Brad Hook Podcast

Thanks for visiting! Connect with me on https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyhook/ or https://www.instagram.com/bradhook and don't forget to subscribe here for more videos like this.Most people hit the holidays exhausted, wired, and a little numb. We crash, sometimes get sick, finally start to feel human again… and then it’s already time to go back to work. At the same time, most New Year’s resolutions quietly fade by February, which tells us one thing: waiting for January 1st to “fix” our life is a terrible strategy.This video is about a different approach.Instead of treating the holiday break as a rescue mission, we’ll explore a handful of small, science-backed shifts you can start now so that you actually land into your break — and step into 2026 calmer, clearer, and more aligned.In this session, we’ll cover:Why stress quietly erodes immunity (and why so many people get sick as their holiday starts)A one-minute box breathing practice to begin lowering stress before you stop workingHow candlelight and stargazing one night a week can change the tone of your eveningsThe power of airplane mode mornings to reclaim the first 30 minutes of your dayThe post-it on the mirror ritual: turning a single core value into daily actionA simple weekly question — “What went well?” — that retrains your attention toward what’s workingWhy our average screen focus is now around 47 seconds, and how to trade doomscrolling for deeper comedy, documentaries, and musicThese aren’t resolutions. They’re tiny pattern disruptions—practices small enough to start today, but powerful enough to change the person who arrives at the holiday break.⸻👋 About meI’m Brad Hook, author of Start With Values and Resilience Mastery, a speaker, and Head of the Resilience Lab at the Resilience Institute. I’ve spent the past two decades at the intersection of performance, wellbeing, and technology, helping people and organisations burn bright rather than burn out.⸻📌 If this video helped youHit subscribe for more tools on personal growth, values, and high-quality livingShare this with someone who deserves a genuinely restorative break this yearComment with the one tiny disruption you’re going to start this week

What does it mean to live well? Across psychology, indigenous wisdom, leadership research, and well-being science, dozens of frameworks attempt to answer that question. In this episode, Brad Hook (https://bradleyhook.com) explores the world’s most influential models — what they mean, why they matter, and how they can help us understand our own lives more clearly.You’ll learn the core ideas behind:• PERMA• SPIRE• Te Whare Tapa Whā• Ryff’s Psychological Well-being• Gallup’s Five Elements• Maslow’s Hierarchy• Flow and Peak States• McKinsey’s Holistic Model• The Eight Dimensions of Well-being• Life by Design• The Resilience Institute’s Spiral• The Dimensions of Performance & CentropyRather than giving rigid steps or checklists, this episode shows how the principles behind these models can orient your daily choices, habits, and leadership.Each model offers a different angle: meaning (PERMA), balance (Te Whare Tapa Whā), autonomy (Ryff), relationships (Gallup), or flow (Csikszentmihalyi).Choose the one that resonates with your season of life and use it as a mirror for reflection.Most models agree: flourishing is multi-dimensional.Awareness is the first application.Rather than trying to improve all domains, make one shift:deepen a relationshipimprove sleepreconnect with meaningcreate one regenerative habitadd recovery between stress cycles

What is interoception — and why is it one of the most important skills for emotional regulation and resilience?Interoception is your body’s hidden sense: the ability to feel your heartbeat, breath, gut, tension, and internal shifts. It’s the quiet language of your inner world, and most of us have forgotten how to hear it.In this Learnfulness episode, Brad Hook explores the neuroscience of interoception and shows how strengthening this inner sense helps you navigate stress with greater clarity and calm. Interoception doesn’t remove stress — it helps you notice it earlier, regulate it more effectively, and respond with awareness instead of overwhelm.You’ll learn: • What interoception is and how it works • How the insula cortex links body signals to emotional awareness • Why stress disrupts inner listening • How interoceptive awareness improves self-regulation • Practical ways to train this sense through breathing, movement, and mindful attentionWhen you reconnect to your internal signals, you gain a clearer, more grounded experience of yourself — one that supports focus, well-being, and emotional intelligence in everyday life.⸻Connect with Brad HookInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradhook/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyhook/Meet Brad: https://bradleyhook.com/Discover Your Core Values (Free Assessment)https://app.values.institute/

