Engineering Emotions and Energy with Justin Wenck, Ph.D.

Justin Wenck
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money, and energy? Have relationships and connections that delight you? Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you’ve been missing? If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant, and speaker who’s worked in technology for over two decades. I’m a leader in transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off  joy, ease, and love. It’s time for Engineering Emotions and Energy!

  1. 1d ago

    How to Change Your State When You’re Overthinking or Stuck

    You’re capable. You’re not broken. But when thinking harder and working longer keeps leading you into the same wall, instead of more of the same, try changing your state instead. What's that? How's that? Well, in this episode, Justin shares three practical ways to shift your physical, emotional, and mental state: movement, breathwork, and affirmations (or, as he prefers to call them, better-quality thoughts). He also guides you through a short breathing practice you can use almost anywhere to feel calmer, clearer, more connected, and back in command. You’ll also hear a little behind the scenes from Justin’s recent retreat at Mount Shasta, where he taught his LEAP practice to a spiritually minded group and was reminded that knowing something is not the same as having a tool you can actually use in the moment. You’ll learn: Why changing your state can work when more thinking does notHow movement helps you get out of your head and into your bodyWhy breathwork can shift your emotional state quickly, and why intensity is not always betterA simple four-part breathing reset you can try during the episodeHow to replace unhelpful mental loops with better-quality thoughtsHow LEAP combines physical, mental, emotional, and energetic change in four minutesWhat's your favorite way to change your state: movement, breathwork, or better thoughts? Learn the four-minute LEAP practice live with Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/leap Justin’s next live LEAP workshop is Sunday, September 20 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific. If you cannot attend, use the same link to get on the list for a future session. Links & Connect YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect with Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  2. Sep 2

    The 3 Worst Values of All Time

    You can sincerely love your family, feel devoted to God, and care deeply about your community—and still behave in ways that harm all three. The problem may not be what you care about. It may be that those words don’t help you choose what to do when life gets messy. In this episode, Justin explores why Family, God, and Community can be meaningful things to love and serve while still being poor operating values. He explains the gap between the values we say guide us and the values our choices reveal, then offers six practical questions for making more aligned decisions. Key Ideas / Takeaways The difference between an espoused value and an enacted valueWhy a useful value should help you make a choice when important things competeHow spiritual language can become a way to avoid apologizing, changing, or taking responsibilityWhat a healthy community needs beyond good intentions: honesty, boundaries, communication, and accountabilitySix operating values: Integrity, Joy, Kindness, Communication, Growth, and Responsibility.A four-step practice for rating your behavior instead of your intentions and choosing one aligned actionWhy Listen This conversation is for anyone who cares deeply about living by their values but suspects their behavior does not always reflect what they say matters. It offers a grounded way to turn a beautiful intention into a useful question—and then into your next response. Get the free two-page Values Compass and apply the six values to a real situation in your life: https://www.justinwenck.com/6values Connect with Justin: Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  3. Aug 18

    How to Stay Calm, Clear, and Focused While Using AI

    Just because AI can "do" more than ever doesn't mean you need to be doing more. When ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Codex, or Claude Code starts working, the instinct is often to open another tab, check email, start another task, or stare impatiently at the screen. Justin has been experimenting with a very different response by using the waiting time to become calmer and clearer. In this episode, Justin shares the simple 4-6 breathing practice he has fallen in love with and why it fits surprisingly well with AI-assisted work. He explains what slow breathing may be doing physiologically, why a calm state does not mean a passive state, and how giving your mind some open space may help you return to the work with better judgment. Key Ideas / Takeaways How 4-6 breathing works (and my favorite timer for it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G89S77iJm8Why slower breathing can influence heart-rate variability and help create a state of calm, alert readinessWhy the human using AI still has to decide what matters, evaluate the output, and choose what happens nextHow stress can interfere with the attention, working memory, and flexibility needed to work well with AIWhy leaving some mental space while AI works may help your own mind continue processing problems in the backgroundThree practical ways to use 4-6 breathing during short, medium, and long AI tasksWhy Listen This is especially useful if you spend a lot of time with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Codex, Claude Code, or other AI tools and regularly find yourself bouncing between tasks while they work. It is also for anyone who wants a very simple way to create more calm and space during the natural pauses already built into the day. The idea is not to make AI faster. It is to make better use of the human while the AI is working. Connect with Justin Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth LEAP practice: https://www.justinwenck.com/leap Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  4. Aug 4

