
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

Sep 1, 2023 • 49min
Ep 544 - Bruce Kasanoff
In this episode I speak with Bruce Kasanoff, thought Partner. ghostwriter, co-creator who is the purest listener I have ever met and who taught me a tremendous amount and will do the same for you, especially about separating when you're being completely of service to others which then allows you to separately do what give you pleasure. You gotta listen to this one. https://kasanoff.com/

Aug 30, 2023 • 44min
Ep 543 - Dorie Clark
In this episode, return guest Dorie Clark, top communication expert, multi-million view TEDx speaker, author of multiple books including, "The Long Game," who wakes us up by sharing nuggets of wisdom from her life and career. Thank you Dorie! https://dorieclark.com/

Aug 28, 2023 • 59min
Ep 542 - Art Kleiner
In this episode I speak with Art Kleiner, co-author with Juliette Powell of "The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology," and Editor in Chief at Kleiner Powell International (KPI), multi-best selling author, commentator, ghostwriter and on the faculty of NYU whose story/wakeup call was having an autistic sibling and realizing how many people suffer from an illusion of control that they don't have. https://www.linkedin.com/in/artkleiner/

Aug 25, 2023 • 58min
Ep 541 - James Brosnahan
In this episode I speak with James Brosnahan, famous multi-award winning trial lawyer of 150 cases to conclusion, author of the best-selling book, "Justice at Trial: Courtroom Battles and Groundbreaking Cases," whose origin story and wakeup call were the same, i.e. being in bed from age 3 to 6 for rheumatic fever and once he got out, throwing himself into life but who defining moment was meeting and marrying his wife Carol. https://www.jimjbrosnahan.com/

Aug 23, 2023 • 53min
Ep 540 - Michael Bungay Stanier
In this episode I speak with Michael Bungay Stanier, Rhodes Scholar, author of the best selling book, "The Coaching Habit," and more recently, "How to Work with (Almost) Anyone," whose through line and greatest influence were his parents who were very community minded and who were completely supportive of him even though they didn't quite understand him. https://MBS.works

Aug 21, 2023 • 47min
Ep 539 - Tom Shroder
In this episode I speak with Tom Shroder, a delightful raconteur, award winning journalist, ghost writer, former editor of Washington Post magazine whose main driver has been curiosity and who had many wakeup calls and was especially amazed by writing a poem and having it grab other kids attention. He also noticed that deadlines motivated him to write and with that led him into journalism. https://tomshroder.com/

Aug 18, 2023 • 1h 7min
Ep 538 - John Vagueiro
In this episode I speak with John Vagueiro, CEO & Founder of global digital marketing agency Adapting Social, which serves clients in over 20 countries including Bentley, Ferrari, Columbia University, Compass and RE/MAX. He is the host of the "Breaking Barriers" podcast, an advocate for anxiety and mental health disorders and whose wakeup call was being told he had a learning disability, would never go to college and starting a business at age 17 to help his struggling family. https://adaptingsocial.com/leadership/john-vagueiro/

Aug 16, 2023 • 53min
Ep 537 - Rob Moore
In this episode I speak with Rob Moore, co-founder for the Progressive Group, Entrepreneur's Business Academy, author of 17 books, host of the "Disruptors" podcast whose wakeup call was going from a broke zero-aire to multimillionaire and also watching his father have a nervous breakdown when Rob was 26 in their family pub and how that deeply impacted him. https://robmoore.com/

Aug 14, 2023 • 56min
Ep 536 - Margaret Kelly
In this episode I interview Margaret Kelly, A.B. Princeton, J.D. Virginia Law and partner at Advantage Ivy Tutoring, which help students improve their college essays for elite colleges and whose wakeup call was always being curious about reading and language and realizing that law wasn't the best use of her talents and passions, but helping young college bound students become more articulate and authentic was. https://www.advantageivytutoring.com/ourteam

Aug 11, 2023 • 1h 6min
Ep 535 - Robert Dilts
In this episode I speak with Robert Dilts, an internationally respected developer, author, trainer and consultant in the field of leadership and change and a pioneer in the field of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a discipline that has profoundly shaped and enlightened management, training and communication techniques. He is the author of many books with his most recent being, "The Power of Mindset Change: Why Mindset Matters Most." His through line has always been looking for what it the good and best in anything and his wakeup call was being a student at UC Santa Cruz and meeting a professor John Grinder, one of the inventors of NLP. https://diltsstrategygroup.com/DSG/AboutRobert.html
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