The Next Fix

Some people hit rock bottom.

Others slowly drift into a life that no longer feels aligned.

In this episode of The Next Fix, I sit down with Brandon Yager for a conversation about healing, identity, subconscious patterns, language, and what it really takes to change your life from the inside out.

Brandon shares how his grandfather introduced him to personal development at a young age, how success in business still exposed deeper internal blocks, and how that journey eventually led him into the transformational work he and his wife Debra now do together.

We get into things like:

• how your language shapes your life
• why so many people stay stuck in the same patterns
• the hidden danger of comfort and complacency
• how telling your story can become part of your healing
• why real change starts beneath the surface

This is a conversation about what happens when you stop blaming, start taking responsibility, and become willing to look deeper.

If you’ve ever felt like there’s another version of you inside there trying to come out… this one will hit.

🔗 https://www.yagertraining.com
🔗 https://www.yourtruealchemy.com

🔗 https://www.yagertraining.com/apply

🔗 https://www.ryanpenley.org
🔗 https://www.myrockbottomrecovery.com

What if alcohol was never the full story?

Rachel Harrison joins me for a powerful conversation about the deeper layers beneath addiction, including codependency, people pleasing, control, and the family patterns that can quietly keep people stuck for years.

Rachel shares her journey from despair and dysfunction to spiritual awakening, recovery, and the creation of her Recover Your Soul message and community. We talk about marriage, motherhood, loving family members through addiction, and what it really means to stop abandoning yourself.

This is a conversation about healing, truth, surrender, and learning how to recover more than just sobriety.

We talk about:

• Rachel’s sobriety journey and second recovery date
• Alcohol, codependency, and people pleasing
• Family dysfunction and generational patterns
• Loving someone without trying to control them
• Spiritual awakening and identity in recovery
• Her new book, Recover Your Soul

🔗 Learn more from Rachel: https://www.recoveryoursoul.net
📘 Recover Your Soul – A Spiritual Journey of Healing from Addiction, Codependency and People-Pleasing

At 63 years old, David Nassief lost everything he thought was secure.

After 18 years with the same company, he was fired… and faced a brutal reality. By his own math, he would be completely broke by 65.

What followed wasn’t just a financial comeback… it was a complete identity shift.

For 40 years, David admits he was going in circles. Making money… but never building wealth. Chasing strategies. Following bad advice. Ending every year in the same place or worse.

Then everything changed.

With no plan B, no safety net, and no time to waste… he rebuilt from the ground up.

Within 10 months, he replaced his income.
Within 6 years, he became a millionaire.

But the real breakthrough wasn’t income.

It was clarity.

In this episode, we break down:

• The difference between making money and building wealth
• Why most people stay stuck for decades without realizing it
• The emotional weight of starting over later in life
• The power of simplicity in a world designed to confuse you
• And how a “one-page” framework changed everything

This is more than a money conversation.

It’s a second act story.

Because whether you’re 25 or 65…
you’re not too late.

🌐 Website: https://onepagewealthcompass.com
📘 Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C? (replace with exact link if you have it)

🌐 Website: https://www.ryanpenley.org
📩 Sobriety & Comeback Resources: https://www.myrockbottomrecovery.com

🎙️ Follow The Next Fix Podcast for more comeback stories.

Losing everything that once defined your life can either break you or send you searching for something deeper.

Scottie Schneider knows that moment well.

A graduate of West Point and former Army officer, Scottie had a clear path forward until a devastating frostbite injury during a military training mission in Alaska ended his career overnight. What followed was a long season of drifting through alcohol, entrepreneurship, and the search for meaning while trying to rebuild an identity that had been stripped away.

Even after building a successful tech company generating tens of thousands in monthly profit, something still wasn’t right.

That search eventually led Scottie to Colombia, where he began working closely with Indigenous elders connected to Murui, Siona, Nutabe, and Wiwa traditions. Their message challenged many of the modern ideas about healing and transformation.

There is no ceremony, substance, or breakthrough moment that fixes a life.

What matters is how you live every single day.

Today Scottie is the founder of Ocóyái, an indigenous-guided mentorship community that brings together Indigenous elders and modern mentors to help people rebuild their lives through responsibility, community, and daily practice.

Ryan and Scottie explore:

• Losing identity after military service
• Alcohol and the struggle to find direction
• Entrepreneurship and the illusion of success
• Indigenous perspectives on healing and responsibility
• Why peak experiences don’t create lasting change
• The importance of integration and everyday discipline
• Building a life that reflects what you’ve learned

Learn more about Scottie’s work:
https://www.ocoyai.com

The Next Fix is a podcast about recovery, redemption, and the comeback stories that shape who we become. Hosted by Ryan Penley, the show explores addiction recovery, faith, purpose, and the real work required to rebuild a life.

What if betrayal doesn’t just hurt emotionally… but actually creates a measurable condition?

In this episode of The Next Fix, Dr. Debi Silber explains Post-Betrayal Syndrome, a term she discovered through research involving over 100,000 people who experienced betrayal.

Her findings reveal that betrayal can affect far more than relationships. It can impact physical health, confidence, emotional stability, decision making, and trust in yourself and others.

Dr. Silber breaks down why betrayal trauma is different from other types of trauma, the symptoms people often overlook, and the five predictable stages of recovery that allow people to move forward and rebuild their lives.

If you've ever felt stuck after betrayal or struggled to understand why trust can be so difficult to rebuild, this episode offers powerful insight and a clear path toward healing.

Learn more about Dr. Debi Silber and her work:
https://thepbtinstitute.com

Explore Dr. Debi Silber’s latest book, Trust Again:
https://www.amazon.com/Trust-Again-Rebuilding-After-Betrayal/dp/1401964126

Watch more episodes of The Next Fix:
https://www.youtube.com/@myrockbottomrecovery

Interested in being a guest or connecting with Ryan Penley?
https://ryanpenley.org

What does it really take to create permanent change?

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ryan Penley sits down with Stanley F. Bronstein — attorney, CPA, life coach, and author — who lost over 220 pounds naturally and has kept it off for nearly 17 years.

No surgery.
No weight loss drugs.
No shortcuts.

Just real food, daily walking, mindset work, and relentless long-term discipline.

But this conversation is not just about weight loss.

It is about identity. Integrity. Persistence. And the four barriers that stop most people from creating lasting change:

• Willingness
• Belief
• Discipline
• Commitment

Stanley explains why motivation is unreliable, why systems win, and how mastering one area of your life reshapes what you believe is possible everywhere else.

He is the creator of The Way of Excellence and the founder of the Million Pound Weight Loss Challenge, a global movement built on sustainable health and character-driven growth.

Learn more about Stanley and access his free resources here:
👉 https://stanleybronstein.com

Discover more episodes and resources from Ryan Penley here:
👉 https://www.ryanpenley.org

If you are ready for permanent change instead of temporary motivation, this episode is for you.

Because the real transformation is not losing the weight.

It is becoming the person who does not go back.

What if drugs and alcohol aren’t the problem… because they actually work?

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ryan Penley sits down with author and recovery advocate Jeff Hayward of Simple Theory for a raw conversation about the complexity of addiction.

Jeff shares his journey from a lifestyle built around partying — “I can make a career out of partying” — to hitting rock bottom, acknowledging the need for help, and rebuilding his life from the inside out.

They explore:

• Why substances “work” emotionally and neurologically
• The void that keeps people chasing the next fix
• Addiction as an abusive relationship
• The emotional layers underneath dependency
• Why values are the foundation of sustainable recovery
• The role of community support
• How sharing your story builds confidence and purpose

Ryan opens up about chasing anything that made him feel alive — drugs, booze, sex, snowboarding, the rush — and realizing that pursuing happiness itself can become bottomless.

Jeff introduces his book, Simple Shit for Complicated People, a guide to clarity, values, and self-discovery for anyone ready to stop running and start rebuilding.

If you’ve ever felt the void…
If you’ve ever wondered why you keep going back…
If you’re ready for something deeper than surface-level recovery…

This episode is for you.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bennys.beans
Website: https://simpletheory.ca

https://www.myrockbottomrecovery.com

What do you do when your own mind tries to convince you that your life doesn’t matter?

Ryan Penley sits down with Joseph M. Lenard, a suicide attempt survivor who overcame addiction to Xanax and battled leukemia — and came back with a message about the value of life.

Joseph opens up about mental health, suicidal ideation, and the moment he realized every life carries meaning. He shares how creativity and writing became part of his healing journey, and how storytelling can become a lifeline for others.

We discuss:

• Addiction recovery and resilience
• Leukemia and facing mortality
• Suicide prevention and choosing life
• The butterfly effect of small positive actions
• Creativity as therapy
• Faith, personal responsibility, and the Christitutionalist philosophy

Joseph says it plainly:

“I am a suicide attempt survivor.”

This episode is a reminder that your life matters — even when your mind tries to convince you otherwise.

If you’ve ever questioned your value, this conversation is for you.

🌐 https://JosephMLenard.us
🔗 https://linktr.ee/jlenarddetroit
𝕏 https://x.com/JLenardMichigan

🌊 https://www.ryanpenley.org

What happens when the addicted brain finally runs out of excuses—and the will to live kicks in?

In this powerful conversation on The Next Fix, Ryan Penley sits down with Laura Straniak, who shares her raw journey from early exposure to addiction, through heroin and fentanyl, to the moment jail became the wake-up call that saved her life. Laura doesn’t sugarcoat the chaos—but she also doesn’t stay there.

She opens up about medication-assisted treatment with Suboxone, the role of community in a small town, and why progress over perfection became the mindset that changed everything. At 20 months sober, Laura reflects on rebuilding trust, finding purpose, and using her story to help others believe they’re stronger than they think.

This is a grounded, honest look at recovery—focused on resilience, momentum, and what happens when someone finally decides: I’m done.

Key themes: recovery, addiction, sobriety, Suboxone, mental health, community support, resilience, transformation

Memorable moments: “I was tired. I was just done.” • “Progress, not perfection.” • “I feel like I’m doing it.”

🔗 Find Ryan & the podcast: https://www.ryanpenley.org

🔗 Connect with Laura on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lstraniak

If you’re navigating recovery—or walking alongside someone who is—this episode is proof that change is possible, even after rock bottom.

Kevin Moran doesn’t soften his story. He names the chaos, the damage, and the near-death moment that forced him to confront who he’d become—and the long, imperfect road back.

Addiction started early, escalated fast, and became tangled with identity, money, and survival. No glamor. No shortcuts. Just truth.

This isn’t a clean redemption arc. It’s a real one.

In conversation with Ryan Penley, Kevin talks candidly about addiction, recovery, mental health, and sobriety—and why isolation is often more dangerous than relapse. He explains how community became essential, not as a fix, but as a lifeline for staying present and accountable.

Kevin also shares how creativity became a way forward. Through projects that honor his late fiancée, he’s transformed grief into connection—using story and expression to support others navigating loss, recovery, and personal growth. His work isn’t about attention. It’s about contribution.

What emerges is a grounded conversation on resilience, compassion over perfection, and choosing engagement—one honest day at a time.

Guest: Kevin Moran
Connect with Kevin on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003464248283

Host: Ryan Penley
Find Ryan at:
https://www.ryanpenley.org

A raw conversation on addiction, recovery, mental health, sobriety, community, resilience, and how shared stories help others heal.