Explore every episode of the podcast The Conscious Entrepreneur | Leadership, Self-Awareness & Mindset
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP 126: When the CEO Can’t Lead: Bijal Shah, Guild, and the Continuity Plan That Worked | 02 Feb 2026 | 00:41:58 | |
When the CEO role finds you instead of the other way around, everything about leadership gets tested.
Bijal Shah shares what it was really like to step into the interim CEO role at Guild while on parental leave after a sudden crisis. The conversation sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, business, and wellbeing, and asks hard questions about leadership under pressure. What happens when there is no runway to prepare? How do you lead clearly when personal life and professional responsibility collide?
The episode explores business continuity, succession planning, and conscious leadership through lived experience rather than theory. Shah reflects on how quiet board preparation, steady culture, and honest feedback kept the company grounded. She also shares how conscious leadership became a practical tool at Guild, and why leaders need real mirrors who will push back. If you stepped away tomorrow, would your business hold steady, and would your leadership still work without you?
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Business Continuity Gets Real When A Founder Can’t Lead 03:36 Stepping In As Interim CEO While On Parental Leave 10:02 Succession Planning That Actually Works 13:49 Founder Reality Check For Business Continuity And Succession Planning 16:29 Conscious Leadership That Holds Up Under Pressure 20:56 Embedded Executive Coaching As A Real Business Advantage 31:49 A CEO Feedback Moment That Changed How She Leads 36:02 Three Practical Rules For Conscious Leadership
Connect with Bijal Shah: Connect with Bijal on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 125: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 3 Honesty With Yourself (Replay) | 26 Jan 2026 | 00:26:05 | |
Telling yourself the truth might be the most radical leadership skill you’ll ever develop.
In part three of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, Sarah Lockwood is joined by Beck Sydow and Marina Suholutsky for a conversation about the power of radical self-honesty in leadership. They explore how self-awareness for leaders isn’t just about introspection but a foundational strategy for building resilient businesses, leading aligned teams, and navigating high-stakes decisions with integrity.
Beck and Marina reveal how easy it is for entrepreneurs to hide from their own truths, especially when fear, ego, or pressure to perform take over. They unpack how avoidance and overcompensation often mask deeper insecurities and explain why facing those hidden parts with compassion is key to true emotional self-regulation. When leaders name what’s really going on without judgment, they create space for better decisions, stronger relationships, and more authentic leadership.
This episode offers a powerful reframe: self-honesty isn’t weakness, but actually one of the most courageous and transformative skills you can build.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Radical Self-Honesty Is a Leadership Skill 02:56 How Your Relationship with Yourself Shapes Your Leadership 04:49 Embracing All Parts of Yourself to Build Self-Awareness 06:03 Coping Mechanisms That Lead to Dishonest Leadership 10:03 The Hidden Relief in Facing Hard Truths 14:07 Practicing Compassionate Accountability 17:59 Sovereignty, Self-Honesty, and Emotional Self-Regulation 21:32 Practical Tools to Strengthen Self-Honesty 25:02 Emotional Mastery for Leaders
Links Connect with Beck Sydow:
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
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| EP 124: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 2 Interrupt Fear With Curiosity (Replay) | 19 Jan 2026 | 00:21:24 | |
Curiosity is the leadership skill that helps you regulate your nervous system, interrupt fear loops, and make conscious choices in real time.
This episode is part 2 of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, where Sarah Lockwood is joined again by Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, and Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, to discuss how curiosity plays an important role in nervous system regulation and managing emotions. They break down how fear contracts our experience and narrows our view, while curiosity invites expansion and presence. When leaders learn to pause and ask questions like “What else is true?” or “What story am I telling myself right now?”, they create access to agency, opening up space to shift out of reactivity and into conscious, grounded response.
Marina and Beck offer tools that don’t require time away from work or structured rituals. These moments of emotional awareness can happen mid-meeting, mid-sentence, or mid-meltdown. Whether it’s noticing your peripheral vision, softening your tone, or naming what’s happening in the room, curiosity becomes a live practice that leaders can use to stay connected to themselves and others. The discussion also explores how modeling this curiosity builds team trust and strengthens leadership presence. For founders who want to lead with more ease and intention, this episode is an invitation and a toolkit.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Curiosity as a Tool for Emotional Mastery 01:24 Using Curiosity to Shift from Fear to Possibility 02:55 How Curiosity Regulates the Nervous System 04:32 Interrupting Autopilot Responses with Better Questions 06:12 Building Agency Through Conscious Choice 09:59 Real-Time Techniques for Managing Emotions 12:34 Somatic Practices for Curiosity and Expansion 15:23 Leading with Curiosity in High-Stakes Moments 16:48 Asking Open-Ended Questions That Invite Collaboration 19:31 Why Curiosity Reflects True Leadership Confidence
Links Connect with Beck Sydow:
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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| EP 123: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 1 Fear and Suffering (Replay) | 12 Jan 2026 | 00:22:06 | |
Fear isn’t the enemy of great leadership. Ignoring it is.
How often do you walk into a meeting already bracing for impact? Or catch yourself shrinking back in a moment where you meant to lead with clarity? Sarah Lockwood sits down with Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, and Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, for a conversation on emotional self-regulation, fear in business, and the kind of inner work that makes better leadership possible.
They explore how fear lives in the body, how it shows up in the boardroom, and why most founders are still operating from old survival patterns without realizing it. You’ll hear why simply pushing through isn’t a strategy and how learning to notice your internal state (tight shoulders, shallow breath, reactive thinking) can open the door to more aligned decisions. Beck and Marina walk through tools for getting out of autopilot, including body scans, self-inquiry, and what they call “active choice,” the skill of pausing just long enough to shift out of fear and back into presence.
This doesn’t just explain why inner work matters. It shows you how to begin. Whether you’re leading a team, building a company, or trying to show up more fully for your own vision, this is the kind of episode that gets under the surface and invites you to lead from a deeper, steadier place.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Emotional Self-Regulation in Leadership 02:19 Why Fear and Suffering Matter for Founders 05:03 How the Amygdala Shapes Fear in Business 06:08 Welcoming Fear as a Tool, Not a Threat 10:08 Tools for Recognizing and Naming Fear 14:06 The Leadership Power of Softening and Owning Fear 18:13 Making Active Choices to Lead with Awareness
Links Connect with Beck Sydow:
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
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| EP 122: Startup Stress Isn’t Just a Founder Problem: Startup Culture and Employee Mental Health | 05 Jan 2026 | 00:24:36 | |
Startup stress does not stop at the founder’s desk and the hidden emotional ripple effects inside a company may be shaping employee mental health startup culture and long term viability more than any strategy deck ever could.
Sarah Lockwood is joined by Yael Benjamin founder of Startup Snapshot and Annika Sten Pärson founder of the Inner Foundation to unpack new research on the emotional reality inside early stage startups. Drawing on data from hundreds of employees alongside an investor perspective on mental health, the conversation challenges the assumption that stress lives mainly with founders. Anxiety burnout and sustained pressure show up across teams, often more intensely than leaders expect. What happens when employees feel startup stress without the context that helps them make sense of it?
A core insight centers on trust and transparency. The research shows that lack of clarity is one of the strongest drivers of distress inside startup culture, outweighing concerns about compensation or company survival. When founders underestimate how much their stress is felt or assume silence is protective, teams often fill the gaps with fear driven narratives. The episode reframes emotional health as a real business variable and argues that how founders communicate, regulate pressure and build trust already shapes retention performance and long term outcomes.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Inner World of Startup Founders 03:54 Research Insights on Employee Well-being 07:32 The Impact of Founder Stress on Teams 12:04 The Importance of Transparency in Startups 16:43 Building Support Systems for Founders and Teams 21:10 Preventative Strategies for Startup Success
Connect with Yael Benjamin and Annika Sten Pärson: The Inner Circle - Startup Snapshot
Connect with Annika on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 121: How Startup Colorado Is Rethinking Access To Capital, Founder Mentorship, and Support for Rural Entrepreneurs | 29 Dec 2025 | 00:24:58 | |
Rural entrepreneurship is not a niche story or a lifestyle choice but a high-stakes engine for job creation, community survival and the future of Colorado’s economy.
This episode features a candid conversation with Brittany Romano of Startup Colorado about what entrepreneurship in rural communities actually requires when access to capital mentorship and networks is limited. Drawing from her own experience as a rural founder Brittany explains why many Colorado startups remain in a prolonged startup phase and how rural business growth depends on long-term support rather than quick wins. What happens when strong businesses fall into the missing middle between small business and venture scale? How do founders build momentum when funding and advisors are harder to reach?
The conversation also reframes rural economic development as essential to statewide competitiveness rather than philanthropy. Startup Colorado’s work highlights why small business support in rural areas sustains jobs, strengthens communities and makes it possible for people to live and work across the state. For listeners interested in startup funding in Colorado or building companies outside major metros this episode offers a grounded perspective on why rural entrepreneurship deserves serious attention.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Rural Entrepreneurship Matters for Colorado’s Economy 05:40 The Real Challenges Facing Rural Entrepreneurs 10:54 Access to Capital and the Rural Funding Gap 17:00 Building Strong Startup Ecosystems Outside Major Cities 23:40 How Listeners Can Support Rural Founders and Communities
Links: Bridge Entrepreneurs Network Colorado
Connect with Brittany Romano: Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn Visit the Startup Colorado website
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 120: 2026 Business Planning for Entrepreneurs: Future Self Identity, Limiting Beliefs, and the “How Can We” Framework with Debbie King | 22 Dec 2025 | 00:51:53 | |
Most business plans fail before the first meeting because they use last year’s results to decide what is possible next.
Sarah sits down with Debbie King, business strategist, executive coach, and author of Loving Your Business, about future self business planning as a more effective approach to strategic planning for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to stop letting past results limit your future business growth. Debbie questions the habit of treating prior performance as a ceiling and invites a different starting point for planning that begins with identity, belief, and vision. If your current results reflect who you have been, what changes when you plan from who you are becoming?
