Behind The Human with Marc Champagne

In a world obsessed with speed, productivity, and constant stimulation, Michael Apollo is asking a radically different question: What happens when we slow down? Michael, founder of the Mindful Institute and host of Leading Minds Revealed, joins Marc Champagne to explore the hidden power of presence, the misconceptions surrounding mindfulness, and why our most valuable human skills may become even more important in the age of AI. From his personal experience with depression to the moment a global pandemic threatened to destroy everything he'd built, Michael shares how decades of training his mind helped him navigate uncertainty, make clearer decisions, and discover unexpected opportunities. This conversation is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful thing we can do isn't to move faster. It's to stop long enough to see clearly. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:49 — How childhood prayer sparked a lifelong curiosity about the mind 05:20 — Why presence is becoming a modern-day superpower 09:31 — The attention crisis: Why more information creates less clarity 13:00 — Depression, losing hope, and discovering the tools to train his mind 15:39 — How meditation transformed Michael's intensity without taking away his drive 18:09 — Why changing others starts with changing how we show up 22:25 — The moment a global pandemic threatened everything he'd built 26:28 — What happens when you stop fighting reality and begin accepting it 28:56 — How one moment of clarity helped transform a crisis into an opportunity 32:21 — Why slowing down doesn't mean giving up 37:56 — “Headspace ruined mindfulness”: The controversial truth about meditation apps 42:41 — The human skills we risk overlooking in the age of AI 47:11 — Why most leaders don't need to become lifelong meditators 49:32 — Mindfulness isn't about relaxation. It's about seeing clearly. 50:55 — How Michael's personal practices have evolved over 25 years 53:05 — The three-hour conversation that helped shape his future 55:33 — Why he's intentionally slowing down while the world speeds up 58:52 — The surprising productivity of doing nothing * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Britt Lefkoe grew up surrounded by mindset work, learning from an early age that our beliefs shape our lives. But that awareness came with a cost: the feeling that every difficult emotion or limiting belief was another problem she needed to fix. In this conversation, Britt and Marc explore what happens when self-awareness turns against us, why emotions aren’t the problem but the stories we attach to them can be, and the profound difference between having an insight and experiencing a true breakthrough. Britt also shares the simple phrase she uses when life feels overwhelming and why personal development was never meant to become our life. It was supposed to help us live it. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:44 — Why Britt burned her first business to the ground 05:21 — Growing up in a family where mindset was everything 07:32 — “Am I a fraud?” When you can help others but struggle to help yourself 08:42 — Finding her own voice after her father's death 11:08 — Stop asking “why” and start asking “what next?” 13:00 — The healing power of simply telling the truth 13:57 — Why you shouldn't psychoanalyze yourself when you're triggered 16:17 — Emotions aren't the problem—the stories are 19:07 — Learning to forgive yourself for being human 21:02 — What anger, envy and disappointment can teach us 23:54 — Why Britt doesn't want to neutralize negative emotions 27:25 — “The truth is always simple” 28:15 — How to rewrite the stories running your life 29:00 — “The truth is always good news” 33:17 — Finding truth after unimaginable trauma 35:16 — Untangling love from pain 36:43 — When “hard work” becomes part of your identity 37:44 — Why saying “this is hard” doesn't make life harder 39:20 — The question that helped save a client's marriage 43:33 — The difference between an insight and a breakthrough 46:53 — Why changing through insight alone is exhausting 47:12 — Personal development isn't supposed to become your life 49:48 — The two breakthroughs that changed Britt's life 51:48 — Healing through love instead of endlessly fixing yourself 52:04 — Why Britt stopped following conventional business advice 54:00 — Personal development beyond suffering: infinite possibility * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mentalist and illusionist Wayne Hoffman has built an extraordinary career reading minds, performing around the world and creating moments that make people question what's possible. But underneath the illusion is something even more interesting: an obsessive understanding of psychology, goal achievement, gratitude, risk and the small actions that quietly change the course of a life. Wayne and Marc explore why he chose an unconventional path, what he learned from the highest highs and loneliest moments of performing, his system for turning enormous goals into achievable steps, and why his future self keeps giving him the same instruction: do what you're supposed to do. And before the conversation ends, Wayne puts his mind-reading skills to the test on Marc! EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 02:12 — Discovering a hidden world inside a childhood magic shop 04:09 — Why Wayne became obsessed with creating wonder 08:16 — Turning an unusual passion into a career 10:13 — Choosing entrepreneurship instead of the “real job” 10:38 — The $10 business-card coupon that changed Wayne's life 13:13 — Who is your unsung hero? 13:58 — Honouring the man who unknowingly changed everything 17:21 — The moments Wayne realized: “This is actually working” 18:10 — Sitting beside Ellen and feeling like he'd stepped inside his television 20:26 — The strange loneliness behind enormous moments of success 21:29 — Fooling Penn & Teller — and barely remembering what happened next 22:59 — Reverse-engineering your greatest successes 24:15 — Why gratitude changed Wayne's life 26:01 — Could you be happy if everything you achieved disappeared? 26:43 — Is mind reading actually real? 29:55 — How psychology can make someone appear psychic 31:57 — What Wayne is actually doing when he “reads minds” 32:37 — How a professional mentalist trains his mind 35:45 — The one major goal Wayne still hasn't achieved 38:28 — Wayne's system for achieving enormous goals 38:46 — Feel. Define. Plan. 39:57 — The power of asking for the next doable action 40:56 — What would ten-year-old Wayne think of his life today? 42:39 — Meeting his future self 42:49 — “Do what you're supposed to do.” 45:05 — Wayne attempts to read Marc's mind 47:35 — The first impossible prediction 49:35 — And then things get even stranger 50:28 — Why Wayne would still do this work for free 51:19 — Why the world may need more wonder 52:11 — Adult recess and Wayne's deeper purpose * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David Stewart has spent much of his life looking closely at people. As a photographer, he worked around the world, shot his first Vogue ad in his twenties, and worked in New York during the Andy Warhol era. But as David got older, he began noticing something strange: while youth was marketed through aspiration, possibility and beauty, aging was increasingly framed through fear, decline and limitation. He decided to challenge that story. Today, David is the founder of SuperAge and AGEIST, building a new model around longevity that goes far beyond biomarkers or simply trying to extend lifespan. In this conversation, we explore what it actually means to stay fully alive as we age, why optimism may be essential to pursuing wellness, how social connection fits into longevity, the danger of turning health into an endless optimization project, and why David believes we need to move from consuming information to taking action. We also explore the creation of the Super Age Games, his personal practices for managing stress and mental fitness, and the simple morning ritual he uses to deliberately counter the negativity our minds naturally absorb. This is a conversation about making the life you have worth extending. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:12 — Building a life around values instead of internal dissonance 04:22 — The photographer who turned down work that didn't align 05:53 — Vogue, Paris and working around Andy Warhol 07:34 — The realization that changed how David thought about aging 10:03 — Why brands misunderstood people over 50 13:17 — The health crisis that forced David to change his own life 16:57 — How AGEIST evolved into SuperAge 22:25 — Why information alone rarely changes behaviour 24:30 — Building trust before building products 26:26 — The spontaneous idea that became the Super Age Games 29:42 — Why friendship and social connection belong in longevity 32:38 — “I've been in a gym for 40 years. What am I training for?” 33:06 — Why biomarkers aren't the destination 34:37 — Turning longevity into something you can actually measure 37:33 — The 78-year-old who became competitor number one 40:43 — What David wants people to feel after the Games 43:18 — Why pursuing wellness requires optimism 45:49 — David's “battery” model for stress and energy 46:58 — The morning “brainwash walk” that resets his mind 49:45 — Counter-programming the brain's natural negativity bias 51:59 — Why the journey itself has to be enjoyed * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New York Times editor and Saying No to New author Eric Athas explores why our brains are drawn to novelty, how businesses remove the friction between desire and consumption, and why reclaiming a few moments to think could radically change the choices we make. From dopamine and social media to clutter, persuasion and the disappearing “new thing gap,” this conversation is ultimately about learning to say no to meaningless novelty so we can say yes to what actually matters. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 02:44 — Why opportunities for deep thinking are disappearing 04:59 — Turning a childhood disadvantage into a strength 07:39 — Inside Eric’s work at The New York Times 10:09 — Navigating journalism, truth and trust in a chaotic era 13:09 — Why Saying No to New is a work of journalism 14:30 — The contradiction: an early adopter who learned to say no to new 17:13 — When new things start creating more problems than they solve 19:52 — Dopamine, discomfort and why our brains chase novelty 22:23 — Thinking as a superpower in a frictionless world 23:22 — The “new thing gap” — and why it has almost disappeared 27:07 — The sophisticated influence machine behind what we buy 30:52 — Decluttering as an audit of yesterday’s decisions 32:20 — What clutter and constant task-switching do to our attention 34:08 — Why saying no to new can help us discover the right kind of new 35:33 — The surprising relationship between exploration and happiness 37:24 — How to see novelty hiding inside familiar experiences 39:46 — Finding joy in what was hiding in plain sight * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.