Albuquerque Business Podcast

Most managers think they're coaching. What they're actually doing is  announcing numbers — and it's why the same person is behind again this  month. You've had the conversation. Maybe three times. You told them to step  up, to be more accountable, to take more ownership. They said they'd  work on it. Nothing changed. So either they don't want it, or you're  coaching a mood instead of a skill. In this episode I break down what coaching an employee actually looks  like when it works: how to find the one step in someone's work that's  breaking, why "be more accountable" is unfixable feedback, and the six  reasons people underperform — only one of which is a character problem. You'll walk away with the four questions that do more work than any  advice you have, a weekly coaching cadence that takes 20 minutes per  person, and a three-question test to run on your team this week. WHAT WE COVER (1:15) Why coaching to the final number is coaching a corpse (3:30) Dana and Kevin — the manager who "handled it" three time

You've got a hard conversation coming. And last night you ran it in your head forty times — every version ending with you losing the room. You called it preparing. It wasn't. Here's the thing nobody tells you: you're already visualizing. Every leader does. You just do it backwards — rehearsing the disaster and then sitting in it, instead of rehearsing your way out of it. The short answer: Mental rehearsal is not a vision board. It's the same practice elite performers use before high-pressure moments, and it works on one condition — you rehearse the thing going wrong, then rehearse exactly what you do next. Ten minutes, five steps: set the real scene, run it from your own eyes to handle the nerves, step back and watch yourself to map the branches, pre-load an if-then for every way it could go sideways, and walk in with three points instead of ten. In this episode I get into why Michael Phelps swam an Olympic final blind and still set a world record, what happens in your brain when someone cuts you off mid-sent

Your employees don't trust you. Not you personally — leadership in general. And most leaders have no idea how deep that distrust runs or what it actually takes to fix it. In this episode of The Self Aware Leader, Jason Rigby breaks down the employee trust crisis happening in 2026 — why your team walks in the door already suspicious, what toxic leadership looks like from the inside, and why servant leadership is the only real answer to a generation that has been let down by every authority figure in their lives. What you'll hear in this episode: Why Gen Z and younger employees distrust authority before you've done anything wrong The difference between toxic leadership that relies on title and servant leadership that earns trust through genuine investment Why Jesus is the most relevant leadership model for 2026 — not for religious reasons, but because he operated in the exact same environment of corrupt authority and institutional failure that your employees grew up watching The three specific things servan

You've already met the version of yourself you're trying to become. The conversation where you stopped managing yourself and just told the truth. The decision that cost you something but felt clean all the way down. The morning where nobody needed anything from you and for an hour you were completely, unmistakably yourself. That wasn't a fluke. That was the signal. In this episode, Jason digs into one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal development — the higher self — and strips away the woo-woo to get to what it actually means and how to practically use it. What you'll hear: What ten thousand years of spiritual tradition — from Sufi mystics to Egyptian priests to medieval Christian mystics — actually agree on about the higher self (and why it changes everything about how you approach growth) The real reason the best version of you feels buried — and why it has nothing to do with effort or information A four-domain self-assessment that forces honesty without the spiral (and why there are no 7

Self-awareness is not thinking about yourself all day. It is the ability to notice what is happening inside you before it leaks into your leadership. In this episode of The Self Aware Leader, Jason Rigby breaks down what self-aware leadership actually means in real life: the meeting where your tone changes, the feedback you do not want to hear, the hard conversation you keep avoiding, the moment your ego gets hit, and the pattern your team has quietly learned to manage around. This episode explores why self-awareness is one of the most practical leadership skills you can build. Not as theory. Not as vague emotional intelligence. As a daily practice for leading with more clarity, honesty, humility, and strength under pressure. You'll learn: What a self-aware leader actually is Why your intention and your impact are not the same thing How defensiveness, people-pleasing, control, and avoidance leak into leadership Why "why am I like this?" often keeps leaders stuck The better question to ask when you get trigger

You got promoted. You promised yourself you'd be different — the approachable boss, the one people actually want to work for. But six months in, your team likes you and doesn't respect you. You can feel it. You just don't want to say it out loud yet. This episode breaks down the people-pleasing trap that quietly destroys new managers. Jason Rigby explains why what feels like empathy is actually conflict avoidance — and why your "niceness" is costing you your best people. You'll learn: • The difference between being kind and avoiding conflict as a first-time manager • Why your highest performers lose motivation when you won't hold standards • The one question that shifts people-pleasing leadership into real clarity • Exactly what to say when someone misses a deadline, turns in weak work, or challenges you publicly • Why the discomfort you feel after setting a boundary is growth — not a mistake If you're a new manager, a millennial manager, or any leader who secretly knows their standards are fuzzy — this o

Harvard Business Review ran a study where executives used ChatGPT to make predictions. They came out more confident, more optimistic — and significantly more wrong than the group that just talked to each other. That's the problem this episode is about. Most leaders are using AI as a validation machine — not a thinking tool. And there's a reason for it. Research shows that over 58% of AI interactions are sycophantic. The model is trained to agree with you, validate your framing, and give your existing conclusion better vocabulary. The more convinced you are that you're right, the more AI confirms it. That's not a second opinion. That's an echo chamber with a PhD. In this episode, I break down two real leadership scenarios every executive faces — the toxic high performer you keep not firing, and the major opportunity with bad timing — and show you exactly how most leaders use AI on those decisions versus how to use it to actually think. You'll walk away with four prompt postures that change everything: —

You already know you're too reactive. You just haven't named what's causing it. The average leader gets hit with a notification every two minutes during core work hours. That's 275 interruptions a day. Each one fires a cortisol stress response that takes 23 minutes to fully recover from. And the reflex to check — the phone grab, the inbox flip, the Slack tab — is driven by the same dopamine loop that keeps teenagers scrolling TikTok for hours. Different content. Identical mechanism. Identical cost to your leadership. In this episode, Jason Rigby breaks down what chronic digital noise is actually doing to your brain, your attention, and your ability to lead — and why it's turning most leaders from strategic thinkers into full-time firefighters. Reactive, in the weeds, handling what's urgent while what's actually important quietly slides. This isn't about productivity hacks or a digital detox. It's about understanding the biological mechanism that's running you — and three specific moves you can make this

How Childhood Trauma Secretly Fuels Your Success… and How to Turn It Into Real Power (with Michael Shaw) Most high-achieving leaders are running on hidden trauma. It drives them to win — but it also burns them out, leaves them empty, and creates a "hero complex" that keeps them addicted to saving everyone. In this raw episode, Michael Shaw (founder of Mastery Mindset Library) reveals how he survived a violent childhood and his father's suicide, then spent 30 years turning that pain into a repeatable system that top entrepreneurs and executives now use to build unbreakable emotional fitness. You'll discover: - Why "invincible leader" is the fastest path to burnout - The 4-Pillar Framework: Awareness → Rewiring → Alignment → Activation - How to know if your success is fear-based (most leaders have no idea) - The "What story am I telling myself?" technique to reframe any crisis in seconds - How to create "I Am Declarations" that permanently shift your leadership identity - Why emotional fitness > revenue when it

Most leaders think they're building wealth. Bay Street veteran Paul Musson says the system is quietly stealing it from them—and from future generations. After managing over $15 billion for one of Canada's largest investment firms, Paul pulls back the curtain on how central banks, housing policy, and inflation create fake prosperity, immoral wealth transfers, and a rigged game for emerging leaders. In this episode, we unpack the core ideas from his book "Capital Offence: Why Some Benefit at Your Expense" and translate them into practical leadership and investment wisdom you can use right now. In this conversation, you'll learn: How to spot the difference between real capital creation and fake wealth effects Why central bank policies quietly transfer wealth from the young to the old The crucial distinction between money vs. capital every leader must grasp How housing bubbles destroy opportunity for emerging leaders and entrepreneurs Why inflation acts as a hidden tax on savers, builders, and business

What if everything you've been told about sales and leadership is backwards? In this conversation, Jason sits down with Luis Baez – a quiet Puerto Rican introvert from the Bronx who generated over $600 million in sales at Google, LinkedIn, Uber, and Tesla… not by being the loudest person in the room, but by doing the opposite of what most sales gurus teach. Luis shares how he turned his "otherness" into a competitive advantage, built deep trust with clients by asking one simple question – "How badly does that hurt?" – and eventually designed a business that earns 7-figures while he works just four days a week. You'll learn: Why introverts can outperform traditional "high-energy" sales styles The "whispering strategy" Luis uses to close complex deals How to turn discrimination and doubt into fuel for resilience The real mindset shift from employee to entrepreneur What "CEO Energy" looks like in your calendar, habits, and pricing Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader in a fast-paced company, or a

Former top creative executive Rafael McMaster had everything the corporate world promised: A-list celebrity clients, global brand campaigns, and the pinnacle of success. Yet, he describes feeling "emotionally bankrupt." His journey from climbing the wrong ladder to building a mission to empower 1 million conscious youth is the ultimate lesson in turning pain into profound, purpose-driven leadership. In this deep conversation, we explore the inner alchemy required to bridge the gap between external achievement and internal fulfillment, offering a roadmap for any leader, entrepreneur, or trader who has felt disconnected from their deeper purpose. In this episode, you will learn the secrets of Conscious Leadership Transformation: The Defining Moment: How Rafael recognized he had achieved everything but felt absolutely nothing. Art as Alchemy: Why "art is the language of the soul" and how to reconnect with your creative essence to find flow and presence in high-stakes activities (like trading). The Inner Pr

Most leaders think they're self-aware—but 87% are missing the critical skill that separates good leaders from exceptional ones. Dr. Joel Pérez, leadership development expert and author of "Dear White Leader," reveals how cultural humility and true self-awareness transform your leadership effectiveness.