I’d love you to check out the free Values Assessment (https://app.values.institute/). Find me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bradhook.In This Episode — Meet Jaemin Frazer 🔥Jaemin Frazer is an award-winning life coach, author, and founder of The Insecurity Project. Recognized as one of Australia’s leading personal development coaches and a global authority on personal insecurity, Jaemin brings an engineering mindset to human change—treating insecurity like a solvable systems problem. His work helps entrepreneurs, leaders, and creators eradicate insecurity so they can show up unhindered by doubt, fear, and self-limiting beliefs.Big Ideas🔎 Insecurity defined: not fear of failure or rejection per se—but fear that your worst opinion of yourself might be confirmed.🧠 Name it to tame it: “Named must your fear be…”—precision collapses vague monsters into solvable problems.🧒 Childhood origins: early, often tiny moments lead us to implicate ourselves and form limiting opinions before age seven.🧩 Opinion vs. reality: it’s not others’ words that wound—it’s the ones we agree with. Agreement is the mechanism.🚀 Rocket fuel (then drag): insecurity can drive elite performance in our 20s/30s, but becomes corrosive in midlife.🧭 The hero’s journey: courageously revisit the “first accusation,” review the data, and rewrite the verdict.🗝️ The moment of freedom: change happens in a moment when you see the old opinion was unfounded—and choose a new one.🛠️ Seven practices: a pragmatic path from managing insecurity to eradicating it (Jaemin’s Unhindered model).🧍‍♂️➡️🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Leadership upgrade: leading with nothing to prove increases clarity, boundaries, and trust.💞 Relationships: two insecure people exhaust each other; the best love flows from self-acceptance.🙅 People-pleasing decoded: a protection strategy to seem “good” when you doubt your own goodness.📻 The One Minute Coach: 365 concise, embodied ideas—short content with real-world integrity.🌐 Tech & comparison: insecurity is universal; platforms accelerate the feedback loop, but didn’t invent the fear.🏁 Finish well: unresolved insecurity in later life becomes a descent into madness; resolve it to return “home.”Connect with Jaemin FrazerWebsite: https://jaeminfrazer.com

At just 25, Jonathan Fors has already achieved what most consider impossible. From finishing 41st out of 1200 runners in the 2025 Marathon des Sables — a 250 km odyssey through the Moroccan Sahara Desert — to running 100-mile mountain races and living as a digital nomad since 19, Jonathan embodies the art of intentional discomfort.In this conversation, Jonathan shares how pushing his limits in the desert reshaped his understanding of resilience, discipline, and peace. We explore the mental frameworks that separate elite endurance athletes from the rest — and how anyone can apply the ultra mindset to everyday life. Whether it’s getting out the door for a run, facing burnout, or finding clarity in a chaotic world, Jonathan’s message is raw, practical, and deeply human.He also opens up about the mental health challenges facing young adults, and why modern comfort may be quietly eroding our capacity for fulfillment. His story is a reminder that the path to strength begins where comfort ends.🔥 The Marathon des Sables is more than a race — it’s a transformative journey through mind and body.💪 Mental resilience matters more than physical endurance.🌵 Discomfort is the gateway to growth and meaning.🤝 Community and connection amplify strength during hardship.🌿 Nature restores presence, humility, and peace.🏃‍♂️ Everyone starts somewhere — the first step is everything.🧘 Mindfulness and movement are essential for mental health.⚡ Redefining your breaking point reveals your true potential.✨ Connect with Jonathan ForsInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/jonathans.pov/

Sleep coach, speaker, and author Beatrix A. Schmidt joins me (https://www.instagram.com/bradhook) to reframe sleep as a trainable life skill. Drawing from fifteen years of coaching and her new book Sleep Skills for Life (2025), Beatrix explains why “tips and hacks” rarely solve persistent sleep problems—and how self-awareness, gentle intention, and practical evening design help high achievers move from “broken sleeper” to confident, consistent rest. We talk personality traits and why they matter at night, how to detach physically, emotionally, and mentally before bed, and what to do about those 3 a.m. wakeups. This is an empowering, compassionate guide to sleeping deeply without relying on shortcuts.Big Ideas🌙 Sleep is not luck—it’s a set of learnable “Sleep Skills” shaped by physical, emotional, and mental readiness.🧠 High performers value action and output by day; sleep requires non-action—mastering recovery without control.🧩 Online advice is too generic; start with self-awareness to map your unique sleep puzzle (what helps vs. hinders).🛠️ Build skills you can repeat at midnight: prepare before bed so relaxation is high when your head hits the pillow.🧭 Treat evenings as a transition: completely detach from the day so your body knows it’s no longer “daytime mode.”📵 Tech isn’t the enemy—unexamined behavior is; decide whether your phone is support, stimulation, or delay.🧘 Learn “doing nothing” in short daytime moments to normalize quiet; it reduces mental activation at night.⏱️ If you wake at 3 a.m., notice what’s activated (body fidgety = physical, looping thoughts = mental, strong feelings = emotional) and address that layer.🎯 Set a kind intention: nights are for rest and relaxation, not perfect scores—pressure undermines sleep.🧳 Resets (holidays) help some, but not all; work with the environment where problems actually occur.🥼 Consider an assessment to rule out medical issues and tailor behavioral solutions.📚 Future-proof sleep: consistent skills beat short-term aids (supplements, alcohol, or pills) and build long-term confidence.Connect with Beatrix A. SchmidtWebsite: https://www.beatrixaschmidt.comFree Chapter of Sleep Skills for Life: https://www.beatrixaschmidt.com/chapter-one

Why does the world feel so angry? From sleepless nights and outrage algorithms to polarization and the longing for struggle, this episode unpacks the roots of modern anger—and explores how we can transform it into connection, service, and purpose.Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradhook

I’d love you to check out my new book, ⁠Start With Values⁠ (https://values.institute/start-with-values-book/). It’s packed full of tools to help you lead a life that is aligned with your core values, reducing stress and increasing fulfillment. Please connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bradhook).In this episodeYishai Ishi Ron is a novelist, former soldier, and survivor of severe PTSD. His book Dog is a raw, haunting, and redemptive story that explores trauma, addiction, homelessness, and the fragile journey back to humanity. Long-listed for Israel’s prestigious Sapir Prize and now translated into English, Dog is also being developed into a feature film.Drawing on his own experiences with trauma and his background in psychology, Yishai reveals how shame and silence can trap survivors—and how storytelling can set them free. His message is universal: war has no winners, and its scars run deep on all sides.Key ideas📖 The power of fiction to reveal hidden truths about trauma and resilience⚔️ Life in an elite combat unit and the unspoken wounds that follow soldiers home😔 Shame as the hidden barrier preventing many from confronting PTSD🐕 The symbolic role of “Dog” as both character and metaphor for memory, innocence, and pain🧠 Why PTSD isn’t limited to war—it’s also present in survivors of sexual violence, accidents, and everyday tragedies🎬 How Dog grew from personal writing to an award-nominated book, and now a film adaptation❤️ The role of family, routine, and community in sustaining resilience during ongoing conflict🌍 The universal message: trauma has no borders, but neither does healingLinks:Website: https://www.madinamerica.com/author/yishiron/X (Twitter): https://x.com/IshiRon1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yishayishiron/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yishayishiron