    The New Bedspread Effect: Start Small and Change Your Life

    You may have a life that looks successful on paper, and still you feel like your life isn't working out how you want it. Too many meetings. Too many commitments. A workspace you dislike. A home that does not feel like you. When everything feels off, the hardest part is often knowing where to begin. Enter 'the new bedspread effect': improve one small part of your environment, protect the feeling it creates, and let that become the reference point for what you change next. In this episode, Justin shares how buying one decent bedspread helped him begin transforming an apartment that still looked like a college student lived there. He then explains how the same principle helped him create better boundaries, protect his lunch hour, choose work more carefully, and become more reliable without working sixteen-hour days. Key Ideas and Takeaways Why one small improvement can reveal what you want the rest of your life to feel likeHow to use a positive part of your environment as an anchor instead of focusing on everything that is wrongWhy doing more work does not necessarily make someone more valuable or dependableHow overcommitting creates emotional baggage, psychological overhead, and disappointed coworkersWhy consistently doing what you said you would do can matter more than taking on the most tasksHow protecting one meaningful part of your day can influence your projects, boundaries, team, and careerWhy Listen This episode is for developers, engineers, leaders, and anyone who feels overwhelmed by their work or discouraged by their surroundings. You do not need to redesign your entire life today. You may only need to find one small thing that feels good—and start building from there. Connect with Justin Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  5. Jul 21

    6 Best Values for 2026: No. 1 - Responsibility

    Life has a way of throwing things at you that feel completely random, chaotic, and deeply unfair. Maybe someone sideswipes your car, your company downsizes out of nowhere, or you show up for a routine medical checkup only to get hit with an unexpected processing bill before the needle even touches your arm. When you're constantly playing defense against a world that feels out of whack, the default reaction is to look around and wonder why this garbage keeps happening to you. You work hard, you try to do the right thing, and yet it feels like you're just an innocent bystander getting targeted by outside circumstances. But here is the truth of the human system most try to ignore: your external environment is an exact reflection of your internal state. If you are constantly hiding away from looking at your role in your life, you might have missed that you’ve positioned yourself right next to an automatic ass-kicking machine. Episode Overview In this episode, we dive into the absolute number one value of 2026: responsibility. This isn’t the dry, compliance-driven version of paying your bills on time or doing your chores. We are talking about response-ability—your fundamental ability to respond to anything and everything that shows up in your lifetime. We break down how your deeply ingrained habits function like an unguided property manager for your life, and explain why reclaiming your status as the absolute owner of your mind and your life changes your entire experience of reality. Key Ideas / Takeaways The Life Property Manager: Why your unconscious habits, beliefs, and patterns function like an auto-pilot manager waiting for you to step up and authorize real structural upgrades.The 2026 Value Hierarchy: Why integrity, joy, kindness, communication, and proactive growth are simply structural scaffolding to support real spiritual responsibility.Proactive vs. Reactive Growth: The critical difference between analyzing your life early or waiting for your system to break down the hard way.The Head-in-the-Sand Trap: Breaking down why the belief that "bad things just happen" keeps you stuck in the FOG (Fear, Obligation, and Guilt) and blocks real momentum.The Medical Lab Reality Check: What a surprise $50 collection bill at a blood lab revealed about my own unconscious assumptions regarding the healthcare system.Why Listen This conversation is a direct invitation to stop acting like a passive tenant who constantly complains about the broken plumbing in their life. If you are ready to transition from being a victim of random circumstances to the empowered creator who actually owns the building of their life, this episode gives you the mental blueprints to take back the keys. Links & Connect With Justin Connect with Justin: Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  6. Jul 7

    It’s Not What You Want, It’s How You Want It

    Have you ever considered that the problem isn't what you are wanting from your life, your business, or your relationships, but how you're going about the wanting? Most of us are stuck in a classic mental trap: the "if-then" fallacy. We tell ourselves, "When I achieve this goal, get that promotion, or fix my health, then I will finally be happy." But your external reality isn't a vending machine that dispenses joy once you input enough hard work—it is an exact reflection of who you are right now. If you are operating from a core state of anger, lack, or constant dissatisfaction, your system will simply keep reproducing environments that reflect that. Episode Overview In this episode of Engineering Emotions and Energy, we look at the mechanics of human desire and the subtle ways our rigid expectations block our fulfillment. We dive into why the true purpose of living is about learning how to be happy while in the active pursuit of our desires, rather than waiting for an arbitrary end point. It's time to open ourselves up to receiving what we want in highly unexpected, elegant, and easeful ways. Key Ideas / Takeaways The Iceberg of Reality: Understanding how your subconscious beliefs and identity form the foundational bulk that dictates your actual physical environment.The "If-Then" Fallacy: Breaking down why waiting for an achievement to feel happy is the worst way to go about it, and how being delighted now invites what you want much faster or funer-er-er.Letting Go of the Spoon-Fed Solution: Why fixating on a highly specific delivery method—like George Costanza eating a candy bar with a knife and fork—blinds you to the gifts landing right in your lap.Data Points Beyond the Scale: Re-engineering how you track your success in your health, career, or relationships by learning to look for multiple data metrics instead of one single, stubborn number.Why Listen This conversation is for anyone who feels like they are grinding away without seeing the signs of success they've been struggling for. If you're ready to build the internal muscle of genuine appreciation, this episode offers the exact perspective shift you need to let things show up smoothly. Links & Connect With Justin Connect with Justin: Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  7. Jun 23

    What's Renting Space in Your Mind?

    What’s currently renting space in your mind? If you look around and feel like the world is in pure chaos, or you're constantly overwhelmed, or maybe you just feel completely alone even when surrounded by people you love, then you’ve allowed some bad ideas to take up residency. We’ve been taught that when we have a problem, we just need to grind away, hustle harder, and work on the solution until it goes away. But you've probably already worked harder than most people realize, even harder than you give yourself credit for, and those same challenges are still staring you in the face. The truth is, your system wasn't designed to just take on the garbage ideas that were handed to you when you were younger and keep running them forever. Episode Overview In this episode of Engineering Emotions and Energy, we are looking at the inner real estate of your mind through the lens of a landlord-tenant relationship. Just because a thought, belief, or old habit is inside your head doesn't mean it belongs to you. It’s time to take stock of who is living in your mind rent-free, evict the toxic tenants that are trashing the place, and bring in new beliefs that actually serve your life, your body, and your purpose. Key Ideas / Takeaways The Rent-Free Trapping: Why a lot of what you believe, want, or find true isn't actually yours—it’s just old programming you took on as a child to survive.The Pacifica Pier Shift: How a collapsing 30-year-old coffee shop on the coast reminds us that structural changes in our world are opportunities for better things to arrive.The Owner-Occupier Mindset: How to stop letting garbage thoughts degrade your mindspace and start enforcing rules for what gets to live inside your head.Reframing the Purpose Search: A practical, stress-free alternative thought loop for when you feel lost or disconcerted about your life's purpose.The Masters of the Universe Epiphany: What a cheesy 80s movie character can teach us about realizing the power was this whole time.Links & Connect With Justin Main website: https://www.justinwenck.com About Justin: https://www.justinwenck.com/about Free offerings: https://www.justinwenck.com/free-offerings Events: https://www.justinwenck.com/events Connect: https://www.justinwenck.com/connect Podcast home: https://www.buzzsprout.com/787193 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/engineering-emotions-and-energy-with-justin-wenck-ph-d/id1493136576 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@justinwenckphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwenckphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwenck/ Book — Engineered to Love: https://www.engineeredtolove.com Amazon book listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SQ21WV Audible audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Engineered-to-Love-Audiobook/B0CCQLSDS7 Mental Wealth audio course: https://grow.emotionsengineering.com/mentalwealth Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

  8. Jun 9

    You Had the Best Experience of Your Life… Now What?

    You just had one of the best experiences of your life. A trip. A breakthrough. A relationship moment. A massive win. And then… it’s over. Now what? In this episode, Justin breaks down what actually happens after those peak moments—and how to navigate the “come down” without sabotaging yourself or shrinking back into your old life. Because the goal isn’t just to have amazing experiences… It’s to integrate them so your life keeps expanding. Key Takeaways The “come down” is real—and normalAfter a peak, your system recalibrates. That doesn’t mean something went wrong.Drop the expectation to “go back to normal”You’re not the same person anymore. Stop trying to be.Give yourself space to landDon’t rush back into your routine. Let things feel a little… different.Expression is integrationJournal it. Voice it. Share it with someone who can actually hold it.Not everyone can hold your experienceAnd that’s okay. Share wisely.You don’t need to crash to balance the highYou can choose gentler ways to come back to center.“Better than bad is good”You don’t need perfection. Just don’t go full self-sabotage.If you’ve ever had an incredible experience followed by a weird drop… Reflect: How did you handle the “after”?Share this episode with someone who just had a big win or breakthroughFollow/subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming nextWork With Justin Want support integrating your experiences and actually growing from them? 🌐 https://justinwenck.com/leap 📩 Reach out to work 1:1 or bring LEAP to your group 📲 Follow: @JustinWenckPhD Send us Fan Mail Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel! Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more! Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode! Connect with me: JustinWenck.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners. =====================================================

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About

Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money, and energy? Have relationships and connections that delight you? Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you’ve been missing? If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant, and speaker who’s worked in technology for over two decades. I’m a leader in transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off  joy, ease, and love. It’s time for Engineering Emotions and Energy!

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