The Ambitious Generation

Jack Wagoner
  • 5.0 (104)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Gen Z is anxious. And Gen Z is ambitious. This show is for those who are both. Twice a week, 19-year-old behavioral neuroscience student and entrepreneur Jack Wagoner sits down with founders, academics, and authors to understand how Gen-Zers can achieve more and live better lives. Guests include Dr. Emily Balcetis, Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Alan Stein Jr., Chester Elton, Dan Millman, Bob Burg, David Meltzer, Hala Taha, Scott Clary, and Kristen Butler. We talk about ambition, anxiety, burnout, focus, productivity, and the science of high performance. jackwagoner.co

  1. Oct 9

    Billionaires Don't Have More Ambition. They Have This One Thing Instead | Owen Fitzpatrick | 161

    The Ambitious Generation with Jack Wagoner Episode 161 Owen Fitzpatrick has spent close to thirty years studying how belief forms, in boardrooms at Google and Coca-Cola, in Olympic training camps, and in NorthKorea, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. He has coached billionaires and world-class athletes. When I asked him what separates them, he did not say ambition. He said ambition is not the variable. What the elite have is ambition that holds its shape across years. He also said something I had not heard anyone say out loud: a lot of the best performers in the world are running on pain. 00:12 What is the voice inside my head 02:18 Where the inner dictator comes from 05:18 Am I my inner voice, or separate from it 08:01 Your brain is a double agent 11:26 Beliefs are functional, not factual 14:49 Hangry, depression, and why feelings feel like facts 16:59 Your brain runs an echo chamber 19:29 How to actually get out of it 25:06 The incentive to question what you already believe 28:58 Picking a school with your gut, justifying it later 31:04 The three gates: feeling, identity, logic 36:17 Rigging your own pros and cons list 41:02 What billionaires and Olympians have in their heads 45:50 Ambition is not the variable 49:01 Procrastinating presence 49:50 Inner Propaganda Owen Fitzpatrick Links: Inner Propaganda Book: https://innerpropaganda.com/ Website: owenfitzpatrick.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/owenfitzp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/owenf23/?hl=en📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.

  2. Oct 7

    Your Attachment to Being Right Is Holding You Back with Trey Roth

    The Ambitious Generation with Jack Wagoner Episode 160 with Trey Roth, founder of Yaystack Most people treat optimism like a personality trait you either got or you didn't. Trey Roth treats it like a decision with a cost attached. He's the founder and CEO of Yaystack, a platinum-selling songwriter and music producer, and a father of four who spent a decade being told his company was a failure before anyone called it anything else. In this conversation he does something almost nobody does: he admits that pessimists are right more often, and then explains exactly why he refuses to be one. We go deep on the line he's used for years to catch his own blessings before they pass, why he gets visibly excited when something goes wrong, the identity sentence a 15-year-old handed him at lunch that he couldn't stop repeating, and the difference between faith and fear that comes down to one word: action. If you've ever been right about something going badly and realized that being right didn't help you at all, this one's for you. Timestamps: 00:00 The question that started it 00:26 "Dad, this is one of those moments" 01:26 The line he uses to catch his own blessings 03:17 The thing on the side of your head 04:12 A bench on the Cape and my mom's hand 05:37 What a 15-year-old said after her first time on stage 07:10 "You get so much wrong on the way to getting it all right" 10:36 Why he gets excited when something goes wrong 12:38 You can be a pessimist and be right more often Connect with Trey Roth:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treyroth/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treyroth/Yaystack: https://www.yaystack.co/📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.

  3. Sep 30

    I Asked Evan Carmichael the Gutting Question I've Been Avoiding | 159

    The Ambitious Generation with Jack Wagoner Episode 159I researched Evan Carmichael for two days before this conversation. What I didn't plan for was walking in with the age parallel, him at 19, me at 19 now, and having him turn the interview around on me. This one isn't really about him. It's about the question I've been avoiding answering myself.We get into:0:00 — Cold open2:16 — The pinnacle of his life happened at the exact age I am right now4:11 — "Universities train you to get a job, basically"11:47 — "I never get asked what university I went to. People care, zero."13:36 — He challenges me to challenge him back, live16:37 — "So what am I actually building this for?"23:22 — How he met his wife, and the 90-day, 23-city tour that nearly broke them both24:27 — He broke his neck mid-tour and finished the tour anyway38:04 — The year everything actually changed for him: marriage, and getting a coach45:10 — What ownership really means, and why belief comes first48:36 — His Big Y, Little Y framework for surviving ambition without losing gratitude53:35 — The insecurity he still carries about not hitting 1,000 followers56:37 — "Ask the questions you most need to hear," and why that changed how I interviewIf you've ever wondered whether the safe path is quietly costing you the real one, this one's for you.🔗 Evan's LinksWebsite: https://believe.evancarmichael.com/homepageYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmkpoEqg1sOMGEiIysP8TwInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/evancarmichael/?hl=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evancarmichael/?isSelfProfile=false📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

  4. Sep 24

    The Real Reason You Can’t Find Your Purpose (And How To Fix It) | Suneet Bhatt

    The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 158 Guesting Suneet Bhatt, Author of Making Sense of Purpose Suneet Bhatt has spent twenty five years helping people answer one question: why am I here. He teaches purpose at Rutgers, he wrote the USA Today Bestselling book Making Sense of Purpose, and he has had the conversation thousands of times. So I asked him something nobody has asked him before. Not what a person with purpose does. What they never do.He stopped. He said he had never been asked that. Then he gave an answer that reframed the entire conversation: people with purpose do not carry guilt. This one is about what you are holding that is keeping you stuck. 0:00 — The three things every definition of purpose agrees on0:56 — "Who is a person with purpose?"2:22 — The question he has never been asked3:13 — Why people with purpose refuse to carry guilt3:35 — Community, religion, and the third arrow4:44 — Rock bottom, and the two immigrant parents who said no5:36 — Four years, two years, one year6:26 — "It was never about the job. It was the work."6:35 — He had everything and opened with "I don't know why I'm here"8:33 — Shopping for purpose while you're starving9:59 — Satiated is not sustained11:48 — The 700% problem12:41 — Why ikigai starts on step two14:37 — Happiness is a precursor, not a result16:36 — Be grateful on purpose18:11 — Where to find Suneet 🔗 Suneet's Links: Book: makingsenseofpurpose.com Website: myauthenticstory.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/suneetbhatt/📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.

  5. Sep 19

    ADHD Expert: Nobody Should Touch a Phone Before 18 (This Happens When They Do) | Michael Mcleod - 157

    The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 157 with Michael McLeodMichael McLeod thinks nobody should own a phone before 18. Not 16, not 14. Eighteen, the same way we handle alcohol and driving.He has worked with kids and teens since 2005 and watched valedictorians, athletes, and artists lose interest in everything inside a year of getting one. He also thinks history will look back on the last fifteen years of school and call it the great mistake.Later in the conversation he explains why employers are already skipping people in their early twenties, and what it has to do with a skill nobody ever taught you.I was in the first class handed a Chromebook in elementary school. So this one was personal.Michael's links:Website: https://www.grownowadhd.com/about/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grownowadhd/?hl=enYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@grownowadhd📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.1898/5000

  6. Sep 11

    Social Expert: Why You Can't Connect with Others - Nicholas Epley | 156

    The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 156Nicholas Epley studies why people struggle to connect for a living. He says the reason isn't what you're saying, it's what you're assuming before you even open your mouth.We go deep on why pessimism about how people will respond to you becomes self-fulfilling, the commuter train study that disproves what busy people assume about "wasted" time, and why connection outweighs income for daily happiness by seven times over.If connection has felt harder than it should lately, this one's for you.⏰ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Are You Coming Across as Creepy?01:19 — Why We're Wired to Avoid What Helps Us02:59 — Socially Pessimistic (And Why That's Dangerous)05:55 — Connection Is a Series of Choices, Not a Feeling18:11 — Why "Being Articulate" Matters Less Than You Think20:11 — How to Not Come Across as Creepy22:49 — The "New York Moment" (Single-Serve Friendships)39:06 — Frequency Beats Duration in Every Relationship40:02 — Even Epley Gets This Wrong at Home43:18 — The Commute Study That Breaks the Productivity Myth45:49 — The 7x Gap Between Money and Connection🔗 NICK'S LINKSWebsite: https://www.nicholasepley.com/Book: A Little More Social — nicholasepley.com/booksLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicholas-epley📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.

