The Total Entrepreneur: Mind, Body, Spirit

What separates good performers from world-class leaders?In this episode of The Total Entrepreneur: Mind, Body, Spirit, John interviews Jim Allenby, a former 15-year professional cricketer turned high-performance executive and athletic coach. Jim pulls back the curtain on how elite athletes handle criticism, why soft feedback causes top talent to stagnate, and how the 90% pain rule of professional sports directly applies to scaling a business.Whether you want to sharpen your team's feedback culture, optimize physical recovery, or build long-term resilience, this episode offers an actionable masterclass in high performance.Key Topics:Why high performers thrive on direct, un-sugarcoated feedback and why soft management stops elite talent from improving.How leaders can introduce low-stakes conflict early in a relationship to test if a performer genuinely wants candor.Jim's 15-year career in international cricket and how technical coaching evolved into high-performance mentoring for ambitious leaders.A quick breakdown of cricket's grueling formats, from 3-hour T20 matches to 5-day test matches, and how athletes maintain mental focus over long periods.Why building a business or an athletic career requires 5 to 10 years of unrewarded effort, delayed gratification, and trusting the process.Why elite performers demand binary proof before trying new strategies and how unchallenged poor behavior becomes toxic organizational policy.The mathematical reality of operating at 30% personal capacity and why leaders must prioritize their physical and mental health first.How high-performance fueling shifted from pasta loading to heavy protein, vegetables, and targeted hydration for sustained decision-making.Debunking the founder "badge of honor" around sleep deprivation and using hot/cold protocols, HRV tracking, and sleep hygiene as risk mitigation tools.Connect with Jim Allenby:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimallenby/Website - https://www.jimallenby.com/Connect with Dr. John M. Torrens:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmtorrens/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnmtorrens/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohntorrensWebsite - Podcast.JohnMTorrens.com

Entrepreneurship is an energy game. Chris Burres, CEO of MyVitalC and co-author of Live Longer and Better, has spent more than three decades working with a Nobel Prize-winning carbon molecule, and he has strong views on the longevity habits that keep founders performing. In this episode, John talks with Chris about longevity habits for entrepreneurs, from the movement, nutrition, sleep, and mindset routines Chris follows at 57 to the path that took him from mechanical engineering, explosives, and improv comedy to a career in longevity.Chris also explains his company’s work with carbon 60 (C60, which his company calls ESS60), the rodent research that changed his business, and the “BOSS Theory” he uses to explain his own and customers’ experiences. John pressure-tests the science along the way and asks about the limits of what’s known. This episode shares Chris’s views, his company’s research, and his personal experience, not medical advice.Key Topics:How a Lamborghini poster at age 14 led Chris to study mechanical engineering to become an entrepreneur, and why he started his company while still in college.What it was like to work on downhole explosives at Shell, and the patents that came out of it.What improv comedy taught him about communication: Your job is to make the other person look brilliant.What C60 is, why it’s shaped like a soccer ball, and why his company has made it since 1991.Why he and his business partner put “Not for human consumption” on their labels and spent years refusing to enter the supplement industry.What changed their minds in 2017, and what it took to bring a product to market in 2018.What Chris says the 2012 rat study found, and what it does and doesn’t tell us about people.Questions on the science, including the lack of human trials, the 2020 light-exposure study, and product testing.Chris’s “BOSS Theory” (Buffering oxidative stress system), his explanation of how C60 may support the mitochondria, and the Mardi Gras analogy that goes with it.Why antioxidants that don’t blunt the body’s stress response are a topic of interest to him.How he approaches nutrition: roughly one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, and his go-to sources.The tough-movement routine behind his DEXA results (about five pounds more muscle and two percentage points less body fat over 18 months): sprint intervals, the 4-3-4 bike protocol, and short strength sessions.Why he does one-meal-a-day fasting twice a week, and what he says about autophagy and “zombie” cells.Why mindset is the most important of his four pillars: Movement, nutrition, sleep, and mindset.The entrepreneur’s trap of giving up your health for success, then spending your success to get it back.Connect with Chris Burres:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisburres/Website - https://www.myvitalc.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/myvitalcMyVitalC.com/DrJohn - Includes a free PDF of 18 biohacking tips from Chris’ longevity summit.Live Longer and Better by Chris Burres and Jerome R. Corsi Ph.D. - https://a.co/d/0d3V2jDPConnect with Dr. John M. Torrens:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmtorrens/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnmtorrens/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohntorrensWebsite - Podcast.JohnMTorrens.com

What’s the point of building an empire if your home life is a house of cards? Larry Hagner, Founder of The Dad Edge and Author of The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood, says many entrepreneurs have the best intentions of providing for their families while the people they’re providing for go hungry for their presence. In this episode, John talks with Larry about balancing business and family life, and about how to become the husband, father, and leader you want to be before it costs you the things that matter.Larry shares his path from a medical device sales career to a Facebook page called The Good Dad Project, which grew into The Dad Edge, a podcast, and a community for men. He explains his Brave Man Code framework, why he believes a strong marriage lifts every other part of a man’s life, and the story of a client who sold his company for $42.5 million and realized he’d lost sight of his family. The conversation also covers the “content zombie” trap and what the research Larry cites says about the power of accountability.Key Topics:Why Larry calls “meeting the man you could have become” the definition of hell, and what he means by “the drift”.How a life and marriage can be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.What Larry cites on “roommate syndrome” in marriage and why he wants to disrupt the idea that it’s normal.How Larry met his biological father at age 12 through a chance encounter at a rec center, and the unexpected coffee-shop reunion that followed in 2005.The hardest night of his parenting life in 2012, and the question that led him to start The Good Dad Project.How a Facebook page grew to 100,000 followers, led to his first speaking invitation, and became a blog (2013) and a podcast (2015).The Brave Man Code: Bond, Raise, Amplify, Vitality, Enjoy, Movement, Action, and Network.The four pillars of a great marriage: Individual care, partnership, friendship, and intimacy.Why the goal is to become your kids’ 3 a.m. call, and why safety isn’t the absence of discipline.Why Larry teaches “married first, parent second,” and what he means by it (his view, and one he says draws strong reactions).The entrepreneur trap: The $42.5 million exit, the donuts-with-Dad moment, and how the client turned it around.Why Larry built the Dad Edge Business Boardroom Brotherhood for entrepreneur dads.What to expect at The Men’s Forge, a three-day event near St. Louis (April 22–25, 2027).The “content zombie” trap, and why experiential learning and a standing accountability appointment change outcomes.One thing to do today: Stop trying to figure out marriage and fatherhood alone, and treat them as skills you can learn.Connect with Larry Hagner:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-hagner-a82b8715Website - https://thedadedge.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/larry.hagner.3/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedadedge/The Dad Edge on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheDadEdge25 Intimate Conversation Starters -  TheDadEdge.com/25QuestionsConnect with Dr. John M. Torrens:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmtorrens/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnmtorrens/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohntorrensWebsite - Podcast.JohnMTorrens.com

You can be busy from morning to night and still end the day wondering what you got done. Productivity expert Mridu Parikh, known as “The Stress Squasher,” says the problem is how we measure productivity. In this episode, John talks with Mridu about how to feel more productive by treating productivity as a feeling, the emotional payoff of making real progress on what matters, rather than a count of checked boxes.Mridu shares the practical system behind her TEDx talk: pick your top three tasks instead of facing a three-page to-do list, keep your ideas on a separate list, and protect a daily “power hour” for the thing you’ve been putting off. The conversation also covers her path from client services at a marketing agency to professional home organizer to productivity coach, the difference between being organized and being productive, and why soothing activities like scrolling aren’t the same as self-care.Key Topics:Why Mridu defines productivity as a feeling, and how to measure your day by how you feel at the end of it.Why high achievers never feel like they’ve done enough, and how a top-three list fixes itThe difference between an action list and an idea list, and why mixing them leads to overwhelmWhat a “power hour” is, how to start with 30 minutes, and the math on 10 to 20 focused hours a month.Her path from client work for brands like Mercedes and American Express to starting a professional home organizing business.The difference between being organized and being productive.Why your environment matters for focus, and the desk trick that keeps your eyes from wandering.How she became “The Stress Squasher,” and why her real goal is lowering your stress.Soothing vs. self-care: how to tell whether an activity actually restores you.How becoming an empty nester changed the way she thinks about time and energy.Why you should plan around your energy, not just your time.The one change to make tomorrow: Protect small pockets of focus.Connect with Mridu Parikh:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mridu-parikh/ Website - http://lifeisorganized.com/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/mriduparikhTEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2fwApS0L6AAccomplish It By Mridu ParikhConnect with Dr. John M. Torrens:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmtorrens/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnmtorrens/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohntorrensWebsite - Podcast.JohnMTorrens.com

At 24, Danielle Matthews was told by her neurologist that her brain injury was as healed as it was ever going to get, and that she needed to build a new life around it. In this episode, John talks with Danielle about the head-on car accident that upended her life, the mild traumatic brain injury that followed, and how a daily yoga nidra practice became the tool that carried her through the darkest stretch of her recovery, and ultimately opened the door to a spiritual awakening, an entrepreneurial career, and a new understanding of what “success” actually means.Danielle shares how yoga nidra for trauma recovery became more than a coping mechanism, tracing her path from competitive college swimmer and snowboarder to brain-injury patient to network marketing entrepreneur to spiritual coach, trained directly in the lineage of Kripalu founder Amrit Desai. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about post-traumatic growth, presence, letting go of external validation, and building a business and a life in alignment with something deeper than achievement.Key Topics:The car accident that caused Danielle’s traumatic brain injury, and the year it took doctors to properly diagnose it.What it’s like to be told by a doctor that your “new normal” is permanent at 24 years old.How a daily yoga nidra practice helped Danielle sleep, regulate her mind, and eventually access a deeper sense of presence.The philosophy behind yoga nidra as a tool for enlightenment, not just relaxation.What “post-traumatic growth” means, and how adversity can become the catalyst for becoming a stronger version of yourself.Why Danielle walked away from the traditional “top school, top job” path after her accident, and what she realized mattered more.How Danielle built an entrepreneurial career through network marketing, including the mindset shifts and consistency it took to grow it.The launch of her coaching practice, Inner Management Mastery, and what “enlightened entrepreneurship” looks like in practice.Why leading yourself has to come before leading a business, and how unresolved mindset and trauma show up in entrepreneurship.Lessons on resilience, judgment from others, and redefining what success actually feels like once you arrive.Connect with Danielle Matthews:YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@healwithdanielleFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/innermasteryguideInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/_daniellematthews_Connect with Dr. John M. Torrens:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmtorrens/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnmtorrens/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohntorrensWebsite - Podcast.JohnMTorrens.com