Tag: Dr. Gary Sanchez

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Why Darius Mirshahzadeh Walked Away From His Dream Company

Guest: Darius Mirshahzadeh
WHY.os: Better Way – Simplify – Trust

Darius Mirshahzadeh has spent his career building companies, leading teams, and helping entrepreneurs scale with purpose. As a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, investor, and Executive Managing Partner at MOTHER, he has led organizations worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But despite his success, he eventually discovered that achievement alone was not enough. This conversation reveals what happened when the life he built no longer matched who he wanted to become.

This episode matters because Darius lives the WHY of Better Way. People with this WHY naturally question existing systems and look for more useful solutions. Through his HOW of Simplify, Darius removes unnecessary complexity so people can move forward. Through his WHAT of Trust, he creates relationships where people feel supported, valued, and confident enough to build something meaningful together.

You’ll learn:

  • Why simplifying complex problems can lead to major breakthroughs in business and life.
  • How Darius rebuilt his life after realizing success was not creating fulfillment.
  • How the Better Way WHY appears through constant improvement, simple systems, and trustworthy leadership.

If you have ever wondered whether there is a better way to build a business, lead people, or create a meaningful life, this episode is filled with honest lessons you can use. Listen to hear how Darius discovered that success without alignment is not really success.

Get in touch with Darius:

Watch the Full Episode Here!

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Timestamp Chapters

00:58 – Understanding the WHY of Better Way
03:58 – Darius Learns His WHY.os
06:35 – Growing Up as a Leader and Competitor
12:13 – College, Wrestling, and Seeing the World
15:30 – How Darius Landed a White House Internship
20:56 – Learning to Succeed by Refusing to Quit
30:02 – Building a Company With 1,000 Employees
35:11 – The Moment Darius Knew He Had to Leave
39:17 – The Game of Success Versus Real Life
46:58 – Rebuilding His Life From the Inside
57:37 – Moving From Advising Into Private Equity
01:02:16 – The Best Advice Darius Has Received

Listen to the Episode Here!

{EPISODE_LINK}

How Finding a Better Way Changed Darius Mirshahzadeh’s Life and Leadership

Success can look perfect from the outside while feeling completely different on the inside. Darius Mirshahzadeh knows that better than most. After building and leading one of the fastest-growing mortgage companies in America, earning national recognition as one of Glassdoor’s top CEOs, and creating significant financial success, he reached a point where something no longer felt right.

On this episode of Beyond Your WHY, Dr. Gary Sanchez discusses Darius’ WHY.os: Better Way – Simplify – Trust. A person’s WHY is the deeper motivation behind how they naturally think and act. Their WHY.os adds HOW they bring that motivation to life and WHAT others can consistently count on them to deliver. Throughout Darius’ story, these three patterns appear again and again.

Building Better, Not Just Bigger

Long before leading large organizations, Darius was already looking for ways to improve everything around him. Whether he was wrestling, serving as class president, or starting businesses while still in college, he naturally searched for smarter systems instead of simply accepting what already existed.

That mindset followed him into entrepreneurship. Rather than becoming passionate about mortgages themselves, Darius became interested in building organizations. His real focus was creating stronger cultures, developing leaders, and helping companies perform better.

“I didn’t care about mortgages. That was the widget. I wanted to build leaders.”

That statement reflects his Better Way WHY. The business was the vehicle, but improving people, leadership, and company culture became the work that gave him energy.

Why Simplicity Creates Scale

One of the strongest themes in the conversation is Darius’ belief that complexity can stop growth. He shares how Apple’s design philosophy changed the way he thought about innovation. The company took incredibly complex technology and made it simple enough for almost anyone to use.

This is where his HOW of Simplify becomes clear. Darius naturally looks for ways to remove steps, reduce confusion, and make an outcome easier to understand. He applies this thinking to products, leadership, company culture, investing, and personal growth.

“People buy simplicity. People buy outcomes that they understand.”

For Darius, simple does not mean basic or shallow. It means taking something complex and making it useful. When people understand a process, they are more likely to trust it, use it, and move forward with it.

When Success Stops Feeling Like Success

Darius eventually helped build a company with around 1,000 employees. He was highly rated as a CEO and had achieved the kind of business success many entrepreneurs chase for decades. But the mortgage industry was cyclical, and its repeated highs and lows came with a heavy personal cost.

When interest rates changed, Darius sometimes had to reduce the team. He went through several rounds of layoffs and watched people he cared about lose their jobs. His company said that people mattered, but the business model repeatedly forced him into decisions that felt out of alignment with that belief.

After another difficult round of layoffs, Darius sat alone in his car. Without planning to say it, the words came out: “I’m quitting.” He gave himself one year to decide whether leaving was truly the right move. Eleven months later, he stepped down.

For someone with a Better Way WHY and a WHAT of Trust, the decision makes sense. Darius could no longer ignore the gap between the values he wanted to live and the outcomes the business required. He needed a better way to build, lead, and serve.

The Game Versus Real Life

One of the strongest moments in the episode comes when Darius explains the difference between “the game” and real life. The game includes titles, recognition, money, awards, status, and public success. Those things can be enjoyable, but they are not what matters most to him now.

“The game is title and business and ego and accolades. Real life is relationships.”

Real life, in his view, is built through family, close friendships, love, trust, and the people who know him beyond his public accomplishments. When his identity was tied to the game, he constantly compared himself to other entrepreneurs and punished himself for every decision that did not appear perfect.

His WHAT of Trust appears strongly in this part of the story. Trust is not only something Darius wants to create with others. It is something he has had to rebuild within himself. That required learning to value his relationships and character more than his title.

Rebuilding From the Inside

Leaving the company did not immediately solve everything. From the outside, Darius still appeared successful. Internally, he struggled with anxiety, comparison, regret, and harsh self-talk.

A major shift began after he listened to The Power of One More by Ed Mylett. One idea forced him to consider which emotions he was allowing to control his life. He realized fear, anger, envy, and pressure occupied far more space than joy, love, and connection.

He decided to try living differently for one day. He focused on giving one more hug, expressing one more kind thought, and being more present with his family. That day went so well that he tried it again the next day. Then he repeated it.

“I’ve white-knuckled the hell out of this thing called life.”

Darius began questioning whether force, pressure, and constant achievement were truly the best ways to live. His Better Way WHY turned inward. Instead of only improving companies and systems, he began looking for a better way to relate to himself.

Through meditation, awareness, and intentional changes in his thinking, his anxiety dropped significantly. He did not stop working hard or pursuing meaningful goals. He stopped believing that he had to punish himself to achieve them.

Learning the System Before Improving It

Darius does not believe Better Way thinking means changing everything simply to be different. When entering a new field, he first looks for the proven system. He talks with people who have already succeeded, studies the existing path, and learns how the pieces work together.

Only after he understands the system does he decide what should be improved. This approach has shaped his work in mortgage lending, consulting, private equity, and investing.

“If I don’t know the system, I have to learn the system. Until I learn the system, I can’t have an opinion on how to do it.”