Stay connected with me on Instagram (In This EpisodeMeet Brad Beeler — retired U.S. Secret Service Special Agent and the longest-tenured polygraph examiner in agency history. Over 25 years, Brad conducted more criminal polygraph examinations than anyone in Secret Service history, trained thousands of federal agents, and worked at the intersection of influence, deception detection, and human connection. He’s the author of Tell Me Everything: A Secret Service Agent’s Blueprint for Building Trust, Uncovering Truths, and Mastering Every Conversation. In this conversation, we explore what really builds trust, why most of us are awful at spotting lies, and how to communicate with calm presence — in leadership, sales, negotiations, parenting, and everyday life.Big Ideas🧪 We’re bad at lie detection: most people score close to a coin-flip (about ~54%) when judging truth vs fiction — confidence isn’t competence.🫱 The perfect handshake: dry + warm hand, approach at ~45°, brief one-second hold, natural eye contact, slightly lower vocal tone — signals safety and confidence.🧠 First impressions = survival brain: show hands, soft eyes, congruent body language, eyebrow flash/head tilt; avoid triggering fight/flight to build rapport.📈 Polygraph as triage tool: like a mammogram — not the verdict, but a way to shape investigations when used at the right time with the right person.🎧 Lyrics, soundtrack, dance: words (lyrics) matter less than tone (soundtrack) and body language (dance); presence turns communication into “Dolby surround.”🧩 Spotting dishonesty: look for delay, “truth sandwiches” (answering around the question), L-Y qualifiers (“usually,” “typically”), and verbal–nonverbal incongruence.🧍‍♂️ Position before submission (BJJ → comms): stop chasing hacks; master foundations — first impressions, active listening, tactical empathy.🗣️ Active listening > “Me too”: let people bathe in their topic; ask educated follow-ups; earn reciprocity later.🙅‍♂️ Non-judgment zones: privacy + non-judgment (think confessional/clinic) lower cortisol and invite truth.📵 Presence is a superpower: put the phone away; attention is the rarest gift in relationships, parenting, and leadership.🧪 Red-teaming life: pressure-test plans/scripts with trusted peers; iterate with feedback.🧘 Taming nerves: vocal warmups, tea with honey, menthol lozenges, (for some) beta blockers under medical advice — treat your voice like your primary de-escalation tool.👨‍👩‍👧 Parenting teens: hate the “sin,” not the “sinner”; keep the relationship safe so kids call you when it matters.🌐 Algorithms & extremes: outrage travels; stay out of echo chambers, seek facts, and hold the middle with empathy.📚 The book arc: a soup-to-nuts blueprint — from preparation and first contact to handling dishonesty ethically.Connect with Brad BeelerWebsite: https://bradleybeeler.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradbeeler1865LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbeeler1865Book (Tell Me Everything): https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Tell-Me-Everything/Brad-Beeler/9781637748428

I’d love you to check out my new book, ⁠Start With Values⁠ (https://values.institute/start-with-values-book/). It’s packed full of tools to help you lead a life that is aligned with your core values, reducing stress and increasing fulfillment. Connect with me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bradhook.In This EpisodeWelcome to a deep, clarifying conversation with Dr. John Demartini—human behavior expert, researcher, prolific author, and global educator whose work spans corporate performance, financial empowerment, leadership, relationships, and social transformation (https://drdemartini.com). We explore how to govern the mind, transform polarized emotion into executive function, and turn so-called “trauma” into growth. You’ll hear unforgettable stories—from martial arts lessons in poise to real-world reframes that dissolve shame, guilt, and fear into grounded action and gratitude. 🌊🧠Big Ideas🧠 The ungoverned mind: amygdala reactivity vs. executive function—why System 1 “feels” before thinking and System 2 “reasons” before reacting.🥋 “Invitation to dance”: the martial arts metaphor for foresight—training the prefrontal cortex to anticipate, plan, and respond without panic.⚖️ Sequential vs. simultaneous contrast: see both sides at once to act with poise rather than react with impulse.🔥 “Passion” means “to suffer”: why fantasy-driven desire (pursue-only or avoid-only) creates misery—and how an inspired mission resolves it.🎯 Mastery ≠ talent: disciplined practice over decades (think concert pianists and elite athletes) builds automatic executive control.🧭 Values alignment: stop living in the shadows of outer authorities; define your hierarchy of values and build a life around what truly matters to you.🪞 Moral hypocrisies: the myth of the one-sided person; perfection is the whole—both sides, integrated and loved.❤️ Unconditionality in real life: you want to be loved when you’re kind and when you’re difficult; others want the same.🌀 Peace/war dynamics: feedback systems balance praise/criticism, calm/conflict—personally, relationally, and societally.🩹 “There is no trauma, only perception”: rigorous reframing turns post-traumatic stress into post-traumatic growth (with vivid case studies).🧩 Perception → decision → action: change the story, change the trajectory; seek the information you’re missing.🛰️ Staying grounded in an AI-accelerated world: whenever you perceive one side, find the opposite—and you’ll return to center.Connect with Dr. John DemartiniWebsite: https://drdemartini.comFree Values Determination: https://drdemartini.com/values/The Breakthrough Experience: https://drdemartini.com/breakthrough-experienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohndemartini/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjohndemartini/