The Story Engine Podcast

For years, I believed success required me to work harder, stay later, sacrifice more, and keep pushing until I finally reached the next level. I had the goals, the vision boards, the better jobs, the business, and the achievements—but I still didn't feel fulfilled. In this episode, I sit down with Joey Vaillancourt, founder of the Success Collapse Formula, to unpack the moment when his relentless drive finally collided with the life he was trying to build. After years of working three shifts a day, Joey found himself sitting in front of three screens late at night while his wife asked him to simply come to bed—and realized he was repeating the same pattern that had already contributed to the end of a previous marriage. Joey shares how he began questioning the identity that told him everything had to be hard, how changing his beliefs changed the way he operated, and why he now sees life as a "great experiment" rather than a series of pass-or-fail outcomes. We explore the hidden beliefs and childhood experiences that can shape the way we work, the difference between pain and the story we attach to it, and what happens when you start living today as the person you think you'll only become after reaching the next finish line. Most surprisingly, Joey discovered that doing less, taking more vacations, and stepping away from the constant pressure didn't slow his business down—it helped him double his revenue while working less than half as much. This is a conversation about success, family, identity, and learning how to actually enjoy the life you've worked so hard to create. Highlights (03:05) – Why achieving more never made Joey feel more fulfilled Joey explains how an identity built around achievement, productivity, and constant progress helped him create success—but left him feeling increasingly disconnected from his own life. (04:30) – The late-night conversation that forced Joey to confront his pattern Working his "third shift" at night, Joey's wife asked why he was still working and told him she simply missed him. The conversation became a painful realization that his work pattern was threatening the very family he was trying to provide for. (05:45) – Recognizing the same pattern that had contributed to a previous divorce Joey realized that changing his circumstances hadn't changed the person operating underneath them. He was in a new marriage with a new family, but repeating the same behavior that had caused problems before. (08:00) – The two intentions that began changing Joey's life Joey decided to surrender more, put his family and life first, and stop postponing the things he said he wanted. That decision led him to seek coaching, rethink his priorities, and deliberately create a different path. (11:03) – The belief that completely changed Joey's definition of success Joey shares the conversation that challenged his assumption that success required hustle, sacrifice, and working harder than everyone else—and introduced him to the idea that results could come from a more relaxed state. (14:37) – The warning signs that you're trapped in your own success pattern From the knot in your stomach to sleepless nights, dread, resentment, and constantly believing the next finish line will finally make things different, Joey breaks down the signals people often ignore. (16:00) – Pain is inevitable, but the story you attach to it can change Joey explains how viewing life as pass/fail can turn difficult experiences into prolonged suffering—and how treating life as an experiment can create a completely different relationship with setbacks. (18:01) – What happens when you start living like you already have what you want Joey shares an exercise that challenged him to stop waiting for future success before spending time with his family, taking vacations, working out, and actually living the life he said he wanted. (20:00) – How doing less helped Joey double his revenue Joey explains what happened when he stopped micromanaging, took more vacations, worked less, and let his teams take more ownership—and why his "reverse formula" produced surprising business results. (21:55) – The childhood experiences that can become an adult operating system Joey shares a powerful story from playing competitive hockey with his father and how an early lesson about disappointing others may have contributed to a lifelong pattern of people-pleasing and overachievement. (25:37) – Turning your past "failures" into the building blocks of your success Joey explains why he no longer sees his previous careers, creative pursuits, and ventures as failures, but as experiments that gave him the skills and experiences necessary to become who he is today. (30:09) – Introducing the Success Collapse Formula After years of coaching, brain training, health work, and personal development, Joey explains how he combined what he learned into his own framework for creating success while working less and living more. (31:10) – The story of the night Joey realized something had to change Kyle transforms Joey's experience into a powerful stage story, capturing the three screens, the cold coffee, the conversation with his wife, and the realization that he had been postponing his life. (35:00) – The surprising value Joey discovered beyond revenue and achievement After doubling his revenue while working less, Joey realized he had discovered something more valuable than the success he had spent years chasing—and prepares to share the process with others. (40:17) – Breaking generational patterns without blaming the people who came before you Joey discusses how developing compassion for his father allowed him to recognize what he wanted to keep, what he wanted to challenge, and what he wanted to do differently for his own children. (42:21) – Joey's challenge: Start living life like a great experiment Joey closes with a simple philosophy: stop putting so much pressure on yourself, stay curious about what life is teaching you, and look for the meaning that emerges from the experiences you're already living.

