Human School

What if the anger you've been running from is actually the fuel you need? What happens when an 11-year-old discovers manifestation, commits a decade to basketball, then rewrites his entire life story with a poem on a bus? Dax has built a career on saying what most people are afraid to say out loud. He is blending hip hop, gospel and country influences into music speaking from a place of raw vulnerability. But before the millions of followers and sold-out tours, he was a kid who felt invisible. In this conversation, Dax opens up about discovering the Law of Attraction at age 11, spending ten years in what he calls an "unhealthy commitment" to basketball, and the pivotal moment on a team bus when he wrote his first poem and opened up a new outcome for his life. He reveals his ten-month journey of sobriety, confronting the tough questions and realizations of his lifestyle that changed everything. Dax shares how anger became his alchemy; not something to escape, but a force he learned to harness through repetition and mental discipline. From mental health walks to the liquor store to performing sober for the first time, Dax's story is about transforming every rejection, every missed opportunity, and every uncomfortable emotion into art that changes lives. This is a conversation about standing in your divinity, taking the jump when it matters most, and discovering that the person you're chasing when you drink is actually who you already are when you're fully present. In this conversation, you'll learn:How to Transform Anger Into Your Greatest MotivatorHow the Law of Attraction Changed Everything at Age 11How to Use Repetition as Your Only Real SuperpowerHow Missing Your Shot Can Become Your Greatest TeacherHow to Build an Audience From Zero to Millions Through Strategic FocusHow to Know When Alcohol Has Stopped Being a Tool and Started Being a CrutchHow to Perform Without the Substance You Thought You NeededHow to Quiet the Noise of the World So You Can Hear God's VoiceHow to Give Yourself Six Months of Real Focus to Change Your Life Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.- Miles Adcox Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss:00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School 00:00:30 Meet Dax: Artist, Poet, and Truth Teller 00:03:45 Discovering The Secret and the Law of Attraction at Age 11 00:09:00 Walking Into Seventh Grade Feeling Completely Invisible 00:11:40 Kobe vs. Jordan: What Dax Learned From the Greatest 00:19:10 When Anger Becomes Alchemy Instead of Destruction 00:25:35 The Hidden Cost of Medications We Use to Numb 00:30:50 Writing His First Poem on a Bus to a Basketball Game 00:34:55 Mental Health Walks to the Liquor Store in College 00:37:15 The Game That Changed Everything: Getting Called In With 30 Seconds Left 00:45:50 How to Get Your Art to the People Who Need It 00:50:25 The Oprah Story: Learning to Stand in Your Divinity 00:59:05 From 0 to 10K Followers: The Button Poetry Strategy 01:03:15 Why We're Losing the Ability to Think and Only Learning to Feel 01:08:40 When Dax Realized Drinking Had Become Unsustainable 01:12:30 Writing "Dear Alcohol" and Confronting the Truth 01:16:49 Why Presence Is the Currency the World Is Starving For 01:21:30 Discovering He Could Sing in a College Class He Almost Skipped 01:26:24 Faith, God, and a Mother Who Prays All Day 01:36:40 The Importance of Visual Storytelling: Why Dax Makes a Video for Every Song 

What does it cost to be exceptional at something? And is that price worth paying? How do you know when competitiveness becomes calling—or when it just becomes noise? Will Guidara grew up in restaurants, watching his father balance being a Hall of Fame dad while caring for Will's mother, who developed quadriplegia after a brain cancer diagnosis. At 12 years old, a single dinner at The Four Seasons changed everything. That night sparked a journey that would take him from Cornell to working for legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer, eventually transform Eleven Madison Park into the #1 restaurant in the world. But this isn't a story about climbing to the top; it's about what happened after. Will opens up about the night he came in dead last on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list and how that became the catalyst for completely reimagining what excellence could mean. He shares the legendary stories behind the restaurant's most magical moments. Then COVID hit, allowing Will to rethink his next steps in the New York restaurant scene. Miles and Will explore