Entrepreneurs chase optimization, but what happens when that’s not enough?

Jamie Wheal joins Alex Raymond to talk about flow, resilience, and the deeper search for meaning in leadership. He challenges the idea that personal optimization is the ultimate goal, suggesting it’s only the first step. The real work is in navigating uncertainty, making an impact, and staying grounded through Hedonic Engineering—a way to keep motivation high even when the path ahead isn’t clear.

Jamie shares how flow states unlock creativity and why great teams embrace dynamic subordination, letting the most capable person take the lead at any moment. He also reflects on the Bhagavad Gita’s lessons on purpose, reminding entrepreneurs that leadership isn’t about control, but about clarity, adaptability, and knowing when to step forward or step back.

If the pressure to perform feels overwhelming, Alex and Jamie’s discussion offers a unique view on leading with purpose and keeping your footing when everything shifts around you.

Quotes

• “I think it’s really important that we don’t end up in the kind of late stage neoliberal fetishization of infinite individual perfect ability for a price. And we actually just realized, Hey, Shaolin temple style, train your body and mind, right? Push it to its limits so that you can hone it and direct it to those things of most meaning and significance and impact. Otherwise, we’re all just trapped little monkeys in the machine.” (04:25 | Jamie Wheal)
• “Business leaders are in varying degrees and intensities themselves. It requires a very strong center for you to be able to enter the melee and not lose your own footing.” (07:51 | Jamie Wheal)
• “You don’t want to get stuck in a model or a mode simply because you think it’s groovier or more enlightened. And again, Silicon Valley leadership culture has kind of now permeated, has kind of become the default norms, which is, I’m a level five leader, a la Jim Collins. I’m a little Yoda behind the scenes. I want to make everyone feel empowered and heard, and our collective intelligence will win the day. Maybe, it depends.” (17:17 | Jamie Wheal)
• “Small is beautiful. It’s a timeless text, but I’d super encourage folks to just give themselves permission to do a beautiful thing in the world at a high quality or standard that is satisfying to you and the people you serve. And just have that as one other option, at least, versus just chasing the series.” (55:39 | Jamie Wheal)

Links

Connect with Jamie Wheal:

https://www.flowgenomeproject.com/

https://jamiewheal.substack.com/

https://www.recapturetherapture.com/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Success isn’t supposed to feel like a grind. The real challenge is knowing when to let go and step into what feels effortless.

Alex Raymond sits down with Ret Taylor, the co-founder and former co-CEO of Ned, to talk about the moment he knew it was time to walk away. After years of building a wellness company with a mission he believed in, Ret found himself stuck in the day-to-day demands of running a business that no longer felt right. A banking crisis forced him to make a decision, but his real breakthrough came when he stopped pushing and started surrendering.

Inspired by Michael Singer’s teachings, Ret learned to let go of fear and lean into what felt natural. That shift led him to Foria, a company that shared Ned’s values, and gave him the space to step fully into his zone of genius.

Join Alex and Ret’s discussion to be reminded that the path forward isn’t always about working harder but about knowing when to trust the pull toward something better.

Quotes

• “What if it’s not supposed to be hard? What if it’s supposed to be easy, like it was for me the last two retreats I did? And I had this big realization that I’ve been idolizing the wrong things. I should be idolizing, and I want to idolize those who don’t work so hard, those for whom it comes easy, and those that really surrender to their paths and move with confidence in them.” (13:08 | Ret Taylor)
• “I’m meant to be with people outdoors, sharing my passion for nature, sharing my expertise that I’ve gathered over the last 25 years, and helping people heal and thrive with them. Ned, my business, has done that for hundreds of thousands of people.” (17:21 | Ret Taylor)
• “My mantra has become: ‘Worry doesn’t serve me.’ It just doesn’t. It doesn’t help to worry. It’s this thing left over from prehistoric days when there actually were things to worry about.” (21:30 | Ret Taylor)
• “ I just feel much more fulfilled and very, very grateful. I’m grateful for those learnings, grateful to Josh, my best friend, for the opportunity, for Finian, and for you, for the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit. It all came together at the right time for me.” (31:22 | Ret Taylor)

Links

Connect with Ret Taylor: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rettaylor/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Success won’t fix what you think it will—and Wil Schroter, founder of Startups.com, explains why so many entrepreneurs hit major milestones only to feel more lost than ever.

Wil has built, sold, and acquired multiple companies, yet he’s seen countless entrepreneurs hit their biggest milestones only to feel more lost than ever. He sits down with Alex Raymond to talk about why financial wins don’t fix deeper struggles and how chasing an exit can leave founders grappling with purpose, identity, and unexpected disappointment.

Wil shares what he’s learned from working with thousands of entrepreneurs—why they conflate success with happiness, why scaling too fast can backfire, and how to build something sustainable without losing yourself in the process. He also gets personal, talking about the non-negotiables that keep his life in balance.

If you’re constantly pushing toward “someday,” this episode might change how you define real success.

Quotes

• “Everything we thought was going to get cured, doesn’t change at all. In fact, it actually gets worse. Now, when people hear that, they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry that you made a million dollars. I’m so sorry your life is worse.’ It’s not that easy. Yes, it’s improved safety, but it hasn’t changed purpose.” (09:16 | Wil Schroter)
• “The value of anything is the fact that you don’t have it. And once you get it, once you get that success, you realize that it didn’t change any of the things you were expecting it to. And it’s really depressing, which is ironic.” (11:55 | Wil Schroter)
• “If you are unhappy on a canoe, you’re not gonna be happy on a yacht. You’re the same person just on a more expensive boat.” (14:13 | Wil Schroter)
• “It feels very lonely, and that is kind of the worst part about the founder journey. It is incredibly alienating. That’s something that we’ve tried to kind of unpack for a very long time—to tell founders we’re in the business of showing you you’re not alone.” (26:32 | Wil Schroter)

Links

Connect with Wil Schroter:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilschroter/

Website: https://www.startups.com/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm