
Uncage Yourself
Uncage Yourself is about building a career and life on your terms.
Most high-achievers are stuck in the Corporate Cage — where work drains their energy and crowds out real life.
The smart path out? Corporate Graduation™: turn your job into a tool, reclaim your time, and build a premium online business that sets you free.
This show guides you from Caged to Uncaged.
Host Matt Doan shares raw stories and bold strategies to help you create income, freedom, and impact—without blowing up your life.
Latest episodes

Oct 18, 2022 • 18min
57: The "Employee" Is Dead
“Employee” is an outdated concept. (Literally, a relic of the Industrial Age.) Learn how power is shifting from employer to employee, and how this completely changes your work and life options.
📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets
🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
02:12 The old employment agreement
04:04 No one wants a job, they want a life
04:39 RIP employee, welcome Uncaged Pro
06:14 Keeping your job — on your terms
07:37 Stability of the 9-5 + Prosperity of entrepreneurship
09:48 Your 9-5 can just be a utility
10:07 Validate that you’re in a healthy workplace
10:53 Clarify the life you want
11:54 Define what “work” means to you
12:49 Shape your corporate role
14:11 Build your external brand & side hustle
16:38 Framework summary
17:01 Working for great companies? Alive. Employee? Dead.
***
RESOURCES
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Oct 11, 2022 • 54min
56: Paige West - Millennial & Gen Z Workforces Collide
Paige West went “national” in sharing her Quiet Quitting story on CNN, Good Morning America, and elsewhere. Here, we go behind the scenes on what fueled her decisions while also comparing and contrasting Millennial and Gen Z worldviews in the workplace. So good — enjoy!
📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets
🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
03:51 Doing the “inner” work
08:05 Paige’s formative years
12:16 Friction when weighing professional paths
16:47 Indicators that corporate wasn’t a fit
19:03 Keeping life options open
21:47 Hitting a breaking point
23:38 Applying the Quiet Quitting strategy
26:34 Did anything bad happen?
29:40 Fake “pressures” at work
30:51 Millennial vs. Gen Z values at work
36:45 Power of vulnerability on the job
39:01 Benefits of the corporate journey
42:57 Rapid-fire questions
48:44 Identity is a choice, reinforced by tiny actions
51:24 Keys to uncaging yourself
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Inner work is meant to get your inner and outer worlds to align.
2. Externalizing your thoughts sharpens and clarifies your thinking.
3. Learn from PAST regrets, ANTICIPATE future regrets, use that information NOW.
4. Be careful when corporate systems have rigid growth models — hard to be authentic.
5. Irony of Quiet Quitting for Paige: her reputation improved at work.
6. Ruthlessly protecting your time and being selective at work is good for you and your company.
7. Gen Z grew up in an era of publishing your emotions, and that’s showing up in corporate environments now.
8. Invest (in yourself) before you’re ready — time and money.
***
RESOURCES
Subscribe to Paige's YouTube channel
Follow Paige on Instagram
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Sep 27, 2022 • 57min
55: Andy Storch - The Ownership Mindset
When you take extreme ownership of your career and life, magical things happen. Remember, you care more about your life and career than anyone else. Author and speaker Andy Storch joins us for a masterclass on listening to your inner voice and taking full ownership of your career and life.
📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets
🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
02:35 Andy’s evolving definition of success
04:50 Dependency on external circumstances
08:10 Andy’s childhood & backstory
12:27 Entering the corporate world
16:29 Accelerators for self-transformation
20:08 Ownership mindset (being entrepreneurial)
21:27 Drifting
26:42 Modern view on professional development
31:18 “I don’t have time”
32:31 Personal brand = reputation
39:26 Andy’s cancer battle
45:05 It happened for me, not to me
49:40 Rapid fire questions
54:49 It’s on you: extreme ownership
***
TAKEAWAYS
Minimize the “I’ll be happy when” mentality; cultivate inner joy.
Take a lesson from Stoicism: focus on what you can control.
On paper, your life might look good. But you might actually feel dead inside. Signal for radical self-transformation.
Find coaches, mentors, and resources that help you see new possibilities and co-design a better future (tailored for you).
Many people are drifting through life — being reactive and adopting external definitions of success. Better way: live an intentional life.
Substantive change is atomic: it’s both small and highly targeted for long-term impact.
Your personal brand is “what people think and say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Clarify what you want your brand to stand for (e.g., kindness, generosity)
Attitude when hitting a major roadblock: “This is what I get to deal with.”
We go through our life challenges so we’re qualified to help others.
***
RESOURCES
Own Your Career Own Your Life (Andy’s book)
Andy’s Site
Connect w/ Andy on LinkedIn
Owning Your Journey with Cancer (free guide)
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Sep 20, 2022 • 38min
54: Dennis Geelen - The Accidental Solopreneur
You have gifts. But chances are, they're locked up inside of you. A 9-5 job only lets you unleash a fraction of those gifts. Dennis Geelen joins us to tell the story of The Accidental Solopreneur (his recent book). It's a fascinating look at unleashing your gifts and maximizing your potential.
Access the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets
Cohort course: Uncaged Academy
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
03:12 What Dennis misses about corporate
06:28 Re-thinking the scripted life
10:50 Investing in your highest-leverage asset
13:31 Dennis's entrepreneurial experiments
18:52 Going from non-fiction to fiction author
21:30 The Accidental Solopreneur
23:31 Emotions of the entrepreneurial rollercoaster
26:12 Importance of niching down
32:18 Advice for starting a career today
35:06 Closing Message
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. "The amount of learning I had to do to get that company off the ground is more than I learned in my 20 years of corporate." — Dennis Geelen
2. In solopreneurship, you must first master the inner game to then win the outer game.
3. Nearly high-performer in corporate should try entrepreneurship (on the side at least). If you don't, you'll likely regret it.
4. Don't expect instant success. Embrace the journey — it's amazing if you allow it to be.
5. Make your main goal about helping others. Goodness will flow your way if you do that.
***
RESOURCES
The Accidental Solopreneur (book)
Connect w/ Dennis on LinkedIn
Dennis's website
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Sep 6, 2022 • 59min
53: Paul Millerd - Awakening From the Default Path
Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path, joins me to talk about "default path" addiction and what it's like to awaken. As former management consultants, we dig hard into this arena too. Enjoy!
Access the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets
Cohort course: Uncaged Academy
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
03:12 The Great Contemplation
06:21 How Paul's book affected Matt
08:25 The process of Awakening
09:51 Pre-awakening (most people trapped here)
15:58 Addiction to Default Paths
19:03 Value of an early-career foothold
21:56 "There's a pebble in my shoe"
23:51 Higher stakes if you're a parent
27:10 Understanding life tradeoffs
28:28 The Pathless Path
31:21 Uncertainty as a feature
33:10 Testing boundaries at work
38:31 The great work of your life
41:15 Minimal risk in betting on yourself
44:21 Thoughtful re-entry into corporate life
51:20 Rapid-fire
57:53 What's your "work" story?
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Great Resignation might actually be the Great Contemplation: a rejection of scripted life, healthier conversation about our identification as "workers," and a desire to take control of your life.
2. Rule of thumb: most people you'll meet are asleep (80%), some are groggy (15%), and a few are truly awake (5%).
3. The Protestant Reformation triggered an "obsession" with work, which has taken global hold.
4. Aim of life for people came to find work and then hold on tight to that path.
5. The Default Path feels addictive because the start is so thrilling. Eventually, we stop growing and become sleepy.
6. Instead of doing the work, you eventually find yourself doing performative work (pretending to be valuable).
7. Tough for parents to fake it at work while simultaneously encouraging your kids to blaze their own path.
8. We can't let sunk costs weigh us down. Your life season hugely impacts what you should say "yes" to next.
9. Not knowing what comes next might actually be a feature, not a bug.
10. "If there are clear boundaries [at work], there is also great freedom to adapt and imagine within those lines. These boundaries, however, should always be tested to see if they are actually still real. It takes conscious acts by individuals to test these edges." —David Whyte
11. Great work of your life: continually find the great work of your life (Stephen Cope).
12. Know yourself: deliver targeted value inside your 9-5; push yourself for exponential growth in the outside world.
***
RESOURCES
The Pathless Path (book)
Paul's newsletter, site, & podcast
Follow Paul on Twitter
Connect w/ Paul on LinkedIn
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Aug 30, 2022 • 19min
52: The Impact of Quiet Quitting
"Quiet quitting" may same new and shocking, but it's an age-old concept. It's about setting your terms at work and prioritizing your desired lifestyle. In this episode, we cut through the noise and discuss practical scenarios for implementing this strategy.
Develop advanced-level "quiet quitting" skills in our cohort course: Uncaged Academy.
Access the newsletter: learn Uncaged Secrets
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
02:14 Framing
02:29 What Quiet Quitting is
03:41 The argument for it
06:59 The argument against it
09:46 Real-world scenarios
16:10 Healthy person → healthy worker
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Quiet Quitting isn't about actually quitting or being lazy. We're not glamorizing mediocrity here.
2. At the core, it's about establishing boundaries at work, but you need a more comprehensive approach if you're going to create the life you want.
3. Not everyone wants to be an "elite athlete" at work, so we don't need to expect everyone to operate in an elite way. In contrast, choosing to be "average" at work can create capacity for spending time and energy on what excites you.
4. It generally makes sense to "go hard" early in your career to establish a foothold (resume, financial security, etc.). Once you're 10+ years in, you have much more leeway to back off and prioritize lifestyle.
5. Quiet Quitting (or whatever term you use) is another tool in your toolbox. Deploy it wisely as you methodically create more freedom in your life.
***
RESOURCES
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Aug 23, 2022 • 15min
51: The Power of Regret
"No regrets." You've seen it tattooed on arms and in song lyrics. Enough — let's stop trying to suppress this natural human emotion. Instead, let's learn to harness it for our advantage in work and life.
Apply the power of regret. See our cohort course: Uncaged Academy.
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TIMESTAMPS
02:15 Framing
02:36 How we view regret
04:47 Types of regret
09:33 A strategy for using regret
12:24 How Matt uses regret to his advantage
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Per the American Regret Study, 82% of adults experience regret — spanning a wide range of domains of life (family, career, education, finances, health, etc.).
2. Four types of regrets: Foundation, Boldness, Moral, and Connection.
3. Why regret matters: stability, growth, goodness, love.
4. Regret is a valuable emotion — it's telling you something. Learn to harness it.
5. Strategy for harnessing it: (1) Learn from PAST regrets, (2) anticipate FUTURE regrets, (3) apply that knowledge in the PRESENT.
***
RESOURCES
Book: The Power of Regret (Daniel Pink)
Top 5 Regrets of the Dying (Bronnie Ware)
Go deep: try the Uncaged Secrets newsletter
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Aug 16, 2022 • 10min
50: Introducing Uncaged Academy (Cohort-Based Course)
Think back to those one-way college lectures or those on-demand courses you've taken. Did you really transform as a person? No.
That's why I'm proud to introduce Uncaged Academy to you. It's an immersive, cohort-style approach to learning that focuses on community (friends), accountability, and rapid transformation. With our first cohort in the books, I'm excited to discuss the future of this unique program with you.
Make corporate work for YOU. Apply for our cohort course: Uncaged Academy.
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. The Education Technology (EdTech) realm is rapidly changing the modern learning experience.
2. You no longer need to give years of your life (or extreme amounts of money) to improve your mindset, skillset, or career trajectory.
3. Uncaged Academy helps you (a) design your 9-5 experience in a way that (b) unlocks the life you really want.
4. While still in corporate, you can create more freedom: Financial, Time, Purpose, Relationships, Health.
5. This course is for high-performing mid-career professionals who feel "stuck" and want something more out of their lives.
***
RESOURCES
Go deep: try the Uncaged Secrets newsletter
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Aug 9, 2022 • 15min
49: [REPLAY] Should You Side Hustle?
The universe is speaking: start your side hustle. Everyone's doing it, right? Actually, let's pause and rethink that.
Not everyone should ignite this "parallel path" outside of their corporate career. Listen to this episode to help you understand if side-hustling is right for you.
Make corporate work for YOU. Apply for our cohort course: Uncaged Academy.
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Know the difference between "investments" and "side hustles."
2. Side-hustling requires you to adopt a business owner mindset.
3. Following your passion isn't what makes a side hustle effective.
4. You'd better make sure it gives you energy.
5. Shifts in the global economy make side-hustling a "high upside, low downside" bet if you play the long game.
***
RESOURCES
Go deep: try the Uncaged Secrets newsletter
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube

Aug 2, 2022 • 9min
48: Timely vs. Timeless Skills
Look around and you'll see people chasing "in-demand" skills and credentials. It's like they're on a hamster wheel. But others seem calmer, in possession of enduring skills that always keep them ahead. This is the difference between Timely and Timeless skills. Which are you fixated on?
Make corporate work for YOU. Apply for our cohort course: Uncaged Academy.
Show website: UncageYourself.FM
***
TAKEAWAYS
1. Are you choosing to build skills that legitimately interest you? This matters if you want to maintain energy for decades.
2. Be clear on where the "crowd" is going. Go the opposite way.
3. Timely skills have a short shelf life (usually 2-4 years).
4. Timeless skills (e.g., psychology, persuasion, copywriting) endure no matter the time or context.
5. Build Timeless skills to ensure you're always ahead and relevant, even as our digital world rapidly changes.
***
RESOURCES
Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn
Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan
Check the show on YouTube
Live Uncaged: try the Wednesday Wisdom newsletter