What if the reason you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected isn't that you lack the answers, but that you don't yet have the words to understand what you're feeling? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with Doug Johnston, author of Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart, to explore the fascinating connection between language, emotions, and our ability to navigate life. After decades as a corporate executive and expert witness, Doug began an unexpected nine-year journey into the emotional experiences of humanity, collecting 8,000 quotes across 25 centuries of history to explore 272 different emotions. What started with a difficult question from his teenage daughter about depression became a profound discovery about how we understand ourselves, connect with others, and move forward when life feels overwhelming. We explore why the words we use to describe our emotions can make the difference between feeling trapped and finding a path forward, how misidentifying what we're feeling can prevent us from addressing the real problem, and why our emotions exist at the intersection of mind and body. Doug also shares a deeply personal realization about how his pursuit of success and his understanding of ego kept him disconnected from his own emotional life—and how his daughter helped him rediscover the importance of leading with the heart as well as the head. This conversation is a powerful reminder that even the most successful people can struggle to understand themselves, and that discovering the right language for our inner experiences can open the door to greater self-awareness, stronger relationships, and more meaningful leadership. Highlights (00:51) – From corporate executive to emotional researcher: Discover what led Doug to spend nine years investigating the emotions that shape our lives. (01:34) – The question from his daughter that changed everything: How a conversation about depression pushed Doug beyond the limits of his professional expertise. (03:34) – The words that made depression easier to understand: Explore two powerful insights from people who had experienced depression firsthand—and why those words brought his daughter to tears. (05:00) – 272 emotions, 8,000 quotes, and 25 centuries of human experience: Learn how Doug created a different way to understand what emotions actually feel like. (06:18) – Why we avoid the emotions we don't understand: Doug reflects on why he initially dodged his daughter's question and what that revealed about his own discomfort. (07:29) – Can you feel an emotion without having a word for it? Discover why expanding your emotional vocabulary may be essential to greater happiness and emotional intelligence. (09:42) – From confusion to clarity: How finding the precise word for an emotion can turn "Why do I feel this way?" into an actionable understanding of yourself. (11:48) – Name it to tame it: Explore the idea that accurately naming what you're experiencing can help you feel calmer, become unstuck, and move forward. (13:03) – When anxiety isn't the real problem: We explore how physical health, hormones, and the body can influence our emotional experiences—and why understanding the source matters. (15:12) – The mind-body connection: Why emotions sit at the intersection of thought and physical experience, and how that affects the way we understand ourselves. (16:18) – What happens when you give the wrong name to what you're feeling? Learn why confusing one emotional experience with another can lead to the wrong solution. (18:01) – You're not the only one struggling: Discover how reading the experiences of great thinkers, artists, and leaders can help you feel less alone in your own challenges. (20:25) – The hidden cost of ego: Doug shares a deeply personal realization about how a belief he inherited in childhood shaped his behavior for decades. (21:36) – The quote that changed how Doug saw himself: Explore Carl Jung's perspective on ego and why understanding it later in life led Doug to reconsider his past. (23:18) – How a simple childhood comment can shape your entire worldview: Kyle shares a personal story about how an innocent interpretation of a song influenced the way he viewed time and success. (24:25) – Why words shape the way we solve problems: Discover how language influences everything from personal growth to the way experts across disciplines approach complex challenges. (25:57) – The moment Doug realized his research had made a difference: Hear the moving story of his daughter's invitation to give the commencement speech at her college. (27:30) – The story behind Choosing Emotions: Kyle reframes Doug's journey, connecting his pursuit of success, his daughter's struggle, and his discovery of a new way to understand emotions. (31:24) – Learning to reconnect with the heart: Doug reflects on how his daughter's emotional awareness helped him recognize what he had been missing in his own life. (33:50) – Thinking with your head and acting with your heart: Why a more fulfilling life requires us to bring reason and emotional understanding together. (34:53) – Finding insight in the experiences of others: Doug explains how Choosing Emotions combines powerful revelations, unexpected perspectives, and even humor to help readers better understand themselves.

What if the legal protection you've always viewed as a necessary expense could actually become one of your business's greatest drivers of profit, freedom, and growth? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with Sharon Toerek, founder and CEO of Toerek Law and a leading legal advisor to independent marketing agencies, to explore how intellectual property and strategic legal agreements can do far more than protect your business from risk. Sharon shares why client contracts, pricing, payment terms, and ownership of your original work can make the difference between running a profitable agency and constantly feeling busy while your margins disappear. We also explore what happens when a successful client relationship turns into a financial crisis, leaving an agency struggling to collect payment while its intellectual property is being used without proper authorization. Sharon reveals how these situations develop, why proactive legal strategy matters, and how agencies can transform their proprietary systems, methodologies, and expertise into scalable revenue streams through training, education, licensing, and other IP-driven business models. If you're ready to move beyond selling time for money and start creating more value from your thinking, this conversation will challenge how you view legal protection—and reveal how protecting your brilliance can become a pathway to greater profitability, freedom, and long-term success. Highlights (01:52) – Why Sharon specializes in helping independent marketing agencies—and the overlooked legal needs that inspired her business. (03:50) – How legal affairs can become a profit center by improving client contracts, protecting margins, and creating new revenue opportunities. (04:46) – Why the intellectual property agencies create every day could be worth far more than the fees they charge for their services. (05:50) – How packaging proprietary systems, methodologies, and education can create repeatable revenue streams beyond selling time for money. (06:46) – Why AI makes intellectual property protection more complicated—and why businesses can unknowingly infringe on someone else's work. (08:12) – How proactive legal strategy helps agencies negotiate from a position of strength instead of constantly reacting to stressful client problems. (09:07) – The contract details that can make the difference between a profitable month and one spent fulfilling work that barely pays. (10:05) – Why an agency's greatest negotiating leverage comes at the beginning of a client relationship—and how to use it effectively. (13:43) – Inside a high-pressure client crisis involving withheld payments, disputed intellectual property, and the threat of serious financial consequences. (18:27) – The words that capture the stakes of a business-threatening situation: "This is a make or break moment for us potentially." (19:59) – Why knowing your legal options isn't enough—and how to find a practical business solution when a client relationship goes sideways. (21:14) – How a successful, long-standing client relationship can turn into an IP dispute when money becomes a bigger concern. (22:40) – The agency that used its intellectual property to build an entirely new business around training, education, events, and media. (24:18) – Why the biggest opportunity for professional service firms may be creating value from their thinking rather than their doing. (25:07) – Hear Kyle transform Sharon's client crisis into a powerful origin story about protecting businesses, stopping financial bleeding, and creating freedom through intellectual property. (28:12) – Why bringing humanity and emotion into your story can make your expertise more meaningful and memorable.

What if one of the simplest tools for changing how you feel, focus, lead, and connect was something you could experience simply by breathing? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with Jessica Wiehle, founder of AromaWell and a formally trained clinical aromatherapist, to explore the surprising power of scent. We unpack how essential oils interact with the brain, why different aromas can influence mood, motivation, memory, stress, and focus, and how Jessica creates personalized "aromatic signatures" for individuals, businesses, healthcare facilities, and shared spaces. But Jessica's story goes much deeper than aromatherapy. After losing her mother to cancer at just 19, Jessica discovered herbal medicine and eventually experienced the powerful effects of eucalyptus during an incredibly stressful period of her own life. Years of study, experimentation, and entrepreneurship eventually led her to develop customized aromatherapy programs—including work with memory-care patients experiencing severe cognitive decline. We explore the moment her work came full circle, the lesson she learned about solving everything through effort, and why sometimes the next level of growth comes not from trying harder, but from creating more space for pleasure, relaxation, and alignment. Highlights (02:03) – Why Jessica calls herself a "modern medicine woman" and how decades of studying plants shaped her approach to healing (03:36) – How aromatherapy began transforming Jessica's work with memory-care patients and expanded into mental health, hospice, and workplace wellness (06:23) – What actually happens in the brain when you smell an essential oil—and why scent can influence memory, mood, and motivation (07:36) – Why rosemary and peppermint may act like a workout for the brain, particularly for cognitive stimulation (14:23) – The realization that changed Jessica's business: why a purely clinical approach wasn't fully aligned with the way she wanted to help people (16:48) – How Jessica creates a personalized "aromatic signature" based on your personality, story, goals, and the environment you want to create (19:32) – How the same process can be applied to an entire business by aligning scent with brand story, mission, vision, and customer experience (20:45) – Why aromatherapy offers something most personal-development tools don't: an approach that works in the background without requiring more effort (21:47) – The hidden blocks behind motivation and overwhelm—and how Jessica uses scent to address them (23:22) – The connection between breathing, cortisol, stress, and why a smell can become a simple reminder to slow down (25:21) – Why pleasure matters and how scent can engage the subconscious in ways we don't always consciously understand (27:39) – The deeply personal story that led Jessica to aromatherapy after losing her mother to cancer at just 19 (31:55) – The eucalyptus experience that convinced Jessica there was something powerful about aromatherapy (33:04) – Jessica remembers being beside her mother in hospice—and the small moment of connection she has never forgotten (36:05) – How Jessica went from a paralegal career to building a business around plants, research, and aromatherapy (37:27) – What happened when Jessica introduced a customized aromatherapy program into a memory-care facility (38:50) – How nurses tracked the effects of aromatherapy—and the dramatic changes they observed in some residents (39:37) – The World War II survivor who told Jessica, "I don't know what's in this stuff, but it's working" (41:06) – Kyle reflects on Jessica's story and the journey from standing beside her dying mother to helping others through aromatherapy (46:49) – Jessica's reaction to hearing her own story reflected back—and what she learned about authentic storytelling (48:14) – Why telling your story in a way that creates a personal connection can change how people experience—and respond to—it (48:53) – Jessica's closing message about our capacity to evolve through our senses and become more conscious of what surrounds us

What happens when the success you've worked so hard to create slowly pulls you away from the people and the life that matter most? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with David Taylor-Klaus, MCC, to explore the hidden cost of defining ourselves by what we do—and what it takes to reconnect with who we are beyond our accomplishments. David shares the deeply personal story of reaching a breaking point during Hurricane Katrina, when he realized he had become so disconnected from himself that he could no longer keep his struggles silent. That moment ultimately led him into therapy, coaching, and a much deeper process of rebuilding his life around his values, relationships, and purpose. We also dive into David's work around neuroinformed coaching and why understanding how your brain actually works can change the way you approach motivation, leadership, and personal growth. We explore the difference between "work-life balance" and what David calls a life rhythm, how entrepreneurs can become overcalibrated toward accomplishment, and the five things that can motivate an ADHD brain: play, interest, novelty, competition/collaboration, and urgency. Most importantly, David shares a powerful question that can completely change the way you approach your future: "What will this look like when it's easy?" Rather than forcing yourself into someone else's definition of success, the goal is to discover the path that works with who you actually are. Highlights (02:29) – Why successful people can become disconnected from their families by defining themselves through their work and accomplishments (04:01) – The "work-life balance" lie and why building your life first creates a healthier relationship with your work (05:41) – The warning signs David ignored before realizing something was seriously out of alignment in his life (07:13) – The Hurricane Katrina moment that forced David to confront the storm happening inside him (07:58) – Why speaking your struggles out loud can be the beginning of changing your life (09:25) – The stigma around difficult emotions and why learning to experience emotions matters (12:09) – What neuroinformed coaching means—and why most coaching research doesn't account for neurodiversity (16:46) – The PINCH framework: five things that can help motivate an ADHD brain (19:27) – The two turning points that transformed David's recovery from something he was doing for his children into something he was doing for himself (21:00) – How watching his wife go through coach training sparked David's first genuine excitement in years (24:35) – David's story retold: from feeling trapped and disconnected to discovering a future he could actually feel excited about (30:51) – The realization entrepreneurs need: it doesn't have to be this hard (32:10) – The question that can change your path: "What will this look like when it's easy?"