Uncage Yourself

Your job does not define you. While you might be “gifted” at certain aspects of work, your gifts run far deeper than that. Pay attention to those flickers of genius you experience from time to time — when you feel truly alive. Those are hints of what you’re truly meant to do on this planet. Don’t waste your gifts. Unleash them! 📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets 🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM *** RESOURCES Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan Check the show on YouTube

The trading life nearly destroyed Mike Gardon. Since stepping away, he’s obsessed with creating “life options.” At the core is the idea of “investment in loss”: to make significant changes, we often need to step backward. Today, his mission is to “break our mental constructs for what it means to make a living.” Enjoy! 📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets 🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM *** TIMESTAMPS 02:17 Ironman mentality 06:37 Compounding personal gains 09:48 Stratify your goals 12:31 Mike’s childhood → career start 17:56 Rebelling against the default path 20:06 Investment in loss 23:31 Portfolio mindset 25:34 Passion for career coaching 27:50 Mike helping his former self 33:47 Involving your family in major change 34:52 Risk mindset for personal growth 37:00 “Is what you’re pursuing big enough?” 40:02 Life options 41:50 Skin in the game 47:03 Money, time, & energy 52:30 Uncaged = ownership *** TAKEAWAYS 1. Pushing yourself with a new venture is not just about the accomplishment. It’s the person you become in the process. 2. “What’s your Ironman race?” Find the near-term thing in your life that forces your growth. 3. The entrepreneurial journey starts with a flicker inside you (an inclination) before you take tangible action. 4. The ultimate safety isn’t choosing the “right” path; it’s creating life options. 5. Portfolio mindset: make multiple concurrent bets and see what sticks. Even with the “failures,” you’ll grow tremendously. 6. Slow down (even step back) to speed up. 7. In managing the risk of major life decisions, too many remain stuck protecting what they have instead of pursuing what’s possible. 8. “Don’t tell me what you think, [show me] your portfolio.” —Nassim Nicholas Taleb 9. “Every decision is an investment decision.” You must devote appropriate money, time, and energy to the transformation you seek. 10. Choose yourself. *** RESOURCES Connect w/ Mike on LinkedIn Career Cloud Podcast The Break Newsletter Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan Check the show on YouTube

Today’s thoughts become tomorrow’s reality. And when you write down those thoughts, it’s a lightspeed jump into your better future. The lovely and super authentic Tara Horstmeyer joins me to talk about life-career seasons, LinkedIn mastery, and the power of “ghostwriting your own life.” Enjoy! 📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets 🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM *** TIMESTAMPS 03:00 Words that penetrate the soul 05:20 Writing when the emotion is hot 09:18 Tara’s childhood influences 14:02 Empathetic languaging 16:06 Doing what lights you up 20:06 Words are the catalyst for change 22:36 “Everyone is a ghostwriter” 25:20 Shifting your focus: outward to inward 29:01 Personal brand = personal advantage 34:02 Embracing “life seasons” 40:38 Rapid-fire questions *** TAKEAWAYS 1. Create a simple system for capturing your ideas when inspiration strikes. 2. Develop a method for fleshing out those idea “seedlings.” 3. When inspired, write with “editor” mode turned off (revisit with that lens later). 4. “Make sure you have something to say before you say it.” 5. Ghostwriting your own life is a process by which you find and build yourself. 6. You already have a personal brand (it’s your reputation). “Make it your business.” 7. You’re always juggling glass and rubber balls. If you drop the glass ones (e.g., family), they shatter. 8. If you’re speaking to everyone, you’re speaking to no one. *** RESOURCES Connect w/ Tara on LinkedIn Happy Words Sell (Tara's business) Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan Check the show on YouTube

Tony Albrecht is one of my favorites. He’s a writer, podcaster, social entrepreneur, and student of the creative process. As the author of In The Creative Arena and co-founder of The Rowdy Creative, he works with people old enough to know they want a different trajectory and young and crazy enough to believe that big change is possible. His work is informed by his recovery from two afflictions, alcoholism and becoming a lawyer. 📬 Get the newsletter: Uncaged Secrets 🌐 Show website: UncageYourself.FM *** TIMESTAMPS 03:03 Powered by espresso 06:18 Chapters of Tony’s life 08:32 Creative awakening 12:07 Offscripting 13:41 How to be a “creative” 19:08 Gen Z is freeing older generations 23:49 Dying to feel alive 29:00 Plugging “back in” on your terms 32:02 Surrounding yourself with non-conformists 34:34 Battling Resistance 37:50 Spartan way: extreme discipline 40:56 Examples of discipline 44:20 “Creativity is life or death” 46:34 How our children grapple with the scripted life 48:17 Rapid-fire questions 53:49 Choices today raise your trajectory for tomorrow *** TAKEAWAYS 1. The idea of creativity “isn’t just for the arts department…it’s how we make new stuff happen.” 2. View your engagement on social media as a forcing function for personal growth. 3. Oh, you’re scared? Evaluate the risks of doing versus not doing. 4. We must retool education: for leading and solving interesting problems (see Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams”) 5. Make work happen: create the conditions to increase the likelihood that you’ll put your butt in the seat. 6. “Creativity is dirty work…It demands discipline.” 7. Relying on inspiration alone will not get you anywhere. 8. The scripted life we grew up with is quickly withering away. 9. Worst advice Tony received: “Law degrees are great because you can do so many things with them.” 10. “The small man builds cages for everyone he knows, while the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low, keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful, rowdy prisoners.” —Hafez *** RESOURCES Connect w/ Tony on LinkedIn In The Creative Arena (Tony's book) Tony's entrepreneurial efforts The War of Art (book mentioned) Connect w/ Matt on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter @MatthewRDoan Check the show on YouTube

“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

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

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

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

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

"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