The James Smith Show

Sam Dutney is a former school director of sport and rowing coach who now runs Top Crew Academy, an online coaching service for rowers. He joins James Smith to talk about fatherhood, fear and quitting a secure school job to go full time, how a $20,000 side hustle month showed it could be a real business, and what he has learned about social media, email and sales calls while growing towards seven figures. They also compare rowing, jiu-jitsu and rugby on pacing, fitness and mindset. A practical listen for coaches and anyone thinking about turning a side hustle into a full-time online coaching business. In this episode: ◼️ Why he left school sport leadership to build an online coaching business around being home for his kids ◼️ How a $20,000 side hustle month, then James's gun to the head advice, took him from about $5,000 a month to seven figure pace ◼️ Why a warm-up should follow a ramp protocol and prime your VO2 kinetics so less lactate builds early ◼️ Why many mindset problems in sport are really fitness problems ◼️ How he grows on social media by answering client questions, posting seven reels a week and keeping a 10,000 person email list warm 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Top Crew Academy - https://www.topcrewacademy.com.au/ Follow Sam on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DcRs8Q9E5PO/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:17 From Rower to School Director of Sport 02:59 Why He Left School Rowing 05:18 Starting Online Coaching as a Side Hustle 07:04 Quitting the School Job 07:56 Gun to the Head and the Move to Full Time 10:42 Why Going All In Beats the Fear 13:45 Staff, Revenue and a New Kind of Stress 17:48 Online Coaching Is Closer to Business Coaching 19:02 Why a Business Network Matters 24:49 James's Rowing Story 28:51 Why Rowing Overvalues Height 32:07 Pacing Mistakes in Running and Rowing 35:04 Pacing in Jiu-Jitsu and CrossFit 37:32 Warm-Ups and VO2 Kinetics 39:54 Testing Energy Systems and Fixing Bottlenecks 45:02 Rugby in New Zealand and Why Fitness Wins 47:28 Mindset Problems That Are Really Fitness Problems 48:46 Held in Mount by a Black Belt 51:27 The Race Where the Tactics Almost Worked 55:52 What Works on Social Media 59:11 Why People Care About Your Content 1:03:43 Pro Bono Content and Repetition 1:06:58 Email as Extra Nurture 1:08:32 Growing on LinkedIn 1:11:00 Sales Calls and an 80% Close Rate 1:12:49 Email Lists and Sales Pages 1:15:31 Where to Find Sam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian Ozbek joins James Smith to talk about the harsh realities of training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and why most grapplers struggle to earn money. They cover fighting heavyweights, judo versus jiu-jitsu rules, why judo conditioning is so brutal, the Olympic qualification paradox and the training injuries that often go unaddressed. A grounded look at competitive grappling for anyone who wants to understand the sport, the commitment it takes and what the industry really looks like today. Why you must compete more, and the gap between gym training and competition. 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Follow Christian on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thewizardofozbek/?hl=en Get Chris's instructional - https://bjjfanatics.com/products/feet-finder-foot-sweeps-by-christian-ozbek Chapters: 00:00 From Street Confrontation to the Mat 1:08 The Balding to Takedown Ratio 1:57 Humbled by a Seven-Year-Old 3:16 Judo vs Jiu-Jitsu Rules 4:41 Why Judo Conditioning is Brutal 6:11 The Olympic Qualification Paradox 8:11 The Dangers of High-Level Judo 9:52 The Anatomy of a Training Injury 13:38 The Spectator Effect in Training 17:45 The Disconnect Between Gym and Comp 22:01 Why You Must Compete More 25:49 The Low-Calorie Grappler Strategy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ollie Marchon joins James Smith for a business masterclass on what it really takes to build a fitness brand in the UK right now. A former professional rugby player turned coach, Ollie started out cold calling leisure centre members and training clients in a converted cattle shed. Ten years later he runs Marchon across four verticals: in-person gyms, an online training app, a sports nutrition range and a growing community of hybrid athletes. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Check out Marchon - https://marchon-global.com/ Follow Ollie on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/olliemarchon/?hl=en Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:28 How Ollie Built Marchon 02:29 How Covid Accelerated the Online Business 03:57 Spotting the Gap in Sports Nutrition 05:28 Building a Brand Nobody Has a Bad Word About 06:32 Bricks and Mortar or Online First? 08:32 Why Every Coach Should Coach in Person First 09:59 From Failed Rugby Career to Freelance PT 11:48 Starting a Gym in a Cattle Shed 12:40 The Small Group Training Model 13:59 Why You’re Always Being Watched on the Gym Floor 14:26 Scaling From One Gym to Two 16:18 The Hires Nobody Tells You About 17:27 Where the Opportunity Is in Fitness Now 19:53 Why Hyrox Affiliates Won’t Last 20:23 James Gets Humbled at CrossFit 22:55 Will GLP-1s Bring a New Wave of Gym Members? 25:06 The Barry’s-Style Strength Gym Model 26:38 Personal Training Is a Luxury Most Can’t Afford 27:55 Why One-to-One Sessions Go Stale 29:51 Jiu-Jitsu Clubs Are the New Health Clubs 32:44 The Real Cost of Running a Gym 34:20 The £200K Business Rates Bill 36:29 Why We Should Want Businesses to Make Money 38:28 Break Even Jumped From 180 to 250 Members 39:48 Why Investors Won’t Fund Bricks and Mortar 40:34 What Happens When Gyms Close 42:39 The Economics of a Jiu-Jitsu Gym 45:38 Building the Marchon Training App 48:56 Price Testing and the Profit Squeeze 51:08 Training as a Customer Acquisition Tool 52:48 Why Online Coaching Is a Lifestyle Business 54:38 Neutonic Pouches and Paid Ads 55:34 James’s Lockdown Slump 56:48 Launching the Marchon Nutrition Range 59:20 Hiring Celtic’s Head of Nutrition 1:01:30 Bootstrapping vs Raising Money 1:03:47 Marchon’s Best Seller: Workout Fuel 1:05:44 Why You Shouldn’t Fear Carbs Before Training 1:07:58 Rituals, Cues and Building Habits 1:09:16 The Protein Price Crisis 1:10:52 Protein Shakes and GLP-1s 1:13:38 GLP-1s as a Business Performance Aid 1:16:46 Why Food Is More Enjoyable on GLP-1s 1:17:49 The Hungry Months Behind Every Abs Photo 1:19:43 James’s Prescription Travel Stack 1:20:41 How Easy Is It to Get GLP-1s? 1:21:53 The Highest Leverage Play in Weight Loss 1:24:08 The Full Marchon Product Range 1:26:58 Marchon’s Top Five Sellers 1:27:56 Do You Actually Need Electrolytes? 