This is an important distinction. Better Way is not random change. It is improvement with a purpose. Darius uses his HOW of Simplify to understand what matters, remove unnecessary steps, and create a path that people can follow and trust.

Building With Trust

Darius says trust has always been central to how he builds teams. He knows that one person cannot scale a company alone. Real growth requires people who trust one another enough to take ownership, share responsibility, and act without being controlled at every step.

His WHAT of Trust is what others can count on him to bring. He wants to be the person who keeps his word, stands beside entrepreneurs, and creates partnerships that are not based on short-term extraction.

That belief now shapes his work with MOTHER. His focus is on entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs and building companies with patience, care, and long-term thinking. It is another expression of his Better Way WHY: finding a more human approach to capital, leadership, and growth.

Advice for Building a Better Life

Darius closes the conversation by sharing three pieces of advice that have guided different stages of his life. First, be careful about accepting advice from people who have not accomplished what you are trying to do. Their fear or limited experience may shape what they tell you.

Second, he points to Winston Churchill’s reminder that success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Darius has lived that lesson. Whether he was wrestling, selling mortgages, building companies, or starting again, he expected difficulty and continued learning.

Finally, he shares a lesson from Carl Jung: until people make the unconscious conscious, it can control their lives while they call it fate. That idea now shapes how Darius thinks about personal awareness and living in alignment with his natural gifts.

Darius’ story shows what the WHY of Better Way can look like in real life. He improves systems, simplifies complexity, and builds relationships rooted in trust. More importantly, he has learned that the search for a better way sometimes requires changing the way a person defines success.

Listen to the full episode of Beyond Your WHY with Dr. Gary Sanchez to hear Darius Mirshahzadeh’s complete story and learn how his WHY.os has shaped his leadership, decisions, and life.

Meet the Guest

Darius Mirshahzadeh did not build his career in a boardroom. He built it in the trenches as a serial entrepreneur, operator, and leader who has lived every chapter of the entrepreneurial experience and gained the wisdom to know what actually matters.

As Executive Managing Partner of MOTHER, Darius brings the kind of credibility that cannot be faked. He was ranked #9 on Glassdoor’s Top CEOs in America and led TMS to become an Inc. 5000 company, ranking #40 in the country. He has raised $250 million to invest in and scale high-growth companies.

Darius is a graduate of the Stagen Integral Leadership Program and a Birthing of Giants alumnus at MIT. He is also the bestselling author of The Core Value Equation, a guide for building culture-centered organizations that scale with integrity.

He hosts The Greatness Machine, a top 100 podcast where he interviews accomplished people who are living their purpose. He also served as a TEDx curator at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

At MOTHER, Darius represents the firm’s belief that entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs changes everything. He believes patient capital with a genuine heart can outperform extraction and that strong businesses are built by people who care about their teams, partners, and legacy.

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How John Mackey, Co-Founder of Whole Foods Challenged the Way We Think About Business, Health, and Life

Guest: John Mackey
WHY.os: Better Way – Challenge – Contribute

John Mackey is the co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods Market, where he spent more than four decades growing a single natural foods store into one of the most influential grocery companies in the world. Along the way, he changed how millions of people think about food, business, and leadership. Today, he’s the co-founder and CEO of Love.Life, a company dedicated to helping people live healthier, happier, and longer lives.

This episode matters because John lives the WHY of Better Way. Throughout his life, he has been driven to improve whatever he touches—from the way we eat to the way businesses serve people. Through his HOW of Challenge, he questions assumptions that others simply accept. Through his WHAT of Contribute, he creates solutions that improve the lives of others.

You’ll learn:

  • Why constantly looking for a better way led John to build Whole Foods.
  • How one devastating flood inspired the principles behind Conscious Capitalism.
  • Why business should create value for everyone—not just shareholders.
  • How choosing growth over comfort has shaped every chapter of John’s life.

If you’ve ever believed there has to be a better way to live, lead, or build a business, this conversation will leave you inspired.

Watch the Full Episode Here!

Episode Highlights

00:00 – Meet John Mackey
04:18 – Growing up and searching for meaning
11:30 – The questions that shaped his life
18:00 – Starting Whole Foods with a different vision
28:00 – The flood that changed everything
39:00 – The birth of Conscious Capitalism
53:00 – Why business should serve all stakeholders
1:06:00 – Love.Life and John’s next mission
1:14:00 – Final advice for living with purpose

Listen to the Episode Here!

How John Mackey Found a Better Way to Build Business, Health, and a Meaningful Life

Some people build companies.

John Mackey built a movement.

Long before Whole Foods became one of the most recognizable grocery brands in America, John wasn’t studying business. He was studying philosophy, religion, psychology, literature, and asking questions most college students never ask.

“Why am I here?”
“What’s the purpose of life?”

That search eventually led him to discover something else. There had to be a better way.
A better way to eat.
A better way to run a business.
A better way to lead.
A better way to live.

That simple idea became the foundation for everything that followed.

Whole Foods Started With a Different Way of Thinking

When John moved into a vegetarian co-op in Austin, something changed. He realized food wasn’t simply fuel. It was nourishment.

That shift in perspective sparked a passion that eventually became Whole Foods Market.

Instead of opening another grocery store, John wanted to create a place where people could find healthier food and better information about living well.

The first version didn’t work. It was too limited. Too small. Too restrictive.

So he improved it.

He merged with another natural foods store, opened the first Whole Foods Market, and continued refining the concept year after year.

That perfectly reflects the WHY of Better Way.

People with this WHY are rarely satisfied with “good enough.”

They’re constantly asking:

“How can this work better?”
“How can we improve this?”
“What could make a bigger difference?”

The Flood That Changed His Leadership

One of the most powerful stories in the episode isn’t about business success. It’s about disaster.

Less than a year after opening the first Whole Foods Market, a massive flood filled the store with nearly nine feet of water.

The business was effectively wiped out. But something remarkable happened. Customers volunteered to help clean up. Employees stayed without pay until the store reopened. Suppliers extended credit. Investors contributed more capital. Even the bank found a way to help them survive. That experience forever changed how John viewed business.

He realized a successful company isn’t built around shareholders alone. It’s built around relationships.

Years later, that insight became the foundation of Conscious Capitalism—the belief that businesses create the greatest impact when they serve customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and the communities around them.

It wasn’t an idea born in a classroom. It was a lesson learned through adversity.

Success Was Never the Goal

Many entrepreneurs dream of selling their company. John never built Whole Foods with that goal in mind. His focus was always on creating something better.

Even after growing Whole Foods into a multibillion-dollar company and leading its acquisition by Amazon, he wasn’t finished. Instead of retiring, he launched Love.Life.

Why?

Because he believes our healthcare system can be better. Our nutrition can be better. Our lives can be better.

That’s what people with the WHY of Better Way naturally do. When one problem is solved, they begin looking for the next opportunity to improve something that matters.

Every Day Is Another Chance to Grow

One of the most personal moments in the conversation comes near the end.

John talks about learning to see people through the eyes of love instead of judgment.

He admits it’s something he still practices every day—even during competitive pickleball games.

