Episodes

Love something absurd or obscure way too much.In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin start with a post Mike put up on X: a cheat code for being happier is loving something uncool, like his outsized love for The Cranberries. Kevin explains why he asks every job candidate what they do outside of work, and why a weird, passionate answer tells him more than a résumé. They talk about why personal stories and odd interests matter more as AI makes everything sound the same, and then answer...

???? Inner Circle ⭕️ is back! Kevin and I took a little break. When we started this podcast with a single rule: This stays fun. The minute it feels like work, we are missing the mark. So when I was heads down launching the book, the pod dropped out. The other promise was that this show would be the conversations Kevin and I have anyway. This episode is us legitimately catching up - and we have some big life updates. Thanks to everyone who messaged to say you missed the show. We did too! ...

The closer you get to your potential, the further it moves. In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin take apart one of the most well-meaning ideas we inherit: that you owe it to yourself to live up to your potential. Kevin admits he has spent years haunted by the feeling that his was massive and unspent. Mike makes the case that the measure was rigged from the start, and that the goalposts were never going to hold still. They discuss: - Why potential is an unwinnable game by definitio...

Some money is better than none. But why do people keep chasing long after they have enough? In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike calls in from day seven of a ten-day writing retreat in Winter Park, and Kevin shares a number he did not plan to share. The conversation finds its way to the question underneath both: at what point does another dollar cost more than it is worth, and how do you actually know when you have crossed that line? They discuss: - Why financial independence has nothing to...

The pain of staying the same has to outweigh the pain of changing. Most people never get there because they never actually add up what staying is costing them. In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin trade stories about the moments that forced them to stop performing the life they had built and start living the one they actually wanted. Kevin walks through his decision to leave a prestigious career, uproot his family, and move to Colorado. Mike traces the thread of his first marriage...

What if the question wasn't how to get what you want, but how to identify what you want in the first place? In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin sit with the question that lies beneath the inherited definition of success. The conversation moves from coaching clients who cannot answer that question to a framework Mike uses to build his calendar from the inside out. They discuss: Why high performers are often the worst at answering this question, and what years of compartmentalizati...

You already know which habits are costing you. You just keep negotiating with them anyway. In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin go after the moderation myth — the comfortable story most people tell themselves that lets them stay stuck exactly where they are. The conversation moves from drinking to fitness to the second-order effects of every choice you make, and lands somewhere more useful than discipline advice usually does. They discuss: - Why moderation is harder than abstinenc...

You already know that the thing you built your life around can disappear in a single moment. So how do you make sure a single loss won't break you? Kevin tore his distal tricep tendon on the last move of a climb in the Flatirons, a fully detached injury that requires the tendon to heal back to the bone and sidelines him from climbing for at least six months. What follows in this conversation is an honest look at what happens to identity, purpose, and mental health when the thing you love most is...

You already know the life you want. You have known for a while. The problem is you keep letting the calendar fill up before you put it in. In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike debrief Kevin on a trip to Londolozi in South Africa — lion tracking with Boyd Varty, time in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and five days in one of the most extraordinary places on earth. What started as an adventure came back as a reckoning with how much noise we tolerate as a default. They discuss: - Why cer...

What is the difference between self-sabotage and fidelity to the work? Mike has been writing his book for two and a half years. He has burned it down and started over four times. This episode is about what that process actually taught him, and why it could not have happened any other way. They discuss: • Why effort, the thing that works in business and athletics, can actually work against you in creative work • How to tell whether you are avoiding shipping something because you are afraid or bec...

What if the mountain you are climbing right now is still the wrong one? Mike and Kevin both read David Brooks's Second Mountain and came away with the same conclusion: the model is incomplete. This episode is their attempt to finish it. They discuss: • Why reaching the top of the first mountain so often feels empty, and what that emptiness is actually telling you • The case for a third mountain, and why you probably have to climb the second one before you can even see it • How people dress up th...

What if the real lifestyle creep has nothing to do with your spending? Mike and Kevin start with a debate about money but end up somewhere more interesting. Mike introduces the 30% Rule, something he started applying after a silent meditation retreat, and it stopped being about stuff pretty quickly. They discuss: • Why a high earning young professional skipping a ski trip with friends might actually be the wrong call • How to tell whether a purchase is really for you or for everyone watching • W...

Most people waiting on more money are actually waiting on more courage. Mike and Kevin start with a single tweet from a man who said $28,000 would finally let him start living, and they spend the episode dismantling the belief that external circumstances are what stand between anyone and the life they want. The conversation gets specific fast. Kevin is dealing with a torn tricep tendon that no amount of money can fix, which gives the whole discussion an unexpected emotional anchor. The contrast ...

In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin sit with a question that most high earners never stop running long enough to ask: what if everything you want is already available to you - for free? The conversation starts with Mike trading a five-star Mexico resort for a week in Kentucky with his brother's family, and realizing his kids may have had the best trip of their lives catching frogs and fishing from a canoe. From there, Mike and Kevin trace the thread all the way to wealth philosop...

Most people who seek help never question whether the help itself is working. They show up, they process, they feel like something is happening, and then years pass. In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin dig into a debate sparked by Marc Andreessen's claim that introspection is a modern invention, and what it actually means to do the inner work versus simply orbiting it. Mike's original hot take on therapy opens the door to something more precise: the difference between insight as a...

You know that living in alignment requires honesty. You also know how easy it is to look away from the parts of your life that aren't working. So what does it actually take to close the gap? In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike Brown and Kevin Dahlstrom dig into truth seeking as the foundation of a great life — and why so few people are willing to do it. What starts as a conversation about intellectual honesty quickly becomes something more personal: Mike's 16-year marriage that quietly was...

You know your phone is draining you. You also know you can't put it down for good. So what does a sustainable relationship with it actually look like? In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike comes back from a ten-day heli skiing trip, opens his phone, and realizes he cannot stomach what he has been willingly consuming every day. What follows is a conversation about war machines, concentric circles of impact, and the uncomfortable truth that most people have inverted the order of importance in ...

In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin tackle a question most high performers quietly struggle with: how do you actually make friends as an adult? What starts as a conversation about meeting cool people quickly becomes something deeper, a discussion about loneliness, identity evolution, and the courage it takes to be deliberate about who you let into your life. They unpack: Why "you're the average of your five closest friends" is easy to say and brutally hard to execute The concept ...

In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin explore the hidden pattern of constructive self sabotage. Prompted by Mike’s story of losing $1.5 million in a failed acquisition, the conversation dives into identity, ego, and the quiet pressure that builds after a lifetime of achievement. They unpack: • Why high performers subconsciously engineer failure • The psychological cost of never losing • The difference between a midlife crisis and a midlife chrysalis • Why failure can feel unexpecte...

“The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents.” - Carl Jung In this episode of Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin explore how parents subtly project their own fears and ambitions onto their kids. They argue that the real job of parenting is simple yet harder than it sounds. They unpack: • The danger of projecting your own path onto your children • Modeling values instead of forcing outcomes • Helping your kids strengthen their decision-making • The power of family mottos • ...

A single phrase drives this episode: I'll finally be happy when. Mike and Kevin unpack the trap of someday thinking and the quiet cost of postponing joy in service of a future milestone. From stories of dreams deferred to the empty feeling that can follow achieving a monster goal, they explore why the finish line so often fails to deliver what we expect. They discuss: • Escaping the trap of “I’ll be happy when” thinking • Why fear, not money, is often the real constraint • How the pursuit of suc...

A single question anchors this episode: At what point does resilience become unnecessary suffering? Mike and Kevin reflect on how struggle shaped their paths. The discussion moves between ambition driven by force and seasons shaped by ease. They explore: • How grind culture warps the idea of growth • The long term cost of constant pressure • When discipline quietly turns into self harm • Why choosing the right hard matters more than enduring everything • How discernment shapes where effort belon...

A single question frames this conversation: What’s the most painful truth you’ve had to accept about yourself? Drawing from different stages of life, Mike and Kevin share the kinds of realizations that only come with time and self examination. The discussion is honest and raw, with their perspectives converging around growth and self awareness. They explore: • How painful self awareness becomes a catalyst for growth • The difference between accountability and self condemnation • What aging and l...

In this episode of The Inner Circle, Mike and Kevin dive into the real meaning of minimalism and why it’s not about owning less but about owning with intention. Drawing from their own experiences with supercars and dream purchases, they examine what happens when the symbols of success stop delivering value. They unpack: • Why minimalism is about clarity, not sacrifice • How to know when your possessions stop serving you • How cost per use changes the way you think about spending • The difference...