The Thriving Coaches Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

 

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This week, I'm excited to share a fascinating conversation with my good friend and colleague, Dr. Joseph Riggio.

Joseph and I have been friends for over 25 years, often exploring deep questions about human potential, transformation, and what it takes to live a truly inspired life.

Recently, Joseph sent me a thought-provoking message from sunny Florida, challenging me to reflect on the relationship between our inner perceptions and external reality. He asked:

"How do we reconcile the 3Ps concept that 'it's all just thought' with the undeniable external feedback we constantly receive from the world around us?"

(If you've been following my work over the past decade, you may have noticed that I tend to avoid the phrase "just thought"—and for good reason.)

Joseph’s question sparked an insightful conversation between us, giving me a chance to clarify my particular understanding of Sydney Banks’ teachings, as well as to explore the profound practical implications of how we perceive and navigate reality.

I'm delighted to share our recorded discussion as this week’s podcast episode.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

• Why transformation is always ontologically based and embodied (and what that means in practical terms).

• How our experience of reality is essentially a simulation—and how deeply understanding the "rules" of this simulation can profoundly impact your life.

• The critical difference between transformation and mastery—and why confusing the two can seriously limit your growth.

• Why direct engagement with reality is essential for genuine insight and meaningful change.

We also explored the intersection between my approach (informed by the Three Principles) and Joseph’s work, which integrates NLP, hypnosis, and his unique "MythoSelf Process."

One thing worth noting: what you’re going to hear is a conversation between two friends and colleagues, comparing and seeking to better understand each others’ “maps of reality”. As such, it’s not a coaching or teaching session (though there’s still plenty to discover).

This conversation is particularly valuable if you're committed to making a meaningful impact—whether as a coach, speaker, leader, or in your own personal journey of transformation.

Big love,
Jamie

P.S. If you'd like to learn more about Joseph and his remarkable work, I highly recommend checking out his website: josephriggio.com

 

 

 

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This week, I'm sharing a clip from one of my recent program calls, focused on discovering your authentic voice.

Here's a glimpse of what's inside:

- The unexpected insight I had about authenticity while attending a public speaking course.

- A surprising comedy lesson that completely changed the way I think about developing your voice.

- Why your audience might actually be your greatest ally in expressing your true self.

If you've ever wondered how to communicate more authentically and resonate deeply with others, this video is for you.

Tons of love,
Jamie

✨ Get your free Inner Stressbuster + a shot of Clarity every Friday. Subscribe now: JamieSmart.com 

A while ago, I was asked a bold question: “How do you know that people have innate health and wellbeing? How do you know this is true?”

It’s a question I’ve spent years exploring, and here’s the thing: There are no sacred cows in this understanding. If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll know I often reference the principles behind clarity. 

These principles don’t require belief or blind faith—if they’re “true” then they should be there to be seen, so they’re fair game to be tested, questioned, and explored deeply.

This week’s podcast episode is all about that. It’s an extract from a call in one of my advanced programs, where we explore:

• The two ways I’ve come to know these principles are true—through personal insight and universal application.

• A powerful story that illustrates how realization can instantly align us with reality.

• Why the principles of clarity, wellbeing, and resilience aren’t just ideas—they’re foundational truths that hold up to scrutiny.

I hope this extract inspires you to test these principles for yourself - and see what emerges.

Tons of love,

Jamie

This episode is a 10-minute clip taken from the first module of this year’s Clarity Certification Training. I’d been exploring the notion of ‘true identity’ with the members of the group, when I was asked this question:

“True identity is consciousness itself; I’m very happy with that. The question is, when we move beyond that, into defining that consciousness as having characteristics (such as stillness, love, resilience, truth, calm), where’s the evidence of that?"   Basically, where’s the evidence that these qualities are innate?   My answer both surprised and resonated with people.
 Here’s the episode.

I'm Jamie Smart - welcome to the podcast. You don't need me to tell you that, as I record this, we're living through a time of extreme volatility and uncertainty. One aspect of that is the coronavirus and its health impacts. Another aspect is the societal and economic impacts of our response to the pandemic. But the third, and for many people the most troubling aspect is the psychological and emotional distress that people are dealing with in relation to all this.

This week's podcast is a recording of an online masterclass I did recently called "Finding your bearings in turbulent times."

As you listen, we’re going to be exploring the things that can help you to…

- Navigate these rapidly changing circumstances.
- Keep your bearings (and find them again quickly if you should lose them).
- Be of real help to the people around you when they start losing their sh*t.

You'll also hear me do live Q&A as I deal with the various questions and concerns people (quite naturally) have as they're navigating these strange times.

So here's the Masterclass...

This episode is a re-release of an interview from last summer, but as you’ll hear, it’s a conversation with a difference, because rather than me interviewing someone, it’s me *being* interviewed for The Coaching Show, by ICF Master Coach Christopher McAuliffe and his colleague Alex Terranova.    And this was an interesting one. As you’ll hear, it was pretty fast-paced, and I really enjoyed the challenge of making the value and approach involved in principles based coaching explicit to a couple of experienced coaches who were brand new to the subject. We talked about 3-day intensives, and what has to happen before a busy executive is willing to take 3 days out of a packed schedule to do an intensive with you. We also talked a lot about the whole domain of growing a coaching practice.    Speaking of which, back when we released the episode, I announced that I was running my last ever 90-day Coaching Immersion.   One of my business mentors had said that 90 days (12 weeks) was too much - that we should limit the programme to 60 days max, or even just do it as a digital course.   So I decided to do one last 90-day programme, and run all three tracks as a single group.   We had coaches who wanted to get clients, enroll them on coaching packages and make a difference doing the Thriving Coaches Blueprint track… XXX LINK www.JamieSmart.com/thriving XXX    We had people who wanted to change careers to do something more fulfilling and on-purpose doing the Career Transition Blueprint track…  XXX LINK www.JamieSmart.com/escape XXX    We had people who just wanted to see the principles behind clarity more deeply in the most important aspects of their lives doing the Clarity for Personal Transformation track…  XXX LINK www.ClarityAcademy.co/transform12 XXX    But they were all doing it in one group, meeting up with me each week for 1:1 coaching in a group context…   It was an experiment.   It was the first time I’d ever combined all three tracks.   I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen.   But you know that feeling, when you try something out and it turns out even *better* than you expected? Yeah, that feeling.   As we were going through the programme, one of the students asked me why this intake of the 12-week programme was the last one. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "It's a great format - why are you stopping it?"   I explained that we were planning to release these 3 tracks as digital programmes, and experiment with a shorter, 6-8 week format, but it suddenly occurred to me that I should check with the folks on the programme.   So I asked them, “How has 12 weeks been for you, in terms of your levels of engagement / amount of progress / amount of time you could devote to it / how much you've learned / how far you've come etc?”   Basically, for what we've been doing, was 12 weeks too long, too short, or just right?   The vast majority of the people on the programme replied, “Just right.”   And here's the thing. That's how I felt too. I enjoyed the hell out of it!   So I’ve decided to do a 180.   We’re doing the 12-week Coaching Immersion again. I’m going to be doing all 3 tracks, and we’ve got some great coaches and aspiring coaches already signed up and ready to start with the Thriving Coaches Blueprint track.   We’re starting soon - the doors close on 11th march. This is a chance to work closely with me in a small group setting, so if you’ve been thinking about making some changes, now’s a good time!   If you’re a coach and you want to get clients and grow your practice in a way that feels great and fits with who you really are you can find out more about the Thriving Coaches Blueprint at jamiesmart.com/thriving. And here’s today’s episode

The conversation you’re about to hear is one I had with my dear friend and colleague, Dr Mark Howard just before we recorded an ‘Impact Kit’ for my ClarityPro members.    Mark is a licensed psychologist who's spent *decades* sharing the principles with people to help them recover from addictions.

As such, he's probably the most experienced person on the planet when it comes to sharing the principles to help people break free from life-damaging habits and compulsions.

Mark and I first met ten years ago in Santa Cruz, when I sat in on a group session he was doing and I was blown away. Behind his gentle demeanour, I could sense a rock solid certainty about what people have going for them. Mark and I became great friends and he’s one of the people I continue to learn from and be impacted by, so I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.    By the way, if you’re a ClarityPro member, you’ll find the Impact Kit I mentioned in the Addiction, Habits & Compulsions module. You’ll hear Mark and I discussing how we work with clients around addictions, and some of the key distinctions and insights that inform that work.   And if you’re not a ClarityPro member, but you want to learn how to share the principles with anybody, on any topic and in any situation, you can find out more about our community and what’s on offer at www.JamieSmart.com/claritypro. On Friday January 3rd at midnight, we’re closing the doors to new members. So after Friday January 3rd, we won’t be accepting any new members until we open the doors briefly at the end of April. So if you’ve been thinking of joining ClarityPro, now’s a good time.    In addition to that, we’ve got the next ClarityLive event coming up on January 11th & 12th, and the theme for this ClarityLive event is the whole domain of goals, results and taking things to a new level, so we thought we’d go with a new year / breakthrough theme. And I’m mentioning that because when you join ClarityPro before January 3rd, you get a free ticket to a ClarityLive event, so you can use it for the January event, or for one later in the year. So you can find out more about ClarityPro and what’s on offer at www.JamieSmart.com/claritypro   And finally, I want to thank you for listening, and wish you a happy, peaceful and relaxing time during the holiday season.

In this episode you’re going to hear a coaching demo I did in front of an audience with a client suffering from what she described as narcissistic abuse.
She sometimes felt overwhelming fear of rejection, and wanted to start living with more peace and freedom.

The client had trained extensively as a therapist, and was convinced her present-day problems were rooted in her past.
And she'd tried lots of things...
Telling herself she knew it was just a story (she didn't).
Trying to tell herself a better story (she couldn't).
Working at accepting the overwhelming feelings (they seemed unacceptable).
But what if there's so much *less* than that to do?
You may have heard me say that the two most valuable things a person can discover are how experience is created and who they really are.
My client thought her overwhelming feelings were telling her about her past (they weren't).
My client thought there was something wrong with her (there wasn't. And there isn't.)
As the session proceeded, she started waking up to the truth of who she really is.
And everything shifted.
A few days later, she wrote that everything had changed since our session. She said she feels so much more relaxed in the areas where she'd been struggling.
She said that the feeling of lack she'd been experiencing had somehow disappeared.
And she hadn't been working at it.
It just happened.
That's the power of insight and realisation.   As you’ll hear, I move between coaching the client and speaking to the audience. The main coaching session is in the first 20 minutes of the podcast, then I speak to the audience for a while then come back to the coaching client for the last few minutes to check in with her. So I hope you enjoy the session.

By the way, if you’re a ClarityPro member, you’ll be receiving a fully unpacked version of this coaching session where I take you behind the scenes and explain what I’m responding to, what’s guiding the questions I’m asking and how I’m making sense of what the client is telling me. So if you’re a ClarityPro Member, you’ll find that in the impact kit for the module called ‘Coaching, Therapy & Changework from the Inside-out’. And if you’re not a ClarityPro member, but you want to learn how to share the principles with anybody, on any topic and in any situation, you can find out more about our community and what’s on offer at www.JamieSmart.com/claritypro    And if you want to learn how to bring an understanding of these principles into every aspect of your work and life, you can join me on the January 2020 intake of the  Clarity Certification Training, you can get one of the last 11 places and save up to £2,000 off the full price when you book your place by Friday, 10th January. Just go to www.JamieSmart.com/coach.

What you’re about to hear is a recording of a brief but powerful coaching demo I did with a Certified Clarity Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Clesia Mendes. 
Clesia starts out by saying she wants to take things to 'the next level' as a public speaker.

She's doing lots of public speaking, and learning a lot in the process, so she's looking for opportunities to make things even better. So she was a little surprised when I asked...

"How do you know you're not already at the next level?"

As we explored her answers to that question, we discovered that "the next level" was in the last place she expected to find it.

Despite the fact that this session is brief, it points to one of the things I consider to be absolutely crucial when it comes to having an impact with an individual or group.

Do the principles represent the the future of psychology? I’m Jamie Smart, and what you’re about to hear is me being interviewed by the author Amir Karkouti, the creator of the What The F*#$ Are The Principles? group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/299806010361726/   In this conversation I make the case for why the principles behind clarity (as realised & articulated by Syd Banks) represent the future of psychology. We cover quite a lot of ground in this session including:   - What distinguishes the principles from every other psychological and spiritual model   - My take on what Syd Banks meant when he said "Thought is the missing link"   - Why I believe the two most valuable things you can discover are how experience is created and who you really are   The session also includes a Q&A session where I was asked some really great questions, including...
- How can you be so certain these principles represent the future of psychology?
- Why teach this rather than (for instance) "pure non-duality" or some other spiritual or psychological model?
- How to free yourself from the need to convince anyone (and the challenges inherent in that)

So with that, here’s my conversation with Amir…