When he catches himself becoming frustrated, he reminds himself that every new moment offers another opportunity to choose differently.

That philosophy reflects something deeper than optimism. It reflects continual growth. For John, improvement isn’t just about companies. It’s about becoming a better human being.

The Better Way in Action

Throughout the conversation, John’s WHY.os appears over and over again.

His WHY of Better Way drives him to improve systems, industries, and even himself.

His HOW of Challenge helps him question assumptions and refuse to accept that things have to stay the way they’ve always been.

His WHAT of Contribute ensures those improvements create value for other people.

Whether he’s talking about food, business, leadership, health, or personal growth, the goal is always the same:

Leave things better than he found them. That may be John’s greatest lesson. The biggest impact doesn’t come from accepting the world as it is. It comes from believing there’s a better way—and having the courage to build it.

If you’re ready to rethink business, leadership, health, and purpose, don’t miss this episode of Beyond Your WHY with Dr. Gary Sanchez.

Meet the Guest

John Mackey is the legendary entrepreneur who changed the way America eats. He is the co-founder and longtime CEO of Whole Foods Market, which he grew over 44 years from a single natural foods store in Austin, Texas into a 540-store, multibillion-dollar pioneer in organic and natural groceries, employing more than 100,000 team members across the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Under his leadership, Whole Foods helped mainstream healthy, sustainable food and was ultimately acquired by Amazon in a $13+ billion deal.

Beyond Whole Foods, John co-founded the Conscious Capitalism movement and co-authored the bestselling book Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. He’s also the author of Conscious Leadership and The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism.

Today, John is the co-founder and CEO of Love.Life, an ambitious health and wellness company that combines nourishing food, holistic medical care, and precision wellness therapies to help people live happier, healthier, and longer lives.

Get in Touch with John

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

Website: https://love.life/newsroom

 

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From Food Addiction to Fitness Expert with Joey Atlas

Guest: Joey Atlas
WHY.os: Better Way – Challenge – Make Sense

Joey Atlas is a body enhancement coach, fitness consultant, and educator who has spent decades helping people improve their health without extreme workouts or restrictive diets. After struggling with his own weight, food addiction, and life challenges, Joey discovered a different approach to fitness that prioritizes long-term health, joint safety, and sustainable results.

This episode matters because Joey lives the WHY of Better Way. He naturally questions conventional fitness advice and looks for smarter, more effective solutions. Through his HOW of Challenge and WHAT of Make Sense, he helps people break free from outdated fitness beliefs and find an approach that actually works for real life.

You’ll learn:

  • Why most people are using fitness and nutrition strategies that keep them stuck
  • How Joey overcame food addiction, weight gain, and major life challenges
  • How the Better Way WHY shows up in fitness by challenging old methods and creating solutions that make sense

Listen now:

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by diets, workouts, or fitness advice that never seems to work long-term, this episode will give you a fresh perspective. Listen now and discover a better way forward.

Get in touch with Joey:

Watch the Full Episode Here!

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction to the Better Way WHY
02:15 – Growing Up Around Fitness
05:16 – Being the “Fat Kid” and Food Dependency
07:43 – Marriage, Stress, and Weight Gain
12:45 – What Being Overweight Really Feels Like
15:00 – The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything
19:23 – Food Addiction and Learning Self-Control
22:30 – A Spiritual Awakening That Changed His Life
30:05 – Why Traditional Fitness Methods Fail Many People
43:09 – The Better Way to Lifelong Fitness

Listen to the Episode Here!

From Personal Struggle to Professional Purpose

What makes Joey’s message powerful is that he has lived both sides of the story. He grew up around fitness, studied exercise science, trained athletes, and built a career helping others improve their health. But he also knows what it feels like to struggle with food, gain weight, and feel completely stuck.

During difficult seasons involving marriage, parenting, business stress, and personal challenges, Joey found himself turning to food and alcohol for comfort. At one point, he was nearly forty pounds overweight and dealing with poor health markers, physical pain, and frustration.

Rather than hide those experiences, Joey uses them to better understand the people he serves.

“It put me in the shoes of my ideal clients and what they suffer from and what they battle.”

That experience transformed the way he coaches. Instead of focusing only on workouts and nutrition plans, Joey realized that mindset, emotional habits, and self-control often determine success long before any fitness program begins.

Health Before Appearance

Most people begin a fitness journey because they want to look different. They want to lose weight, fit into smaller clothes, or feel more confident in their own skin.

Joey understands those goals, but he believes they should not be the primary focus.

Instead, he teaches people to focus on the things they cannot see. Blood pressure. Metabolic health. Joint function. Energy. Strength. Longevity.

When those areas improve, appearance often improves naturally. This is where Joey’s WHAT of Make Sense becomes obvious. He takes a complicated topic and helps people focus on what actually moves the needle.

Rather than chasing quick fixes, Joey helps people build a lifestyle that supports long-term health and sustainable results.

A Better Way to Think About Fitness

One of the most powerful moments in the episode came when Joey challenged a belief that many people accept without questioning.

“Fitness is not supposed to hurt us and torture us. It’s supposed to help us and feel right.”

That statement perfectly captures his WHY of Better Way. Joey believes too many people have accepted pain, injury, and burnout as normal parts of getting healthy.

His HOW of Challenge drives him to question those assumptions. Instead of asking how people can work harder, he asks whether there is a smarter way to achieve the same outcome.

That mindset led him to develop training methods that rely less on punishment and more on sustainability. His goal is helping people improve their strength, mobility, energy, and health without destroying their joints in the process.

Be Kinder to Yourself

Near the end of the conversation, Gary asked Joey for the best advice he has ever received or given.

Joey’s answer had very little to do with fitness.

“Be kinder to yourself.”

He explained that many people become so focused on their flaws that they lose sight of their strengths. They spend their lives trying to fix what is wrong instead of building on what is already working.

For Joey, lasting change happens when people learn to appreciate their strengths, build confidence through small wins, and move forward from a place of self-respect rather than self-criticism.

Final Thought

Joey Atlas’s story is about much more than fitness.

It is about questioning assumptions, refusing to accept ineffective solutions, and having the courage to search for a better way.

His Better Way WHY shows up in every part of his life. Whether he is helping people overcome food addiction, avoid injury, improve their health, or rethink what fitness should look like as they age, Joey continues to challenge conventional thinking and offer solutions that simply make sense.

Listen to the full episode of Beyond Your WHY with Dr. Gary Sanchez to hear Joey’s complete story and discover how finding a better way can change far more than your fitness.

Meet the Guest

From former “fat kid” to top private fitness consultant and body enhancement coach, Joey Atlas has dedicated his life to helping people improve their health safely and sustainably.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. Introduced to fitness and healthy nutrition by his father at a young age, Joey has trained professional athletes in golf, football, tennis, and many other sports.

Today, he specializes in making physique improvement easy, enjoyable, safe, and sustainable through gentle training methods and proper nutrition, without the need for risky high-impact workouts, extreme diets, or unrealistic eating plans.

Get in Touch with Joey

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Why Most Quick Fixes Fail — And How Real Habit Change Wins in Health with Joey Muñoz

Guest: Joey Muñoz
WHY.os: Clarify – Make Sense – Mastery

Dr. Joey Muñoz is a nutrition scientist, fitness coach, and founder of Strong Standard Coaching. He helps busy professionals stop chasing quick fixes and start building sustainable habits that actually last. With a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and years of coaching experience, Joey focuses on helping people simplify health and fitness so they can create real long-term change.

This episode matters because Joey lives the WHY of Clarify. He naturally seeks to make complicated things easier to understand. Through his HOW of Make Sense and WHAT of Mastery, Joey helps people cut through confusion, understand how their body actually works, and build a healthier relationship with fitness that feels sustainable instead of overwhelming.

You’ll learn:

  • Why most diets and workout plans fail long term even when people stay motivated at first
  • How clarity and education help people finally build sustainable fitness habits
  • Why consistency matters more than finding the “perfect” health or nutrition plan

Listen now:

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting health advice or frustrated trying to stay consistent, this episode will help simplify the process and show you what actually matters long term.

Get in touch with Joey:

Watch the Full Episode Here!

Timestamps:

00:00 – Joey’s WHY of Clarify and making health easier to understand
02:18 – Growing up in a strict Cuban household
05:26 – Why Joey asked nonstop questions as a kid
10:13 – Leaving home and finding direction in college
13:49 – The difficult class that changed his future
20:12 – How fitness transformed Joey’s confidence
28:46 – Starting his online coaching business
35:32 – Joey’s 3-part coaching framework
55:31 – Thoughts on Ozempic and weight-loss medications
01:02:24 – The best advice Joey has ever received

Listen to the Episode Here!

Why Most Quick Fixes Fail — And How Real Habit Change Wins in Health with Joey Muñoz

The health and fitness industry is full of noise. One expert says carbs are the problem. Another says fasting is the answer. Every week there seems to be a new supplement, shortcut, or “perfect” workout plan promising fast results.

In this episode of Beyond Your WHY, Dr. Joey Muñoz joins Dr. Gary Sanchez to break down why so many people stay stuck in the cycle of starting over. Joey believes the real issue is not motivation. It is confusion.

Joey approaches health and fitness through the lens of his WHY.os: Clarify – Make Sense – Mastery. Your WHY is your core motivation, the reason you naturally think and operate the way you do. Your WHY.os adds HOW you naturally approach problems and WHAT you consistently bring, helping explain communication, decision-making, and leadership styles in real life.

Joey’s WHY is Clarify. That means he naturally wants things to be clear, understandable, and fully communicated. Throughout the episode, you can hear how deeply that shapes the way he teaches fitness, nutrition, and behavior change.

Why Most Fitness Plans Fail

One of the biggest themes in the episode is that most people focus too heavily on the actual diet or workout plan while ignoring the deeper behaviors required for long-term success.

Joey explained that people are often handed a strict plan but never taught how to understand their own habits, lifestyle, or relationship with food.

“Most people are given a fish, they’re given a plan, but they never learn to fish.”

That quote perfectly captures Joey’s Clarify mindset. He does not simply want people to follow instructions. He wants them to understand why they are doing what they are doing so they can sustain those habits long term.

His HOW of Make Sense also shows up strongly here. Joey naturally takes complex health information and breaks it down into practical, understandable systems that people can actually apply in real life.

How Fitness Built Confidence Beyond the Gym

Joey also opened up about his personal journey growing up. Although fitness became a major part of his life later on, he struggled heavily with confidence as a teenager. He talked about being overweight, feeling insecure, and getting made fun of in school.

What changed for him was not just physical transformation. It was what consistency taught him mentally.

“I think when you prove to yourself that you can do something difficult in one area of your life, it really builds that muscle in other areas of your life.”

That lesson became foundational for how Joey approaches coaching today. He believes health and fitness should enrich someone’s life, not consume it. The goal is not perfection. The goal is building habits, confidence, and self-trust that carry over into relationships, parenting, work, and everyday life.

Joey also shared how becoming a father changed the way he views health entirely. He wants to become the example his children grow up watching and believes many of his clients are ultimately motivated by the same thing.

The Problem With Quick Fix Culture

The conversation also explored modern health trends, including Ozempic and weight-loss medications. Joey gave a very balanced perspective on both the positives and negatives of these tools.

Rather than taking an extreme position, Joey explained that the bigger issue is how these products are often marketed as shortcuts instead of tools that still require lifestyle change and education.

He emphasized that long-term health still comes back to habits, body composition, consistency, strength training, sleep, and sustainable nutrition behaviors.

Joey repeatedly came back to the same message throughout the episode: quick fixes may create temporary results, but lasting change comes from learning how to build a lifestyle you can actually maintain.

Consistency Over Perfection

Near the end of the episode, Gary asked Joey for the best advice he has ever received.

Joey’s answer reflected both his WHY and his entire life story.

“Keep your head down, trust the process and stay consistent.”

Joey admitted he does not consider himself naturally gifted in most areas. What separates him, in his mind, is consistency. Whether it was fitness, graduate school, business, relationships, or social media, he believes showing up consistently matters far more than chasing perfection.

For anyone feeling overwhelmed by health advice or frustrated by starting over repeatedly, this episode offers a much more grounded perspective. Joey’s message is not about hacks or shortcuts. It is about clarity, education, habits, and building something sustainable enough to last.

Final Thought

Real health transformation rarely comes from the fastest solution.

It comes from understanding yourself, building sustainable habits, and staying consistent long enough to create lasting change.

Listen to the full episode to hear Dr. Joey Muñoz’s perspective on fitness, fatherhood, consistency, and why clarity changes everything.

Meet the Guest

Dr. Joey Muñoz is a nutrition scientist and Health & Fitness Coach. He earned his PhD in Nutritional Sciences and spent years figuring out how to actually apply that knowledge to help real people lose fat, build muscle, and stay consistent long-term.

He’s the founder of Strong Standard Coaching, where he and his team work with busy professionals who are done with quick fixes and ready to build something that lasts. He also hosts The Dr. Joey Munoz Show and has built a community of over 370,000 followers on Instagram.

Outside of work, Joey is a husband and dad and that’s honestly the biggest driver behind everything he does. He wants to be the example his kids look up to, and he believes that’s the same reason most of his clients show up every day too.

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Why Adam Bensman Walked Away at the Top

Guest: Adam Bensman
WHY.os: Challenge – Make Sense – Better Way

Adam Bensman is known as The Roof Strategist, but his story has very little to do with roofing and everything to do with refusing to accept systems that don’t make sense. From a non-traditional education path to door-to-door sales, to becoming COO of a multi-state company, Adam has repeatedly questioned the “normal” way things are done and chosen a harder but more honest path.

In this episode of Beyond Your WHY, Adam’s WHY of Challenge shows up in how he builds businesses, sets boundaries, and walks away from success when it no longer fits. His story is a clear example of what happens when someone is driven to challenge the status quo, make sense of broken systems, and create a better way forward for others.