The discussion turns to the quiet beliefs leaders carry about themselves, their teams, their market, and their offer, and how those beliefs shape decisions long before strategy enters the room. Which assumptions feel true simply because they are familiar? What might open up if you challenged them before pulling your team into the process? Debbie introduces the “How can we?” framework as a way to create forward motion without waiting for certainty, and the episode offers a grounded reset for entrepreneurs who want their 2026 planning to feel clear, focused, and genuinely expansive.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Future Self Business Planning for 2026 03:02 Why Past Results Limit Future Business Growth 09:01 How Beliefs Shape Business Results 17:57 Strategic Planning Begins With Inner Work 26:58 The “How Can We” Framework for Expansion 44:09 Decide, Act, Evaluate, Iterate
Connect with Debbie King: Visit the Loving Your Business website Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 119: High-Performance in a For-Purpose Business: How Strong Leadership, Top Talent, and Mission-Aligned Fundraising Create Generational Change | 15 Dec 2025 | 00:41:03 | |
Jason Janz challenges the entire playbook of nonprofit work by showing how long haul commitment and leader backed philanthropy can actually move families out of poverty. His approach sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, business, and wellbeing and offers a real-time look at how a for-purpose business model can fuel meaningful social impact through strong organizational culture and long-term vision.
Jason explains why CrossPurpose prioritizes deep relational work over broad but shallow programming and how that choice shapes everything from team dynamics to fundraising strategy to the overall health of the communities they serve. He reflects on the influence of his own upbringing, the mentors who shifted his understanding of leadership, and the decision to grow a mission-driven organization that thinks like a high-performance company without losing sight of human dignity. The conversation raises essential questions for any founder: What happens when you commit to one person’s success with the same rigor you bring to your own enterprise? How do you build trust when donors want evidence and families want genuine care? What does wellbeing look like inside a team tasked with solving hard human problems?
Jason also offers a candid perspective on fundraising through shared vision rather than transactions and explains why transformational partnerships outperform traditional tactics. He invites entrepreneurs to consider the power of leader backed philanthropy and the role they can play in shaping generational change. The episode becomes a thoughtful reflection on leadership, purpose, and the kind of steady commitment that strengthens families, organizations, and entire communities.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction to Conscious Entrepreneurship 03:14 The Mission and Model Behind CrossPurpose 06:00 Jason’s Personal Story and Leadership Philosophy 08:58 Deep vs Wide: A Different Approach to Social Impact 17:59 Transformational Fundraising and Donor Partnership 25:51 Advice for Future Nonprofit Founders
Connect with Jason Janz:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 118: Leadership Communication In A Virtual World: Build Executive Presence, Speak With Confidence, And Lead Better Zoom & Hybrid Meetings | 08 Dec 2025 | 00:41:40 | |
Few moments expose a leader’s true confidence faster than the stare of a camera lens.
Karin Reed, founder of Speaker Dynamics, brings forward a clear view of why virtual communication rattles even seasoned leaders and what presence actually requires when the usual cues disappear. She points to a familiar pattern: people become smaller, flatter, or overly polished once the lens becomes the audience, and those shifts quietly shape how trustworthy or grounded they appear. The conversation asks an important question for anyone leading through a screen: what builds credibility when connection feels harder to access?
Karin’s insight centers on the qualities that make leaders feel real on camera. Authentic expression carries farther than perfect delivery. Natural movement brings energy back into the voice. Audio quality influences how intelligent and credible someone seems. Early interaction sets the tone for participation. These elements are less about technique and more about the leader’s willingness to show up with a steady, human presence that invites others in.
The conversation ultimately challenges leaders to rethink executive presence for a virtual world. Confidence becomes easier to project when leaders stop performing and start communicating with the same clarity and ease they rely on in person. The screen changes the environment, but it doesn’t change what people want from a leader: someone they can hear, follow, and trust.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Leadership Communication in a Virtual World 01:55 Karin Reed’s Path to On-Camera Expertise 09:59 Eye Contact and Connection in Virtual Meetings 15:35 Body Language That Builds Executive Presence 24:10 The MVP Framework for Strong Virtual Communication 29:46 Why Production Quality Shapes Credibility 35:20 Authenticity and Executive Presence
Connect with Karin Reed: Connect with Karin on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 117: Working With Your Spouse in a Family Business: How Married Co-Founders Stay Healthy & Happy Together | 01 Dec 2025 | 00:46:45 | |
If you are wondering if you should work with your husband or wife, or for tips and tricks to stay married when you work together, you are in the right place today! When married partners work together, the business is never “just business.” Working in a #familybusiness is a dynamic that impacts the partners at home and at work, and it impacts everyone in the company, too. Kaley Warner Klemp, co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership and The 80/80 Marriage, discusses actionable tips to help partnerships thrive. She shares suggestions for aiming for generosity rather than fairness, why clear roles protect both the relationship and the business, and how spouses can repair after conflict when you are doing it in front of the whole company. They discuss the quieter questions leaders rarely ask out loud. How do power dynamics shift when work and home blend so closely? What do employees notice before the couple does? What helps a team feel steady when conflict between partners surfaces in real time? Kaley offers tools for conversations, visible repair, and the kind of leadership that supports long-term wellbeing for the couple and the company. It’s a grounded look at working with your partner in a way that strengthens both the business and the relationship behind it.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Marriage and Business Dynamics 03:00 Conscious Leadership in Action 06:12 The 80/80 Marriage Framework 12:10 How Couples Affect Team Culture 17:59 Power Dynamics at Work and at Home 29:52 Repairing Conflict in Front of Your Team
Connect with Kaley Warner Klemp:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 116: Why Inner Work Belongs at Work: Work–Life Integration, Conscious Leadership, Values-Aligned Staffing | 24 Nov 2025 | 00:34:29 | |
Work–Life Integration, Conscious Leadership, and Values-Aligned Staffing are at the heart of this conversation with entrepreneur, Scott Britton. Scott shares how he went from Princeton, Forbes 30 Under 30, and a startup sold to Salesforce to realizing that no amount of achievement could fix the feeling of being reactive, stressed, and out of sync inside his own life. He talks about the moment he began treating his reactions as data instead of flaws, and how that simple shift helped him see the patterns driving his stress and decision-making. Scott walks through his “freedom log” practice that any conscious leader can start using immediately, the difference between emotions and long-running patterns, and how everyday triggers at work can become practical entry points for awareness instead of something to hide or power through. Work stops being separate from inner growth and starts to become one of the most honest places to see what is actually going on inside you. Scott also shares how this path led to his book Conscious Accomplishment and to Conscious Talent, a staffing company that connects talent with companies committed to both professional excellence and inner work. For founders and leaders who feel like they have “outgrown” the company they built, his story offers a grounded look at what it means to bring more of your inner life into how you hire, lead, and shape culture. In this conversation, you’ll hear about:
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 05:09 Scott Britton’s Turning Point and Inner Shift 07:55 How Business Becomes a Spiritual Dojo 17:51 Emotional Awareness Tools for Leaders 18:45 Why Scott Created Conscious Talent 31:30 Values-Aligned Hiring and Modern Leadership
Links Connect with Scott Britton: Scott’s book: Conscious Accomplishment Learn more about Scott's Projects: https://linktr.ee/scottbritton
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm.
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| EP 115: A Better Way to Say Thanks: Authentic Employee Appreciation and Corporate Gifting | 17 Nov 2025 | 00:09:11 | |
Appreciation can lift a team or quietly erode it, and Sarah Lockwood breaks down why the difference often comes down to whether people feel genuinely seen.
In this solo episode, she explains why the usual holiday scramble for company gifts rarely creates the connection leaders intend and why Thanksgiving offers a clearer moment for gratitude that feels personal instead of performative. Sarah shares how a simple note or a small, thoughtful gesture can shift how someone experiences their work, and she challenges leaders to consider what their gifts say about their culture. A day of rest signals care, a learning budget signals curiosity, and a mismatched gift signals a gap between stated values and lived values. She also covers the practical side of appreciation with tools like Goody that let teams choose their own gift while still giving leaders room to add a personal message.
Sarah closes by reminding listeners that recognition works best as a steady habit. Even one specific thank you can strengthen trust, and she encourages leaders to pause, notice one meaningful contribution, and send a message that proves someone’s effort didn’t go unseen.
Episode Breakdown:
Links:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 114: How Great Leaders Reframe Fear: Nataly Kogan on Building a Possibility Mindset | 10 Nov 2025 | 00:43:12 | |
The story you tell yourself as a leader becomes the culture your team lives in, and Nataly Kogan shows how to rewrite that story with agency, awareness, and action.
Sarah sits down with Nataly Kogan for a grounded conversation about entrepreneurship, business, and wellbeing—how the way we think shapes the way we lead. Nataly shares how to “talk back to your brain,” a practice that helps quiet fear, interrupt unhelpful patterns, and create space for better choices. They discuss how mindset ripples through an organization, shaping how teams respond to uncertainty and whether they lean toward anxiety or possibility.
Nataly offers simple tools to help leaders edit their thoughts and reframe challenges as creative prompts. What story are you telling your team right now—and is it one that invites courage, clarity, and connection? This episode is a reminder that leadership starts in the mind, but it comes to life through the stories we choose to share.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Nataly Kogan on Entrepreneurship and Wellbeing 04:15 Why Confidence Follows Action 07:06 The Power of Agency in Times of Change 09:07 How to Talk Back to Your Brain 14:24 Reframing Negativity and Building Constructive Beliefs 18:04 From Obstacles to Possibilities 26:01 The Edit Your Thoughts Practice 34:01 Creating a Culture of Possibility in Business 42:56 Leading with Clarity, Courage, and Humanity
Connect with Nataly Kogan: Visit Nataly Kogan’s Website Connect with Nataly on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 113: The Secret to Loving Your Business - Even When It’s Driving You Crazy | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:40:32 | |
When your business becomes your identity, resentment follows. Entrepreneur and author Debbie King shares how she rebuilt her company, and herself, by separating self-worth from success metrics. Her framework, “the model,” links circumstance, thought, feeling, action, and result, revealing how the stories we tell ourselves drive outcomes. Facts are neutral; meaning is optional. Which thoughts support the kind of results and wellbeing you actually want in your business?
She explains how founders can interrupt unhelpful thinking through quick “thought downloads,” turning frustration into clarity instead of self-criticism. When results are viewed as data, not verdicts, entrepreneurship becomes a practice of learning and refinement.
