Habits and Hustle

Is technology making you smarter, or are you slowly training your brain to do less? We are living in a world where AI can write our emails, answer our questions, organize our thoughts, remember information, and make decisions faster than we ever could on our own. Our phones remember everything for us. GPS tells us where to go. Social media constantly competes for our attention. And the more convenient technology becomes, the easier it is to stop exercising the memory, focus, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that make us human. This matters because your brain adapts to how you us

What if the person you cannot get over was never actually your person? We tend to give enormous weight to chemistry and connection, especially when we find someone we like who seems to like us back. That feeling can be powerful enough to make us overlook a harder truth: connection alone does not create a relationship. Without commitment and compatibility, chemistry can keep you emotionally invested in someone who is never actually choosing you. Matthew Hussey breaks down the four levels of a relationship, from attraction to compatibility, and explains why so many people get stuck at the stag

What if the health of your brain decades from now is being shaped by what you are doing today? We tend to think about Alzheimer's and cognitive decline as problems that show up later in life, once memory starts slipping or confusion becomes noticeable. But many of the factors associated with brain decline can begin much earlier. Blood sugar, insulin resistance, sleep, inflammation, muscle mass, exercise, social connection, oral health, and even the medications you regularly take may all influence the environment your brain is aging in. This matters because brain health gives you more areas t

What if all this optimizing is actually making us less happy? Sleep scores, step counts, glucose monitors, supplements, peptides, wearables, and endless wellness protocols have turned health into something we constantly track, measure, and try to perfect. But when every meal, workout, night of sleep, and social plan becomes another data point, the pursuit of better health can start creating more stress than clarity. You may look disciplined and optimized on the outside while feeling anxious, restricted, and disconnected from the life you are trying to improve. Technology has also changed the

Are your health habits helping you live better, or are they quietly making your life more complicated? We are surrounded by nutrition rules, supplement stacks, protein targets, fasting windows, wearables, weight-loss drugs, and viral claims about foods we have been eating for decades. A banana in your smoothie is suddenly a problem. Every snack needs added protein. Everyone thinks they need electrolytes. People lose weight quickly without thinking about the muscle they may be losing with it. And in the process of trying to become healthier, many people become afraid to eat, travel, miss a wor

What if changing your face has nothing to do with how you feel about yourself? Plastic surgery has become more normalized, more accessible, and more visible than ever. We watch people document facelifts, nose jobs, injectables, and cosmetic procedures in real time, which can make major medical decisions feel as casual as booking a facial. But the polished before-and-after photo rarely shows the full story.  Social media, filters, Zoom, and constantly seeing ourselves in photos and on video have changed the way we evaluate our appearance. We notice every angle, compare our real faces to edite

Is a lack of motivation a personality flaw, or a signal from your brain that something needs attention? We tend to think brain decline begins with memory loss, but changes in motivation, behavior, attention, and decision-making can show up much earlier. Apathy can look like laziness. Poor sleep can feel like memory loss. Doom scrolling gets blamed on dopamine, even though the science does not support many of the claims people repeat online. And the habits we rely on for brain health are often based more on trends than evidence. This matters because your brain is constantly deciding whether a

Can being obsessed with other people's lives distract you from living your own? Reality TV can feel like harmless entertainment. You watch the drama, follow the relationships, and debate who was right or wrong. But when people become deeply invested in edited storylines, compare themselves to strangers, or attack contestants online, it reveals something bigger about where we are putting our attention. The more time we spend watching other people live, the less energy we may have for building a life of our own. Entertainment can be a way to unwind, but your attention is still one of your most

Are your thoughts helping you move forward, or are they quietly running your life? We talk a lot about positivity, discipline, leadership, and good habits, but very few people understand how those things actually work together. Negative thoughts can feel true simply because they show up fast. Bad habits can undo years of progress. Leaders can have a great vision and still lose their team because they do not communicate, connect, or create trust. And being hardworking is not always enough if people do not want to follow you. This matters because success is shaped by what you believe, what you

What if manifestation is keeping you focused on the life you want while distracting you from the work required to build it? Manifestation has become one of the biggest trends in personal development. Visualize the outcome, believe it is coming, raise your vibration, and trust the universe to deliver. There can be value in believing in yourself and getting clear on what you want, but belief without action quickly becomes wishful thinking. Your thoughts can influence your focus, confidence, and behavior, but they cannot control every external outcome. Health challenges, financial circumstances

Are you chasing longevity hacks while missing the habits that actually change your health? Everyone wants the shortcut. The GLP-1. The fasting protocol. The supplement. The perfect biomarker. The next thing that promises better energy, better body composition, and a longer life. But the real issue is that most people are drowning in information and still missing what actually moves the needle. Your body is not random. Muscle affects insulin sensitivity. Movement changes how glucose gets used. Sleep impacts recovery. Fasting can be powerful when it is done strategically. And the right biomark

What if "follow your passion" is actually bad advice? We hear it all the time: do what you love and the money will follow. It sounds inspiring, but it is not always realistic. Loving something does not automatically make it a career, a business, or a strategy. Sometimes the better move is to follow your effort, because wherever you consistently put in reps is usually where you build skill, confidence, and real opportunity. Your passion can stay your passion. You can love fitness, cooking, fishing, music, or watching documentaries without needing to turn it into your full-time job. In fact, s

Are you actually making healthier choices, or are you just buying whatever wellness trend sounds the most convincing? The wellness world has gotten very good at selling certainty. Peptides, longevity stacks, skin hacks, GLP-1s, miracle supplements, and "expert" advice are everywhere. The problem is that confidence online does not always mean credibility. A lot of people are spending serious money on things that sound scientific, but are backed by weak evidence, half-truths, or marketing dressed up as medicine. This matters because your health decisions should not be based on who has the best

What if laughing every day is less of a personality trait and more of a health strategy? We spend so much time chasing the perfect wellness routine. The supplements, the trackers, the saunas, the cold plunges, the red light, the protocols. And yet one of the simplest tools for changing your brain, your mood, your stress, and your body is something most of us are not doing enough: laughing. Laughter releases endorphins, helps lower stress hormones like cortisol, supports immune function, and can shift your emotional state fast. A real laugh can pull you out of a bad mood, break tension, make

What if waiting until you feel ready is the reason you keep missing the opportunity? A lot of people have ideas, ambition, and opinions, but very few are willing to move before they have the perfect plan. Ronnen Harary built Spin Master by doing the thing so many people avoid: making the first small decision, trusting his gut, asking who could help, and moving fast enough to catch the opportunity while everyone else was still thinking about it. He did not start with decades of experience, unlimited resources, or a perfect roadmap. He started with curiosity, speed, persistence, and a willingne

Are you trying so hard to sleep better that you're actually making your sleep worse? We're spending more money than ever on sleep trackers, apps, gadgets, supplements, and nighttime routines, yet so many people are still exhausted. The more pressure you put on getting perfect sleep, the more alert your brain can become, which is why something as simple as "counting sheep" can actually backfire. Sleep is also affecting way more than your energy. One bad night can throw off your cravings, weaken your willpower, make discipline harder, and push you toward the exact choices you were trying to av

Are you actually creating opportunity, or are you waiting for someone to hand it to you? A lot of people talk about being entrepreneurs, but very few are willing to do the unsexy part: get on the plane, sit in the waiting room, build the relationship, ask the better question, and stay in the deal long enough to find the angle everyone else missed. Richard Baker built his career by doing exactly that. He did not rely on perfect timing, endless capital, or permission from people at the top. He used structure, relationships, leverage, and speed to turn overlooked opportunities into billion-dolla

Are you taking advice from people who only sound like they know what they're talking about? Social media has made everyone look like an expert, but a confident voice, a polished clip, or a big following does not automatically mean someone is qualified to guide your life, business, health, or decisions. The problem is that bad advice often sounds convincing, especially when it comes from someone who knows how to perform authority online. Real discernment means asking better questions before you listen. Has this person actually done what they are talking about? Did they do it recently enough f

Everyone is trying to optimize their health with trackers, supplements, morning routines, and biohacking tools, but sometimes the basics are still the biggest needle-movers. In this episode, we unpack why sleep, stress, relationships, food quality, and even walking may matter more than the latest wellness trend. We dive deeper into this in the Habits & Hustle Podcast with Shawn Stevenson. We also chat about melatonin, sleep quality, wearables, fat loss, protein, weighted vests, GLP-1s, and why your relationships may be the most underrated longevity hack. Shawn Stevenson is the host of The Mo

Are you counting yourself out before you even give yourself a real shot? A lot of people have big goals, real ambition, and a clear idea of what they want, but they never actually try because deep down, they don't believe they could be the person who pulls it off. They look at other people who have succeeded and assume those people had something they do not, when the real difference is often much simpler: they tried, they kept going, and they believed it was possible before anyone else did. When you start asking “Why not me?” instead of assuming success is reserved for someone else, everythi

Most people know exactly what they should be doing to feel better, follow through, and build the life they want, but actually doing it is where everything falls apart. In this episode, we get into why mindfulness has been misunderstood, why your nervous system can block follow-through, and why awareness is the first step to breaking the emotional loops that keep you stuck. We dive deeper into this in the Habits & Hustle Podcast with Dr. Elisha Goldstein. We also chat about why mindfulness does not mean calm, how to interrupt overwhelm in real time, and why emotional vocabulary can completely

I have a bone to pick with the word entrepreneur because somewhere along the way, it became less about building something real and more about having a sexy title in your Instagram bio. Everyone wants the label, but not everyone has put in the time, taken the hits, failed, adjusted, and kept going long enough to actually earn it. In this episode of Habits & Hustle, Shani and I get into the difference between being entrepreneurial and actually being an entrepreneur. We also talk about fake business gurus, online courses, social media self-promotion, and why you need to be way more discerning ab

Modern relationship advice is everywhere, and most of it is making your relationships harder, not better. These are the buzzwords that we see spread all over the internet like the misused attachment labels, the "be more vulnerable" coaching, the body count debate, and the love bombing warnings. Sadia has spent years working with couples one-on-one, and almost none of it holds up in real practice. Sadia Khan is a psychotherapist and the author of The Red Flags:The Truth About Love, Trauma, and the Lies Your Therapist Didn't Warn You About, a book built around the 10 questions every therapist sh

The most powerful longevity tool you have is not in a bottle or a needle. It’s in the quality of your relationships. There’s a body of data that’s been saying this for decades. Yet, the wellness industry kept focusing on the other direction of wellness. Shawn knows this not only because he read it in a study but because he lived the opposite of what healthy relationships look like first and paid for it with his health. Shawn Stevenson is the host of The Model Health Show, the no.1 nutrition and fitness podcast in the United States, and the bestselling author of Sleep Smarter and Eat Smarter.

Your subconscious mind is running 95% of your decisions. Your conscious mind, the part that’s setting goals, making resolutions, and telling itself to do better, is only working with the remaining 5%. That gap is why knowing what you should do is never enough. Thais Gibson has spent over a decade building a framework that actually closes that gap. She is a counselor, founder of the Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory™, and has worked with over 60,000 people through The Personal Development School. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, she breaks down why self-sabotage is not what we all think

The habits that actually optimize your health are not the hard ones. They are the small, low-effort ones you can do without rearranging your whole life. We get sold protocols and programs and things that can feel too complicated or demand time you do not have, so the simple hacks get passed over because it feels too obvious to matter. But the simplest and obvious healthy habits are obvious because they work. When you stack a few of them together, they compound into something that changes your life in the long run. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, I walk through the easy, low-effort hab

When you want to understand someone's success, you look at what they built. The company, the exit, the valuation. But James Beshara says you are looking at the wrong thing. You are studying the fruit when the real story is in the roots. James has built three separate companies to nine-figure valuations before 40, ranks as the top #2 angel investor on AngelList, and has made over 100 startup bets. He is also the founder of Magic Mind and after 14 years of investing and 18 years of building companies, he has learned that the founders who get funded are not the ones with the best pitch deck. In

There's a cognitive bias that runs more of your decisions than you do. Marketers figured it out a long time ago. The reason it keeps working on you is that nobody's taught you how to use it back. People have been saying it's a willpower problem for years now. And while willpower is part of it, the real reason you keep falling into the same patterns has less to do with discipline and more to do with how your brain is wired. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, I unpack what loss aversion actually is, why marketers have been using it on you for decades, and how to flip it so it works for you

The most interesting people to sit down with aren't always the ones the world agrees about. Some of the most compelling conversations happen with people who hold their ground and refuse to be neatly categorized by the world. Kevin Trudeau is infamous for a lot of things but what’s notable about him is he sold 50 million books, served 8.5 years in federal prison for contempt of court, and walked out at 60 with $10,000 in donations. Kevin has been called a snake oil salesman by some of the biggest names in the media. He's also the man who wrote about ultra-processed food, gut health, and the hy

Are you doing all the right things to strengthen your mindset but still feel like something is missing? The wellness space has been selling mindset as the answer to everything for years now. And while it matters, leading with mindset is actually where most people get the order wrong. Because before your mind can perform at its best, your body has to be conditioned for it. When you flip that order and put your physical health first, everything else starts to move differently. Your mental toughness builds naturally. Your stress response changes. The way you show up in your relationships, y

The biggest threat to a founder's success isn't failure. It's spending years trying to become someone they were never built to be. Jamie Siminoff never followed the CEO playbook. He followed the problem. He built Ring in his garage with a soldering iron, got publicly rejected on Shark Tank, never ran a single team meeting, and still built one of the most recognizable home security brands in the world. In this episode, Jamie shares why the traditional founder playbook is a trap, what actually drives a company to scale, and what AI is about to do to the entrepreneurs who never questioned how t

The same part of your brain behind every bad habit you have ever had is the exact same part that builds your best ones. Which means the traits you have been trying to fix your whole life might be the very thing that builds your biggest success. That connection is exactly what Liz Tenuto, better known as The Workout Witch, lived. She went from posting somatic exercises from her bed during a divorce to building an eight figure business that has helped millions of people heal, and the only thing that changed was what she pointed her energy at. In this third Fitness Fridays episode with Liz, she

The same intensity that can destroy your life is the same intensity that can rebuild it. The difference isn't the person, it's the direction. Ken Rideout is the world's fastest marathoner over 50, a former prison guard, a former addict, and someone who has never once in his life waited to feel ready before making a move. He spent 10 years taking 50 Percocets a day while making millions on Wall Street and hiding it from everyone around him, including his wife.  Today he runs 10 miles every single day, has won age groups at every world marathon major, and won a 155-mile desert ultra he signed

The field of somatics has one uncomfortable truth most people aren't ready to hear: you cannot think your way out of trauma or chronic stress. If the stress response of the body never gets discharged through physical movement, your body stays on high alert. Some people still write somatics off as “woo-woo”. That gap between what the science actually says and what people assume is exactly why I wanted to go deeper with Liz Tenuto, better known as The Workout Witch. Liz holds a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, is certified in Pilates and Reiki, and spent six years being mentored in t

Have you noticed how the more we're connected by the internet and have all these gadgets, the lonelier we get? The things we thought would bring us together are actually making us more isolated than ever. That is the conversation I had with Dr. Laurie Santos. She is a Yale professor, an expert on happiness, and the woman behind Psychology and the Good Life, the most popular class Yale has ever offered. She also hosts her own hit podcast, The Happiness Lab, focused on the science of feeling good.  In this episode, Dr. Laurie breaks down why English-speaking countries are quietly getting unhap

The Greek word "soma" means body. Somatic exercises were first researched in the 1970s as a way to release trauma and stress through tiny physical movements, bypassing the mind entirely.  Decades later, most people still think it sounds like a woo-woo wellness trend. That gap between what the science says and what people assume is exactly why I wanted to sit down with Liz Tenuto. Liz, better known as The Workout Witch, has nearly 5 million followers, 240,000 students, and a 99% success rate with her courses. She holds a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, is certified in Pilates and

GLP-1s are the fastest growing drug trend in health right now. But a 30-year fasting study says there's something every user needs to know before their next dose. Dr. Valter Longo has spent 30 years studying aging and longevity at USC, running over 40 clinical trials on what actually makes people live longer and healthier. What he found challenges almost everything the wellness industry is pushing right now, from 16-hour fasting windows to high-protein diets to GLP-1 drugs. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, Dr. Longo breaks down the science behind the Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD), why 12

The problem was never that you didn't know what to do. It's that you keep letting the version of you who doesn't feel like doing it cast the deciding vote. That's the trap. We make decisions based on how we feel before the thing, instead of how we'll feel after it.  And before anything hard, the feeling is always the same: tired, unmotivated, full of reasons to wait. If that's the voice you're listening to, of course you're stuck restarting. You've handed the mic to the wrong version of yourself. We try to fix this with more discipline, more motivation, or another reset on Monday. None of i

I live by one rule that has shaped almost every good thing in my career: do the thing first and ask for forgiveness later. Not permission. Forgiveness. The people who wait for the right connection, the right introduction, the right moment, usually end up watching someone bolder walk past them into the room they were trying to get into. That is exactly why I wanted to sit down with James Dumoulin. James is the 23-year-old founder of School of Hard Knocks, the media brand you have almost certainly seen on your feed even if you never clocked the name. He is the guy who walks up to strangers in

Are you having a hard time connecting with your kid to know what they’re up to?  By the age of 10, kids may start to have short answers like “fine” and speak less to us parents because their brains develop and start navigating more independence over parental guidance. As parents, we want to make sure what is happening with our kids and it can be frustrating to get them to share more which sometimes leads to yelling.  Kids are sensitive to our emotions as parents and they would rather distance themselves and become more mute when met with frustration and stress.  In this episode of Habits &

Most women are told that wanting more makes them selfish. It’s like fitting on a societal construct of a “woman” as a mother, parent, and wife is the only destiny that awaits every female. Sarah Shahi spent years believing that too until she got the role of Billie. Playing the lead in Netflix's global hit Sex/Life didn't just make Sarah famous. It cracked her open into seeing what’s on the other side of choosing herself through Billie. Her story is one of the profound embodiments of an authentic woman who took courage to come home to herself and finally be free from societal mold imposed on w

So much can go unnoticed, unappreciated and unacknowledged when we lack the tools to say what we truly mean. Isn’t it ironic how we can talk with others but may never feel heard or truly listen?  In every word left unsaid, every sentence misunderstood, or a conversation flow left unmatched, we are not only losing a chance to connect but also opportunities to grow deeper into knowing others better.  In this episode of Habits & Hustle, I break down the most common habits that silently kill connection and the strategies we can practice in our future conversations to be heard the way we hope and

Did you know that the molecule behind the pink color of salmon and the red of flamingos is also one of the most potent antioxidants ever studied?  It has 4,000 peer reviewed papers behind it. Based on studies, it extended lifespan by 12% in the most rigorous government funded study ever conducted. But almost nobody has heard of it. Astaxanthin is not a trend or a buzzword but a potent natural antioxidant waiting to be discovered by many. It is a marine-derived substance that is thousands of times more potent than vitamin C, crosses the blood brain barrier, and does what no other antioxidant

People love talking about ideas. But ideas are cheap. The real difference between people who build things and people who stay stuck is simple: execution. In this Habits & Hustle episode, my foil Shani and I break down why execution always beats ideas, why overthinking keeps people stuck, and how ridiculous products like the Pet Rock and Chia Pet still turned into massive businesses because someone actually launched them. If you’ve been sitting on an idea, waiting until everything is perfect, or telling yourself you need more time to figure it out, tune in and start executing. What’s Discuss

Most leaders think complexity is a sign of sophistication. Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla and CEO of Lyft, thinks it's the number one reason businesses stall. Every hour spent on complexity, unnecessary processes, and misallocated resources is an hour taken away from what actually drives growth. We tend to overcomplicate and add more (more products, more people, more strategy) over what the business really needs. We dive deeper into this in the latest episode of Habits and Hustle with Jen Cohen. We also discuss why the most successful companies are built on radical simplicity, how to

Have you heard about the potency of Shilajit or ORMUS? Most people haven't but these two ancient substances have been used for thousands of years by indigenous communities, royal families and healers across the Himalayas and the Dead Sea. And the science behind why they work is something the modern health world is only beginning to catch up to. David Reid spent five years traveling the Himalayas, Peru, Egypt and the Dead Sea looking for answers. What he found led him to create Manna Vitality, a product built not in a lab but through years of living alongside the people and places that never

Protein is everywhere. But the part of protein that actually does the work for muscle, recovery, metabolism, and staying lean is something most people rarely talk about: essential amino acids. We dive deeper into this in the Habits & Hustle podcast with Angelo Keely. We also chat about why amino acids outperform protein powder for muscle synthesis, why muscle loss quietly begins after 30, and how essential amino acids help preserve muscle during fat loss, fasting, and intense training. Angelo Keely is the co-founder and CEO of Kion, an active lifestyle supplement and functional food company.

At a certain level of success, dating stops feeling simple. When you are disciplined and used to leading in every room you walk into, attraction is no longer just chemistry. It becomes about polarity, power, and whether you genuinely respect and admire the person you are with. This Habits & Hustle episode breaks down the psychology behind dominance and attraction, and why some driven women lose interest the moment they feel like they are making every decision and carrying the mental load. We also get into the idea that equal doesn’t always create desire and why many high-performing women are

Modern dating feels harder than it should. With more access, more options, and more ways to connect than ever before, commitment feels rarer, and follow through drops the minute effort is required. We dive deeper into this in the Habits & Hustle podcast with Patti Stanger. We also chat about commitment behavior, power dynamics in modern relationships, and the difference between high standards and self-sabotage. Patti Stanger is the star and executive producer of Bravo’s hit docu-series The Millionaire Matchmaker®. She is a third-generation matchmaker and founder of The Millionaire’s Club, la

Confidence is everywhere right now. It’s in affirmations, vision boards, therapy sessions, and motivational quotes. But none of that means anything if you haven’t built proof that you can actually do hard things. In this Habits & Hustle episode, we get into why confidence can’t be affirmed, it has to be earned, and why fitness builds confidence faster than therapy. I break down how real self-belief is built through reps, discipline, and physical evidence, not just positive self-talk. We also talk about why boring is what actually works and the power of “do it anyway” when motivation disappea