1:30:11 Lessons in Impatience From Necker Island 1:33:17 Expensive Mistakes and Finding Your Hero Products 1:35:38 Every Business Is Personal Training Full Circle 1:37:11 Why Ollie Brought In a COO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olly Staniland joins James Smith to break down what actually makes a YouTube video work. Olly works on James's YouTube channel and, like James, studied under Ed Lawrence. They go through real thumbnails and analytics from James's channel, why one video with 80,000 views made nothing while another with 60,000 made thousands, how Matt Armstrong and Carwow built huge channels by repeating one format, and the status games that drive what people click and buy. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Olly Staniland's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ollystaniland Olly Staniland On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/olly_staniland/ He explains: ◼️ Why you should package the title and thumbnail before you film ◼️ How to steal winning title formats from other niches ◼️ Why more views doesn't always mean more revenue ◼️ The split-testing rules that stop your metrics misleading you ◼️ Why long-form viewers trust you more than short-form followers Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:32 What Makes a Good YouTube Video? 02:46 Package First, Then Film 06:01 The Big Mistake Creators Make on YouTube 07:34 Stealing Titles From Other Niches 11:53 What Is YouTube Actually For? 15:38 Why You Can't Pivot a Big Channel 16:05 Views vs Revenue on the Business Channel 21:11 Split Testing and Misleading Metrics 24:11 Long Form vs Short Form Trust 26:07 Ed Lawrence and the $1,000 Phone Call 31:32 Who Actually Watches YouTube 33:48 Why End Screens Matter 35:39 How YouTube Made James a Better Business Owner 37:35 Scripting vs Riffing 40:31 AI Slop and Copied Scripts 42:00 Dial-Up, The Pirate Bay and LimeWire 44:56 Why Nobody Writes Their Own Emails 46:23 Should You Pay Someone to Run Your Channel? 47:15 Building an Offer for the Boys 54:16 Launch It Before You Build It 55:18 Why Transformation Videos Work 58:13 Matt Armstrong's Car-Build Empire 01:02:35 Raffling the Cars 01:06:48 The AdSense Maths 01:08:37 Carwow's Same-Video-Forever Format 01:11:08 The Status Games We All Play 01:15:47 What Status Has to Do With What We Buy 01:19:51 From Top Lad at Uni to the Real World 01:23:30 Status and Health 01:24:36 Tough Love for Starting a Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ross Edgley joins James Smith for a reunion years in the making. Ross is the ultramarathon sea swimmer who swam around Great Britain and then the whole coast of Iceland. Ahead of his new book How To Hero, he opens up about losing his dad, waking up in hospital after failed swims, and being told doctors had never seen blood work like his on a living person. He also explains the brain science of why some people keep going when everything hurts and others tap out. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Ross Edgley's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@RossEdgley Ross Edgley On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rossedgley/ He explains: ◼️ The part of your brain that decides whether you grit it out or quit ◼️ Why purpose has to outweigh pain if you want to finish hard things ◼️ How your reward system crashes when results don't show up ◼️ Why running on anger and self-talk burns out over long efforts ◼️ What Viking berserkers and Icelandic sagas teach us about heroism Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Reunion and Ross's Biggest Night Out 02:24 How Becoming a Dad Changes Everything 06:50 Why People Aren't Having Kids Anymore 09:29 Does Family Switch Off Your Stress Response? 11:17 Loch Ness, Lake Trasimeno and Waking Up in Hospital 14:15 Swimming Through 12 Hours of Darkness 14:45 Why Iceland Produces So Many Physical Freaks 17:32 CrossFit Champions, Vikings and Eddie Hall 19:46 Water Polo: One of the Hardest Sports on Earth 23:57 Getting Crushed by Roger Gracie 27:41 The Brain Region Behind Grit or Quit 29:53 Everyone Is Scared Before They Compete 32:52 Arousal, Warm-Ups and Competing Your Own Way 33:43 Berserkers and the Viking Battle Frenzy 36:37 Nasal Breathing and Building CO2 Tolerance 39:21 When Training Past Your Body's Alarms Goes Wrong 42:23 James Freezing His Sperm Before Tour 43:03 Losing His Dad and the Myth of Sisyphus 48:03 Khabib, Grief and Finding a Reason to Get Up 50:37 How Jiu-Jitsu Gave James's Training Purpose 52:40 Swimming on the Spot for Four Hours in Iceland 55:43 Why Feedback Keeps People Going 58:39 Everyone Needs a Cheerleader 01:00:20 Why Ross Would Never Step Into a Cage 01:02:39 Goggins, Gratitude and Ross's Shadow Self 01:05:55 James Trains to Ruin Other People's Days 01:07:39 Are All High Achievers Psychopaths? 01:08:43 Thor, Odin and Why Heroes Aren't Pretty 01:10:43 Building Your Ego, Then Destroying It 01:12:05 A Million Followers and Feeling Nothing 01:13:42 The $50,000 Vegas Trip 01:15:48 Ross's Ayahuasca Experience in the Amazon 01:23:07 James's First Time on Ketamine 01:29:06 Hating Therapy and Low Testosterone 01:29:45 How Amazon Tribes Worked Out Ayahuasca 01:31:02 Icelandic Folklore and Living With Nature 01:32:19 James's Mushroom Trip and Duty to the Flame 01:39:29 How Psychedelics Led James to Fatherhood 01:42:58 When Psychedelics Go Wrong 01:45:43 Modafinil, Clenbuterol and Two Weeks in Barcelona 01:47:39 Fuelling the World's Longest Non-Stop River Swim 01:49:38 GLP-1s, Digestion and Losing Muscle at Sea 01:52:59 Getting Destroyed by a Competitive Eater 01:55:25 James's Boring Meal Prep Strategy 01:57:47 Hernias, Snapped MCLs and Getting Older 02:01:40 Stem Cells and Extending Your Career 02:05:18 Do Peptides Actually Work? 02:08:03 Should England Rugby Use Hype Videos? 02:12:49 Mike Tyson's Stare 02:14:03 Training With Volkanovsky and Tom Aspinall 02:17:05 How To Hero Release Date Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Barratt on entrepreneurship, business ownership, and the reality of building a brand from the ground up. Everyone wants the freedom of being an entrepreneur, but few are ready for the weight of total responsibility. Alan Barrett, the founder of Grenade, joins me to discuss what it actually takes to succeed in the protein bar market. He shares the unfiltered truth about being unemployable, taking full ownership of your outcomes, and navigating the friction that comes when you start disrupting major industry players. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Try Grenade: https://www.grenade.com/ Grenade on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teamgrenade Allan Barratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_barratt/ Chapters: 0:00 Trailer 1:20 How Alan and James actually met 3:23 Richard Branson: "I don't know where there is" 5:24 Starting Grenade on a 500 pound loan 9:27 Selling supplements gym to gym 11:29 The first protein flapjack 15:36 When the supplement industry was the Wild West 17:38 Positioning against the chocolate bar 21:40 Making a bar people could actually afford 25:46 Why most people should not be entrepreneurs 27:48 Selling the first business 31:50 Doing right by people pays you back 35:52 Fitness plus military: where the name came from 37:42 The fat burner that started it all 41:46 The fight for the Grenade trademark in America 45:02 The bottle, the shape and a copycat industry 49:10 Borrowing a 17-tonne gun to steal the show 53:11 Demand outstripping supply 57:18 Beating Twix into the UK top 20 59:20 Mars complains to Nielsen 1:01:13 No disruption in chocolate for 40 years 1:01:40 The phone call from Giovanni Ferrero 1:03:23 Ferrero or Cadbury: a two-horse race 1:07:26 Choosing Mondelez, and going full circle to Birmingham 1:11:34 The lawyer who got it badly wrong 1:15:36 Cashing half, rolling half back in 1:19:37 What Grenade is worth now 1:23:41 What America teaches you about packaging 1:25:43 When one can bursts across 50 pallets 1:29:51 Fifty countries that supposedly share a language 1:33:55 Where Grenade goes next 1:35:59 The Cadbury Creme Egg protein bar 1:40:05 Those companies are gone. Grenade is still here 1:44:10 Hitching the caravan to the Ferrari Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Oliver-Mooney joins James Smith for a conversation that starts with a left-handed can and ends up somewhere far more uncomfortable. Founder of the Raising The Glass network and a drinks industry buyer who has sat on the other side of the table from hundreds of challenger brands, Rebecca explains why most founders put half their message where the shelf will hide it, why GLP-1s are about to reshape what food and drink gets made, and why menopause is the category nobody has been willing to build for yet. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋️‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Rebecca Oliver-Mooney On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-oliver-mooney-65730614/ She explains: ◼️ Why retailers cover the bottom half of your packaging, and what belongs up top ◼️ What GLP-1s actually do to appetite, and why the shame is the bigger problem ◼️ Why menopause is the next outcome-led category in food and drink Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:26 The Left-Handed Can 03:07 Why Retailers Hide Half Your Packaging 03:42 Ingredients vs Benefits On Pack 04:43 The Conversation About Hiding The Eye 06:19 What Raising The Glass Actually Is 07:55 Was I Being Hypersensitive? 08:44 The Free Mentoring Platform 10:16 Do Men Really Interrupt More? 11:53 Two Women Founders Getting On Shelf 14:18 Toy Trucks And Gendered Play 17:29 Changing Your Political Stance 18:16 Algorithms And Echo Chambers 19:50 Women Coming Into Neutonic 21:26 Electrolytes And The Salt Brands 23:50 GLP-1s: The Real Conversation 24:38 Do You Still Eat On GLP-1s? 28:07 The Shame Around The Medication 30:36 Never Being Hungry Again 32:13 Two Extreme Views On Telling People 36:08 GLP-1s Compared To Insulin 39:20 When Only One Of You Can Afford It 40:53 Wealth, Connections And Starting Again 46:25 Are Men More Driven To Seek Status? 47:59 The Iceberg Model 48:48 Imposter Syndrome 51:11 Raising Investment 53:33 This Candidate Is Probably Going To Be A Man 55:58 Equality vs Equity 58:25 The Employee Who Was Caring For His Mum 59:08 HRT And Dr Louise Newson 01:01:30 Menopause Behind Closed Doors 01:03:32 Anabolic Steroids And Crashed Estrogen 01:04:43 Nothing Is Explained At School 01:06:21 Menopause As The Next Category 01:10:20 Calm, Energy And What Sells 01:15:08 How Buyers Actually Pick Products 01:18:18 The Category Diamond 01:19:06 Smoke And Mirrors For Challenger Brands 01:21:29 Find Your Tribe 01:23:01 You Deserve To Be In The Room 01:25:13 Fake It Till You Make It: The Power Pose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason 'Foxy' Fox joins James Smith, on his wife's birthday no less, for an unfiltered and very funny conversation that swaps the usual topics for a proper sit-down with the boys. A former UK Special Forces operator and the longest-serving member of the SAS: Who Dares Wins directing staff, Foxy opens up about becoming a dad again at 50 after seven years of IVF, missing his son's birth over a WhatsApp video call, and why newborn sleep deprivation hits harder than anything the military threw at him. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Jason Fox On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jason_carl_fox/ Jason Fox On X - https://x.com/jason_carl_fox Ultra 4 Charity - https://ultra4charity.com He explains: ◼️ Why newborn sleep deprivation is worse than military exercises ◼️ What it's really like to be away working when your child is born ◼️ How Ultra 4 Charity makes ultra marathons accessible for everyone Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Baldness, Hair Transplants and Finasteride 07:05 How Fatherhood Feels Different Second Time Around 08:08 James's Son Blocked From Entering the UK 09:22 Missing His Son's Birth Over WhatsApp 12:22 Older Parents and Seven Years of IVF 14:59 James's Adoption and the Stolen Cheque 17:22 Ibiza Chaos and Writing a Will 19:31 The Pregnancy Complication That Forced an Early Birth 21:37 James's Emergency C-Section Story 24:20 Special Forces vs Newborn Sleep Deprivation 25:10 The Sleep Coach That Actually Worked 28:11 Being Away Filming SAS: Who Dares Wins 30:10 Sam Burgess: Headlocks and Falling Off the Wagon 35:44 Is London Still Worth It? 39:08 Ultra 4 Charity: Running for Veterans 41:42 How Jiu-Jitsu Gives Veterans Purpose 42:27 Foxy's Muay Thai and BJJ Journey 45:08 Snapping His Leg on a 300ft Tower 48:25 Getting Caught by a 'White Belt' 50:14 Rolling With a GB Judo Black Belt 53:57 Why Strikers Scare James 55:43 The Shoplifter Who Sang for the Queen 58:00 Teaching Young Leaders About Mental Health 59:10 James Nearly Joined the Army 01:00:29 Has Britain's Attitude to the Military Changed? 01:02:15 Veteran Support and Military Respect 01:03:07 The ThruDark Story 01:07:37 The Blocked Urethra That Led to Sepsis 01:13:36 In Praise of NHS Emergency Care 01:14:54 A Bali Moped Crash and NHS Hallways 01:18:11 Foxy's Only Real Goal in Life 01:20:41 Adult Circumcision and Other Injuries Down There 01:22:11 The Schoolyard Punch and Gaps in Body Armour 01:23:57 MrBallen's Grenade Story 01:26:41 From an IED Blast to a UK High Street in 16 Hours 01:28:45 Calm in Chaos, Chaos in the Calm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Greeff joins James Smith fresh off a $180 million exit for a raw conversation about tax, talent and why the game never really ends. Frank breaks down the $6.2M tax bill from selling his last business, the proposed Australian capital gains changes that would have doubled it, and why, hand on heart, he isn't sure he'd have started his last company if those rules had existed first. Check out Kinso on YouTube : @KinsoAI Follow Frank Greeff on intagram : https://www.instagram.com/frankgreeff_/ Try Kinso: https://www.kinso.ai/ 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Chapters: 00:00 The $6.2M Tax Bill 03:05 Australia's Proposed Capital Gains Changes 04:19 How Indexation Doubles the Tax to $12M 05:31 "Show Me the Incentive, I'll Show You the Outcome" 06:53 Capital Gains Isn't Income Tax 07:39 The Trickle-Down Effect of Building Businesses 08:55 Gaming the System & the "Nurses and Teachers" Trap 11:13 Killing the Entrepreneurial Spirit 12:44 Why the Rich Leave: Dubai & $1.5M a Year 14:46 The UK £100k Tax Trap 15:50 Becoming a Reddit Hit Piece 16:43 Three of His Network Have Already Left 18:51 New Zealand: No Capital Gains Tax 20:05 Why Australia Is an Entrepreneur's Dream 20:56 Hostels, Sleepwalking Lies & the Woolworths Confession 22:44 How Hard It Is for Brits to Stay in Australia 24:31 Locked Out in the Pandemic 25:50 The "Plane That Couldn't Land" 28:38 Dinner With Tony Abbott & Chris Williamson 31:06 Payroll Tax: The "Temporary" 1950s Tax 31:57 Daniel Priestley & the Lifestyle Business 32:44 The Dinner Bill Analogy: When the Rich Leave 34:31 What Kinso Actually Does 36:29 Filtering Spam & Rebuilding Context 38:39 Fundraising Stories: The Dubai Deck 40:05 Why WhatsApp Is King 41:05 Inside Kinso's Beta & Manual Onboarding 42:53 The Netflix Content Strategy (11.9M Views) 44:48 Thinking Like a Media Company 45:53 The Character Arbitrage 47:56 15 Reels a Day & Trial Reels 49:41 Instagram Edits & the Sauna Guy 50:36 The Nicotine Pouch Trick Shot Ad 51:59 Trying Neutonic on Camera 53:56 TikTok Shop: 45,000 UK Sales 55:56 The Fake "Caught Cheating" Reels Model 57:24 Retail Blows His Mind 58:12 Rate of Sale & the Language of Retail 01:00:43 Business as a Coping Mechanism 01:02:16 Money as a Byproduct of the Game 01:03:35 Relief, Not Happiness, When You Hit Goals 01:04:44 The Pregnancy Analogy & a Live Negotiation 01:07:30 Do You Ever Get Bored? 01:08:20 The Post-Sale Support Group Dinner 01:10:49 Buying the RS6 & Feeling Nothing 01:11:49 What Necker Island Was Really Like 01:13:22 Losing the Ability to Enjoy Things Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Jenkins, the Traitors star, joins James Smith for a raw conversation about resilience, identity, and rebuilding a life after everything is taken away. At 21, Andrew was pronounced dead at the scene of a catastrophic car accident, lost half his skull and over half his blood, and was told he'd never walk, talk, or recognise anyone again. He walked out of that hospital and then spent 15 years suffering in silence behind a good body, a nice house, and a successful banking career. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Andrew Jenkins On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/andrewjenkinsofficial/ Andrew Jenkins On YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@andrewjenkinsofficial Andrew Jenkins's Website – https://www.andrew-jenkins.co.uk/ He explains: ◼️ Why failure is how you learn and why cotton-wool parenting is failing kids ◼️ How he attached his identity and his father's love to a rugby ball ◼️ Why the people with the biggest smiles are often struggling the most ◼️ How to get to the root cause instead of papering over the cracks ◼️ Why talking doesn't make you weak it makes you stronger Chapters: 00:00 The Hidden Cost of Success 01:13 First Impressions from The Traitors 01:50 The Real Problem With Resilience 02:37 Why Business Owners Are Terrified to Fail 03:22 No More First, Second or Third at School 04:29 The Coach Who Told Him the Brutal Truth 06:43 The Dream of Playing Rugby for Wales 06:54 Attaching His Dad's Love to Rugby 08:08 James's Rugby Days and Welsh "Supplements" 09:14 The Catastrophic Car Accident 11:02 Told He'd Never Walk Again 11:56 "I Guarantee I'll Walk Out of Here" 12:40 Brain Injury, CTE and Rugby 13:37 The Other Four People in the Car 14:38 Living With the Trauma 15:52 Great on the Outside, Hating Himself Inside 16:25 Losing His Identity and His Dad 18:39 How One Concussion Can Change a Person 19:30 His Son's Concussions and a Parent's Fear 20:45 Finding Another Outlet for Competition 23:12 Sport, Business and Meritocracy 24:11 Climbing the Wrong Ladder 25:36 Does More Money Make It Worse? 28:01 Why One Bad Day Can Wreck the Privileged 29:26 Growing Up in the Graveyard of Ambition 30:43 James Being Locked Out of Australia 32:35 Happiness Is an Internal Job 35:57 Happiness vs Pleasure and the Hedonic Treadmill 37:31 Why Every Goal Feels Empty 38:59 Talking Yourself Through Your Emotions 40:08 Root Cause Analysis for Mental Health 42:02 The Chimp Paradox and Self-Awareness 42:58 Environment vs Brain Chemistry 43:54 Menopause, Women and Suicide 44:26 TRT, Testosterone and Low T 47:24 Crashing Your Estrogen — The Male Menopause 48:38 James's Own Low Testosterone Story 49:58 Talking to His Son About Drugs 52:36 The Four Ways He Measured Masculinity 53:35 Telling His Parents the Truth 55:08 Being the Responsible One 55:55 Why We Should Educate Kids Honestly About Drugs 57:39 The Truth About Ketamine 58:26 Alcohol vs Everything Else 1:01:54 Psychedelics as Mental Health Treatment 1:03:23 Amsterdam After His Mother Passed 1:04:52 LSD in the Park and a Friend's Breakthrough 1:05:42 Acid at a Wedding 1:07:35 Closing Advice: Believe in Yourself 1:09:03 Creating a Second Path 1:10:14 Surround Yourself With the Right People 1:11:00 Breaking Stigmas — Talking Makes You Stronger 1:12:36 Meeting the Man Who Saved His Life 1:13:07 Where to Find Andrew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Hawley joins James Smith to expose the deliberate machinery behind a cost-of-living crisis most people don't even know is happening to them. The co-founder of Azura Financial, one of Australia's top 10 brokerages and a three-time Residential Broker of the Year, Hawley argues that inflation isn't a natural force but a policy choice, a quiet tax on your purchasing power that hits lower and middle-income earners hardest precisely because they can't see it. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Tom Hawley on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tom_hawley_/ Azura Financial – https://www.azurafinancial.com.au Chapters: 00:00 The Hidden Tax Nobody Voted For 01:13 What Is Inflation Really? 04:11 Why Governments Want Your Money to Lose Value 06:44 Capital Gains: How the Goalposts Just Moved 08:01 Why High-Growth Investment Gets Punished Most 09:08 James's Plan to Dodge the Tax Man 10:30 Is the Stock Market Even Worth the Risk Now? 13:35 Are Australia's Politicians Thick or Deceptive? 15:35 Did Labor Politicians Just Commit Insider Trading? 