-- To Access All Bonus Material Mentioned In This Series, Visit gobeyondcurious.com/files --
Last week, I announced a new series being released on Beyond Curious® called The 4% Files.
In this 11-part series, I’ll surface the most powerful, high-leverage insights buried inside 334+ hours of interviews with some of the most curious minds on the planet.
The inspiration?
The 80/20 rule… but on steroids.
Because 80/20 is fractal, you can 80/20 the 80/20 — which means just 4% of efforts are responsible for over half your results (64% to be exact).
So this means the same is true for my podcast…
Buried within the 267 previously released episodes, there lies 4% of the content that is the most valuable and potent.
AND… because I love you…
Within this series, I’m going FAR beyond simply replaying my most powerful episodes.
I’m sharing it within an overarching framework and pattern I’ve developed that took me THOUSANDS of hours to develop.
In The First File, I reveal this mega framework, and how we’ll be exploring it through the theme of video games.
To say I’m excited to share this with you is a massive understatement…
As I started poring over all of my content, it's almost as if suddenly the thousands of hours I've invested into creating this show all began to click into place.
I can’t wait for you to open the first file!
Stay Curious,
Brandon
P.S. Not only am I creating this series, but I’m also giving away EPIC bonus material to help implement it all.
If you truly want to make the most out of this series, you’ll want to check it out here.
P.P.S. If you want to see the mini 8 Bit Brandon series I had too much fun creating using Sora (in that GIF you see above) it’s also on that link :)
Brandon introduces the "4% Files" — a special 11-part series within Beyond Curious. He shares that this series distills the most impactful insights from over 334 hours of published episodes to help listeners surface their own unique brilliance and consciously design their lives.
Brandon reflects on being born in 1996 and feeling like part of a unique "zillennial" generation. He shares nostalgic stories of playing Super Nintendo with his brother and friends, humorously recalling their odd method of fixing cartridges, then connects it to a powerful metaphor: the “game” of modern life is freezing — and it’s time to choose whether we’re playing consciously or unconsciously.
Brandon explains how linear societal programming prepares us for predefined roles — or “games” — such as doctor, lawyer, or entrepreneur. But with AI rapidly transforming industries, even entrepreneurs aren't immune to unconscious patterns like chasing success for external validation. The key is choosing to play consciously.
Brandon dives into the importance of playing a game you’ve intentionally chosen. He warns against blindly following the frameworks of “gurus” and emphasizes a new paradigm: you’re already whole, and the growth journey should come from your truth, not a place of lack.
Brandon highlights how many external programs subtly suggest you’re “not there yet.” Instead, he urges listeners to trust their own wisdom and filter external advice through the lens of their own game. This becomes the foundation for the 4% Files.
Brandon introduces a defining analogy: there’s a Player version of you (who acts) and an Architect version (who designs the game). Inspired by a conversation with his wife and a Google Doc called “personality test synthesis,” this concept reframes how we should approach personal growth.
Brandon lays out the framework for the 4% Files series:
Brandon begins walking through the “Find Your Four” framework — a distillation of the Pareto Principle. He explains how 4% of your actions drive 64% of your results and outlines how to uncover your 20%, 4%, and 0.8% layers of impact and joy.
Brandon introduces the three nested layers:
Brandon shares the Plus Two energy framework from episode 238, explaining how to identify and surround yourself with people who elevate your energy and co-create trust-based, expansive feedback loops that support growth.
Brandon breaks down his 4% into three core elements and shows how they appear in real life:
He notes this understanding came from many iterations (he jokes he’s on “version 42”) and from others helping him “read the label on his jar.”
Brandon introduces the final layer: your 0.8% core identity. He shares his values, shaped by guest Darius Mirshahzadeh (ep. 121), and explains how beliefs like childlike curiosity and conscious storytelling fuel every action.
Listeners are guided through a powerful self-inquiry process using a custom GPT designed to extract their 20%, 4%, and 0.8% layers. Prompts include:
Brandon wraps the episode with encouragement: finding your 4% is not the end, but the beginning of a new journey. He shares that your brilliance doesn’t need to be earned — it only needs to be expressed. File Two will explore how to design your own game based on the 4% insights.
In his 20s, Keith Hodge was the last person you’d ever expect to become a transformational healer.
He spent his nights DJing in clubs, his days snowboarding, and followed the well-worn societal script straight into becoming a tax professional.
Life looked “normal” from the outside… until everything collapsed.
Within months of starting his corporate career, Keith hit rock bottom after he walked into a doctors office feeling completely drained… and walked out with a chronic fatigue diagnosis and a note excusing him from work for an entire year.
Out of pure desperation, Keith followed a friend’s advice and visited a 70-year-old psychic named Mari.
He walked into her room skeptical, agnostic, and absolutely not the “spiritual type.”
She took one look at him and said words that changed the entire trajectory of his life:
“You’re going to be a healer.”
Keith’s first reaction was, “What’s a healer?”
Fast-forward to today, and Keith has worked with 10,000+ people across the world, dissolving emotional patterns at their root and now helping them step into what he calls “True North Alignment.”
Here’s what specifically resonates with me about Keith’s work:
Keith helps people shift away from a “you need fixing” paradigm into a transcending paradigm — where transformation happens not through doing, but through being.
And if that wasn’t inspirational enough, I’m truly magnetized by Keith’s vision of creating a world of Trauma-Free Children.
Imagine:
A world where kids are taught how to feel, process, and regulate their emotions instead of suppressing them. Keith believes that by holding children in presence rather than trying to fix or rush their feelings, we can end generational patterns at their root and raise humans who grow up centered, connected, and emotionally whole.
This is a beautiful conversation where explore:
Especially as a parent, I left this recording with a completely new understanding of what it truly means to raise emotionally healthy children.
Whether or not you have kids, this episode will change the way you see your own emotional patterns, your past, and your potential.
Brandon welcomes listeners and introduces Keith Hodge, a transformational healer whose mission is to help people reconnect with their true state of being. He outlines three powerful themes explored in the episode: seeing boredom and anxiety as protectors, making heart-led decisions, and creating a world of trauma-free children.
Keith and Brandon begin their deep dive by examining how emotions like boredom and procrastination are not problems, but protective mechanisms. Keith shares how becoming aware of where these emotions are stored in the body is the first step in healing.
The conversation kicks off with a moment of grounding, setting the tone for presence. Brandon opts to start by diving into the idea of uncovering and removing limiting beliefs vs. stepping directly into your true self.
Keith explains how emotional tracing works by using the body as a guide. He discusses how unconscious reactions surface and how presence allows us to meet them in real time for healing, especially in early childhood development.
Keith shares a powerful story of holding presence for his two-year-old son’s emotional meltdowns and how regulation, not repression, creates resilience. He speaks to the importance of helping children feel, not fix, their emotions.
Brandon asks how to hold presence for a child in socially pressured environments like planes or restaurants. Keith explains that true presence isn’t location-based—it stems from regulation within the parent.
Keith shares how his vision for trauma-free children emerged and how it involves holding children in presence so they learn emotional regulation. He explains how generational healing requires adult self-work first.
Keith unpacks the mechanics of story creation in both adults and children, emphasizing that not all emotions need to be turned into lifelong narratives. He offers insights into how children—and we—can feel emotions without forming stories.
Brandon brings up boredom as a subtle emotional trigger and Keith guides him in real time to trace the feeling, helping him uncover anxiety as the emotion beneath boredom.
In a powerful moment, Keith walks Brandon through a live emotional tracing session, helping him locate where boredom manifests in his body and trace it back to an underlying feeling of anxiety.
Keith shares his transformative journey from working in tax to becoming a world healer. A chronic fatigue diagnosis forced him to confront his disconnection from self, leading to his first encounter with a psychic named Mari.
Brandon explores how identity-based "shoulds" from society or personal history can limit growth. Keith explains how our emotions shape these identities and how to spot when evolution is asking us to shift.
Brandon and Keith discuss the liminal space of outgrowing your old teachings, methods, or brand, and stepping into a new, truer version of yourself—one that’s guided by presence, not past success.
Keith powerfully differentiates between decisions made from excitement and those made from intuition. He explains that excitement often comes from protective patterns, while true intuition arises from grounded presence.
Keith outlines how to tell the difference between stories created by past wounds and genuine intuitive signals. He emphasizes that true heart intelligence is consistent and unwavering, unlike fleeting emotions or excitement.
Wrapping up, Keith encourages listeners to trust their heart’s wisdom, tune into its consistent signals, and let it guide decisions instead of the mind. Brandon expresses deep gratitude for Keith’s presence and teachings.
I turn 30 in just about 3 months.
As I sat down to reflect on what’s changed my career trajectory the most over the past decade, one thing stood out above everything else.
I call it Slipstreaming.
It’s a strategy I first used when I was 21 that helped me go from “broke college student” to working side-by-side with one of my mentors, traveling the world, getting flown into $25K mastermind rooms, and ultimately building the life I live today.
In today’s episode, I’m finally breaking it all down.
And instead of just telling you what it is, I show you — by weaving together audio from:
Whether you're a teen, twentysomething or thirtysomething, or you’re further along in your journey and want to empower the next generation — this one is worth a listen.
Here’s a peek at what you’ll learn:
In a world changing so fast that many of tomorrow’s most important jobs don’t even exist yet, I’m excited for the right people to hear this.
If you know someone navigating their career path, I hope you’ll consider sharing this with them — it completely changed my life.
Brandon opens the episode with a deeply personal reflection: with just 99 days left before turning 30, he takes listeners on a unique solo journey into a strategy that completely transformed his life — one he calls the “Slipstream Technique.” He sets the stage by reflecting on speaking engagements with incoming college freshmen and the overwhelming uncertainty facing today’s youth in a rapidly evolving world.
Brandon introduces the moment that shifted his life trajectory in his early 20s and how it became a repeating pattern among many high achievers he interviewed. He introduces the “Slipstream Technique” as a powerful, unconventional method for career acceleration — one that doesn’t rely on traditional education or job applications.
Brandon plays the introduction to the original “Ultimate Advantage” course recorded in 2018 with his mentor, Jonathan Levy. Jonathan shares how Brandon reached out using the strategy and ended up becoming an integral part of his company, Superhuman Enterprises.
Brandon recounts his then-current daily life in Tel Aviv — traveling, working alongside thought leaders, and helping shape educational programs that impact hundreds of thousands. Jonathan highlights how Brandon became one of the most valued, trusted, and highly paid members of his team — all without a traditional job application.
Brandon outlines how the Slipstream Technique helped him go from broke student to global entrepreneur. He teases real-world examples of others who used similar strategies to leapfrog traditional paths and work with top industry leaders.
Brandon plays a powerful clip from episode 76 with Todd Herman, author of The Alter Ego Effect. Todd shares the serendipitous story of meeting and being mentored by legendary business philosopher Jim Rohn after boldly completing a challenge Rohn gave him — and becoming the only person to ever do so.
In a clip from episode 225, Jessika shares how she escaped a restrictive cult and used free work to pitch herself for a dream job in the art world — ultimately landing major opportunities including a $500,000 children's book deal. Her story illustrates the power of offering time and value up front.
Brandon shares a segment from episode 226 with Qigong master Lee Holden. Lee reveals how curiosity, initiative, and service led to his mentorship with Mantak Chia — and eventually 12 trips to Asia as his ghostwriter. This apprenticeship became the cornerstone of Lee’s now global career.
Brandon reflects on launching the Ultimate Advantage course with Jonathan, earning over $44,000 in its first week. He points listeners to the still-available Udemy version and shares pride in its lasting impact.
Brandon unveils the 5-step Slipstream Technique:
He emphasizes that the best roles often don’t exist until you create them.
Brandon explores the behavioral science behind the technique — focusing on the “IKEA Effect,” or why people value what they help build. By giving influencers the chance to invest in you, you increase your perceived value, deepen trust, and build reciprocal relationships.
Brandon explains why starting with free value creates immediate goodwill, deepens trust, and positions you as an irreplaceable asset rather than an expense — a strategy that helped him rise quickly and create opportunities from nothing.
Brandon shares a key nuance — while mentors are busy, many want to invest in those who show initiative, implement feedback, and express gratitude. It's your job to close the loop and show you're worth mentoring.
Brandon offers a recent personal insight: while mentorship helped shape his career, he learned not to become overly dependent. Trusting your own voice is essential as you evolve. Mentors are valuable guides, but only you can steer your life’s vision.
Brandon closes the episode with heartfelt gratitude to Jonathan and all his mentors. He encourages listeners — especially teens and 20-somethings — to consider an alternative path, and reach out to him on LinkedIn for support or questions. He teases his upcoming 30th birthday episode where he'll reflect on a decade of lessons.
Five years ago, I hit “publish” on a wild experiment.
(If you want a laugh, check out episode #1. I listened to it and was cringing like crazy)
It wasn’t called Beyond Curious back then — but the mission underneath it was the same:
To explore what it really means to live a rich life… not just financially, but emotionally, spiritually, and consciously.
Fast forward to today, and this week marks the 5-year anniversary of this show.
And here’s the funny thing — I didn’t even realize the anniversary was coming up until very recently.
My first thought was, “oh shit, I should probably do something special for the anniversary episode.”
But with a 2 week trip to Italy, my daughter’s 2 year old birthday party, and some live event planning, I didn’t really have time to think about it 😆
That’s when I realized something epic:
I DID have a perfect episode to release for the anniversary — a conversation with my friend and Curiosity Island Castaway Susanne Goldstein where she turned the tables and interviewed me!
I met Susanne about a year ago and am incredibly grateful for the awarenesses she’s brought in many domains, specifically around Consciousness and Energetics.
So while I had NO idea what Susanne was going to ask me, in this episode, we explore:
If you’ve been walking alongside me on this journey — whether since episode 1 or episode 260+ — I can’t wait for you to listen!
Brandon celebrates the 5-year anniversary of Beyond Curious, reflecting on the journey from its humble, cringe-worthy beginnings to an uninterrupted 265-week streak. He introduces a special episode where Susanne Goldstein turns the tables to interview him, diving into themes like curiosity, empathy, consciousness, and how his childhood shaped his mindset.
Brandon shares how, despite a whirlwind trip to Italy and family events, he realized he had already recorded the perfect anniversary episode with Susanne. He previews key highlights: how discovering your uniqueness leads to realizing your oneness, pool as a metaphor for curiosity, and a wild story about manifesting mirrors.
Susanne takes the reins, introducing Brandon as the mind behind the Beyond Curious movement and Curiosity Island. She celebrates his gift of conversational curiosity and tees up a deep, exploratory discussion on what drives him.
Susanne recounts their first conversation sparked by a show about octopuses and how it signaled Brandon’s natural ability to dive deep into any topic. She probes how he navigates unfamiliar territory with others by focusing on their motivation.
Brandon explores the foundational role curiosity plays in human evolution and consciousness. He believes the universe is inherently curious and that this drive powers all growth and connection.
Susanne shares a personal story about being perceived as "interrogating" someone simply by asking questions. She contrasts this with her upbringing in a Socratic, question-driven household and proposes the need for a “curiosity epidemic.”
Brandon reflects on how learning to play pool gave him a framework for pattern recognition, anticipation, and intellectual exploration—revealing the importance of finding a foundational skill that sparks curiosity.
The duo discusses how to instill curiosity in future generations. Susanne’s mission to teach emotional intelligence to kindergartners leads them to explore language, culture, and the shift from seeking certainty to seeking clarity.
They delve into how language shapes our reality, with Brandon explaining how he’s trying to shift away from binary phrases like "right" or "wrong" with his daughter, Kaya. Susanne expands on the magical power of “spelling” and its connection to conscious creation.
Susanne introduces the framework of dimensional consciousness, describing 3D as the survival paradigm, 4D as the awakening to possibility, and 5D as full creator consciousness rooted in love. She illustrates how beliefs evolve with consciousness.
Brandon shares how spending time with high-vibration people like the Curiosity Island castaways and using his Find Your Four framework helped him evolve spiritually and realize that pursuing his uniqueness led to the realization of oneness.
Susanne clarifies Brandon’s use of “masculine” and “feminine” as energetic archetypes, not gendered terms, and explores how understanding these energies allows deeper self-discovery and universal alignment through curiosity.
Susanne presents David Hawkins' Map of Consciousness, highlighting love as the tipping point where humanity can shift paradigms. Brandon affirms that adopting new perspectives is as simple—and radical—as changing the lens we see through.
Brandon connects empathy and curiosity as twin forces that break down perceived differences. He shares how realizing that consciousness is non-local can help us shift from reactive humans to observant higher selves.
Susanne illustrates how to practice 360-degree thinking and recognize the “observer” in us. She explains that consciousness may reside in the energetic plasma of the universe—further evidence of our interconnectedness.
Brandon discusses how children naturally see internal and external reality as equal, and how trusting our mind’s imagery as real can reawaken this multidimensional perception in adults.
Brandon shares a jaw-dropping story of envisioning a mirror to symbolize his higher self—and literally finding one discarded on his bike route the next day. Susanne confirms this as powerful co-creation in action.
Susanne introduces timeline work, prompting Brandon to reflect on a real-life shift catalyzed by a former friend’s sudden departure. He credits this emotional event with unlocking a new reality aligned with his growth and purpose.
Susanne invites Brandon—and listeners—to consider what version of themselves they want to step into next. She reminds us that it's not about what we do, but who we are as we do it that defines our next timeline.