What's on Your Bookshelf?

This week we’re in Chapter 4: The Research — the “proof” chapter of Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess.

We talk about what Dr. Leaf actually measured in her studies — from autonomy + awareness to anxiety/depression scales, brain activity, and even physical health markers — and why the data matters.

Big takeaway: awareness without tools can spiral… but awareness with a process becomes empowerment.And no, you don’t get away with not dealing with your stuff — eventually your mind, brain, and body collect the bill.

Next week we shift from the “what” to the “how” — and get closer to the five-step cycle.

🎧 Listen now.

📖 Buy the book and come along on the adventure with us.

We’re so excited you’re here and would love to hear from you.

How to reach us:

Denise: LinkedIn | Substack | School of Thoughts LinkedIn Sam: LinkedIn | Substack | LeadtheGame’s Career Locker Room | Website

Subscribe and Review on Apple and Spotify.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

This week, we’re in Chapter 3 of Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess — the chapter where things get real.

We talk about:

* Why anxiety, burnout, and irritability are warning signals, not personal failures

* How mind management isn’t “woo” — it shows up in your body, brain, and biology

* The difference between changing your situation vs. changing your relationship to it

* Why real habit change isn’t 21 days — and what actually makes it stick

* How self-leadership today shapes your future — and the people who come after you

This episode is heavy — but hopeful.It’s the moment the book stops circling the problem and starts pointing toward a process.

🎧 Listen now, and get ready — next week we go deeper into the research.

📖 Buy the book and come along on the adventure with us.

We’re so excited you’re here and would love to hear from you.

How to reach us:

Denise: LinkedIn | Substack | School of Thoughts LinkedIn Sam: LinkedIn | Substack | LeadtheGame’s Career Locker Room | Website

Subscribe and Review on Apple and Spotify.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

We dig into Chapter Two of Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf and explain why mind management is the lever for change. We separate mind from brain, outline a five-step neurocycle, and share practical ways to catch and edit thoughts.• the urgency behind mind management and lifestyle trends• difference between mind and brain and why it matters• thoughts as precursors to actions and results• how to catch and edit toxic thought patterns• neuroplasticity and rewiring automatic responses• five-step neurocycle: gather, reflect, write, recheck, active reach• the 63-day habit timeline and realistic expectations• using emotions as guideposts for change• applying tools across work and life without silosWe are giving no strings attached, absolutely free, an Agile Brain exercise and assessment that helps you look at your subconscious thinking

We’re so excited you’re here and would love to hear from you.

How to reach us:

Denise: LinkedIn | Substack | School of Thoughts LinkedIn Sam: LinkedIn | Substack | LeadtheGame’s Career Locker Room | Website

Subscribe and Review on Apple and Spotify.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

We kick off a new year and series with Dr. Caroline Leaf’s Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, linking emotional warning signals to health, performance, and leadership. We share why mind management beats quick fixes and how small, steady practices rewire thought patterns for real change.• five-step mind management as a response to stress signals• the difference between mind and brain and why it matters• how toxic thinking drives inflammation and disease risk• turning emotion into data, not directives• from information overload to deep, applied learning• self-leadership practices that improve team outcomes• practical pacing for reading, reflection and habit change

We’re so excited you’re here and would love to hear from you.

How to reach us:

Denise: LinkedIn | Substack | School of Thoughts LinkedIn Sam: LinkedIn | Substack | LeadtheGame’s Career Locker Room | Website

Subscribe and Review on Apple and Spotify.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Welcome to What’s on Your Bookshelf a life and leadership podcast where we’re living out loud the pages of the books that are on our shelves.

In this episode, we map out a year to declutter life and leadership, moving from neuroscience-backed habit change to practical workplace cleanup, stronger boundaries, and a disciplined pursuit of less. Four books guide the path: Dr. Caroline Leaf, Marie Kondo at work, Mel Robbins, and Greg McKeown.• theme of the year set as decluttering life across mind, work, relationships, priorities• recap of past arcs from happiness to facing obstacles• why we start with neuroscience and long-term habit formation• introduction to Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess and the five-step approach• workplace clutter, meeting hygiene, email and file systems• relationships, boundaries and the Let Them mindset• essentialism as the filter for fewer, better commitments• invitations for coaching, cohorts and deeper book clubs

We’re so excited that you’re here and can’t wait to explore this year with you.