16:50 Pulling the Ladder Up on Negative Gearing 19:42 Australia Is in Economic Trouble 22:43 The Immigration Trap: Six Years Locked Out 27:59 The 457 Visa That Vanished Overnight 31:18 What GDP Growth Actually Hides 32:37 The Festival Trick That Explains the Economy 35:24 Printing Money Is Just Diluting You 38:03 Government Waste and the $70,000 Plaque 41:14 Three Tiers: Government, Employment, Self-Employed 45:09 The Curse of Never Switching Off 47:59 Chasing a Billion-Dollar Exit for Neutonic 50:02 Why the Journey Beats the Payday 53:03 A Petrolhead's Defence of Buying the Car 57:31 Why Ripping It for Ten Kids Is Worth It 01:00:00 Smiles Per Mile vs Saving It All 01:02:25 The Revolver Logic of Retirement 01:04:20 Should You Buy a House or a GT3? 01:08:02 Why Buy When the Market Feels Worst 01:11:48 The Leverage Play Explained 01:13:18 Will Gen Z Just Inherit It All Anyway? 01:15:00 Are We Heading For a Death Tax? 01:17:08 The Welfare Trap: Better Off Not Working 01:21:33 You Get Less of What You Tax 01:23:49 Will Australia Lose Its Entrepreneurs? 01:24:54 Tall Poppy Syndrome vs the American Way 01:27:38 Closing Advice for the Everyday Punter 01:28:51 What the Government Must Do to Save the Australian Dream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diren Kartal joins James Smith for an honest, often hilarious conversation about what running a small business actually does to you once the money is coming in but the freedom isn't. Diren is a personal trainer and Turkey's number one fitness coach with over 1.2 million followers, and despite bringing in hundreds of thousands a year he can't shake the feeling that none of it sticks. Together they unpick the tax trap that's bleeding British high-earners dry, the brutal "valley of death" stage of scaling, his secret ADHD diagnosis, and why the two of them keep eyeing the exits to Australia, Dubai and Turkey. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Diren Kartal's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/DirenKartal Diren Kartal On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/diren.kartal/ He explains: ◼️ Why he can earn hundreds of thousands a year and still not feel a penny of it ◼️ The HENRY trap, and why earning over 100k in the UK can quietly leave you worse off ◼️ The secret ADHD diagnosis and meds that finally turned the noise off and let him focus ◼️ Why the rich borrow against their assets instead of selling, and never pay the tax ◼️ Why short-form scrolling left him "depressed and disgusted" and long form is the real comeback Chapters: 00:00 The Problem With Running A Small Business 01:25 Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing 01:52 HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet 03:21 The Cost Of Living In London Right Now 04:07 Every Tax Under The Sun 05:25 Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down 06:27 Business Rates Are The Real Killer 07:39 Going All-In And How Tough It's Been 07:56 Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction? 09:00 Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit 10:27 The Real Reason People Stopped Posting 11:58 Living It vs Looking Like You're Living 12:51 The Steven Bartlett Problem 14:19 Being Unapologetically Yourself 15:10 Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back 17:00 The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson 18:03 The Diren Kartal Experience 20:27 Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task 22:00 Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder 23:54 The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You 25:36 Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory 26:23 The Pressure Nobody Warns You About 27:45 You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail 28:28 Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back 29:25 Getting The Psych Test 30:25 Six Months On ADHD Meds 32:20 Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself 34:30 Is There A Real Return On The Meds? 35:35 Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One 36:53 The 150 Grand Website Regret 37:50 Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse 40:04 289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year 41:20 Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It 43:50 Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less 45:12 Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It 46:23 Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes? 47:04 Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains 49:05 Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense 51:32 How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them 53:16 Will He Stay In Australia? 53:43 How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax 55:01 The Stuff They Never Teach You In School 56:17 The Money Chat That Changed Everything 57:43 The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell 58:38 If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small 59:06 We're Both Hypocrites About Debt 01:00:17 Tripling The Money As An Investor 01:02:20 The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates 01:04:26 What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu 01:07:28 Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats 01:08:35 Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture 01:09:06 Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey 01:10:47 Should You Get Assessed For ADHD? 01:11:33 Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics 01:12:36 Raising A Son Without The Noise 01:13:23 Wrapping Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Chris Voss's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@NegotiationMastery⁩ Chris Voss On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thefbinegotiator/ Chris Voss joins James Smith for a masterclass on the psychology of negotiation, trust, and getting what you want without ever splitting the difference. A former FBI hostage negotiator and the bestselling author of Never Split the Difference, Voss breaks down why most people negotiate badly, how loss aversion quietly runs the room, and why the goal is never to win the moment but to build something that lasts. He explains: ◼️ Why splitting the difference leaves everyone feeling cheated ◼️ How to catch a liar off guard and then get them to tell the truth ◼️ Why predictability, not charm, is what actually builds trust ◼️ The grocery store move that turns a stranger into an ally ◼️ Why walking away only works when you genuinely mean it Chapters: 00:00 The Problem With Splitting the Difference 02:23 Why We Overreact to Loss 03:26 The Emotions You're Born With 03:59 Loss Aversion, Jiu Jitsu and the Submission 05:20 Catching Liars in Their Own Web 06:14 How a Polygraph Really Works 08:01 Shu Ha Ri and the Art of Mastery 10:34 Sending Students Into the Wild to Practice 11:15 The Three Commodities in Every Negotiation 12:36 The Broccoli Sprouts Masterclass 13:30 Priming and the Power of Pattern Interrupt 15:10 Why Using Someone's Name Defuses Violence 18:33 The Hardest Part Isn't Catching the Lie 20:25 Short Term Loss vs The Loss That Kills You 22:32 Why Entrepreneurs Make Weak Negotiators 23:18 How to Actually Ask Your Boss for a Raise 26:03 The Hidden Power of Deference 27:21 The Sales Tricks That Have Been Weaponised 29:49 Why Honest Sellers Win More Deals 31:33 Predictability Is Trust in Disguise 33:15 Inside the Black Swan Community 35:47 Buying a Car With Empathy Instead of Ego 37:19 Is Walking Away a Skill or a Bluff? 40:29 Relationships Are Ongoing Negotiations 42:17 Never Be So Sure You'd Miss Something Better 44:50 Cadence, Silence and Sounding Important 46:08 Using Humour to Disarm a Cold Room 48:25 Deactivating Fear Instead of Fighting It 50:10 Negotiation, Dating and the Renewals Process 52:11 Should You Ever Touch During a Negotiation? 53:13 Where to Start If You Want to Get Good 55:35 The 48 Hour Challenge That Will Change Your Day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonny Webster joins James Smith for an honest conversation about what training, money and ambition actually look like once you hit your 30s. A British Olympic weightlifter who competed at Rio 2016, Sonny is now a fitness entrepreneur building global training platforms, and he doesn't hold back on the realities of optimisation culture, the TRT debate. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Sonny Webster's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@sonnywebsterGB Sonny Webster On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb/ He explains: ◼️ Why training after 30 becomes a completely different ball game ◼️ How peptides and GLP-1s are quietly reshaping the fitness industry ◼️ What moving to Dubai really costs (and why money evaporates faster) ◼️ Why handing over money is the thing that actually makes people change ◼️ Where testosterone sits for the everyday athlete who'll never compete Chapters: 00:00 The Testosterone Debate and Sonny's WADA Ban 00:57 Why Training After 30 Hits Like a Brick Wall 02:10 Olympic Lifting for Longevity, Not Platforms 04:15 Going Sober and the Death of the Wild Weekend 05:07 Peptides, TRT and the World of Optimisation 06:26 Why GLP-1s Make You Hate Alcohol 07:50 Grabbing the Low-Hanging Fruit First 08:32 Becoming a Slave to Your Wearables 12:24 How Dubai Changed Sonny's Physique 16:22 Tax-Free Living and the Money That Evaporates 18:45 Going Back to the UK and Embracing London 20:54 Why Your Friendship Circle Shrinks in Your 30s 23:31 Sonny's Goals: Minimal Effective Dose 26:27 Body, Business, Relationships, You Can't Have All Three 28:05 The Power of a Business Coach and Cutting the Noise 30:16 Why Paying for Something Makes You Actually Do It 31:00 Why Free Codes Create the Worst Clients 32:32 No Transformation Without the Pain 34:48 As Close to 50 as I Am to 23 35:34 Testosterone, the Enhanced Games and Masters Lifting 38:28 The Track Car Logic of TRT 40:34 The Double Standards of Optimisation 41:31 Are We the Peak Optimisation Generation? 43:34 Relationships, Freedom and Finding Hannah 44:56 Having Kids and Knowing When You've Got "Enough" 49:30 The Fair Points Podcast and Missed Opportunities 51:52 Taboo Topics and Creating a Safe Space 52:36 Building a Legacy in Dubai 56:14 Speed Cameras, Statham and Going Bald Gracefully 59:14 The Russian Banya Near-Death Experience 01:01:45 Scaling The Lifting Zone and the Clothing Brand 01:03:09 Wrapping Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Mort joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation on work-life balance, building a business you don't want to escape, and why most people are chasing a version of freedom they haven't earned yet. A two-time Master Coach of the Year, bestselling author, and podcast host, Paul Mort makes the case that work-life balance isn't a time problem or a workload problem; it's a clarity problem, and you can't hit a target you can't see. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Paul Mort's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@paulmortofficial Paul Mort on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/paulmort/ He explains: ◼️ How boundaries — not balance — are what actually protect your life ◼️ Why a great hire is an investment, not a cost ◼️ What a "shitty job" teaches you that Gen Z has been sold out of ◼️ Why you should buy back time before you buy the Ferrari Chapters: 00:00 The Real Problem With Work-Life Balance 03:10 You Haven't Earned Chapter 20 Freedom Yet 04:45 Boundaries Are How You Protect What Matters 06:26 Hire People Who Manage You, Not the Other Way Round 08:55 Bringing Other Humans Into the Business 09:45 Death By a Thousand Requests 12:27 A Ferrari or a Member of Staff? 13:45 Why a Great Hire Is an Investment, Not a Cost 14:30 Has Gen Z Been Sold a Pipe Dream? 15:07 Why James Only Hires People Who've Had a Shitty Job 16:50 The Hires That Went Wrong 17:32 Your Biggest Haters Are Former Fans 20:25 Chasing Clout and Why It's Never About You 21:13 When the Comments Feel Like the Whole World 22:39 Defending Your Friends but Not Yourself 25:49 Practising Gratitude as Success Gets Complicated 27:01 Your Values Shift — and That Becomes a Boundary 29:14 Lying to Yourself About Being Happy "Later" 30:09 Could You Actually Retire? And Would You? 32:38 The Curse of the Creator-Led Business 34:06 The Fear of Losing Relevancy 35:02 Paul's 18-Month Disappearance and Comeback 35:54 Doing Less of the Stuff You Hate 36:51 The 2014 Ad That Turned James Into a Marketer 38:17 Why the Old Marketing Still Works 39:35 What Gen Z Doesn't See About the Grind 41:56 Eating Shit: Empty Seminars and Worse 42:08 The Boot Camp Disaster Story 42:47 The Hidden Work-Life Balance of a 9-to-5 45:11 A Shrinking Runway With the Kids 45:31 Jealous of People Sinking Beers at the Airport 47:34 Shedding Your Old Skin 47:42 Four Years Booze-Free and Training at Lunchtime 49:14 The Eight Sleep Obsession 53:57 Japanese Toilets and Things You Don't Value Till You Try 55:25 Why a Nice Car Is Integral to How You Feel 58:54 Being Sensible With Money to Buy Back Freedom 58:43 Swapping Time for Money, Money for Time, Money for Money 59:14 The Retirement Gamble Nobody Talks About 01:00:41 Diminishing Returns and Setting Up Your Kids 01:02:56 Getting Kicked Out of School and the Job Centre Story 01:04:48 Raising Kids to Know What Hard Work Feels Like 01:06:02 How Do You Feel About Tax? 01:08:00 Is the UK a Good Place to Build a Business? 01:09:02 Strong Opinions From People Who've Never Done It 01:10:18 Brown Belt Humility and Getting Touched Up by Pros 01:11:33 Getting Outclassed by Your Own 15-Year-Old Son 01:12:34 Seasons of Training — and the Hypocrisy of It 01:13:11 Why "Work a Bit Less" Is Too Vague to Work 01:14:08 How Do You Grow a Business in 3.5 Days a Week? 01:15:03 Ask Better Questions, Set Clearer Goals 01:15:44 What Paul's Working On: The 90-Day Transformation Returns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Bilyeu joins James Smith to discuss how broken the modern economy really is. The host of Impact Theory and co-founder of Quest Nutrition argues that inflation is theft, that you cannot save your way to success anymore, and that elites are quietly funneling wealth from the working class. He explains: ◼️ Why a balanced budget changes every policy argument ◼️ How property markets get fixed by deregulation, not taxes ◼️ Why men should be encouraged to go hard in the paint ◼️ How AI is shrinking headcount while multiplying output ◼️ Why paying down debt can quietly beat the stock market 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Tom Bilyeu's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu Tom Bilyeu On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/ Chapters: 00:00 The Problem With Not Understanding The Economy 02:30 Inflation Theft and The Hidden Wealth Transfer 03:10 Australia's Capital Gains Tax Bombshell 05:03 The Negative Gearing Property Trap 08:01 Why The Stock Market Is Basically Gambling 11:19 Tom's Advice For An Ambitious 22-Year-Old 13:11 Why Society Now Hates Male Ambition 15:39 Women, The Patriarchy and Sexual Selection 17:48 Why People Demonise Billionaires 21:41 The American Buying Mentality vs The UK 23:14 What Actually Made America Great 26:42 Generational Amnesia and Forgotten Hardship 30:43 Living in Los Angeles and California 33:01 Can The Whole World Live The American Dream? 35:46 Japan, Assimilation and Shared Values 38:38 American Political Corruption as Entertainment 42:01 Human Nature, Greed and AI Government 45:00 Why AI Is The New Internet Moment 45:59 How AI Is Transforming Tom's Business 49:09 Video Games, VR and Escaping Reality 54:04 Addictive Personalities and Gaming 55:34 The Simple Financial Playbook 58:06 The Truth About Paying Down Your Debt 1:01:46 Should You Be Buying Bitcoin? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lara Acosta joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation about LinkedIn, the corporate world, and what it really takes to build a personal brand that actually moves the needle. A LinkedIn growth expert and founder who's helped thousands of professionals turn themselves into trusted authorities, Lara breaks down why most people are doing LinkedIn wrong — and why the platform isn't the problem, corporate is. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Lara Acosta's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@Laraacosta Lara Acosta On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/laraacostar/ She explains: ◼️ Why LinkedIn isn't cringe — corporate is ◼️ What's actually changed in the algorithm and how to ride it ◼️ Why AI slop is killing engagement (and why Lara doesn't care) ◼️ How to micro-dose failure instead of betting the house ◼️ Why following your skill beats following your passion every time Chapters: 00:00 The Real Problem With LinkedIn 01:16 Why LinkedIn Feels So Cringe 03:19 James's Years in the Corporate Trenches 05:46 Hacks to Leave Work Early Without Being Noticed 08:06 Sales, Recruitment, and the Posh Hotel Voice 11:11 What's Actually Wrong With the Algorithm 12:48 Carousels and Picture-First Posting 14:21 The Great LinkedIn Articles Debate 21:06 The Three-Hour Workday Conspiracy 24:05 Social Loafing and Bloated Departments 26:06 Cocaine, Cider Hands, and Surviving Corporate 28:18 Three Weeks at Activision Doing Nothing 30:35 Failing First Year of University 33:00 The Birmingham Housemates Story 35:00 Failing Spanish as a Native Speaker 38:31 The AI Slop Problem on LinkedIn 40:29 Why Engagement Prompts Actually Work 43:53 Entrepreneur vs Business Owner in Britain 45:45 The Texas Barbecue New Tonic Story 50:15 The Zero Sum Mentality Trap 52:57 Lara's NPower Door-to-Door Scam Job 56:00 James in a Prom Suit Selling Energy 58:32 One in a Hundred and the Power of Rejection 01:01:35 Enjoying Every Stage of Business 01:02:55 The Problem With Remote Working 01:09:03 Giving Your Team Rope to Climb or Hang 01:10:44 The Problem With Leadership on LinkedIn 01:15:32 The Goalposts That Never Stop Moving 01:16:00 James's Complacency in Lockdown 01:19:13 Closing Takeaways: Follow Skill Not Passion This conversation is part LinkedIn masterclass, part corporate exorcism. Lara's clear-eyed take on the platform — what the algorithm rewards, what AI is doing to the feed, and why most leadership content is fake — meets James's lived experience of faking pisses to scroll Twitter, calling Cornwall County Council 100 times a day, and getting binned from a job he never figured out. The result is a candid look at why so many people stay stuck in jobs they hate, and a practical case for micro-dosing failure until you build the life you actually want. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Ali Maclean's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@alimacleans Ali Maclean On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/alimacleans/ Ali Maclean joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation on combat sports, mental toughness, and why being "soft" is the most dangerous thing a man can be. A career MMA fighter-turned-coach, Ali argues that combat sports are the most underrated self-development tool on the planet — a Trojan horse that forces men to confront their ego, communication, fitness, and their own appetite for controlled violence. He explains: ◼️ Why combat sports are a Trojan horse for self-development ◼️ How fear and excitement live in the same nervous system — and how to use it ◼️ Why "everything you learn at white belt is a lie" about strength in jiu-jitsu ◼️ How injuries quietly build a better grappler than ego ever will ◼️ Why the path of inaction is the only outcome worth fearing Chapters:Chapters: 00:00 Heights, Fear and What's Coming 01:35 The Problem With Being Soft 03:00 The Three Types of Men: Unprepared, Half-Capable, Capable 04:25 Why Walking Away Is Real Self-Defense 06:55 Jeff Cooper's Awareness Levels — White, Yellow, Orange, Red 09:30 Losing the Ego When a Knife Comes Out 11:30 Baseball Bats, Knives and What You Can Actually Do at Home 12:55 We All Secretly Love Violence 14:08 The Rugby Club Bare-Knuckle Champion Story 17:00 Walking Into a Bar When You've Never Been Hit 18:50 Getting Kicked in the Balls at School (and Other Reality Checks) 20:00 Why Violence Isn't Suffering — It's a Teacher 22:00 Decorum in Street Fights vs Nights Out 24:50 Why Jiu-Jitsu Is the Best On-Ramp to MMA 26:50 The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 — Getting Humbled on Live TV 29:30 