Debbie also connects mindset to enterprise value. Every recurring pain point signals a risk: “no time” often means founder dependence; “too many mistakes” signals missing systems; low pricing power points to weak differentiation. Simplifying offers and building repeatable structures creates freedom, for both the owner and the company.
Her “future self” exercise ties mindset to strategy: put your goal in the result line, then ask what your future self believes and does to make it happen. Growth follows identity. When wellbeing and business align, entrepreneurship becomes sustainable, and success starts to feel like something worth keeping.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Identity Trap: When Business Becomes You 03:35 Rebuilding an Unsellable Business 05:38 The Model: Thoughts Create Results 17:46 Founder Mindset Shifts 25:27 Future Self Framework 32:06 Hidden Risks in Your Business 34:51 Systems That Scale 39:44 Data Over Drama
Connect with Debbie King: Visit the Loving Your Business website Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 112: Why HALF of Founders Want to Quit their Startups (Replay) | 27 Oct 2025 | 00:29:43 | |
“It can be difficult for people to know who they can speak to about it,” says Amy Lewin, of entrepreneurs who are unhappy in their own companies. Amy is the Editor at Sifted, a media platform focused on Europe’s startup ecosystem and she joins The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast to discuss a survey Sifted recently posed to a number of entrepreneurs, the vast majority of whom reported experiencing poor mental health, high stress and even a strong desire to leave their businesses within the coming year. Though these figures may seem alarming, they merely shed light on common struggles and pressures felt by entrepreneurs which are so often swept under the rug for fear of looking weak or needing to maintain an ultra positive mindset in order to see their businesses succeed. On today’s episode Amy will reveal more of the survey’s findings as well as what venture capitalists (VCs) can do to support entrepreneurs, in whom they, after all, have a vested interest.
The survey highlights the importance of a community in an entrepreneur’s life. Family and friends share the entrepreneur’s burden, while simultaneously being unable to relate. Professional networks of like-minded contemporaries can go a long way toward making isolated individuals feel heard and connected, as well as ease the mental health stigma.
Today, Amy shares the common regret shared among most entrepreneurs and why quitting might be the best thing they could do for their careers.
Quotes
Links Connect with Amy Lewin: https://sifted.eu/articles/founder-mental-health-2024
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 111: Honest Conversations, Compassionate Leadership, and Real Accountability with Marc Lesser | 20 Oct 2025 | 00:40:17 | |
Traditional leadership models tend to choose between kindness and clarity. Zen teacher and executive coach Marc Lesser argues that’s a false dichotomy.
In this episode, Sarah sits down with Marc to unpack the concept of compassionate accountability — or in Marc’s preferred language, alignment with caring. It’s the core of modern Entrepreneurship and Business leadership: setting clear expectations while staying deeply connected to the humans you work with. Instead of defaulting to micromanagement or passivity, leaders can choose high standards and high trust at the same time, the key to building high performing teams without sacrificing wellbeing.
Marc shares why psychological safety isn’t just a cultural ideal, it’s a metric that correlates directly with business performance. Referencing Google’s Project Aristotle, he explains how teams perform better when leaders normalize mistakes, invite real feedback, and resist the urge to appear infallible. A strong team culture isn’t born from rigid systems or motivational slogans, it comes from leaders modeling vulnerability and follow-through. If you’ve ever wondered how to hold people accountable with compassion, this episode is your roadmap.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Marc Lesser & Compassionate Accountability 02:51 What Compassionate Accountability Looks Like in Leadership 07:19 Misconceptions About Accountability and Compassion 13:14 Vulnerability as a Leadership Strategy 15:02 Google’s Psychological Safety Study & Business Impact 20:01 Emotional Intelligence and Business Performance 24:51 Turning Breakdowns Into Breakthroughs 29:21 How to Hold People Accountable With Compassion 32:05 Leadership Lessons From the Zen Monastery Kitchen 34:06 Prioritizing Joy and Humanity in High-Performing Teams 36:21 Daily Habits to Build Clarity and Trust
Connect with Marc Lesser:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 110: Don’t Feed the Critic. Train the Coach: How to Rewire Negative Self-Talk and Lead Better | 13 Oct 2025 | 00:25:11 | |
Entrepreneurship demands resilience, but too many founders rely on pressure and self-criticism as their fuel. Mike Robbins joins Sarah Lockwood to unpack why most business leaders treat self-worth as a scoreboard metric, praising achievement while ignoring wellbeing. He draws a clear line between recognition (results-based approval) and appreciation (inherent value), making the case that positive self-talk is foundational to sustainable leadership.
Mike shares how losing his professional baseball career forced him to confront a brutal truth: he had spent years chasing success without ever appreciating himself along the way. His philosophy of self-compassion isn’t about lowering standards, it’s about upgrading your mindset from harsh critic to effective coach. Entrepreneurs don’t need more pressure; they need healthier internal leadership.
The discussion then turns to feedback, another place where leaders misinterpret signals. Instead of defaulting to defense or shame, Mike suggests receiving feedback with curiosity rather than judgment. That small shift turns critique into growth material instead of evidence of failure.
This conversation reframes business success as an inner game as much as an external one. When wellbeing and performance are treated as allies rather than opposites, leaders become both more effective and more human.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Entrepreneurs Struggle with Self-Talk 01:14 The Leadership Mindset Shift 05:41 Mike Robbins’ Baseball Story and the Cost of Self-Judgment 09:34 How to Build Self-Compassion Without Losing Your Edge 14:07 Receiving Feedback Without Crumbling or Getting Defensive 18:37 How to Ask for Better Feedback (and Actually Grow from It) 22:05 Balancing High Performance with Humanity in Leadership 24:10 Evolving as Entrepreneurs Beyond Grit Alone
Links Connect with Mike Robbins:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
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| EP 109: Bootstrapped, Purpose-Driven, and On Fire: The Product Invention of LavaBox | 06 Oct 2025 | 00:37:26 | |
Born on whitewater, built in an ammo can, Lavabox is Josh Thurmond’s proof that instinct and grit can power a bootstrapped business that gives back and keeps rivers wild.
What does it take to move from a design patent invention built in your garage to a product company trusted by tens of thousands? How do entrepreneurs balance protecting profits with opportunities for scale? And why might wellbeing and values be just as important as growth when inventing a new product and leading a business?
Josh shares how his background as a river guide shaped his entrepreneurship—reading the rapids, trusting instincts, and steering through uncertainty with purpose. He explains why he turned down multi-million-dollar deals, chose to stay 100% independent, and built Lavabox around authenticity, customer input, and community impact.
This episode offers a candid look at the entrepreneurship of product companies, what it really takes to bootstrap from idea to invention while protecting both your business and your wellbeing.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Josh Thurmond and LavaBox 03:16 The Birth of a Design Patent Invention 06:19 Patent Challenges and Market Strategy 10:25 Turning Down Multi-Million Dollar Deals 14:10 Bootstrapping and Financing a Product Company 19:00 Building a Lifestyle Brand and Company Culture 26:11 Giving Back Through Protect Our Rivers 27:46 Resilience and Advice for Entrepreneurs
Links Connect with Josh Thurmond: Visit LavaBox Portable Campfire
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
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| EP 108: The Simplest (and Cheapest) Way to Keep Your Best People | 29 Sep 2025 | 00:23:54 | |
Employee recognition might sound obvious, but why do so many leaders miss it in practice? Dr. Bob Nelson joins Sarah Lockwood to explains why low-cost recognition ideas often matter more than paychecks or perks when it comes to real employee motivation.
How do you create loyalty from day one with a new hire? What’s the difference between a generic end-of-year award and genuine recognition that lands in the moment? And how can asking employees for their ideas spark both engagement and business growth?
Dr. Nelson brings decades of research and real-world examples to these questions, offering workplace culture tips that work whether you’re leading a small team or a global workforce. He shows that recognition doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to feel thoughtful and consistent if you want it to change company culture.
This episode reminds us that company culture is built in the small choices leaders make each day to notice, acknowledge, and value the people doing the work.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Employee Recognition Matters 01:52 Common Misconceptions About Recognition 04:07 Onboarding Tips That Build Loyalty 05:52 How Employees Want to Be Recognized 07:45 Low-Cost Recognition Ideas That Work 09:07 Involving Employees in Decision-Making 10:02 Real Examples of Employee Ideas Driving Growth 14:06 The Role of Leadership in Company Culture 16:10 Recognition for Remote and Global Teams 21:28 Continuous Development and Retention
Connect with Dr. Bob Nelson: Visit Dr. Bob Nelson’s Website
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 107: 10X Accountability Updates From Alex Raymond | 22 Sep 2025 | 00:24:15 | |
Alex Raymond, founder of Amplify and creator of the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, returns to share what’s happened since he set a bold goal on stage: turning Amplify into a $3M business in two years. Inspired by Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s “10x Is Easier Than 2x” and “The Science of Scaling,” Alex explains how “pathways thinking” has shifted his focus from incremental tasks to operating as if the goal is already achieved.
One of the biggest shifts? Writing his first book, “The Growth Department.” Alex opens up about the discipline, support, and courage it takes to codify his ideas into something meaningful, rather than just another business book. He also shares how building a mastermind after the summit has created accountability, momentum, and a community committed to thinking bigger together.
This conversation raises questions every founder faces: Are you running your business from a place of scarcity or scale? What would change if you truly operated from your goal, not just toward it?
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction and Big Goals 01:25 Pathways Thinking and 10X Growth 02:40 Writing The Growth Department 04:27 Book Timeline and Value Creation 09:58 Delegation and Building Scalable Structures 12:56 Mastermind Group and Accountability 14:53 Using AI as a Thinking Partner 16:28 Community, Momentum, and Entrepreneur Wellbeing 20:50 Lessons from Podcasting and Entrepreneurship
Connect with Alex Raymond:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 106: From Pushy to Magnetic: How ‘Never Ask for the Sale’ Flips Sales Culture | 15 Sep 2025 | 00:34:04 | |
Sue Heilbronner, serial entrepreneur and conscious leadership executive coach, believes the strongest businesses are built when sales feel less like chasing and more like alignment. Joining Sarah Lockwood in this episode, she introduces the idea of “passionate ambivalence,” a values-based sales mindset that pairs genuine enthusiasm for your work with the ability to detach from any single outcome.
How do you recognize when a client is the right fit? Sue points to conscious client qualification as the key. By asking clear, sometimes disqualifying questions, you invite the kind of honesty that builds trust from the very start. She also shares her perspective on pricing strategy, reminding entrepreneurs that protecting your time and holding your value are essential parts of sustainable growth.
This episode invites you to reflect on your own sales mindset. Are you creating relationships rooted in clarity and confidence, or relying on pressure and persuasion? What would shift if you treated sales as a mutual process instead of a one-sided pitch?
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Radical Mindset Shift in Sales 02:07 Passionate Ambivalence Explained 04:15 Contrarian Sales Mindset vs. Traditional Selling 06:04 Never Ask for the Sale: Practical Examples 10:12 Startup Fundraising and Playing Small 15:08 Pricing Strategy and Early Sales Lessons 19:22 Fit Calls and Client Qualification 27:08 Overcoming Limiting Beliefs in Sales
Connect with Sue Heilbronner:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 105: How Giving Back Shapes Great Leaders with Snooze COO Brianna Borin | 08 Sep 2025 | 00:35:35 | |
Philanthropy can change the way we think about business when it’s treated as part of the culture rather than an afterthought. How does a company grow stronger when it gives back to the community that supports it? And how can service outside of work shape the kind of leader someone becomes?
Sarah Lockwood talks with Brianna Borin, Chief Operating Officer of Snooze A.M. Eatery, about the lessons she has learned from nearly two decades of weaving community impact into her work. Brianna shares how Snooze’s early days of volunteering at the Denver Rescue Mission set the tone for a company-wide approach that now includes programs like the Changemaker initiative and long-term partnerships with organizations such as Urban Peak. She also reflects on her own leadership development through board service, youth mentorship, and global volunteer experiences that have deepened her sense of personal satisfaction and purpose.
Listeners can learn more about supporting youth experiencing homelessness through Urban Peak’s Urban Nights Kicks & Culture Sneaker Ball at urbanpeak.org/urban-nights. Brianna also recommends Tommy Spaulding’s books, The Heart-Led Leader and The Gift of Influence, which have shaped her vision of philanthropy and leadership. Her story and these resources show how integrating service into business not only builds stronger communities but also creates deeper fulfillment for leaders and their teams.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Philanthropy and Service as a Business Value 02:03 Brianna Borin’s Journey with Snooze A.M. Eatery 06:57 Community Impact Through Grassroots Service 08:50 Partnering with Urban Peak to Support Youth 12:44 The Changemaker Program and Local Giving 18:36 Leadership Development Through Philanthropy 28:45 Lessons from the Global Youth Leadership Academy 34:03 Time, Treasures, and Talent as a Service Framework
Connect with Brianna Borin: Connect with Brianna on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 104: Success, Life Satisfaction & Service | 01 Sep 2025 | 00:04:11 | |
True fulfillment as an entrepreneur often begins the moment you step outside yourself and give back.
Sarah Lockwood shares a personal reflection on her uncle, Ralph Junker, who quietly gave blood every two weeks for nearly twenty years. It was never mentioned at his funeral or in his obituary, yet it may have been the most defining part of his legacy. What does it mean when the most meaningful acts of service in a life are the ones done quietly, without recognition? And how might those same choices shape who we become as leaders?
This episode invites you to look at philanthropy not as a grand gesture but as a steady practice that creates life satisfaction, perspective, and connection. Inward work like meditation and journaling has its place, but service pulls us into the lives of others and reminds us that leadership is rooted in humanity.
Sarah offers a challenge worth sitting with: what if giving back became a rhythm in your life and your business? It doesn’t have to start big. Maybe it’s a volunteer day, matching donations for your team, or simply stepping in when someone in your community needs help. However it looks, those choices ripple outward, shaping stronger leaders, more grounded teams, and a legacy that speaks louder than words.
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 103: Right-Sizing with Care: Layoffs, Furloughs, and Rehiring Best Practices | 25 Aug 2025 | 00:16:48 | |
Layoffs, furloughs, and rehiring after downsizing are decisions that press on both the head and the heart.
Sarah Lockwood talks with Peggy Shell, the CEO of Creative Alignments, about the reality of leading a team through moments when survival means making choices no leader wants to make. Peggy shares how her company moved from furloughs to layoffs during an economic downturn and what it took to carry the weight of those decisions while still protecting the future of the business. How do you take care of the people who stay after you’ve had to let others go? How much truth should you share when your team is already anxious?
Peggy explains how transparency and steady communication built trust, even in the midst of layoffs, and why she chose approaches like covering health insurance, offering transition periods, and helping people find new roles. She also reflects on the uneasy process of hiring again after downsizing and the challenge of moving forward with confidence when past decisions still weigh heavy.
This episode encourages entrepreneurs to look closely at how layoffs, furloughs, and rehiring after downsizing affect more than just headcount. These moments test the culture of a company, the trust between leaders and their teams, and the resilience of a business when pressure hits. Peggy’s story shows how the choices a leader makes in these situations leave a lasting mark on both the people and the direction of the business.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction and Initial Layoffs 02:16 Fear of Rehiring and Economic Uncertainty 05:31 Conscious Leadership and Transparency in Layoffs 08:01 Furloughs vs. Layoffs 10:09 Handling Layoffs with Compassion and Support 11:14 Retaining A Players and Addressing Survivor Guilt 14:17 Lessons Learned and Building a Stronger Business 16:21 Innovation and Reimagining Company Culture 17:12 Final Takeaways for Leaders
Connect with Peggy Shell: Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 102: Talent Density: Your New KPI for Culture, Productivity & Profit | 18 Aug 2025 | 00:33:24 | |
Annual reviews are broken, and leadership coach Mike Goldman, author of “The Strength of Talent” has a different way to think about performance management that puts people growth at the heart of profit growth.
Joining Sarah Lockwood in this episode, Mike questions why so many organizations still rely on outdated HR metrics and rigid systems like annual reviews or quarterly reviews when so few leaders believe they make a real impact. He introduces the idea of “talent density,” a measure of the gap between high and low performers, and explains why it’s a sharper way to understand organizational health. He walks through his five-step framework that calls for clear expectations, honest assessments done as a team, real leadership accountability, and a balance between productivity and culture fit.
How often do we keep a top producer who quietly undermines the culture? Where is “good enough” quietly slowing the roles that drive a company forward? Mike shares strategies leaders can start using right away, even without company-wide adoption, and explains why a slow, thoughtful rollout builds trust and lasting results. This episode challenges the way performance management is typically done and offers a grounded approach to helping both people and the business grow stronger.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Talent Density Explained 01:51 People Growth Drives Profit 03:55 Assessing Performance Beyond Annual Reviews 06:25 Leadership Accountability for People Growth 08:01 Broken Performance Management System 09:17 Quarterly Talent Assessment Meeting (QTAM) 11:14 Talent Density Indicator (TDI) Overview 14:40 Culture Fit as a Performance Metric 18:45 Roles Where Good Enough Fails 23:06 Applying the System as a Middle Manager 29:01 Change Management and Rollout Strategy
Connect with Mike Goldman: Book: “The Strength of Talent”
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur:
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm | |||
| EP 101: Burnout and Toxic Culture: What to Do When It’s Affecting You or Your Team | 11 Aug 2025 | 00:30:03 | |
Burnout can take root fast when company culture overlooks early warning signs, and Cait Donovan offers insight into how leaders can spot and address it before it damages the entire organization.
Sarah Lockwood speaks with Cait, the host of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast and the founder of BurnBOLD, about what burnout looks like in real time and why it often signals deeper issues inside a company. How can a leader tell when a team is just under pressure versus when something is fundamentally off? Which behaviors start small but slowly erode trust and workplace wellness until they create a toxic culture?
Cait explains why leaders must deal with their own burnout first because when a leader is running on empty, the strain spreads. From there, she walks through ways to identify whether the problem lies in a single pocket of the organization or across the culture as a whole, and how to respond in each case. She shares approaches that shift the tone of a workplace, like starting “positive gossip” to strengthen psychological safety or aligning the company’s stated values with what actually happens day to day.
This episode looks at personal habits such as perfectionism, people-pleasing, hyper-independence that often come from old patterns and quietly shape relationships and performance at work. Cait shows how becoming aware of these tendencies can help leaders change the environment for themselves and their teams. She offers a thoughtful and detailed look at how burnout develops, what fuels a toxic culture, and how workplace wellness can be protected through intentional choices in leadership and company culture.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Real Costs of Burnout 01:31 WHO Definition and Key Signs of Burnout 02:46 Individual Burnout vs. Cultural Problems 04:07 How Leaders Should Address Burnout 06:10 Four Indicators of a Toxic Workplace 08:42 Effective Interventions to Reduce Burnout 09:20 Building Trust Through Positive Gossip 11:30 Aligning Company Values With Culture 12:44 Burnout Risk Factors and Protection Factors 16:42 Why Leaders Must Address Their Own Burnout First 21:16 Hidden Patterns That Increase Burnout Risk 26:39 Case Study: Reducing Urgency to Boost Productivity
Links Connect with Cait Donovan:
Connect with Sarah Lockwood:
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur:
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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| EP 100: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 3: Honesty With Yourself | 04 Aug 2025 | 00:26:05 | |
Telling yourself the truth might be the most radical leadership skill you’ll ever develop.
In part three of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, Sarah Lockwood is joined by Beck Sydow and Marina Suholutsky for a conversation about the power of radical self-honesty in leadership. They explore how self-awareness for leaders isn’t just about introspection but a foundational strategy for building resilient businesses, leading aligned teams, and navigating high-stakes decisions with integrity.
Beck and Marina reveal how easy it is for entrepreneurs to hide from their own truths, especially when fear, ego, or pressure to perform take over. They unpack how avoidance and overcompensation often mask deeper insecurities and explain why facing those hidden parts with compassion is key to true emotional self-regulation. When leaders name what’s really going on without judgment, they create space for better decisions, stronger relationships, and more authentic leadership.
This episode offers a powerful reframe: self-honesty isn’t weakness, but actually one of the most courageous and transformative skills you can build.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Radical Self-Honesty Is a Leadership Skill 02:56 How Your Relationship with Yourself Shapes Your Leadership 04:49 Embracing All Parts of Yourself to Build Self-Awareness 06:03 Coping Mechanisms That Lead to Dishonest Leadership 10:03 The Hidden Relief in Facing Hard Truths 14:07 Practicing Compassionate Accountability 17:59 Sovereignty, Self-Honesty, and Emotional Self-Regulation 21:32 Practical Tools to Strengthen Self-Honesty 25:02 Emotional Mastery for Leaders
Links Connect with Beck Sydow: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becksydow/ HumanKind Business Leaders: https://www.humankindbusinessleaders.com/
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-suho/ PurposeBuilt: www.purposebuilt.io
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/ Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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| EP 99: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 2: Interrupt Fear With Curiosity | 28 Jul 2025 | 00:21:24 | |
Curiosity is the leadership skill that helps you regulate your nervous system, interrupt fear loops, and make conscious choices in real time.
This episode is part 2 of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, where Sarah Lockwood is joined again by Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, and Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, to discuss how curiosity plays an important role in nervous system regulation and managing emotions. They break down how fear contracts our experience and narrows our view, while curiosity invites expansion and presence. When leaders learn to pause and ask questions like “What else is true?” or “What story am I telling myself right now?”, they create access to agency, opening up space to shift out of reactivity and into conscious, grounded response.
Marina and Beck offer tools that don’t require time away from work or structured rituals. These moments of emotional awareness can happen mid-meeting, mid-sentence, or mid-meltdown. Whether it’s noticing your peripheral vision, softening your tone, or naming what’s happening in the room, curiosity becomes a live practice that leaders can use to stay connected to themselves and others. The discussion also explores how modeling this curiosity builds team trust and strengthens leadership presence. For founders who want to lead with more ease and intention, this episode is an invitation and a toolkit.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Curiosity as a Tool for Emotional Mastery 01:24 Using Curiosity to Shift from Fear to Possibility 02:55 How Curiosity Regulates the Nervous System 04:32 Interrupting Autopilot Responses with Better Questions 06:12 Building Agency Through Conscious Choice 09:59 Real-Time Techniques for Managing Emotions 12:34 Somatic Practices for Curiosity and Expansion 15:23 Leading with Curiosity in High-Stakes Moments 16:48 Asking Open-Ended Questions That Invite Collaboration 19:31 Why Curiosity Reflects True Leadership Confidence
Links Connect with Beck Sydow: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becksydow/ HumanKind Business Leaders: https://www.humankindbusinessleaders.com/
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-suho/ PurposeBuilt: www.purposebuilt.io
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/ Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 98: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 1: Fear and Suffering | 21 Jul 2025 | 00:22:06 | |
Fear isn’t the enemy of great leadership. Ignoring it is.
How often do you walk into a meeting already bracing for impact? Or catch yourself shrinking back in a moment where you meant to lead with clarity? Sarah Lockwood sits down with Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, and Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, for a conversation on emotional self-regulation, fear in business, and the kind of inner work that makes better leadership possible.
They explore how fear lives in the body, how it shows up in the boardroom, and why most founders are still operating from old survival patterns without realizing it. You’ll hear why simply pushing through isn’t a strategy and how learning to notice your internal state (tight shoulders, shallow breath, reactive thinking) can open the door to more aligned decisions. Beck and Marina walk through tools for getting out of autopilot, including body scans, self-inquiry, and what they call “active choice,” the skill of pausing just long enough to shift out of fear and back into presence.
This doesn’t just explain why inner work matters. It shows you how to begin. Whether you’re leading a team, building a company, or trying to show up more fully for your own vision, this is the kind of episode that gets under the surface and invites you to lead from a deeper, steadier place.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Emotional Self-Regulation in Leadership 02:19 Why Fear and Suffering Matter for Founders 05:03 How the Amygdala Shapes Fear in Business 06:08 Welcoming Fear as a Tool, Not a Threat 10:08 Tools for Recognizing and Naming Fear 14:06 The Leadership Power of Softening and Owning Fear 18:13 Making Active Choices to Lead with Awareness
Links Connect with Beck Sydow: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becksydow/ Humankind Business Leaders: https://www.humankindbusinessleaders.com/
Connect with Marina Suholutsky: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-suho/ PurposeBuilt: www.purposebuilt.io
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/ Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 97: Invest Like You Mean It: Making Capital a Force for Good with Jennifer Kenning | 14 Jul 2025 | 00:40:54 | |
Where does your money sleep at night, and is it working for the kind of world you want to live in?
Jennifer Kenning was managing the wealth of high-net-worth families by day and volunteering with unhoused communities in Los Angeles by night. That contrast raised a question that’s stuck with her ever since: What if capital could be a force for good, without giving up returns? Now the CEO and co-founder of Align Impact, Jennifer leads a registered investment advisory firm managing over $750 million.
Jennifer joins Sarah Lockwood to talk about values-based investing, conscious capitalism, and how we can all, regardless of portfolio size, be more intentional about where and how our money is working. Jennifer explains why impact investing isn’t charity, how ESG works (and where it falls short), and the practical steps anyone can take to align their investments with their values. She shares examples of funding solutions in climate change, affordable housing, sustainable agriculture, and why investing in women and underrepresented founders creates ripple effects that go far beyond profit. She also reflects on her leadership as the outgoing president of EO Colorado, the power of servant leadership, and how Align’s commitment to being a B Corp shapes the way they do business.
If you’re an entrepreneur rethinking how your capital is allocated, or simply curious about whether your investments align with your intentions, Sarah and Jennifer’s conversation will help you take a more conscious, empowered role in shaping your financial impact.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Jennifer Kenning’s Path to Impact Investing 03:15 Breaking the Myth: Do Values-Based Investments Sacrifice Returns? 07:34 How Align Measures Real-World Impact 10:29 Aligning Your 401(k) and Business Capital With Your Values 18:07 Why Align Impact Became a Certified B Corp 22:11 Bringing an Impact Lens to EO Colorado 25:15 Leading Peers and Evolving as a Servant Leader 30:05 Defining the Hopeful Pioneer and Investing for 2030 35:45 Staying Grounded: Purpose, Practice, and Long-Term Vision 38:06 Advice for Founders Committed to Conscious Capitalism 39:39 Empowerment Through Financial Awareness
Links Connect with Jennifer Kenning: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennkenning/ Website: https://www.alignimpact.com/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/ Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 96: The Succession Plan That Didn’t Stick: A Founder’s Return to the CEO Seat | 07 Jul 2025 | 00:38:03 | |
A carefully planned CEO exit unraveled and what came next reshaped how one founder leads for good.
When Chris Schwalbach stepped away from the CEO seat at AVL Growth Partners, he had a clear plan, a strong successor, and years of preparation behind him. But even with all that in place, something didn’t sit right. The business started to wobble, and Chris found himself wondering if he’d made a mistake. What do you do when the leadership transition you spent years building starts to crack? How do you know when it’s time to step back in?
Joining Sarah Lockwood, Chris shares the real story behind his succession planning journey, from the slow handoff to the unexpected return, and what he learned about himself in the process. He talks openly about the shame he felt stepping back in, the inner work that helped him move through it, and the version of leadership he brings to the table now. If you’re thinking about founder exit planning or wrestling with what it means to let go, this episode offers a thoughtful look at what happens when plans shift and perspective deepens.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Chris Schwalbach’s CEO Exit and Return 02:06 Founding AVL Growth Partners and the Original Vision 04:07 Hitting Growth Ceilings and Planning a Leadership Transition 10:05 The Inner Journey: Failure, Trust, and Self-Doubt 17:12 Becoming CEO 2.0: Leading with Clarity and Confidence 22:00 Managing Team Expectations During a Leadership Transition 28:10 Reflecting on Progress: Using the Gap and the Gain 30:07 Personal Habits That Support Founder Mental Health 37:47 Lessons in Succession Planning and Self-Trust
Links Conscious Entrepreneur Previous Episode with Chris Schwalbach: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/chris-schwalbach-the-conscious-handover-embracing-change-at-the-top
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/
Connect with Chris Schwalbach: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cschwalbach/ Website: https://avlgrowth.com/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 95: Massive Revenue Growth & Operational Excellence Unpacked—Actionable Lessons from Jesse Pujji | 30 Jun 2025 | 00:42:28 | |
Jesse Pujji reveals how he builds wildly successful companies from scratch by doubling down on talent, distribution, and the power of bootstrapping.
In this episode, Sarah Lockwood sits down with the serial founder and investor behind Gateway X, a venture studio that launches and scales high-performing companies without venture capital. Jesse shares how he went from Goldman Sachs and McKinsey to building Ampush, one of Facebook’s earliest and most effective performance marketing agencies, which grew to manage over $1 billion in ad spend for top brands like Uber, Peloton, and Dollar Shave Club. That experience became the foundation for how he now builds high-performance teams and scalable businesses through bootstrapping.
Jesse breaks down the core principles that drive his companies: hiring exceptional talent, obsessing over sales and distribution, and staying rooted in profitability from day one. He shares the origin stories of ventures like GrowthAssistant, which connects startups with offshore marketing talent, and explains how each business at Gateway X is shaped by a unique unfair advantage and the right operating partner, not a VC-funded roadmap. From his two-farm model for sourcing ideas and people to his frameworks for knowing when to walk away from a failing project, Jesse offers a rare look into what it really takes to scale without VC.
This is a must-listen for founders ready to trade the unicorn myth for real traction, culture-driven leadership, and sustainable growth on their own terms.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Jesse Pujji’s Entrepreneurial Journey from Ampush to Gateway X 05:01 Core Principles for Bootstrapping and Scaling Without VC 08:48 How GrowthAssistant Scaled to $20M in Revenue 13:32 The Two-Farm Model: Matching Ideas with the Right People 15:00 Knowing When to Kill an Idea and Move On 16:02 Inside Aux: Translating Marketing for Private Equity 21:09 Why Sales and Distribution Matter More Than Product 22:14 The Power of High Performance Teams 27:02 Building Profitable Companies with Operational Rigor 34:30 Managing Attention, Energy, and Leadership Across Startups 38:48 Conscious Leadership and the Value of Coaching
Links Dave Kashen - Startup CEO Coach Book - The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: https://a.co/d/j4uKz9A
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/ Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
Connect with Jesse Pujji: Website Gateway X: https://www.gateway.xyz/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessepujji/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 94: From $50 Tasks to $50K Thinking: How to Buy Back Your Time | 23 Jun 2025 | 00:32:56 | |
Most entrepreneurs aren’t drowning in work because they lack ambition. They’re stuck doing too much of the wrong kind of work.
Sarah Lockwood talks with Julie Johnston, the founder of Rhino Squad, about what it looks like to operate from your zone of genius. They unpack the mindset traps that keep founders stuck in the weeds and walk through how small shifts in delegation can lead to major changes in time management and business growth.
Julie shares what she’s learned helping leaders hire and work with virtual assistants, especially from the Philippines, and how a global workforce can unlock more freedom, better output, and stronger team culture. Are your top people doing high-value work? What could your business look like if they were?
Julie encourages founders to think big and recognize where VAs can support every part of your organization from revenue driving activities to business operations - VAs can do much more than confirm appointments, reschedule meetings or manage your inbox (although that ‘s a great place to start if you haven’t yet)! If you’ve been hesitant to delegate or unsure where to start, Sarah and Julie’s conversation will help you rethink how you’re spending your time and what it’s really costing you.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Julie Johnston and Rhino Squad 02:03 Mindset Shifts for Effective Delegation 06:53 Maximizing Time with Virtual Assistants 10:50 Building a Supportive Team Culture 14:01 10X Thinking and Global Workforce Strategy 24:17 Julie’s Conscious Entrepreneurial Journey 29:49 Core Values Behind Rhino Squad
Links Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/
Connect with Julie Johnston: Website: www.rhinosquad.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhinosquad_virtualassistants/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhinojulie/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 93: Fractured Attention vs. Deep Work: Team Productivity Expert Jenna Piché on Fixing “Busy” Culture | 16 Jun 2025 | 00:31:49 | |
Most teams aren’t drowning in work. They’re drowning in distractions.
Sarah Lockwood is joined by Jenna Piché, the founder of First Light Time Management Coaching, for a timely conversation about team productivity, deep work, and sharpening your leadership focus. With the year halfway over, it’s a good moment to stop and ask: Are you making real progress on the goals you set in January or just staying busy?
Jenna shares why so many leaders unintentionally build cultures where busyness is rewarded, and why that’s such a dangerous trap. When everything feels urgent, it’s easy to lose sight of the work that actually moves the needle. What signals are you sending to your team about what matters? Are people clear on what to focus on or are they stuck reacting all day?
They also discuss the psychology of productivity and procrastination, including what’s actually going on in your brain when you put off the hard stuff. And they talk through what it looks like to shift into a culture that values deep work and gives people the space to do their best thinking.
If your team’s attention feels fractured (or maybe your own), Jenna offers a smart reset. The kind that helps you see where time is leaking out of your day, and how to fix it before the second half of the year slips by.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Reflecting on Goals and Productivity 02:53 Misaligned Priorities and the Myth of Busyness 06:14 Creating a Culture of Focus 09:00 Identifying Misalignment in Teams 14:55 Overcoming Procrastination and Fear 18:05 Shifting Mindsets for Deep Work 21:00 Building a Supportive Team Culture 23:56 Setting Seemingly Impossible Goals
Links Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/
Connect with Jenna Piche: Fractured or Focused Attention Assessment: https://eencclvnukx.typeform.com/to/dMYQ67rp LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennapiche/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstlightcoach/ Website: https://firstlighthealth.co/womens-health-and-focus-coaching
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hivecast.fm/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| The Conscious Entrepreneur - Trailer | 15 Jun 2025 | 00:00:41 | |
The Conscious Entrepreneur is the podcast where founders come to sharpen their edge from the inside out - building businesses that are sustainable, aligned, and actually work for their life. It’s about becoming the kind of leader your business needs you to be, and doing it with clarity, connection, and purpose.
We don’t buy into hustle culture. And burnout? It’s not a badge of honor. Here, we believe thriving businesses are built by thriving people.
Hosted by Sarah Lockwood, The Conscious Entrepreneur is where growth starts within. | |||
| EP 92: The 10X Implementation Circle: Putting Inspiration To Work | 09 Jun 2025 | 00:24:38 | |
Most entrepreneurs say they want to think bigger, but only a few actually build the systems, community, and habits that make those impossible goals inevitable.
Fresh off the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, Sarah Lockwood and Alex Raymond came home with more than just notes. They came home with decisions. In this episode, they talk through what shifted for them, what they’re already doing differently, and how the right kind of environment can shake you out of survival mode fast.
Alex shares how Dr. Ben Hardy’s session pushed him to commit publicly to growing AMplify into a $3M business in two years. Sarah walks through the behind-the-scenes changes she’s making at HiveCast right away, from automating scattered processes to freeing up time for the kind of work that actually moves things forward. They both reflect on the deeper mindset work sparked by the event, including what it means to lead with intention and how to shrink the timeline between vision and execution.
One of the biggest pieces of post-summit momentum is the launch of the 10X Implementation Circle, which is a year-long, founder-only group for serious entrepreneurs who want accountability, structure, and real community while working toward their boldest goals. Didn’t make it to the summit this year but want in on what’s next? Apply here 👉🏽www.consciousentrepreneur.us
Listen for: 00:00 Post-Summit Reflections and Key Takeaways 01:43 Dr. Ben Hardy on Impossible Goals and Time as a Tool 05:43 Alex Raymond’s $3M Business Commitment 07:06 Rethinking Priorities and Delegating for Impact 10:41 Nervous System Regulation with Marina and Beck 13:07 Entrepreneurial Mindset with Dr. Michael Freeman 17:33 Inside the 10X Implementation Circle
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/
Connect with Alex Raymond: Website: https://amplifyam.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Website: https://hivecast.fm LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hivecast.fm/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
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| EP 91: Meet the New Host of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast | 02 Jun 2025 | 00:24:28 | |
Most podcasts talk tactics, but The Conscious Entrepreneur turns the spotlight inward.
This episode marks a new beginning for The Conscious Entrepreneur as Alex Raymond passes the mic to Sarah Lockwood, the show’s new host. They reflect on the recent summit in Boulder and the kind of conversations that matter most to this community, the ones that don’t just skim the surface.
Sarah shares why she raised her hand to take on this role and what keeps her so invested in the work. As the CEO of HiveCast, she’s helped hundreds of founders launch and grow their podcasts. But here, she’s stepping into something more personal: creating space for honest conversations about the fears, habits, and thought patterns that shape the entrepreneurial journey.
What happens when we stop comparing our beginnings to someone else’s highlight reel? How do we keep showing up when the pressure to hustle never really lets up? Sarah and Alex unpack these questions and more, with a shared belief that the real growth happens behind the scenes, in community, through vulnerability, and with a little less pretending.
Alex isn’t disappearing; he’ll still be around. But with Sarah at the helm, the podcast enters a new season, one built around thoughtful interviews, lived experience, and ideas you’ll actually want to take back into your life and work.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Welcome and Summit Recap 01:04 Meet the New Host: Sarah Lockwood 02:30 Sarah’s Entrepreneurial Journey 05:12 The Story Behind HiveCast 08:37 Why Podcasting Matters 17:52 Rethinking Hustle Culture 20:31 Habits and Inspiration for Entrepreneurs 23:40 What’s Next for the Show
Links Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 90: Guard Your Joy | 26 May 2025 | 00:40:20 | |
Guarding your joy while leading high-stakes work is not optional. It is the only way to last.
Dr. David Johns sits down with Alex Raymond for a conversation on what it means to lead without losing yourself. What keeps you grounded when the work feels endless? How do you stay in the fight without letting it consume you?
Drawing from his journey, from growing up in Inglewood to serving in the Obama White House and now leading the National Black Justice Coalition, Dr. Johns shares how his leadership is shaped by purpose, community, and a deep sense of responsibility. He talks about centering the voices that are too often excluded, especially in education, and calls out the difference between performative gestures and true accountability. He reflects on the emotional cost of this work, the need for spaces that restore rather than drain, and why joy is something worth protecting at all costs. The episode also touches on his podcast, Teach the Babies, and his belief that love and dignity must be foundational in any conversation about democracy and schooling.
For entrepreneurs trying to lead with both heart and backbone, Alex and Dr. Johns’ conversation is a reminder that you don’t have to choose between ambition and integrity, and that doing the hard thing doesn’t mean doing it alone.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Dr. David Johns 01:58 Who Are You Beneath the Work? 05:14 Purpose, Passion, and Leadership Philosophy 07:10 Centering the Most Marginalized 11:13 Guarding Your Joy and Protecting Your Peace 14:44 The Power of Community 21:18 What It Means to Nourish Yourself 23:48 Why He Launched Teach the Babies 27:10 Education, Democracy, and the Fight for Equity 30:52 Real Allyship vs Performative Action 36:36 From Ally to Accomplice
Links Connect with David Johns: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrdavidjohns/ Website: https://nbjc.org/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 89: Mood Follows Action | 19 May 2025 | 00:50:24 | |
Happiness isn’t a finish line; it’s the system you build every day to actually enjoy being alive.
Brian Dubow had the career, the money, the validation, and none of it made him feel fulfilled. So he stepped off the path, studied the science of happiness, and rebuilt his life from the inside out. In this episode, he joins Alex Raymond to share what he learned along the way and how entrepreneurs can stop chasing success and start creating lives that feel good to live.
Brian breaks down the “MAGIC” framework (mindfulness, activity, gratitude, inspiration, and connection), and explains how simple daily habits can have a bigger impact than any external win. Could feeling better have less to do with getting more, and more to do with doing less of what drains you? Is your energy, not your output, the real measure of progress?
Alex and Brian’s conversation also touches on the role of discipline in happiness, why mood follows action, and how small systems can keep you aligned when the pressure ramps up. For anyone who’s ever looked successful on paper but felt off inside, this episode offers a reset and a practical way forward.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Brian’s Journey from Corporate to Happiness Coaching 08:23 The Science Behind Happiness 10:17 Happiness as a Choice and the Power of Discipline 13:32 Redefining Happiness: Enjoying the Passage of Time 18:00 Mood Follows Action and the Role of Systems 19:35 The MAGIC Framework Explained 21:00 Mindfulness and Managing Distractions 24:10 Movement and Physical Energy 29:03 Rewiring Your Mind with Gratitude 37:09 Finding Daily Inspiration 42:41 The Power of Meaningful Connection
Links Connect with Brian Dubow: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-dubow/ Website: https://hitofhappiness.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 88: What to Expect at The 2025 Conscious Entrepreneur Summit | 12 May 2025 | 00:31:41 | |
Most entrepreneurs want exponential growth. Few pause long enough to ask what’s quietly getting in the way.
In this episode, Alex Raymond shares what’s ahead for the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, happening May 28th and 29th in Boulder, Colorado. This is the one event built entirely around the well-being of entrepreneurs, and it’s designed for those who are serious about scaling both their business and their inner capacity to lead.
Sarah Lockwood, the founder of HiveCast and longtime member of the community, joins Alex to ask the questions many potential attendees are already thinking. Is it worth stepping away from the day-to-day? What’s different about this event? And how does a theme like “10x Growth” apply to someone who isn’t chasing vanity metrics?
They walk through what to expect, from the small, curated outdoor workshop with Dr. Benjamin Hardy to the larger summit day packed with speakers like Michael Freeman, Brad Feld, and Rachel Romer. The lineup covers both the internal and external work of growth, with plenty of space for connection, reflection, and actual momentum.
If you’re ready for clarity, challenge, and community, all in one place, this is why the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit belongs on your calendar: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/#tickets
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Conscious Entrepreneur Summit Overview 02:32 How the Agenda Is Personalized 04:04 Theme of the Year: 10x Growth 06:16 Dr. Benjamin Hardy Workshop and Keynote 12:06 Regulating the Nervous System for Growth 14:23 Michael Freeman on 10x Personal Growth 16:06 Fireside Chat with Brad Feld 18:13 Rachel Romer’s Story of Resilience 20:26 Jim Dieters on Building Boldly 22:58 Expressive Movement with Shine Living Community 26:31 Tickets, Community Dinners, and Integration
Links The Conscious Entrepreneur Summit: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 87: The Entrepreneur’s Mental Balance Sheet | 05 May 2025 | 00:34:54 | |
Building a business is one thing; holding your vision steady through growth, pressure, and uncertainty is something else entirely.
Alex Raymond sits down with John Sampogna, the co-founder and CEO of Wondersauce, to talk about what the entrepreneurial journey really demands once the excitement wears off. John shares how he built a 100-person agency, why he created a “mental balance sheet” to manage the emotional costs of leadership, and what he learned from selling his company while staying true to its original vision. How do you scale without losing yourself in the process? How do you know when a business opportunity is truly right for you, not just financially but personally?
John also digs into the realities of leadership that rarely get talked about: why bottlenecks are your best feedback loop, why approachability matters more than you think, and why a thriving business culture starts with making space for mistakes. He challenges entrepreneurs to rethink what scale really means in the age of AI and shares why lasting success depends on more than just growth metrics.
If you are building a business and want to do it with intention, resilience, and clarity, this conversation will give you a much-needed shift in perspective.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 01:14 Holding a Long-Term Vision Through Growth and Uncertainty 03:49 Selling Wondersauce and Choosing the Right Partner 09:01 How the Founder Role Changes After Acquisition 10:02 Navigating Earn-Outs, COVID, and the Rise of AI 12:10 Building a Mental Balance Sheet for Emotional Resilience 15:00 Scaling a Business Without Burning Out 19:25 Bottlenecks as a Signal for Operational Change 22:05 Creating Psychological Safety and Strong Leadership 25:59 Smart Marketing and True Differentiation for Entrepreneurs 32:44 How AI Is Redefining the Idea of Scale
Links Connect with John Sampogna: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsampogna/ Website: https://www.wondersauce.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 86: Being A Dumb-Ass Is Your Superpower | 28 Apr 2025 | 00:37:08 | |
Real leadership isn’t being the smartest person in the room. It’s creating the kind of culture where people feel safe enough to say, “I don’t know.”
In this episode, Alex Raymond talks with Garry Ridge, the former CEO of WD-40 and the author of “Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It.” Garry shares how a moment of “jumping in to fix it” early in his career completely reshaped his approach to leadership. That shift, from problem-solver to coach, set the foundation for one of the most admired cultures in business, with 93% employee engagement and a company-wide commitment to learning and accountability.
Garry explains why admitting what you don’t know isn’t weakness but the beginning of trust. He unpacks the idea of “dumbassery” as a leadership superpower, and why removing fear in the workplace creates room for growth, innovation, and genuine connection. What can happen when you stop calling things failures and start treating them as learning moments? What will change when your company values are more than just words on a wall?
This episode offers ideas for leaders who want to build purpose-driven companies without losing their people, or themselves, in the process. From the power of clearly ranked values to the surprisingly effective “Maniac Pledge,” Garry provides a framework for creating a workplace where people feel safe, supported, and proud to contribute.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 03:13 Learning Moments and Redefining Failure 05:25 “I Don’t Know” as a Leadership Superpower 07:28 Psychological Safety and People-First Cultures 14:16 Purpose, Values, and the Will of the People 21:44 Purpose Beyond Product and Real Accountability 33:19 Leading with Love
Links Connect with Garry Ridge: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garryridge/ Website: https://thelearningmoment.net/ Website Quiz: https://thelearningmoment.net/quiz/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 85: Nobody Cares About Your Crappy Little Startup | 21 Apr 2025 | 00:38:33 | |
Building a business with purpose will push you to grow in ways you probably didn’t expect. What happens when your ambition outpaces your timing? Or when your team starts breaking down and you realize the real issue starts with you?
In this episode, Alex Raymond talks with Brian Dally, the co-founder and CEO of Groundfloor, a fintech company that gives everyday investors access to real estate debt. Brian shares what he learned from starting too early, betting on the wrong timelines, and eventually paving the way for a market that wasn’t quite ready for him.
Brian also opens up about a turning point in his leadership when a blowout between two teams during a family ski trip forced him to confront the culture he had helped create. That moment led to a reset, not just in how the company operated, but in how he saw himself as a leader.
What do you do when your company hits a wall? How do you stay committed when the cost of building starts to feel personal? Brian reflects on his spiritual life, his leadership missteps, and the values that guide him today. He also shares the habits that keep him steady like hiking Colorado trails, practicing mindfulness, and checking in with the people who matter most.
If you’re building something ambitious, this conversation will make you think more deeply about the kind of person you’re becoming in the process.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 03:07 Early Challenges of Launching Groundfloor 05:55 The Cost of Being Early 08:10 Lessons from Republic Wireless 12:09 Personal Growth Through Leadership 14:45 Faith, Vulnerability, and Inner Work 16:48 How Company Culture Broke and Got Rebuilt 23:05 Big Goals, Ambition, and Opportunity Cost 30:59 Real-World Impact on Customers 34:02 Habits That Keep Brian Grounded
Links Connect with Brian Dally: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdally/ Website: https://groundfloor.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 84: A Look Inside the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit | 14 Apr 2025 | 00:40:58 | |
Most entrepreneurs think they need a new growth strategy. What they actually need is a better relationship with themselves.
In this episode, the tables turn as Sarah Lockwood, the founder of HiveCast, interviews Alex Raymond about the upcoming Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, happening May 28–29 in Boulder, Colorado. Now in its fourth year, the summit offers something most business events miss entirely: a chance to work on the person behind the company.
Alex shares how the idea for the summit came from countless conversations where founders showed up to talk about strategy but ended up revealing stress, fear, and self-doubt. What if those internal struggles are actually the bottleneck in your business? And what would happen if you had space to name them, examine them, and move through them?
This year’s summit features Dr. Benjamin Hardy, the author of 10x is Easier Than 2x, leading a small-group workshop on the psychology of exponential thinking. Dr. Michael Freeman, a leading voice in entrepreneur mental health research, will speak on how entrepreneurship can become a path for deep personal growth.
Sarah and Alex also talk about what makes this event feel so different. The connections are real. The conversations go deep quickly. And the room is full of people who are serious about growth, not just in revenue, but in clarity, confidence, and capacity.
If you’re the kind of founder who wants to scale your business without losing yourself in the process, The 2025 Conscious Entrepreneur Summit might be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Get your tickets now and don’t miss your chance to join the exclusive 10x Workshop with Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Seats are limited!
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Sarah Lockwood on the Conscious Entrepreneur Community 04:45 The Origin of the Summit and Why It Matters 08:20 Personal Growth as a Business Strategy 13:00 Big Ideas from Past Speakers 15:55 Ben Hardy and 10x Thinking 24:15 Why In-Person Connection Still Wins 26:50 Founder Well-Being with Dr. Michael Freeman 29:00 JV vs Varsity Thinking for Entrepreneurs 35:20 Who the Summit Is For
Links: Dr. Srikumar Rao on The Conscious Entrepreneur: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conscious-entrepreneur/id1708478000?i=1000641708365 Gay Hendricks on The Conscious Entrepreneur: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conscious-entrepreneur/id1708478000?i=1000630685954 Touched by Fire Publication: https://michaelafreemanmd.com/Research_files/Are%20Entrepreneurs%20Touched%20with%20Fire%20(pre-pub%20n)%204-17-15.pdf The Conscious Entrepreneur Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ Benjamin Hardy Website: https://www.benjaminhardy.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/ Connect with Sarah Lockwood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/ Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 83: From Sales Leader to CEO: Mark Kosoglow’s Leap into Entrepreneurship | 07 Apr 2025 | 00:40:15 | |
Most outbound sales strategies rely on volume and noise. Mark Kosoglow is betting on something different: relevance, proof, and actually caring about the people on the other end.
Mark helped scale Outreach to over $230 million in revenue as its first sales hire. Now he’s a first-time founder and CEO at Operator, a startup built inside the GTM Fund, where he’s rethinking what outbound should look like and calling out what’s broken. What happens when you stop chasing reply rates and start focusing on provable business problems? How do you build a company without tying your self-worth to the outcome?
In this episode, Mark sits down with Alex Raymond to talk through the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the decision to say yes to starting something new after being fired, and how “work hard and have fun” became the filter he uses to make decisions. He shares lessons from working alongside leaders like Manny Medina and the Chu Brothers, his take on building authentic company culture, and why he treats the CEO role like a sales role: listening first, solving second.
If you’re tired of the spray-and-pray approach to sales or wondering how to stay grounded while building something ambitious, this conversation will land.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Mark Kosoglow: From Outreach to Operator 03:16 Lessons from Catalyst and Customer Success 06:56 Why Outbound Is Broken 13:46 The “Great Ignore” and Rethinking Sales Math 17:43 Starting Inside a Venture Fund 21:24 Hiring, Delegating, and Lessons from Past Leaders 27:36 Leading Through the Emotional Highs and Lows 35:20 Daily Habits, Book Recommendations
Links Connect with Mark Kosoglow: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkosoglow/ Website: https://www.operator.ai/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 82: Winning the Cookie Wars: Bennett Maxwell’s Playbook for Growth and Resilience | 31 Mar 2025 | 00:37:38 | |
Surviving a lawsuit, scaling a franchise, and losing 125 pounds all pointed Bennett Maxwell toward one surprising realization: his nervous system had more influence than he ever imagined.
Bennett joins Alex Raymond to talk through the chaos and clarity that came with building Dirty Dough. When Crumble, a billion-dollar competitor, sued him over sprinkles and box shapes, he could have folded. Instead, he went bold. His response—cheeky billboards and viral content—caught fire and helped fuel the sale of 450 franchises in just two years.
But what happens after the adrenaline fades? What if growth brings a whole new kind of pressure? Bennett shares how success forced him to confront his health, his identity, and his relationship to stress. He talks about selling his first company, hitting his financial goal, and realizing he still felt miserable. That moment led to a full-body reset from gastric sleeve surgery to daily meditation to red-light therapy and vagus nerve stimulation. He even carved out half his workweek to focus on his mental and physical state.
This episode raises a bigger question: can you really lead well if your nervous system is fried? Bennett’s story is a reminder that personal growth and business growth aren’t separate, and that sometimes the most strategic move is stepping back.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 01:37 Mental Resilience and the Power of Detachment 03:37 Franchising Dirty Dough 05:52 The Cookie Wars with Crumble 08:06 Handling Stress During the Lawsuit 10:32 Decision-Making and Personal Mission Statement 14:52 Raising Capital During the Lawsuit 17:07 Importance of Surrounding Yourself with the Right People 21:06 Consciousness and Physical Health 23:34 Focusing on the Nervous System 28:19 Using Tools to Optimize Mental Health 30:10 Importance of Regulating the Body 32:24 Experience with Ketamine and Psychedelics
Links Connect with Bennett Maxwell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennett-maxwell-703717126/ Website: https://bennettmaxwell.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 81: Breaking Free from the Struggle | 24 Mar 2025 | 00:42:23 | |
Most entrepreneurs think they’re chasing success. Could they actually be addicted to the struggle?
Alex Raymond is joined by Dr. Nona Djavid, the founder of eLIVate Club, to discuss why so many business owners feel stuck in cycles of burnout, even when they seem to be thriving. Dr. Djavid built a successful business, but instead of feeling fulfilled, she found herself exhausted and trapped. That realization changed everything. She wasn’t chasing success; she was hooked on the struggle.
Why does overwork feel normal? And how do you break free from it? Dr. Djavid explains how subconscious beliefs and nervous system patterns keep entrepreneurs locked in hustle mode, even when they know there’s a better way. She shares a four-step framework to shift from burnout to real, lasting success, starting with setting an unreasonable vision and ending with bold, aligned action.
For anyone tired of grinding toward the next milestone, Alex and Dr. Djavid’s discussion offers a different path. Success doesn’t have to come at the cost of exhaustion.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 03:36 Entrepreneurs Addicted to Struggle 05:00 Personal Story: Nona’s Closet Breakdown 07:00 Realization: Scarcity and Worthiness 09:07 Identifying Scarcity in Life 11:22 The Role of the Nervous System 16:36 Four Steps to a Quantum Leap 33:09 Taking Unreasonable Actions 36:11 Addressing Common Objections 38:02 Areas Where People Get Stuck 40:24 Belief for Entrepreneurs: Worthiness and Enough-ness
Links Connect with Dr. Nona Djavid: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nonadjavid/ Website: https://www.elivate.me/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 80: How Entrepreneurs Can Succeed Without Burning Out | 17 Mar 2025 | 00:45:11 | |
Entrepreneurship can feel like a lonely grind, but it doesn’t have to be. Dave Parker, the CEO of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, knows firsthand what it takes to build, scale, and sometimes close a business. In this episode, he joins Alex Raymond to share what separates successful founders from those who get stuck—breaking down product-market fit, the power of timing, and why self-awareness matters more than most people think.
A key takeaway? Forum, EO’s peer-driven support system, offers entrepreneurs a space to be real about the highs and lows without the noise of unsolicited advice. Dave opens up about his own mental health journey and why having the right people around you can make or break your ability to keep going. He also challenges the idea of failing fast, arguing that knowing when to walk away is just as important as knowing when to push through.
For founders navigating uncertainty, this episode is a reminder that resilience isn’t just about grinding harder, but about making better decisions, leaning on the right community, and staying clear-eyed about what actually works.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 03:31 Product-Market Fit 05:01 Five Components of Product-Market Fit 10:20 Timeless Advice from Mentors 15:09 Timing and Market Conditions 18:09 Importance of Clear Communication 20:09 Solving Complex Problems 25:00 EO’s Mission and Growth Goals 28:48 Personal Mission and Vision 30:30 Entrepreneurship is Lonely but Doesn’t Have to Be 34:20 Dealing with Burnout and Mental Health 38:00 Importance of Forum in EO 40:02 Self-Awareness as a Key Mindset Shift
Links Connect with Dave Parker: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveparker/ Website: https://eonetwork.org/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 79: Impossible Goals: How 10X Thinking Unlocks Exponential Growth | 10 Mar 2025 | 00:47:33 | |
Most entrepreneurs play it safe with their goals, but Dr. Benjamin Hardy makes a bold case: setting “impossible” goals is the fastest way to scale. Is aiming for something that feels out of reach exactly what forces clarity, focus, and exponential growth?
In this episode, Alex Raymond sits down with Dr. Hardy, an organizational psychologist and bestselling author, to discuss the mindset shift behind 10X growth. Why do so many entrepreneurs stay stuck in slow, incremental progress? According to Dr. Hardy, the problem isn’t effort. It’s the way we set goals. Most people aim for what feels achievable, which keeps them trapped in the same patterns. A true 10X goal demands a different way of thinking, working, and making decisions.
The discussion touches on why scaling requires accountability and brutal honesty. Dr. Hardy introduces a game-changing concept called “raising the floor,” eliminating distractions, letting go of tasks that don’t drive results, and narrowing your focus to what truly moves the needle. He also explains why urgency matters. A distant, 10-year goal won’t push you to make bold moves today, but setting a 3-year deadline forces better decisions and a clearer path forward.
Along the way, Dr. Hardy shares examples of entrepreneurs who made massive leaps by shifting their focus. He also previews his upcoming workshop at the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit in Boulder, Colorado, where he’ll break down the science of scaling and help attendees build a strategy for exponential success.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 03:33 Challenges in Scaling for Entrepreneurs 04:05 Systems Dynamics and Business Goals 06:13 Accountability and Economic Models 08:27 Raising the Floor Concept 09:20 Selective Attention and Goal Framing 11:05 Strategy and Eliminating Non-viable Options 12:45 Time as a Strategic Tool 14:52 Future-Driven Decision Making 17:54 Avoiding Distractions and Making Hard Decisions 19:03 Self-Honesty and Ambition to Scale 23:49 Personal Story: Overcoming Sunk Cost Fallacy 26:03 Letting the Future Drive the Present 28:42 Identity and Entrepreneurial Growth 30:13 Practical Steps to Create a Bigger Vision 35:44 Specializing and Focusing on a Niche 41:08 Preview of Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
Links Connect with Benjamin Hardy: Website: https://www.benjaminhardy.com/
Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||
| EP 78: Why 10X Growth Starts Within | 03 Mar 2025 | 00:38:02 | |
Most entrepreneurs assume growth means doing more. More effort. More complexity. More stress. But what if scaling 10X was easier than doubling your efforts?
Alex Raymond digs into the bold idea behind 10X Growth, inspired by 10X is Easier Than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy. He challenges the trap of incremental thinking and explains why real success comes from eliminating distractions, simplifying decisions, and focusing on what truly moves the needle. If most of your results come from a small fraction of your efforts, what would happen if you let go of everything else?
Alex also explores the psychology of growth, including the concept of “the gap and the gain.” Many entrepreneurs measure success by how far they have left to go instead of recognizing the progress they have already made. Before next week’s conversation with Ben Hardy, Alex shares a preview of the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, where Hardy will lead a deep dive into the 10X mindset.
If you’ve been grinding toward growth and feeling stuck, this episode offers a different path. One where doing less leads to far greater results.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 The Inner Game of 10x Growth 03:42 The Trap of Incremental Thinking 04:49 The 80/20 Rule and Eliminating Low-Impact Tasks 08:02 Unique Ability and Zone of Genius 09:04 Delegation and Focusing on High-Impact Activities 12:05 Case Studies and the Cumulative Effect of Focus 14:02 The Mindset Shift for 10x Growth 16:18 The Gap and the Gain Concept 18:05 Living in the Gain vs. Living in the Gap 21:37 Overcoming Scarcity Mindset 24:44 Physical and Mental Signs of Scarcity vs. Abundance 26:04 Summary of Key Themes: 10x vs. 2x 28:01 The Courage to Focus on Unique Ability 29:46 Implementing the Gap and the Gain 30:18 Scarcity vs. Abundance Thinking 31:00 Immediate Action Steps for 10x Thinking 36:38 Final Thoughts on 10x Growth
Links Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://amplifyam.com/
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. | |||