the danger of tying your entire identity to your work, what it means to welcome people truly, and why small gestures matter more than grand productions. This conversation is about hospitality as a philosophy for life—turning toward people with curiosity, being fully present, and remembering that excellence and empathy can live in the same room. In this conversation, you'll learn:How to Turn Adversity Into Your Greatest Teacher Instead of Your Biggest EnemyHow to Know If Competitiveness Is Serving You or Destroying YouHow to Create Unreasonable Hospitality in Any Relationship or Work You DoHow to Recognize When Your Identity Has Become Too Wrapped Up in What You DoHow to Be Intentional and Creative in the Pursuit of the Relationships That MatterHow to Give Yourself Grace to Feel Disappointment Before Jumping Into Cheerleader ModeHow to Create Margin When Everything You're Invited to Feels MeaningfulHow to Make People Feel Seen With the Smallest GesturesHow to Evaluate Opportunities Using Three Simple Questions Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.Miles Adcox Follow Human School:YouTube - Human School PodcastInstagram - @humanschoolofficialThreads - @humanschoolofficialTikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss:00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School with Will Guidara 00:01:36 Why We All Still Need Praise and Affirmation No Matter How Much We've Accomplished00:04:06 Criticism Is Not a Bad Word - Why We've Given Negative Connotations to Helpful Things00:10:27 How Hospitality Could Actually Heal the Division We're All Feeling00:14:01 How Will's Dad Became His Hero While Caring for His Mom and Running Restaurants00:16:36 The First Time Will Went to The Four Seasons and Fell in Love With Fine Dining00:18:00 Why Understanding the Higher Purpose of Your Work Changes Everything on Hard Days00:21:20 The Email That Changed Everything - Being Ranked #50 on the World's 50 Best List00:26:10 Why Leaning Into What Never Changes Is the Answer When Everything Is Changing00:29:16 The Dream Weavers - Hiring People Whose Only Job Was Turning Details Into Memories00:31:49 The Night They Became the #1 Restaurant in the World in Melbourne00:47:08 Why They Immediately Closed the Restaurant to Rebuild It Into Their Dream00:49:41 How COVID Gave Will the Gift of Deciding What to Do Next Instead of Just Reacting00:52:05 The Conversation About Margin - Why It's So Hard to Create Space in a Full Life00:55:05 Why "No" Is Not a Bad Word - Learning to Protect Your Time and Energy00:59:36 Knowing There Will Be a Day When No One Cares Who You Are01:05:21 The Reminder That You Hold the Flashlight01:10:20 Becoming a Producer on The Bear01:13:00 What Will Is Working on Now - A Season of Going With the Flow01:17:03 The Three Buckets for Saying Yes01:20:10 Will's Dad's Advice on Finding Inspiration Everywhere

What if the person who always makes things sound fun is actually doing the hardest work of all? What does it cost to be the bridge that connects people to their next true thing—knowing you might get walked on, knowing they might never come back, knowing you have to keep showing up anyway?Annie F. Downs has built a New York Times bestselling writing career, launched an award-winning podcast, and created a network that reaches millions. But beneath the joy she's known for is a woman who's learning to hold grief in one hand and hope in the other—and not let go of either. As an Enneagram 7, Annie's wired to chase joy and avoid pain, to keep moving, to make everything sound fun. But life doesn't work that way. And in this conversation, she opens up about what happens when the fun runs out and you're left sitting in the hard stuff alone.Annie reveals the true cost of being a "trusted bridge"—a person who connects others to what matters most, even when it means they'll walk right past you to get there. She shares about the loneliness that comes with public life, the parts people don't see: grieving alone, making impossible decisions, carrying financial weight, and the exhausting work of showing up when you'd rather disappear. She talks about losing someone who believed in her, about learning to sit in grief rather than run from it, and about why she's planning to shut down her entire company for the summer of 2027—a radical sabbatical practice inspired by biblical wisdom about letting fields rest. This is a conversation about what it means to make joy and grief roommates, to trust your calling when it gets hard, and to keep showing up as yourself even when yourself isn't always fun. In this conversation, you'll learn:How to Be a Bridge Without Getting Walked All Over How Your Enneagram Type Shapes Your Relationship with PainHow to Hold Joy and Grief in the Same Moment How to Lead a Public Life Without Losing Your Private SelfHow to Know Your Calling When Everything Feels HardHow to Rest From What You've Done and Toward What You're BuildingHow to Build Community When You're Deeply LonelyHow to Sit in Grief Instead of Running From ItHow to Make Peace With What You Can't ControlHow to Trust Your Voice Even When People Walk Right Past YouHow to Practice Sabbath in a World That Never StopsHow to Build Things That Don't Exist YetHow to Be "Both/And" in an "Either/Or" WorldHow to Keep Going When Your Why Gets HeavyWelcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.- Miles Adcox Join the Human School community at humanschool.com for exclusive content, resources, and conversations that support the betterment of humanity. Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficialThreads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss:00:00:00 - Intro: Welcome to Human School00:01:29 - Why Annie Calls Herself a "Trusted Bridge"00:05:30 - The Parts of Public Life People Don't See00:09:42 - How Enneagram 7s Avoid Pain by Chasing Joy 00:12:15 - When the Fun Person Has to Sit in Grief00:17:28 - Learning to Hold Joy and Grief at the Same Time00:24:56 - When Community Feels Far Away Even When You're Surrounded00:36:55 - When Your Mission Means Losing Your Audience00:46:09 - Making Peace With What You Can't Control00:53:42 - Planning a Full Summer Sabbatical in 202701:12:29 - Breaking Into New Areas of Media01:28:34 - Making Faith Attractive and Invitational Instead of Activating01:36:06 - Final Thoughts: We're Going to Make It

Have you ever felt like you're performing your life instead of actually living it? Today, Miles Adcox sits down with pastor, author, and communicator Judah Smith for a conversation about confidence, criticism, and the courage it takes to lead with gentleness in a world that rewards strength. Judah grew up as a seventh-generation pastor, watching his father build a church from 20 people in a Courtyard Marriott to a thriving community. But what shaped Judah most wasn't the legacy—it was his father telling him from age seven: "People like you, and they want to hear what you have to say."  This conversation goes deep into the duplicity that haunts anyone in the public eye—the chasm between who we are on stage and who we are at home.  The label "celebrity pastor" gets unpacked as Judah shares what it's really like to be a safe place for public figures while his own profile grows, navigating interviews that aren't about his message but about his friends. Miles reflects on one of the saddest realities for well-known people: they lose the ability to ever make a first impression again. Everyone makes up a story about who they are before they even open their mouth.  From breaking tennis rackets to breaking down barriers, from his dad getting on his knees to ask his son to pray for him before he died to parenting his own kids with radical repair instead of toxic comparison, Judah reveals what it means to stop performing and start participating. He shares his preparation method—studying himself full, praying himself hot, and letting himself go—and why he imagines the life story of a stranger in the audience before every sermon. Miles and Judah discuss why the best family moments happen in the environment of repair and why artists are the ones who bring us together when the world gets polarized. In this conversation, you'll learn:How Confidence Gets Built (Or Broken) in ChildhoodHow to Stop Performing and Start Being YourselfHow to Close the Gap Between Public and PrivateHow to Handle Criticism Without Becoming DefensiveHow Repair Defeats Comparison in ParentingHow to Prepare Without OverthinkingHow to Love Your Audience More Than Your MessageHow to Separate the Human From What They DoHow to Lose the Ability to Make a First ImpressionHow to Reach Out to People Who've Hurt YouHow to Make the Table Big Enough for Everyone Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.Miles Adcox Join the Human School community at humanschool.com for exclusive content, resources, and conversations that support the betterment of humanity. Follow Human School:YouTube - Human School PodcastInstagram - @humanschoolofficialThreads - @humanschoolofficialTikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School03:41 Playing Tight End at a Small School: Graduating With 94 People06:42 Why Judah Quit Football for Tennis (And Basketball)08:43 Where the Drive to Be the Best Comes From09:11 "People Like You and Want to Hear What You Have to Say" 12:17 The Day Confidence Broke14:59 His Dad's Response20:46 Meeting People Where They Really Are, Not Where You Think They Are24:50 "I Didn't Believe I Was Smart" 27:48 Imagining the Life of a Stranger in the Audience Before Every Sermon30:24 The Human Behind the Craft: How Does It Serve You?36:58 "Here's Where I Get It Wrong Sometimes"41:14 Working With Celebrities51:04 Handling Criticism01:07:12 Repair, Not Compare01:15:39 Losing His Dad at 3001:35:26 Why Storytellers Need More Grace and Less Comparison

Have you ever been so stuck in your past that you couldn't see your future?   What if the person you used to be is the exact reason you can help someone else become who they're meant to be?   Today, Miles Adcox sits down with Grammy-nominated artist and advocate Jelly Roll for a raw, unfiltered conversation about redemption, rage, and the messy road from rock bottom to purpose. From stealing TVs from bars to pay his band, to being intoxicated in sketchy venues, to the moment his daughter was born while he was locked up in Davidson County Jail—Jelly Roll's journey isn't polished or easy. Known for vulnerable songs like "Save Me" and "I Am Not Okay," Jelly Roll has transformed his wounds into songs that give millions permission to admit they're struggling too.   This conversation goes places most interviews don't dare. Jelly Roll opens up about his affair with his wife Bunny, calling it "one of the worst moments of my adulthood," and shares how they've rebuilt their relationship stronger than ever through repair and presence. He reveals his ongoing battle with food addiction and how he is overcoming it day by day. They discuss his Damascus Road moment in jail when he learned his daughter Bailey was born, the rage that was his default emotion, and how signing up for the GED program while surrounded by convicts became his first act of humility.   Miles and Jelly Roll explore the power of changing your circle — how, when you hang around nine people long enough, you become the tenth.   The conversation reveals Jelly Roll's purpose work—why walking into jails and juvenile detention centers is where he feels most relaxed and most alive. They discuss the Jericho program, Sheriff Darren Hall's grace in placing him in the education unit despite his charges, and how that decision changed the entire trajectory of his life.   From the Grand Ole Opry to WWE SummerSlam training, from IVF struggles with surrogacy to buying an entire farm after his Onsite experience, from the pre-show prayer that evolved from bar fights to the basketball court where he values assists over baskets—this conversation reveals the human behind the headlines. Jelly Roll shares his father's profound prayer story about a difficult coworker named John, teaching that prayer often changes us more than it changes our circumstances. Miles offers his own two-word prayer for the broken: "Whatever" in the morning, "Enough" at night.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How Your Default Emotion Shapes Your Life Story How to Pick Up the Mirror Instead of the Microscope How to Sign Up for Change Even When It Looks Like Weakness How to Build Trust When Trust Doesn't Come Cheap How the People Around You Become Who You Are How to Repair Relationships Instead of Just Ripping Them Apart How to Reset, Reconnect, and Repair in Real Time How Prayer Changes You More Than Your Circumstances How to Read the Bible Without the Box of Organized Religion How to Stay Connected to Where You Came From How to Be Present When Your Business Demands You Be Absent How to Fight Food Addiction With Physical Resets How to Find Your Purpose in the Place Everyone Else Avoids How to Navigate Success When You Never Expected to Arrive   Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most. By Miles Adcox   Follow Human School  YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial

Welcome to The Human School — a place to learn what we were never taught about being human. Hosted by Miles Adcox, emotional wellness expert and CEO of Onsite, this podcast explores the lessons that shape our relationships, purpose, and growth. Through honest conversations and real-life stories, Miles invites guests and listeners alike to slow down, look inward, and discover how to live, love, and lead with more intention and compassion. Because being human isn’t something we master — it’s something we practice.