  • Why high performers with the WHY of Challenge often struggle in school but thrive in real-world environments
  • How Adam’s WHY.os shaped his decision to leave burnout behind and rebuild his business from scratch
  • What it looks like to challenge an industry without becoming cynical or reckless

If you’ve ever felt boxed in by a system that “works” but doesn’t feel right, this episode will hit home. Listen to hear how Adam turned discomfort into clarity.

Get in touch with Adam:

Watch the Full Episode Here!

00:00 – Why the WHY of Challenge rejects the normal path
04:30 – Feeling out of place in traditional systems
09:40 – Choosing an unconventional education
16:30 – The first roofing sale and betting on himself
22:45 – Rising to COO and seeing broken systems clearly
28:05 – Burnout, health scares, and walking away
33:20 – Building The Roof Strategist by solving real problems
36:45 – Creating ethical boundaries in business
42:20 – Fear, risk, and self-trust
49:15 – The difference between struggling and successful leaders

Listen to the Episode Here!

Why Adam Bensman Challenges an Entire Industry to Do Business Differently

Adam Bensman’s story doesn’t follow a clean, predictable arc. It zigzags through unconventional schools, financial stress, intense burnout, and bold decisions most people only think about making. What ties it all together is his WHY of Challenge, a core drive to question systems that don’t make sense and refuse paths that feel misaligned.

The Beyond Your WHY podcast exists to show how people live their WHY in the real world. A WHY explains what drives someone at their core. A WHY.os goes further by adding HOW they naturally operate and WHAT they bring into the world. Adam’s WHY.os of Challenge – Make Sense – Better Way explains not just what he’s built, but why he’s repeatedly torn things down and rebuilt them differently.

When the System Doesn’t Fit

From an early age, Adam felt friction with traditional education. He didn’t struggle because he lacked ability. He struggled because the structure itself felt limiting. As he put it, “You can’t put me in a box.” That resistance wasn’t rebellion for attention. It was an early signal of his WHY pushing back against rigid systems.

Rather than forcing himself to comply, Adam found environments that allowed him to think differently. That pattern would repeat throughout his life. Each time a system stopped making sense, he questioned it. Each time it felt wrong, he looked for another way.

Betting on Himself Without a Safety Net

Adam’s entry into roofing wasn’t planned. It came from financial pressure and a willingness to try something uncomfortable. Door-to-door sales were brutal, but they rewarded effort and problem-solving more than credentials. That mattered to someone wired to challenge norms.

“I went from making $20,000 a year to six figures in eight months,” Adam shared. That jump wasn’t luck. It was the result of applying logic, questioning inefficiencies, and refusing to accept “that’s just how it works” as an answer.

Success, Burnout, and Walking Away

Rising to COO of a multi-state company looked like success from the outside. Inside, Adam was exhausted. Long drives, constant travel, and mounting pressure took a toll on his health. He eventually landed in the ICU before age 30. That moment forced a reckoning.

Sitting on his honeymoon, Adam realized the life he built didn’t match the life he wanted. He left without a perfect plan, trusting his ability to figure things out. “I had zero tolerance, and I left,” he said. That decision reflected the truest expression of his WHY.

Creating a Better Way Forward

What Adam built next wasn’t just a business. It was a response to what he saw going wrong in his industry. Training systems were being misused. People were being taken advantage of. Instead of turning away, Adam drew a line.

He rebuilt his company around ethics, accountability, and community. Membership became selective. Bad actors were removed. Growth was tied to values. This wasn’t about scaling faster. It was about doing it right.

The Power of Diagnosing the Right Problem

One of Adam’s clearest insights is that most people work hard on the wrong problems. “The difference between successful leaders and struggling ones is the ability to diagnose problems accurately,” he explained. Fixing low-impact issues feels productive but leads nowhere.

Leaders driven by Challenge don’t just work harder. They question whether the work matters at all. That mindset changes everything.

Adam Bensman’s story is proof that challenging the status quo isn’t reckless when it’s guided by clarity. His WHY.os shows how questioning broken systems, making sense of chaos, and building better solutions can create impact without burning everything down.

If you’ve ever felt like success came at the cost of yourself, this episode offers a different lens. Listen to hear how Adam redefined what “winning” looks like.

Meet Adam!

Adam Bensman, known as The Roof Strategist, is a roofing sales expert, best-selling author, and industry advocate. He hosts the #1 YouTube Channel and Podcast for sales and business development in the roofing industry. Adam is the author of The Roofing Sales Survival Guide: Beat the Odds, Overcome Yourself, and Win Big and the founder of the Roofing & Solar Reform Alliance (RSRA). His work focuses on helping leaders build profitable, future-proof companies the right way.

Categories
Podcast

The True Summit: Sean Swarner on Finding a Better Way When Life Says “No”

Guest: Sean Swarner
WHY.os: Better Way – Make Sense – Contribute

Sean Swarner is the kind of person who hears “this is impossible” and immediately starts building a plan. In this episode, he talks with Dr. Gary Sanchez about surviving two cancers as a teen, living through a year of brutal treatments, and still choosing goals that would scare most healthy people. The tension is real: how do you keep going when you have every reason to quit, and when even “success” can leave you feeling empty?

Through the lens of Better Way, Sean’s story is not just about endurance. Better Way is the drive to improve what exists, ask “what if there’s a smarter path,” and keep pushing until the approach matches the outcome. Sean uses that mindset to rethink limitations, build systems for progress, and turn personal pain into something that helps other people.

You’ll learn

  • How Sean used a simple mantra to stay steady when Everest felt bigger than his body could handle.
  • What “false summits” are, and why hitting a big goal can still feel empty if your values are not in it.
  • How Better Way thinking helps you find options when everyone else says “there aren’t any.”

If you’ve been chasing goals but still feel stuck, this one will hit. Listen for practical ways to build momentum when life is heavy.

Get in touch with Sean

Watch the Full Episode Here!

Timestamp chapters (top 10)

03:17 – Why “Better Way” and what it looks like in real life
06:20 – High school: cancer, fear, and a different kind of “normal”
09:18 – Two diagnoses: Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Askin’s sarcoma
15:55 – “One lung” and what radiation changed
16:59 – A year of treatments and the hospital memories that still hit
21:19 – The mirror moment: helping himself before helping others
23:25 – Why Everest: “the highest platform in the world to scream hope”
25:15 – Nine months to Everest and the Better Way sponsorship move
27:39 – Everest strategy, chemo parallels, and “The higher I go…”
42:25 – False summits vs true summits, and what he’s building now

Listen to the Episode Here!

The True Summit: Sean Swarner on Finding a Better Way When Life Says “No”

Sean Swarner is not a motivational quote on a poster. He is a real person who lived through the kind of pain most people can’t picture. In this episode of Beyond Your WHY, he sits down with Dr. Gary Sanchez to explain what it was like to face two cancers as a teenager, lose his sense of the future, and still choose a life that requires daily courage. The conversation lands in a surprising place: sometimes the hardest part is not surviving. It is figuring out what to do after you survive.

This episode is framed through Sean’s WHY.os: Better Way – Make Sense – Contribute. A “WHY” is the main reason someone does what they do. A WHY.os adds the HOW (their natural process) and the WHAT (what they bring to others), so you can predict how they decide, lead, and respond under pressure.

When high school is about survival

Most people remember high school for social drama and awkward moments. Sean remembers it as a fight to make it to tomorrow. He describes being on the shower floor while his hair fell out, and realizing he was not only fighting for himself, but for the future his family would have to live with if he died. That kind of pain changes what “problems” even mean. It also builds a different kind of focus, the kind that stops you from wasting your life on stuff that does not matter.

He talks about the raw details without trying to make them sound pretty. He had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, then Askin’s sarcoma, a rare diagnosis with almost no odds of survival. Treatments were extreme, and he explains that certain hospital smells can still pull him back into those memories. It is not a neat story. It is a real one, and that honesty matters because it shows what Better Way thinking is actually for: it is for the moments when you do not have the luxury of pretending.

Better Way in action: building a system for hope

After cancer, Sean hit a common problem that people do not talk about enough. When you spend years just trying to live, it is hard to imagine a future that is bigger than the next day. He describes pulling over during a drive to Florida and basically asking himself what he was doing with his life. That moment matters because it shows the Make Sense part of his WHY.os. He needed a logical framework for his life, not just momentum.

Then he chose a goal that made no sense on paper: Mount Everest. He says it plainly: “I wanted to use the top of Everest as the highest platform in the world to scream hope.” That line is Better Way in one sentence. It is not just “do something hard.” It is “use the hardest thing as a platform that helps other people.”

Sean also explains Everest in a way that sounds like project management, not hype. You shuttle gear up and down to acclimate. You build capacity, recover, then build again. He compares it to chemo, where your body takes a hit, then has to rebuild. And when he needed something simple to keep his mind steady, he repeated one line with every step: “The higher I go, the stronger I get.”

False summits and the true summit

Here’s where the conversation gets even more interesting. Sean admits that even after major wins, he felt hollow. He calls these moments “false summits,” the kind of goal that looks like it should satisfy you, but doesn’t. In real life, false summits sound like: “Once I get this title, then I’ll feel successful,” or “Once I buy that thing, then I’ll feel okay.” He’s not anti-goals. He’s anti-goals without values.

Sean defines a true summit as having “goals, values, and heart all pulling in the same direction.” That’s the Better Way lens again: not just bigger goals, but better alignment. It is also his Contribute showing up, because he keeps bringing it back to impact beyond himself. He wants people to stop chasing the thing that impresses others and start building a life that actually feels right when nobody is watching.

By the end of the episode, Sean is not trying to convince anyone to climb a mountain. He’s trying to help people stop letting fear, old stories, and other people’s limits pick their future. If you’ve been working hard but still feel like something’s off, this conversation gives you a cleaner way to think about progress: build capacity, align your values, and make your wins mean something. Listen to the full episode and pay attention to the places where you’ve been chasing a “false summit” without realizing it.

Meet Sean!

Sean Swarner’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary, and it’s not just about the mountains he’s climbed or the races he’s finished. He’s the only person in history to summit Everest, complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, finish the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, and run 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, all after surviving two terminal cancers, being given just 14 days to live, and living through a year-long coma with only one lung.

He’s been named one of the top 10 most inspirational people in history, alongside Winston Churchill, Bruce Lee, and Muhammad Ali, and has shared stages with Presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winners like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN leaders, and entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson.

What makes Sean’s story truly powerful isn’t the feats themselves. It’s the lessons he can share about turning impossible odds into action, overcoming obstacles, and building breakthroughs in life.

Categories
Podcast WHY WHY.os

Turn Down the Trauma Loop: How the Mind Replays Pain and How to Change It

Guest: Dr. Don Wood
WHY.os: Contribute – Challenge – Better Way

Dr. Don Wood is a neuroscientist, author, speaker, and Founder & CEO of Inspired Performance Institute. His work focuses on how trauma and disturbing events can keep running in the background and shape how someone thinks, feels, and performs.

In this episode, Dr. WHY talks with Don through the lens of Don’s WHY, Contribute. Don’s drive is to help people feel less stuck in their own mind so they can show up for life again. His HOW, Challenge, pushes against the idea that you have to live with intense emotional loops forever. His WHAT, Better Way, is his practical method for helping people reduce the intensity of the memories that keep pulling them back.

You’ll learn:

  • Why the mind can treat an old painful memory like it is happening right now.
  • A simple way Don describes reducing the “intensity” of a memory without pretending it never happened.
  • How Don’s Contribute WHY shows up as a clear goal: help people stop fighting the past so they can live forward.

Listen to this episode if you want a clearer understanding of why grief and trauma can hit so hard, and what it can look like to lower the emotional volume.

Get in touch with Don:

Watch the Full Episode Here!

00:01 – Why Don’s work matters right now
00:42 – The mind replays a painful moment like it is “now”
01:12 – “An emotion is a call for an action”
01:35 – High definition vs low definition memories
01:57 – How do you actually turn it down?
02:02 – The two-minute recall and process work
02:23 – When the mind stops reacting like it is happening now
02:35 – Moving from “last moments” to the full relationship
03:12 – “There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just a glitch.”
03:33 – Sadness can stay; the urgent panic can stop

Listen to the Episode Here!

Turn Down the Trauma Loop: How the Mind Replays Pain and How to Change It

Some episodes land different because they start with something real, not theory. Dr. Gary Sanchez opens this one by talking with his wife, Julie, about losing her mother and what it feels like after being there at the end. It is that specific kind of grief where your brain keeps replaying the hardest moment, even when you want it to stop.

That is where Dr. Don Wood steps in. Don is a neuroscientist, author, speaker, and the Founder & CEO of Inspired Performance Institute. His work focuses on how trauma and disturbing events can keep running in the background and shape how someone thinks, feels, and performs.

To make the conversation easier to follow, it helps to know one quick idea from WHY Institute. A person’s WHY is the deeper driver behind what they do. A WHY.os adds HOW they naturally do it and WHAT they tend to bring to others, which is why two people can care about the same goal but go after it in totally different ways.

Don’s WHY.os is Contribute – Challenge – Better Way. Through Contribute, his focus is service: he wants people to suffer less so they can show up for life again. Through Challenge, he pushes back on the idea that intense emotional loops are permanent. Through Better Way, he brings a method and a process, not just motivation.

When the mind treats “then” like “now”

Don explains something that makes a lot of people feel seen immediately. He says the subconscious operates in the present, so when someone replays a memory, part of the mind reacts as if the event is happening again. In Julie’s case, Don points to how the brain can keep returning to the moment of her mother’s death because it was stored with a lot of detail.

He puts it in plain language: “Your subconscious operates in the present. It thinks everything is now.” That is a pretty big reframe for anyone who has ever thought, “Why can’t I just move on?” The problem is not weakness. The problem is the brain doing what it thinks it is supposed to do.

Why emotions feel so intense

Don shares a second idea that explains the intensity. “Anytime you have an emotion, an emotion is a call for an action.” If the mind believes the painful moment is still happening, then the emotion can feel like an urgent demand to fix it, stop it, reverse it.

He even describes the mind’s internal message when the memory comes up: it is like the brain is trying to prevent what already happened. That is where people can spiral, and why grief can start to look like depression or shutdown over time, especially when the mind keeps fighting an outcome it cannot change.

A Better Way: lower the “definition,” lower the pull

Dr. Gary asks the practical question: how do you take a memory from “high definition” to “low definition”? Don’s answer is process-focused. He talks about recalling a short memory and using a series of steps to reduce the intensity, so the mind stops reacting like it is happening right now.

He also makes a point that matters to anyone worried this means “erasing” or “denying” the person they lost. That is not the goal. The goal is that sadness can remain, but the urgent panic can stop. After the intensity drops, people can think about the full relationship again, not just the hardest moment.

And he adds something that fits his Contribute WHY perfectly: “There’s nothing wrong with you… it’s just a glitch.” That is the tone of someone who is trying to help, not judge. If someone is dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, or addiction, it is still wise to seek professional support. This episode is education and perspective, not a replacement for medical or mental health care.

In the end, Don’s work comes through as a clear act of contribution: helping people stop wrestling with the past so they can show up for their life today. If you have ever felt like your brain is stuck on repeat, this conversation gives language for what is happening, and a grounded direction for what to do next.

Meet Dr. Don Wood!

Dr. Don Wood, PhD, author, speaker, Founder & CEO of the Inspired Performance Institute, and creator of the patented TIPP method focused on helping people resolve their trauma and get their lives to a place of high performance.

He has helped 1000’s of people live a better life and overcome the effects of stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and addiction with his neuroscience-backed program, TIPP.

TIPP program is designed to clear away the effects of disturbing or traumatic events, repurpose old thinking patterns and set the individual’s mind up for peak performance.

Dr. Wood is also author of two books, Emotional Concussions and You Must Be Out of your Mind and is releasing his newest book Don’t Mess With My DNA in near future.

Categories
Podcast

Discipline Equals Freedom: The Proven System Behind Lifelong Success

Guest: Barry Garapedian
WHY.os: Right Way – Better Way – Contribute

Barry Garapedian spent nearly 40 years at Morgan Stanley before launching MAG7 Consulting, where he now mentors teens and young adults on habits that build confidence, discipline, and success. He’s proof that hard work and structure still win in a world chasing shortcuts. In this episode, Barry and Dr. Gary Sanchez talk about what it really takes to do things the right way—and why so few people actually do.

You’ll learn:

  • The truth about discipline: how structure, routines, and small daily wins create real freedom.
  • Why grit beats talent every time: and the mindset that keeps you consistent when others quit.
  • How to build systems that work: the same process Barry used to rise to the top on Wall Street and now teaches to young high performers.

Listen to this episode to see how doing things the right way—every day—can lead to success that actually lasts.

Get in touch with Barry!

LinkedIn
Instagram

MAG7 Consulting

Watch the Full Episode Here!

00:00 – Introduction & The WHY of Right Way
01:00 – Meet Barry Garapedian: From Wall Street to Mentorship
03:00 – Early Discipline: Magic, Music, and Martial Arts
05:30 – Lessons from Entrepreneurial Parents
08:00 – Work Ethic, Grit, and Outworking Talent
12:00 – Cold Calling Mastery & Building Systems for Success
17:30 – Gamifying Goals and Tracking High-Leverage Activities
22:00 – Professionalism, Presentation, and Personal Standards
30:00 – Creating MAG7 Consulting & The Power of the WHY.os
38:30 – Teaching High Performance & Impacting the Next Generation

Listen to the Episode Here!

Discipline Equals Freedom: How Barry Garapedian Built a Life of Success by Doing Things the Right Way

If you’ve ever wondered what separates the people who actually do the work from those who just talk about it, this week’s episode of the Beyond Your WHY podcast is a masterclass. Dr. Gary Sanchez sat down with Barry Garapedian—a former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley turned mentor to the next generation—to talk about how structure, discipline, and doing things “the right way” built his decades-long success.

Barry isn’t just another motivational voice preaching hard work. He’s someone who lived it. From building a career at the top of Wall Street to now running MAG7 Consulting, where he teaches teens and young adults the habits that lead to real confidence and achievement, Barry’s message is simple but powerful: Discipline creates freedom. And in a world obsessed with shortcuts, his story is a reminder that consistency is still the ultimate advantage.

The Structure Behind Success

Barry grew up in a home that valued structure, discipline, and curiosity. His parents—both educators—taught him early on that learning skills and mastering the basics mattered. He practiced piano for seven years, took magic lessons, earned multiple black belts, and even turned those lessons in precision and practice into lifelong habits. “Discipline equals freedom,” he told Dr. Gary. “The structure I built for myself wasn’t confining—it gave me control over my life.”

That philosophy carried him through a 39-year career at Morgan Stanley, where he climbed to the top by doing what few others were willing to do: outworking everyone. While others focused on short-term wins, Barry obsessed over systems. He tracked his calls, measured his results, and treated progress like a science. It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked.

Grit Over Genius

When Barry talks about success, he doesn’t credit luck or intelligence—he credits grit. He shared that many of the smartest people he knew didn’t make it as far because they weren’t willing to do the hard, repetitive work that mastery requires. “I wasn’t the sharpest in the room,” he said, “but I could outwork anyone. Grit will always beat genius.”

That mindset shaped the way he approached everything—from cold calling hundreds of prospects a week in the early ‘80s to writing personal notes by hand. Yes, actual handwritten notes, sealed with wax and customized stamps. It sounds old-school, but it’s one of Barry’s secret weapons. “Handwritten notes are rare today,” he said. “They take time, they stand out, and they show respect.” It’s that attention to detail that set him apart in an industry where everyone was chasing shortcuts.

From Wall Street to the Next Generation

When Barry retired from finance, he could’ve stopped working altogether. Instead, he launched MAG7 Consulting, a coaching company built to teach high-performance habits to young people. His “Magnificent Seven” framework focuses on the skills schools don’t teach: discipline, confidence, communication, and goal setting. Through weekly sessions, Barry helps students turn self-doubt into structure and fear into focus. “Nothing happens until after you commit,” he said—and he’s right.

What makes Barry’s approach different is how personal it is. He doesn’t just coach from theory; he brings decades of experience, relentless structure, and genuine care to every student. He even integrates Dr. Gary’s WHY.os Discovery to help his students understand their purpose, process, and contribution—so they can not only succeed but know why they’re succeeding.

Barry Garapedian’s story is proof that greatness doesn’t come from genius or luck—it comes from daily decisions done the right way. His mix of old-school discipline and modern awareness reminds us that success is still built one habit, one note, and one act of consistency at a time.

If you’re ready to learn how to build systems that work, strengthen your mindset, and live life the right way, tune into this episode of Beyond Your WHY with Dr. Gary Sanchez and Barry Garapedian.

Categories
Podcast

How to Find the Compass Within: Build a Life Aligned with Your Core Values

Guest: Robert Glazer
WHY.os: Better Way – Make Sense – Contribute

Robert Glazer is a bestselling author, leadership expert, and founder of a $35 million global company recognized by Inc. and Fortune as one of the best places to work. Known for his books Elevate and Friday Forward, Robert joins Dr. Gary Sanchez to talk about his newest book, The Compass Within—and how knowing your core values can guide better decisions in work and life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to identify your “core values” and use them to make choices that actually fit who you are.
  • Why high achievers lose direction when they ignore their values—and how to get back on track.
  • How to lead effectively when your WHY is “Better Way,” without overwhelming yourself or your team.

Listen to this episode of Beyond Your WHY with Dr. Gary Sanchez to learn how to stop chasing what’s next and start building a life that actually feels right.

Get in touch with Robert!

Facebook
LinkedIn
robertglazer.com

Watch Full Episode Here!

00:00 Introduction to the Better Way Why
02:14 The Dual Nature of Better Way
04:11 Balancing Innovation and Team Dynamics
08:46 Understanding Core Values
10:02 The Compass Within: A New Approach to Values
13:24 The Story of Jamie: Core Values in Action
18:10 The Impact of Core Values on Decision Making
19:50 Navigating Challenges with Core Values
24:00 The Importance of Awareness in Leadership
27:46 Getting Back on Track with Core Values
31:42 Writing the Compass Within
36:35 Conclusion and Call to Action

Listen to Full Episode Here!

The Compass Within: How Robert Glazer Finds a Better Way to Lead, Live, and Stay True to What Matters

When “Better” Becomes Too Much

Robert Glazer knows a thing or two about success. He’s the founder of a $35 million global company, a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, and a recognized voice in leadership and performance. His work has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur — and he’s even appeared on The Dr. Oz Show. But what makes Robert stand out isn’t just his business track record — it’s how he connects success to self-awareness and values. In his conversation with Dr. Gary Sanchez on the Beyond Your WHY podcast, Robert opens up about his WHY — “Better Way” — and how it’s shaped everything from his leadership style to his latest book, The Compass Within.

The “Better Way” personality is all about improvement — never satisfied, always tinkering, constantly asking, “What if we did this differently?” But Robert’s learned that constantly chasing “better” can also be a trap. “If I try to make everything better,” he says, “I won’t actually make things better.” It’s the paradox that so many high achievers face — progress at the cost of peace. And in this episode, Robert breaks down how he’s learned to balance the two through one simple but powerful idea: knowing and living by your core values.

Core Values Aren’t Fluff — They’re Your Filter

At the heart of Robert’s message is this: your core values aren’t lofty ideals or motivational poster quotes. They’re your non-negotiables — the principles that quietly guide every decision you make. “A great core value helps you make better decisions,” he explains. “It’s the instruction manual you didn’t get.”

Robert’s process for finding those values isn’t about picking words like integrity or family off a list. It’s about reflection — looking at what’s mattered most in your life, when you’ve felt proud, and when you’ve felt completely out of alignment. He says your values usually form early, often in childhood, and stick with you even if you don’t realize it. And when you go against them? You feel it. “You might get out of the tunnel,” Robert says, “but your car will be pretty beat up.”

His new book, The Compass Within, takes that idea and turns it into a story — literally. Instead of writing another how-to guide, he wrote a parable about a man named Jamie, a rising professional who’s stuck in all the wrong places — his job, his relationship, his environment. Through a mentor, Jamie learns to identify what truly matters to him and starts making changes that bring him back to himself. It’s storytelling with a purpose — simple, relatable, and painfully real for anyone who’s ever hit success but still felt off.

The Three Decisions That Shape Everything

Robert says every major turning point in life comes down to what he calls “the Big Three”: your partner, your vocation, and your community. These are the areas where values alignment (or misalignment) shows up the loudest. If any one of them is out of sync, the dissonance creeps in — in your mood, your motivation, even your physical health. He jokes that you can’t live in a place like Newcastle, where people go to the bar at 4 p.m. every day, if your top value is health. You’ll either give in or feel like an outsider.

That’s the power of knowing your internal compass — it keeps you from drifting toward a life that doesn’t fit. “You don’t always get credit when your values line up with the current,” Robert says. “The real test is when your boat is going upstream.” Whether it’s choosing the right team to work with or the kind of person you marry, those “Big Three” choices shape every part of who you become.

Leading from Values, Not from Vibes

As a CEO, Robert learned that leadership without self-awareness creates chaos. His advice? Don’t copy other leaders. Lead from your own values. “You either lead from your values with awareness or without it — and there’s a massive difference,” he says.

He also encourages leaders to teach their teams how to “manage them.” If your value is trust, tell your team exactly what earns it and what breaks it. If you’re a “Better Way” type who constantly has new ideas, give people permission to push back. That clarity doesn’t just make you easier to work with — it makes you more authentic. And when people understand what drives you, they can actually follow you.

The Real Takeaway

Robert Glazer’s message is simple but profound: success without alignment eventually cracks. When you know your values, every decision — personal or professional — gets easier. You stop chasing what looks good and start choosing what feels right.

As Robert puts it, “It’s hard to make good decisions without self-awareness… and it’s hard to make bad ones with it.”

If you’ve ever felt stuck, burnt out, or unsure whether your “better way” is still serving you, this episode is worth a listen.

👉 Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Gary Sanchez and Robert Glazer on the Beyond Your WHY Podcast — and find your own compass within.

Get to Know Robert!

Robert Glazer is the founder and chairman of the board of Acceleration Partners, a global leader in partnership marketing. He also cofounded and chaired BrandCycle, which was acquired by Stack Commerce/TPG in 2021. A serial entrepreneur and award-winning executive, Robert is passionate about helping individuals and organizations elevate their performance.
Under his leadership, Acceleration Partners garnered numerous accolades, including Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards, Entrepreneur’s Top Company Culture, Inc.’s Best Place to Work, and Fortune’s Best Small & Medium Workplaces. Robert himself was twice named to Glassdoor’s list of Top CEOs for Small and Medium Companies in the U.S., ranking #2.

Robert shares his insights through Friday Forward, a weekly inspirational newsletter reaching over two hundred thousand readers in more than one hundred countries. He is also the #1 Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestselling author of seven books, including Elevate, Friday Forward, Elevate Your Team, and How to Thrive In The Virtual Workplace. Additionally, Robert hosts the Elevate Podcast, a top 1 percent show on business, performance, and leadership with over three million downloads globally.

His work has been featured in outlets such as Harvard Business Review, The Today Show, Business Insider, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, and Entrepreneur. Robert speaks to audiences around the world on topics of leadership, culture, and personal and professional development and has also spoken on the TEDx stage.
Outside work, Robert enjoys skiing, cycling, reading, traveling, spending quality time with his family, and overseeing home renovation projects.

To learn more about his writing, speaking, or partnerships opportunities, please visit robertglazer.com.