  7. Sep 9

    Success is a Trap Unless... | Ken Rusk - 155

    The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 155He runs a company with 250 people. Every Monday morning he plans his workouts and his family time before he plans a single hour of work. Ken Rusk started digging ditches at 15 through a hole in his high school fence, opened franchises across the Midwest before he was 23, and built his own company from six employees to 250. He has never worn the 80 hour week as a badge of honor, and he explains exactly why the people who do end up with the least to show for it.We go deep on the two mentors who taught him what a good life looks like, the object on his kitchen counter that keeps him grateful without any effort, the reason letting go of control is the only way to actually get control, and the specific question you can ask a stranger tomorrow that tells you exactly what business your town needs.If you have ever felt like you are winning at work and losing everywhere else, this one is for you.⏰ TIMESTAMPS0:00 — He Made It To The Peak. Now He Wants Your Hand.0:45 — You Can Increase Your Surface Area For Luck1:23 — A Hole In The Fence And A Summer Digging Ditches2:22 — At 18 He Turned Down College For Somebody Else's Dime3:48 — "I Earned Mine, So You Go Find Yours"5:19 — Where A Kid With No Money Actually Starts6:09 — Go Ask The Guy At The Contractor Counter6:42 — Why The Product Doesn't Matter (The Structure Does)10:59 — The Buckets You Have To Fill Equally11:46 — He Who Dies With The Best Memories Wins13:05 — The Badge Of Honor That's Costing You Everything15:00 — Get In The Helicopter🔗 GUEST LINKSKen RuskWebsite: kenrusk.comBook: Blue-Collar Cash: https://www.amazon.com/dp/006298960X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenruskofficial/?hl=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rusk-2656a7175/📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.

  8. Sep 2

    150 Interviews: The Only 6 Rules for Life | 154

    The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 154  Two years ago I sent 200 cold emails and got zero replies. This week I turned down offers from two of the biggest podcast networks in the world. The distance between those two things is 150 conversations with founders, psychologists, behavioral researchers, and authors. I went in looking for tactics. I came out with six rules, and they are the only six I still follow. One of them I fought for a long time. Alex Hormozi says confidence is a stack of evidence that you are who you say you are. After 150 interviews I think the order runs the other way, and the day I acted like it, I drove to Toronto with a negative bank balance to record two episodes I could not afford. If you are waiting for something to arrive before you move, start with rule five. ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — The only six that survived 00:21 — Rule 1: Volume beats talent, always 02:09 — Why consistency was the wrong goal 06:53 — Rule 2: Embarrassment is the cost of entry 08:20 — 200 emails, zero replies 09:58 — Rule 3: Attention is the real currency 11:28 — The people one level below guard everything 13:14 — Rule 4: Gratitude has to be earned 13:56 — Anyone can be grateful on a sunny day 16:31 — Rule 5: Bet on yourself when the evidence says stop 16:40 — Where Hormozi has the order backwards 17:47 — Negative money and a drive to Toronto 20:13 — Breaking the terror barrier 22:36 — Rule 6: Have faith the dots connect 25:23 — Ask what if now, or ask it later 📺 Listen on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b 🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool: → https://yourinnervue.com Use code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report. 🧠 More from Jack: ► Website: https://jackwagoner.co ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/ ► 1:1 Coaching: jackcwagoner@gmail.com 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner ⸻ 🎙️ About Jack: I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking.  My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. Stay grateful, stay hungry.

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About

Gen Z is anxious. And Gen Z is ambitious. This show is for those who are both. Twice a week, 19-year-old behavioral neuroscience student and entrepreneur Jack Wagoner sits down with founders, academics, and authors to understand how Gen-Zers can achieve more and live better lives. Guests include Dr. Emily Balcetis, Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Alan Stein Jr., Chester Elton, Dan Millman, Bob Burg, David Meltzer, Hala Taha, Scott Clary, and Kristen Butler. We talk about ambition, anxiety, burnout, focus, productivity, and the science of high performance. jackwagoner.co

Information

  • Creator
    Jack Wagoner
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    156
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jack Wagoner
  • Show Website
    The Ambitious Generation