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” on Apple and Spotify.

Connect to Denise.Connect to Sam.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

We close the year with The Four Agreements’ final chapter and explore how a “new dream” becomes real through imagination, love, and steady action. From Bob Ross to Figment to mountain summits, we turn mistakes into material and choices into change.

• the new dream as practical freedom
• Bob Ross as a model for reframing error
• choosing heaven or hell in daily practice
• imagination prompts turned into actions
• love as a method and self-respect
• identifying and starving the parasite
• opening the door out of comfortable pain
• consistency, tiny habits, and resilience
• reading widely to expand empathy
• reflections on the season and what’s next

If you have enjoyed this series, please, we’re asking you to not only comment and and like and let us know, but share it with other people that could get value from this as well

Support the show

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast "What's On Your Bookshelf?" on Apple and Spotify.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel.

We close out the year by applying The Four Agreements to real life, focusing on how to break old agreements and act like a warrior who refrains rather than represses. The theme is simple: awareness first, action next, approach goals over avoidance, and integrity in the small steps that build freedom.

• recap of the four agreements and the year’s reading arc
• breaking old agreements to create new ones
• emotional mastery through refraining rather than repressing
• energy management and avoiding rumination
• self-care as operational readiness not selfishness
• mastery of awareness, transformation and intent
• parenting and modeling change across generations
• approach goals that focus on gains not losses
• tools for surfacing subconscious emotions
• doing over knowing and stepping onto the path

If you want a complimentary Agile Brain exercise to raise emotional awareness, message us and we’ll send it to you

Support the show

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast "What's On Your Bookshelf?" on Apple and Spotify.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel.

We explore the Fourth Agreement—always do your best—and how it unlocks the other three. Through stories on careers, caregiving, and community, we trade perfectionism for presence and turn insight into action.

• how doing your best changes across seasons
• linking the four agreements through daily practice
• atomic habits and identity-based change
• the meditation parable on joy versus overwork
• detaching from rewards to find meaning
• action over theory in relationships and work
• setting honest boundaries for real presence
• rebuilding connection amid loneliness
• repetition as the path to lasting habits
• practical ways to read, reflect and apply

If you really love our podcasts and you want to support us just to help us like keep the platform running, like we actually have a link for that, but that'll be in the show notes

Support the show

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast "What's On Your Bookshelf?" on Apple and Spotify.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel.

We explore the Third Agreement—don’t make assumptions—through real stories at work and home, and connect it to impeccable words and not taking things personally. Curiosity, clear communication, and coaching emerge as tools to replace guesswork with truth and recover agency.

• the trap of adding meanings that were never said
• how merit myths distort hiring and rejection
• assuming positive intent to lower threat and listen
• practical questions that replace stories with facts
• coaching as a way to test beliefs and act wisely
• linking all four agreements to self-leadership

We’d love to hear how you’re applying The Four Agreements. Find us on LinkedIn and tell us what changed for you

Support the show

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast "What's On Your Bookshelf?" on Apple and Spotify.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel.

We explore the second agreement from The Four Agreements and show how not taking things personally creates real freedom. Personal stories, practical tools, and a clear path to separate identity from other people’s words and your own inner critic

• Why “not taking it personally” breaks hidden agreements
• Words as spells that bind or free
• The cost of praise and criticism when you cling to either
• Childhood labels shaping adult identity
• Reframing feedback as data not destiny
• Choice over suffering through clear, kind requests
• Building an inner citadel and observing thoughts
• Identity as cyclical and transitional
• A coaching tool: the inner board of directors
• A daily post-it practice to anchor the agreement

Zach will have in the show notes ways for you to get access to the book, as well as for you to communicate directly with us because it always helps us to hear as well. How are you living out loud these things that we’re sharing with you that we are?

Support the show

Connect with us on our LinkedIn page School of Thoughts . We also value your reviews, subscribing, and sharing our podcast "What's On Your Bookshelf?" on Apple and Spotify.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel.