What happens when purpose driven work pushes the body past its limits, and success comes at the cost of vitality?

In this episode of The Next Mountain Podcast, we sit down with Yancy Wright, leadership retreat facilitator, conscious communication guide, and founder of a retreat center in Puerto Rico. Yancy shares his deeply personal journey from climbing his first mountain of professional success in green construction and sustainability to a life altering collapse that landed him in the ICU.

What followed was a long and very human transition shaped by burnout and risk, with repeated invitations to slow down and listen. That process ultimately led Yancy to reconnect with his purpose and to found a retreat center rooted in presence, vitality, and a more sustainable way of leading.

✨ Key Themes in This Conversation

• Why purpose alone isn’t enough when work is fueled by stress and pressure
• Burnout as a signal, not a failure, and why high functioning doesn’t mean healthy
• The unconscious commitment to struggle that keeps many leaders stuck
• Nature as a powerful teacher for presence, intuition, and leadership

Learn More About Yancy

• Casa Alternativa Retreat Center Website
• Amplify your Leadership Book
• Yancy Wright on Linkedin

What happens when you discover that moving from personal ambition to unconditional love becomes the key that opens the door to your greatest growth, in business and in life?

In this episode of The Next Mountain Podcast, Jordi Ricard of CURATED Vintage Supercars opens up about his journey from chasing money to building a life grounded in authenticity, generosity, and purpose. He talks honestly about the struggles he faced early in his career, the moments that cracked him open, and the mentors who believed in him before he fully believed in himself.

We explore the shift from transactional thinking to unconditional giving, why connecting with your heart changes the way you lead, and how bringing humanity into business builds cultures where people can thrive. Jordi also shares what inspired him to write a book, and how sharing stories can help others reconnect with meaning and happiness.

✨ Key Themes in This Conversation

• Moving from money driven ambition to heart centered purpose
• The power of unconditional giving and paying it forward
• Mentorship, belief, and the courage to receive support
• Bringing humanity and authenticity into business
• The connection between inner growth, generosity, and happiness

What shapes a founder beyond the metrics, the milestones, and the story on paper?

In this episode of The Next Mountain Podcast, Dao Jensen opens up about her journey from arriving in the United States as a Vietnamese immigrant to becoming a successful tech entrepreneur and CEO. She talks about the challenges she faced, the mentors who changed her trajectory, and the personal loss that forced her to rethink what success really means.

We explore what it looks like to build a career that aligns with your values, how vulnerability can deepen relationships, and why community, food, and shared experiences create the strongest foundations for support. Dao also reflects on her future aspirations and the impact she hopes to make through her speaking work and new projects.

✨ Key Themes in This Conversation

• Resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity
• The role of mentorship in shaping career paths
• How personal loss can reshape purpose and priorities
• Aligning work with personal values and cultural fit
• Community, connection, and the courage to be vulnerable

Learn More About Dao

• Linkedin
• Six Sisters Website

Duncan Grossart shares his shift from a successful career as a photography agency owner to a purpose-driven life focused on rewilding, nature conservation and community. We talk about curiosity, the emotional side of transition, and how reconnecting with nature can reshape purpose and impact. His journey shows how following your heart and engaging with the living world can lead to deeper fulfillment.

• Curiosity as a guide for personal and professional transition
• Rewilding and restoration as meaningful pathways to impact
• Nature as a catalyst for perspective, connection, and identity
• Community and collaboration as the foundation for lasting change
• Redefining success through long term environmental stewardship

Website: https://www.journeyswithpurpose.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncangrossart

Anastasia Mourogova Millin shares her path from science and finance to building solutions that blend systemic investing, community stewardship, and real social impact. We talk about trusting your values, leaving old identities behind, and creating financial models that help both people and nature thrive. Her journey shows how bold choices and collective action can reshape the systems we all rely on 🌿.

After leading global ventures and impact funds, Florian Kemmerich began questioning how success could serve something larger. In this episode, he shares his journey from corporate achievement to a life centered on impact investing, purpose, and personal growth, exploring how vocation, authenticity, and reflection can turn experience into meaningful contribution.

🌐 To Learn More About Florian

• New book: On Vocation: How to Align Your Purpose with Your Profession
• Florian on X (Twitter): https://x.com/flokemmerich
• Florian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/floriankemmerich
  
  

What happens when a lifelong entrepreneur realizes that success isn’t just about growth, but regeneration?

In this episode of The Next Mountain Podcast, Marie France Montpetit shares her journey from building multiple ventures to becoming a catalyst for meaningful change. She reflects on how following intuition, embracing failure, and building community can transform both business and life.

We explore how entrepreneurship can become a force for good and how aligning purpose with participation leads to collective impact.

• The power of intuition in entrepreneurship
• Turning business into a regenerative force
• Building community for personal and collective growth
• Learning from failure and navigating transition
• Creating a life-sustaining culture
• Coaching as a path toward conscious leadership
• Why collective impact matters more than individual success

Yvon Chouinard – Let My People Go Surfing
A seminal work on values-driven entrepreneurship and the founding philosophy behind Patagonia — where business and environmental stewardship meet.

What happens when a fast-rising corporate leader realizes that success needs a deeper meaning?

In the first episode of The Next Mountain Podcast, Nathalia Del Moral Fleury shares her journey from a rapid rise leading a global cosmetics brand to redefining success as a coach and regenerative economist.

We explore how she reframed leadership, redefined achievement, and found purpose in contributing to the renewal of systems that sustain life.

Full References & Resources

• Donella Meadows – Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
  📄 Read the original paper (PDF)
• Tomas Björkman & Lene Andersen – The Nordic Secret (personal development & social evolution / Bildung)
  📘 Book on Amazon
• Robert Sapolsky – Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (emergence, behavior, complexity)
  📘 Book on Amazon
• Iain McGilchrist – The Master and His Emissary (divided brain, culture, and meaning)
  📘 Book on Amazon
• Martha Beck – Finding Your Own North Star (authenticity, truth, and life purpose)
  📘 Book on Amazon
• Frédéric Laloux – Reinventing Organizations (complex adaptive systems & self-management)
  📘 Book on Amazon
• Michelle Holliday – The Age of Thrivability (living systems principles & regenerative organizations)
  🌐 Author website
• Zita Cobb – Founder of Shorefast / Fogo Island model
  🎧 What the Fogo Island Inn Can Teach Us – CBC’s The Current
  📚 Wikipedia: Zita Cobb
• Dark Matter Labs & Shorefast – Regenerative, place-based economy models
  📄 A Possible Future for Canada: Capitalizing Places for Resilience and Regeneration (Report)
  🌐 Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies