You Don’t Have To—You Choose To: Reclaiming Agency in Everyday LifeWhat You’ll Learn:• How to shift from feeling obligated to feeling empowered• Why most “have to’s” are actually choices—and how to spot them• Practical steps to reclaim ownership over your daily actions• Real-life stories about responsibility, frustration, and freedom• A simple exercise to transform your relationship with obligationsEveryday life can feel like a never-ending list of things you “have to” do—work, bills, family commitments, chores and everything else life throws at us. But what if most of those obligations are actually choices? In this episode, I break down a lesson I learned as a teenager that changed how I see responsibility. You’ll hear honest stories, practical examples, and a straightforward exercise to help you move from feeling stuck and frustrated to living with more intention and control. This isn’t about blame—it’s about recognizing your power, even when life feels overwhelming.Real change starts when you own your choices. The next time you catch yourself thinking “I have to,” pause and ask, “Why am I choosing to do this?” That simple shift can change everything.Subscribe for more practical tools and honest conversations about growth, clarity, and momentum.

If the same problem keeps showing up in your life, it might not be “everyone else.” It might be you—and that’s actually good news.

What you’ll learn in this video:

• How to spot repeating patterns in your relationships, work, and habits.
  
• Why blaming others keeps you stuck, even when you feel justified.
  
• The “common denominator” idea and how to use it without self-hate.
  
• What radical responsibility looks like in real life.
  
• A simple thought experiment to uncover your role and change the pattern.
  

I share a story about someone who was always complaining about bad drivers—until I saw how they actually drove. That moment connects to something bigger: when the same friction keeps happening around you, it’s worth checking the mirror before you check the window. This isn’t about beating yourself up or letting other people off the hook. It’s about finding the one place you have real control—your choices—and using that to finally change what keeps derailing you.

Real progress starts the day you stop waiting on other people to fix your life.

Subscribe for more practical tools and honest conversations about growth, clarity, and momentum.

Do your emotions ever keep you from doing what matters? In this episode, I break down why so many of us feel stuck when our feelings run the show—and how you can start taking action even when your emotions are loud.What you’ll learn:• Why being ruled by emotions keeps you from your goals • The difference between acknowledging feelings and letting them make your decisions • How to develop a healthier, more balanced relationship with your emotions • Practical steps for moving forward—even when you feel anxious, unmotivated, or down • Real examples from my own life and coaching practiceIf you’ve ever felt like your emotions are in charge, this video is for you. Try the practical tips, share your experience in the comments, and let’s support each other in building a life that isn’t limited by how we feel in the moment.Subscribe for more honest, practical tools for growth and resilience.

Comparison steals your focus—unless you’re comparing the right thing. This video breaks down why comparing yourself to other people keeps you stuck, and how comparing yourself to your best self puts you back in control.What you’ll learn:• Why “don’t compare yourself” is incomplete advice• The healthiest standard for self-assessment: you at your best• How to spot habits that quietly block your energy and momentum• A practical way to measure real progress (without the shame spiral)• How to respond to circumstances you can’t control without losing yourselfI share a conversation I had with the CEO of a large nonprofit—and how it exposed a trap I’ve fallen into too: doing “as much as everyone else” while ignoring the cost. When I started comparing my current self to the version of me that’s rested, healthy, and intentional, everything got easier. More clarity. More output. Less friction. That shift changed how I work, how I take care of myself, and how I think about growth.Real progress isn’t competing with someone else’s life. It’s removing what keeps you from being your best self—one choice at a time.Subscribe for more practical tools and honest conversations about growth, clarity, and momentum.

Mindfulness has been sold to us as a magic bullet. Do this one practice, download this one app, and your anxiety, sadness, and stress will disappear. That’s not how it works—and it’s not what I’m talking about here.In this video, I walk through what mindfulness actually is as a deep, life-changing practice, not a quick fix. We start with a simple exercise: noticing what it’s like to be you, right where you are. From there, I talk about how the mind constantly judges, labels, and comments on everything, and how that creates a lot of unnecessary suffering.You’ll learn:• A clear, simple definition of mindfulness • Why “non-judgmental awareness” and “friendly curiosity” matter • How mindfulness helps with anxiety, depression, and hard seasons of life • What it looks like to stay present when your mind is yelling at you• How mindfulness changed my relationship with addiction, relationships, and stress • Why mindfulness is not about becoming passive or accepting everythingI also share real examples from my own life: running in the cold and dark, dealing with health issues and depression, navigating other people’s stress, and even the anxiety that comes from YouTube comments. Throughout, I come back to one core idea: mindfulness doesn’t erase difficulty, but it radically changes your relationship to it.If you’re tired of shallow mindfulness tips and want a grounded, realistic way to practice in daily life, this is for you.If you find this helpful, you might also like:• My episode on meditation and training your attention • Guided mindfulness practices and meditations on this channelSubscribe if you want more calm, clear, practical content on mindfulness, meditation, and living with intention.

A setback doesn’t erase your progress. This video is about the mindset shift that makes goals, habits, and recovery sustainable—when you mess up, you don’t go back to zero. You start again from where you are.

What you’ll learn:

• Why “starting over” is a mentally brutal (and usually false) story
• How perfectionism turns one slip into a full collapse
• What you keep even after a relapse, missed workout, or broken streak
• A simple way to restart immediately without shame or spiraling
• How failure can become useful feedback instead of a verdict

I talk about how the “back to day one” idea hit me growing up around 12-step language—and how it created a hopeless loop: do well for a while, slip up, then stay down because it felt like everything was ruined. The problem isn’t taking relapse seriously. The problem is believing that one mistake cancels the work you’ve already done.

Because it doesn’t. You still learned your triggers. You still built some habits. You still got a real glimpse of a different life. That counts. And when you treat it that way, you stop wasting time at the bottom of the hill and you climb again faster.

Real progress is built by restarting quickly, not by never failing.

Subscribe for more practical tools and honest conversations about growth, clarity, and momentum.

Most of us breathe all day without ever really noticing a single breath.

Learning to pay attention to just one changes everything.In this episode, I walk through what meditation actually is, why it changed my life, and how you can start with something as simple as following a single breath. No incense, no beach photos, no magic bullet—just a practical way to teach your mind to stay in one place.What you’ll learn:•Why learning to meditate became one of the most pivotal changes in my life •How a single breath can become your whole focus (and why that matters) •The real goal of meditation (hint: it’s not “clearing your mind”) •What to do when you get distracted—without judgment or criticism •How meditation helps with addiction, overthinking, and everyday stress •A simple way to start a daily practice in just five minutesI came into meditation from a pretty rough place—fresh out of jail, addicted, and making life hard for myself and everyone around me. Over time, meditation helped me recognize my mind, focus it, and stop letting it run my life. It’s not instant peace and it’s not easy, but it is simple and it is worth it.Try this:Set a timer for five minutes. Follow one breath from the moment it hits your nose until the moment it leaves. When (not if) you get distracted, just notice it and come back to the breath. No drama, no judgment.Guided Meditation: https://youtu.be/rJYwcwS1_oI If you give this a shot, let me know how it went in the comments. If you’d like a deeper dive or a new guided version, tell me what would be most helpful and I can build more around it. Subscribe for more on meditation, mindfulness, and building a life that’s actually workable in the real world.

New year goals matter.Your reference point matters more.What you’ll learn• Why looking forward all the time makes you forget your progress.• How comparison steals perspective, even when your life is working.• A simple way to measure against your past self, not an ideal you have not reached.• How to review the last year with honesty and grace.• How to set goals for 2026 without turning self-criticism into fuel.Most people start January with plans and pressure.In this episode, I talk about why you need to look back before you look forward. I share a story from my own life, including the version of me that showed up in West Texas after jail and a wreck, and why I still need to remember that starting point. Then I give you a quick progress review you can use this week to anchor yourself in what you’ve built, the skills you’ve earned, and the ground you’ve covered.You can chase growth without hating yourself.Subscribe for more practical tools and honest conversations about growth, clarity, and momentum.Keywordsnew year goals, goal setting, progress review, the gap and the gain, self criticism, comparison, negativity bias, hedonic treadmill, perspective, gratitude, resilience, personal growth, executive coaching

Your mind isn't giving you reality—it's filtering, twisting, and often working against you.In this episode, I break down why your thoughts aren't actually "you" and how your mind operates more like a rogue AI that creates problems instead of solving them. If you've ever felt like you can't shut your brain off, or your thoughts make everything harder than it needs to be, this is for you.What you'll learn:• Why you are not your thoughts (and what that actually means)• How your mind tints reality and creates unnecessary suffering• The simple practice of observing your thoughts without judgment• Why questioning your thoughts changes everything• How to recognize when your mind is stirring up troubleI spent over a decade as a therapist and years teaching meditation. One of the most shocking realizations people have is that their thoughts aren't them—and they don't even really "think" their thoughts. Once you understand this, you can stop giving your mind a free pass to run your life.This is the first in a trilogy on understanding your mind. Next, we'll dive into meditation and mindfulness as tools to observe and work with your thoughts.Start this week: Notice what your mind is telling you. No judgment, no criticism—just observe. That simple act changes your relationship with everything.If this resonates, let me know in the comments. And if you want to go deeper, stick around for the next two episodes. Subscribe for more on meditation, mindfulness, and building a life that actually works.

Treating your opinions like facts keeps you stuck, fuels unnecessary conflict, and makes it impossible to grow. In this episode, I explain why being too attached to your opinions is dangerous - and how to hold your views more loosely.What you'll learn: • Why tying opinions to your identity makes every disagreement feel like a personal attack • How to tell when you're too attached to your beliefs (hint: watch how you react to criticism) • Why being "right" all the time actually prevents you from learning anything new • How opinion-as-fact thinking turns normal conversations into arguments you can't win • Why people who can't adapt their views get left behind and become bitter • The difference between core principles and opinions you should hold loosely • How to challenge your own beliefs without losing yourself in the processWe see this everywhere - sports fans who get angry when you criticize their team, political tribes where disagreement feels like betrayal, fandoms that can't handle different perspectives. When you make your opinions part of who you are, you can't change, adapt, or grow. You just get defensive and stuck.Reality doesn't bend to our opinions. Our opinions have to bend to reality. The people who refuse to do that become angry and rigid. The people who stay curious and challenge their own beliefs keep growing.I've had terrible opinions my whole life - as a kid, in my 20s, in my 30s. Some of my opinions will end up being wrong too, so I'm not tying my identity to them. Learn to separate what you believe from who you are. Stay curious. Let reality win.Subscribe for more practical advice on clarity, growth, and getting unstuck.#opinions #criticalthinking #personalgrowth #openmindedness #selfawareness #identity #growthmindset #conflictresolution #adaptability #mentalhealth #changeyourmind #stuckinthepast #rigidthinking #personaldevelopment #philosophy