyadavprofile/

Find more episodes: https://www.nickjonsson.com/podcast