From Food Stamps to $50,000/Month: What Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Know About Building Real Wealth What if everything you've been taught about money, retirement planning, and wealth building is completely wrong? What if your 401k, the 4% rule, and traditional financial advice are actually keeping you trapped in financial mediocrity? In this eye-opening conversation, Chris Miles - "The Anti-Financial Advisor" and host of the Money Ripples Podcast - shares his incredible journey from millionaire financial advisor to food stamps with $1 million in debt, and how he discovered alternative investment strategies that now generate $50,000+ monthly in true passive income.

Leadership isn't about being right—it's about being real. Angie Lyon, Chief Soul Officer at Black River Performance Management and host of the Leader U Podcast, went from high-stakes operating rooms to transforming leadership teams. In this raw conversation, she reveals why 87% of leaders struggle with imposter syndrome and what to do about it. What You'll Learn: Transitional Intelligence (TQ) - The critical skill that helps leaders navigate change with intention instead of chaos, and why it's different from emotional intelligence The root cause of leadership struggles - Why most challenges trace back to feeling "not enough" or "not safe," and how to break free from these limiting beliefs Creating micro-cultures of excellence - How one self-aware leader can build a thriving team even inside toxic organizations AI-proof leadership skills - The human capabilities (empathy, communication, self-awareness) that will make you irreplaceable in an AI-driven world The unlearning paradox - Why authentic leadership req

What if everything you've been taught about self-discipline is backwards? In this transformative episode, we sit down with Jay Heinrichs, New York Times bestselling author of "Thank You for Arguing" and "Aristotle's Guide to Self-Persuasion," to uncover the ancient art that makes willpower obsolete. Jay shares his remarkable journey from debilitating hip pain and depression to running his age up a 2,800-foot mountain in under 58 minutes—not through brute force, but through Aristotle's revolutionary technique of self-persuasion. Discover how to treat your soul as an internal audience you need to convince, not overpower. We explore the psychology behind cognitive dissonance, the power of "kairos" moments when chaos becomes opportunity, and why ancient Greek warrior chants can rewire your brain for success. Key Topics: The "Soul vs Daily Self" concept that changes everything Why cognitive dissonance is your secret weapon for growth The Three C's framework: Caring, Craft, and Cause How to set "impossible" goals

The Illusion of Success: Why We Feel Unfulfilled Even When We Have It All What if your greatest achievement was a trap? What if the success you've worked your entire life to achieve left you feeling more miserable than when you started? This isn't a hypothetical question. It's the shocking reality for countless high-achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. It's the central theme of a powerful conversation I had with Keala Kanae, who went from $20,000 in debt and a life of numbing out to building a multi-million-dollar empire. But as he revealed, the real breakthrough wasn't about the money; it was about "unlearning the lies he'd been telling himself". This is a new perspective that will shatter everything you think you know about success, discipline, and leadership. Procrastination is Not a Flaw, It's Feedback We've all been told that procrastination, self-sabotage, and imposter syndrome are signs of a lack of discipline or a character flaw. But Keala offers a radically different view: these are not problems to

APPLE PODCASTS EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Episode Title: How to Lead Through Economic Chaos: CFO's 5-Star Strategy for Business Resilience Episode Description: Discover the proven framework that helped one CFO double revenue at five companies while others struggle with economic uncertainty. In this episode of The Self Aware Leader, host Jason Rigby interviews Karl Maier, seasoned CFO, business advisor, and author of "Surfing Economic Chaos: How American Business Can Prosper Despite Globalization's Collapse." What You'll Learn: The revolutionary 5-Star Model for evaluating business resilience and market positioning Why demographic shifts are creating unprecedented leadership challenges and hidden opportunities How to identify and eliminate unprofitable customers that drain resources and morale The strategic planning framework that transforms crisis into competitive advantage Why traditional globalization assumptions no longer apply to modern business strategy How to implement weekly management systems that drive co

Leaders spend $5-10K monthly on ads that disappear overnight. But what if there was a single asset that could instantly elevate your authority, attract ideal clients, and open doors to unparalleled speaking opportunities for YEARS to come? In this episode, Jason sits down with Everett O'Keefe, "The Book Whisper," who's behind over 200 bestselling launches. They dive deep into why authorship isn't just about writing—it's about igniting your legacy and multiplying your impact.