
My Wakeup Call with Dr. Mark Goulston
I’m Dr. Mark Goulston, and this is My Wakeup Call. Everybody has personal wakeup calls, but not everybody wakes up. In this podcast, we speak to people who did. In fact, they not only woke up, but their wakeup calls changed their lives, often helped them discover their purpose and then changed how they would spend the rest of their life. In most cases, the wakeup call was not pleasant, sought-after, and often shook people to the core of their being. But in every case, it made our guests more authentic, better at life, better in life and better human beings. I hope you will listen in and become as inspired as I am from every episode. I also hope it will help you persevere if you are going through a wakeup call and haven’t yet gotten through the pain of it, or landed in your future as the better person you’re meant to be, with the better life that you’re meant to have.
DISCLAIMER: Any information or advice I give is purely based on my own experience. Comments made are as a coach- this is not medical or psychiatry advice. There is no guarantee as there are many variables that will impact outcomes. Everything stated should be taken as opinion.
Latest episodes

Nov 7, 2023 • 59min
Ep 564 - Derin McMains
In this episode I speak with Derin McMains, former professional baseball player and manager, now Director of Mental Performance at ReliaQuest whose wakeup call was going from professional athlete to coach and realizing how vital to success is mindset and now his company and he are spreading that beyond the sports world. https://theorg.com/org/reliaquest/org-chart/derin-mcmains

Nov 2, 2023 • 56min
Ep 563 - William Vanderbloemen
In this episode I speak with William Vanderbloemen, author of, " Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest," leader of the Vanderbloemen Search Group, and former Senior Pastor at one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in the United States whose wakeup call was seeing how poor a job churches did at identifying and recruiting their pastors and other senior staff and whose through line still remains his faith. https://www.vanderbloemen.com/solutions/

Nov 1, 2023 • 50min
Ep 562 - Amy Morin
In this episode I speak with return guest, Amy Morin, host of a top mental health podcast called "Mentally Stronger," and author of the upcoming book, "13 Things Mentally Strong Couples Don't Do," which if you pre-order you can get a month of therapy at BetterHelp for free. For details go to: https://amymorinlcsw.com/couples/Her wakeup call was having multiple tragic losses in her life and realizing it was easier to focus on not doing things than adding a list of "to do" things when she was already overwhelmed.

Oct 25, 2023 • 40min
Ep 561 - Cameron Herold
In this episode I welcome back Cameron Herold, founder of the COO Alliance and the Invest In Your Leaders course, host of the "Second in Command" podcast, multi-best selling author, whose sure-to-be-a-best -seller recent book is "Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your CEO," and whose wakeup call and through line is realizing that he has ADD and also a love for business and entrepreneurship seeing the world differently dating back to when he was seven. https://cameronherold.com/books/

Oct 19, 2023 • 1h 47min
Ep 560 - Sam Horn
In this episode, return guest Sam Horn, author of many books including her recent book, "Talking on Eggshells," where we spoke at length and had the most up close, personal and real conversation I have had in more than 560 episodes. Listen, relate and learn. https://samhorn.com/

Oct 17, 2023 • 58min
Ep 559 - Nataly Kogan
In this episode I speak with returning guest, Nataly Kogan, a Russian refugee, author of "The Awesome Human Project" and her follow up book, "The Awesome Human Journal," whose wakeup call was becoming burned out after a highly successful career with McKinsey and Microsoft and founder or executive and five startups and tech companies. http://natalykogan.com

Oct 12, 2023 • 50min
Ep 558 - Eddie Turner
In this episode I speak with Eddie Turner, member of Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, Principal Consultant and Executive Coach at Linkage, a SHRM company, author of, "140 Simple Messages to Guide Emerging Leaders," one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in Leadership by Thinkers 360 whose wakeup calls have been many but most prominently the births of his two children recently as a dad in his late forties and his wanting to set them up psychologically and financially for a successful and secure life. Who can't relate to that? https://eddieturnerllc.com/

Oct 10, 2023 • 1h 1min
Ep 557 - Brad Deutser
In this episode I speak with Brad Deutser, visionary leader behind Deutser and the Deutser Clarity Institute and the author of, "Belonging Rules: Five Crucial Actions that Build Unity and Foster Performance," whose wakeup call was feeling like an outsider most of his life but completely loved and supported by his family which put him on a path to helping people belong through loving them into his life. https://deutser.com/

Oct 3, 2023 • 49min
Ep 556 - Suneel Gupta
In this episode I speak with returning guest, Suneel Gupta, author of, "EVERYDAY DHARMA: 8 Essential Practices for Finding Success and Joy in Everything," whose wakeup call was failing at two tech startups and becoming famous for that just as the movement of sharing and learning from failures caught on. In his wonderful book he interviews many successful people who also failed and what it taught them. https://www.suneelgupta.com/

Sep 28, 2023 • 51min
Ep 555 - Ashley Campbell
In this episode I interview Ashley Campbell, mother of two and founder of Coral & Blue Paper Co. She created and patented a line of children's stationery that makes thank you notes simple for kids while inspiring important character qualities, human connection, gratitude, and happiness in our digital world. She's also co-founder of the non-profit, The Coral & Blue Project in Burundi, Africa where kids use Coral & Blue stationery for writing, reading, art, public speaking and most recently, trauma therapy. Her wakeup call was seeing how the power of children writing thank you notes on special stationery increased their gratitude, patience (when they would write outside the lines) and empathy. https://coralandblue.com/about#/
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.