Words Only Hurt If They're Slightly True 30:30 Why Hate Comments Are a Performance Indicator 33:40 Banter Is Just Practiced Confrontation 34:50 The DOSE Cascade From Combat Sports 36:30 Combat Sports as a Trojan Horse for Self-Development 38:50 The Lockdown Touch Crisis and Loving Brock Lesnar 42:00 What WWE Taught Us About Building an Audience 45:50 Bodybuilding vs Combat Sports Beauty Standards 49:00 Why Injuries Make You a Better Grappler 51:30 James's MCL Tear and a Front Headlock Game 52:40 The Most Underrated Body Part to Train: Your Neck 54:00 The Osteopath Magician and the Expectation Effect 55:50 Strength in Jiu-Jitsu — Everything You Learn at White Belt Is a Lie 57:30 The Guillotine Is About Hope, Not Submission 58:00 Soul-Stealing — How High-Level Strikers Break You 1:01:30 Grip Fighting Decides the Match 1:01:50 Going Out Too Hot — A Cautionary Comp Story 1:03:08 Everyone Backstage Is Scared (Even GSP and Darren Till) 1:05:00 Cus D'Amato: Fear Is a Raging Fire 1:05:50 Flow State and the Day James Caught a Knee Bar 1:08:08 Sauna, Ice Bath and the Daily Battle With Yourself 1:09:30 Stoicism, Discomfort and Seeking Mental Toughness 1:12:00 The £4,000 Missed-Flight Lesson 1:14:50 Ali's Fear of Heights Confession 1:17:00 Fear as the Compass to Where You Should Go 1:18:09 Soft Is the Path of Inaction 1:19:20 Ali's Honest Take on His MMA Career 1:20:30 Ali's Coaching: Strong, Fit, Capable Men 1:21:25 How James's Mentorship Changed Ali's Marketing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Sloane joins James Smith to dismantle the myth of bad luck and reveal why the most successful innovations in history happened entirely by accident. A Cambridge engineer, former IBM marketer, and bestselling author, Sloane argues that what most people write off as misfortune is actually a hidden opportunity, and the people who notice it are the ones who change industries. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Paul Sloane's Website – https://www.destination-innovation.com Paul Sloane On X – https://x.com/PaulSloane He explains: ◼️ Why most "bad luck" is unrecognised opportunity ◼️ The four traits that actually lucky people share ◼️ How psychological safety unlocks radical ideas in any team ◼️ Why polymaths produce more creative solutions than specialists ◼️ The one question every business must be able to answer Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:15 The Two Problems With Bad Luck 02:37 J.K. Rowling, Trains and Hidden Opportunities 04:26 The Four Traits of Lucky People 05:32 Why Superstition Is the Wrong Direction 06:34 Penicillin, Velcro and Happy Accidents 08:48 Why Successful People Never Blame Others 10:23 Mindset, Identity and Why Dating Felt Different 12:01 Testing Thumbnails and the 4K Trick 14:17 The Brutal Role of Timing in Success 15:14 Building Psychological Safety for Wild Ideas 17:22 James on Steroids, Status and Being 22 20:00 Why Carwow's YouTube Strategy Is Genius 24:02 Innovation vs Creativity Defined 24:22 Doing Something Different Every Day 25:45 Closing Open Loops and the Zeigarnik Effect 27:37 The Random Greyhound Approach to Travel 29:37 James's Red Bull Can You Make It Story 32:37 Wilson Greatbatch and the Pacemaker Accident 34:26 Why Polymaths Find Better Solutions 35:26 Using AI to Introduce Useful Randomness 37:27 Red Bull's Trojan Horse Marketing 39:51 Productive Boredom and Shower Thoughts 44:55 Survivorship Bias and the Quiet Years of Work 46:23 The Cellar Door Lateral Thinking Puzzle 47:45 The Most Important Question in Business 50:02 Why People Really Leave Money to Charity 52:27 Polarising Marketing on the Tube 55:29 Paddy Power and the Blind Football Advert 58:13 The C-Word and Brave Brand Choices 01:01:28 Burger King's Left-Handed Hamburger Hoax 01:02:24 ASDA Opticians and the Swiss Referee 01:07:56 Rory Sutherland, HS2 and Demolishing Birmingham 01:08:59 Edward de Bono's Ford Car Parks Idea 01:12:24 The Case for Self-Driving Cars 01:16:49 AI, Useless Jobs and Paying People Properly 01:20:42 Will Self-Driving Cars Steal Our Thinking Time? 01:21:54 Who This Book Is For Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lucy Lord joins James Smith for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the air fryer sitting unused on 70% of UK kitchen counters and ends up tearing apart everything from protein marketing scams to the slow death of the British night out. A best-selling cookbook author and the woman behind Supper Club, Lucy is back with her third book, Love Your Air Fryer, and makes the case that cooking your own food is the most underrated act of self-care left in the modern world. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Lucy Lord's Website – https://www.lordlucy.com Lucy Lord On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lordlucy/ Lucy Lord on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@lordlucyfoodstory⁩ She explains: ◼️ Why the air fryer is the most underutilised tool in your kitchen ◼️ How cooking is the lowest-hanging fruit for looking and feeling better ◼️ The protein con quietly corrupting your supermarket shop ◼️ Why "increasing your surface area for luck" works in dating, business and life ◼️ How "touching your future" rewires what you think you're capable of Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:00 The Air Fryer Problem No One Talks About 03:50 Why Cooking Is the Most Underrated Form of Self-Care 06:37 Air Fryer vs Oven — Why the Oven Is Becoming Obsolete 11:19 The Apple vs Probiotic Soda Con 12:54 Skipping the Foundations and Chasing the Trends 15:33 The Protein Ball Scam Exposed 19:23 Protein Water, Huel and the Death of the Real Meal 22:05 Why Britain's Grab-and-Go Culture Is Broken 23:15 James's Brutally Honest Review of Japan 27:44 Karoshi — Japan's Death From Overwork Crisis 29:09 The Birth Rate Collapse Hitting the Western World 32:11 Hustle Culture Is Stealing Men's Best Years 34:35 The 200 Dates That Led James to Tay 37:11 Lucy on Whether She Actually Wants Kids 39:01 Increasing Your Surface Area for Luck 39:45 Volume vs Intensity — The Dating Strategy That Works 43:52 GLP-1s, Smartphones and the Death of the Night Out 45:55 The Quiet Crisis of Men Disappearing From University 47:03 The Mumps, the Missed Lectures and James's Year of Chaos 50:21 Is a University Degree Even Worth It Anymore? 53:13 Inside Lucy's New Book — Love Your Air Fryer 58:39 Why James Is Forcing Lucy Onto YouTube 01:04:02 The Random Idea That Sold 3,500 Hats 01:06:28 How to Start a YouTube Channel With Just an iPhone 01:10:18 The Advice You Give Is the Advice You Need 01:10:33 Why James Avoids Gratitude 01:12:18 The Car as Forced Gratitude 01:13:04 Touching Your Future — The Concept That Changed Everything 01:17:46 Where to Find the Book, the Hats and Supper Club Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices