

MindHack
Cody McLain
What happens when you give an overthinking entrepreneur a microphone, a curiosity obsession, and access to the sharpest minds on the planet? You get MindHack - the podcast for founders, builders, and high-performers who want to upgrade their brain like they upgrade their software. Each week, Cody McLain (entrepreneur since 15, burnout survivor, and productivity nerd) sits down with scientists, psychologists, and successful entrepreneurs to reverse-engineer how extraordinary people think, feel, and execute. We unpack the mental models, weird routines, emotional rewiring, and psychology-backed strategies that actually work—so you can build your business without losing your mind. 🎯 Think: startup grit meets cognitive science. 🎙️ Guests include bestselling authors, startup OGs, and unreasonably curious humans. 🔥 Warning: listening may result in existential clarity, better habits, and fewer panic Googles at 2am. New episodes every week. Subscribe and hack your brain before your brain hacks you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 31, 2020 • 56min
Finding Strategies, Purpose, Ideologies for Success with Flow Expert - Rian Doris
Rian has worked his way up to working with some of the world’s leading experts on peak performance and flow including Keith Ferrazzi, Dr. Dan Siegel, and Steven Kotler, his partner at Flow Research Collective.He is the Co-Founder & COO at the Flow Research Collective, a research and training institute focused on decoding the neuroscience of flow states and training leaders to achieve peak performance.In this episode, we look at a variety of topics ranging from understanding Flow, attachment styles, the importance of purpose, and much more.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/rian-dorisSupport the show

Aug 10, 2020 • 59min
Society, Behavior and the Future - Robert Greene
Robert Greene is a phenomenal writer who is loved by many and is considered to be one of the greatest writers of our time. Having authored books like the 48 Laws of Power and the Laws of Human Nature, Robert has spent the entirety of his life researching what makes people, society, and culture tick.It was such an honor to have the opportunity to speak with Robert and we go in-depth on a myriad of topics from understanding what is true narcissism, how to increase self-awareness, and improve problem-solving. We also touch on his view of the future of society in general and briefly discuss his recent stroke which left him partially paralyzed.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/robert-greeneSupport the show

Apr 3, 2020 • 1h 1min
Flow and the Personification of Emotions - Troy Erstling
Today we’re interviewing somebody who is a world traveler and expert in flow states. He’s a writer and consultant and has even given a TEDx talk on freestyling.Besides designing his digital nomad lifestyle, he employs a variety of activities to get into a flow state, including slacklining, freestyle rapping, exercising, and meditating.His name is Troy Erstling and he’s an extremely interesting and well-spoken guest.In this episode, Troy shares his thoughts on flow state, how meditation makes you less distractible, resources for productivity, how to set up successful systems for the absence of friction, how to dial in and out of the flow state, and how to maintain the most important relationship in your life.This is a deep dive episode on flow state, so get ready to get in the zone with us!For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/troy-erstlingSupport the show

Dec 22, 2019 • 1h 1min
Validate Your Startup, Use the Mom Test, and Get the Successful Entrepreneur Mindset - Matt Clifford
Matt Clifford has helped accelerate the businesses of over 1000 entrepreneurs. He's the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, the world's leading technology talent investor. Entrepreneur First brings together extraordinary people to build startups from scratch in London, Singapore, Berlin, Hong Kong, Paris, and Bangalore.I really enjoyed this conversation about entrepreneurship, being a founder, and how to get started if you are feeling called to be an entrepreneur. We discuss the Mom test for business validity and how Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, became a backer for Entrepreneur First. Matt and Entrepreneur First have helped fund over 100 companies including Magic Pony Technology which was acquired by Twitter. In this episode, Matt shares his thoughts on what it means to be an entrepreneur, the mindset of an entrepreneur, resources, and what it takes to become successful.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/matt-cliffordSupport the show

Oct 15, 2019 • 1h 18min
The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD - Lidia Zylowska
Lidia Zylowska, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist and Associate Professor at UMN Department of Psychiatry where she leads the Mental Health Wellness Team. Dr. Zylowska has expertise in integrative psychiatry, adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and mindfulness-based therapy. Early in her career at UCLA, she conducted pioneering research in mindfulness and ADHD and helped establish the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. She is also the author of “The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD” book which was awarded the distinction of “2012 CHADD’s Most Innovative Program”. In this interview, we detail the difference between meditation and mindfulness, ways to practice mindfulness if sitting still is challenging, whether ADHD drugs are necessary, and the origins of ADHD. Lidia shares some of her favorite resources for adult ADHD. Lidia also discusses mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, how to achieve a balance between acceptance and change, and ways we can check in with our bodies.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/lidia-zylowskaSupport the show

Oct 3, 2019 • 1h 6min
Become Bilingual & Learn How Just "One Thing" Can Change Your Life - Sami Halabi
Today we’re interviewing somebody who is incredibly focused, driven, and ambitious from an early age. He’s a polyglot who speaks 5 languages, and is on the top echelons of the Oracle marketing department, serving as a Digital Marketing Manager whose team supports an annual budget of $210M here. He has a significant influence on Oracle’s North America Marketing success, and it's in no small part due to his drive to succeed and get shit done.Apart from delivering on a budget that is larger than the revenue of most of the world’s companies, he also launched his own unique startup called Univoice, which combines our love and taste for music with language learning, and hopes to make it easier for millions to pick up a new language at a much faster rate.His name is Sami Halabi and he’s one of the smartest people I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing. He’s had a myriad of achievements in managing Sales & Marketing teams for companies that have gone on to have tremendous growth. His current team at Oracle is ranked as the top 1 of 8 most productive North American Software Sales Organizations.In this episode, Sami shares his thoughts on marketing, managing a team of people, the science of language learning, what it means to be happy and productive, but most importantly, he offers some applicable advice on how to get out there, overcome mental hurdles, and grow at a rapid pace by expanding the size of your asks and your network.This is a fast-paced episode without much breathing, and with tons of golden nuggets, so you might want to scale back your playback speed because there’s a ton to learn and digest from a very smart person.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/sami-halabiSupport the show

Aug 2, 2019 • 1h 11min
Launch Yourself Into a Revenue-First Startup - Brent Summers
What does it mean to build a startup as an entrepreneur? In this conversation with Brent Summers, we look at some of the challenges that you'll be faced with not only validating your idea, questions you need to be asking yourself, and how to build a startup as a non-technical person, should you have a founder or just manage contractors.Brent founded and recently sold a company called Code-Free Startup, which is an online learning platform that teaches others how to build a startup using visual design tools like Bubble.is. Brent also has a website called launchingmyself.com and on that site, he publishes a list of previous companies or products he's built and gives a case study on the success or failure of that. Brent took a concept from the online marketing world of building a personal brand and selling online courses, because in most cases once you put the course together, it'll continue to make money for you similar to Tim Ferris's 4-Hour Work-week concept. Support the show

Jul 12, 2019 • 51min
Find Flow & Get Creative in Nature with DIY Genius - Kyle Pearce
Have you ever felt completely stuck in your routine? Today we chat with Kyle Pearce about finding flow in creativity and the benefits of getting out in nature.Kyle Pearce is the founder of DIY Genius and an experiential learning designer, digital business educator, and runs educational nature retreats. Kyle spent the last 7 years building DIY Genius by sharing his passion for self-education and teaching online courses in passion-driven learning, flow psychology, and digital storytelling. He has worked in digital marketing and online education since 2009. He’s a full-stack marketer, and when he’s not working, you’ll find him in the forests and mountains biking, skiing, or hiking.We discuss the best way to learn, making a transition to a new lifestyle and business, and how to find work that you truly enjoy.Support the show

Jun 24, 2019 • 56min
Learn How to Improve your Memory with 4x USA Memory Champion - Nelson Dellis
In this episode of the MindHack podcast, you'll learn simple techniques to improve your memory that can be practiced at any time! Learn techniques from books like Remember It and Moonwalking with Einstein to help you remember the letter and number combinations with memory palaces and other techniques. Nelson Dellis is a four-time USA memory champion and holds the world record for memorizing the most names (235) and words (256) in 15 minutes, as well as the most digits (907) in 30 minutes, and remembering the most decks of playing cards (9.02 decks) in 30 minutes.Although Nelson seems like a Rainman, he's just an average Joe who has taken up a skill of memorization, a technique that dates back thousands of years. Nelson's book Remember It is extremely well written and even includes an intro written by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Nelson has been featured on CNN, ABC, and many other places. He is the co-Founder of the Memory League, a free online community, and he has also made three attempts to summit Mt. Everest. This is an interesting conversation where we discuss how he discovered the world of memory and specific techniques you can start using instantly to improve your memory. Nelson even shares the story of how he once used his memory to cover the tab of a $600 restaurant bill. Truly anybody can drastically improve their ability to remember things with the right attitude and technique.For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/nelson-dellisSupport the show

Jun 7, 2019 • 50min
How this Entrepreneur went from Addiction to Discovering Flow - Michael Dash
Michael Dash is the President and CEO of Parallel HR Solutions, Inc. He is currently in recovery for three different addictions. This journey to hope follows a six-year lawsuit that’s now settled and the sale of his company he spent eleven years building. Michael knows his struggles are not unique to executives and entrepreneurs around the world. He now gets to lead from empathy and become a much more-fulfilled person while realizing what truly matters in life. Michael has run addiction recovery programs for over five years now. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and raised over $100K for LLS and traveled to Bali where he studied Flow Consciousness, meditation, and other practices to overcome past challenges. His message was featured on multiple podcasts and published through Medium and Thrive Global where he has a series called F.A.T.E. From Addict To Entrepreneur. Michael’s first book Chasing the High is scheduled to release in June 2019. He was recognized in Utah Business Magazine’s 40 under Forty, his company made the Inc 5000 list four years, and Michael appeared as a guest contributor for Forbes and Huffington Post. For full episode information visit: https://www.mindhack.com/episode/michael-dashSupport the show