Behind The Human with Marc Champagne

Marc Champagne
  • 5.0 (80)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Unpacking the stories and mental fitness practices of people living at the top of their game personally and professionally.

  1. 1h ago

    The Most Important Skill in the Age of AI Is the One We're Losing (Ft. Michael Apollo)

    In a world obsessed with speed, productivity, and constant stimulation, Michael Apollo is asking a radically different question: What happens when we slow down? Michael, founder of the Mindful Institute and host of Leading Minds Revealed, joins Marc Champagne to explore the hidden power of presence, the misconceptions surrounding mindfulness, and why our most valuable human skills may become even more important in the age of AI. From his personal experience with depression to the moment a global pandemic threatened to destroy everything he'd built, Michael shares how decades of training his mind helped him navigate uncertainty, make clearer decisions, and discover unexpected opportunities. This conversation is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful thing we can do isn't to move faster. It's to stop long enough to see clearly. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:49 — How childhood prayer sparked a lifelong curiosity about the mind 05:20 — Why presence is becoming a modern-day superpower 09:31 — The attention crisis: Why more information creates less clarity 13:00 — Depression, losing hope, and discovering the tools to train his mind 15:39 — How meditation transformed Michael's intensity without taking away his drive 18:09 — Why changing others starts with changing how we show up 22:25 — The moment a global pandemic threatened everything he'd built 26:28 — What happens when you stop fighting reality and begin accepting it 28:56 — How one moment of clarity helped transform a crisis into an opportunity 32:21 — Why slowing down doesn't mean giving up 37:56 — “Headspace ruined mindfulness”: The controversial truth about meditation apps 42:41 — The human skills we risk overlooking in the age of AI 47:11 — Why most leaders don't need to become lifelong meditators 49:32 — Mindfulness isn't about relaxation. It's about seeing clearly. 50:55 — How Michael's personal practices have evolved over 25 years 53:05 — The three-hour conversation that helped shape his future 55:33 — Why he's intentionally slowing down while the world speeds up 58:52 — The surprising productivity of doing nothing * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Most Important Skill in the Age of AI Is the One We're Losing (Ft. Michael Apollo)

  2. Oct 4

    Personal Development Might Be Making You Miserable — The Difference Between Insight and Breakthrough (Ft. Britt Lefkoe)

    Britt Lefkoe grew up surrounded by mindset work, learning from an early age that our beliefs shape our lives. But that awareness came with a cost: the feeling that every difficult emotion or limiting belief was another problem she needed to fix. In this conversation, Britt and Marc explore what happens when self-awareness turns against us, why emotions aren’t the problem but the stories we attach to them can be, and the profound difference between having an insight and experiencing a true breakthrough. Britt also shares the simple phrase she uses when life feels overwhelming and why personal development was never meant to become our life. It was supposed to help us live it. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?”01:44 — Why Britt burned her first business to the ground05:21 — Growing up in a family where mindset was everything07:32 — “Am I a fraud?” When you can help others but struggle to help yourself08:42 — Finding her own voice after her father's death11:08 — Stop asking “why” and start asking “what next?”13:00 — The healing power of simply telling the truth13:57 — Why you shouldn't psychoanalyze yourself when you're triggered16:17 — Emotions aren't the problem—the stories are19:07 — Learning to forgive yourself for being human21:02 — What anger, envy and disappointment can teach us23:54 — Why Britt doesn't want to neutralize negative emotions27:25 — “The truth is always simple”28:15 — How to rewrite the stories running your life29:00 — “The truth is always good news”33:17 — Finding truth after unimaginable trauma35:16 — Untangling love from pain36:43 — When “hard work” becomes part of your identity37:44 — Why saying “this is hard” doesn't make life harder39:20 — The question that helped save a client's marriage43:33 — The difference between an insight and a breakthrough46:53 — Why changing through insight alone is exhausting47:12 — Personal development isn't supposed to become your life49:48 — The two breakthroughs that changed Britt's life51:48 — Healing through love instead of endlessly fixing yourself52:04 — Why Britt stopped following conventional business advice54:00 — Personal development beyond suffering: infinite possibility * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Personal Development Might Be Making You Miserable — The Difference Between Insight and Breakthrough (Ft. Britt Lefkoe)

  3. Sep 27

    The Mind Reader’s System for Achieving Almost Every Goal He Sets (Ft. Wayne Hoffman)

    Mentalist and illusionist Wayne Hoffman has built an extraordinary career reading minds, performing around the world and creating moments that make people question what's possible. But underneath the illusion is something even more interesting: an obsessive understanding of psychology, goal achievement, gratitude, risk and the small actions that quietly change the course of a life. Wayne and Marc explore why he chose an unconventional path, what he learned from the highest highs and loneliest moments of performing, his system for turning enormous goals into achievable steps, and why his future self keeps giving him the same instruction: do what you're supposed to do. And before the conversation ends, Wayne puts his mind-reading skills to the test on Marc! EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 02:12 — Discovering a hidden world inside a childhood magic shop 04:09 — Why Wayne became obsessed with creating wonder 08:16 — Turning an unusual passion into a career 10:13 — Choosing entrepreneurship instead of the “real job” 10:38 — The $10 business-card coupon that changed Wayne's life 13:13 — Who is your unsung hero? 13:58 — Honouring the man who unknowingly changed everything 17:21 — The moments Wayne realized: “This is actually working” 18:10 — Sitting beside Ellen and feeling like he'd stepped inside his television 20:26 — The strange loneliness behind enormous moments of success 21:29 — Fooling Penn & Teller — and barely remembering what happened next 22:59 — Reverse-engineering your greatest successes 24:15 — Why gratitude changed Wayne's life 26:01 — Could you be happy if everything you achieved disappeared? 26:43 — Is mind reading actually real? 29:55 — How psychology can make someone appear psychic 31:57 — What Wayne is actually doing when he “reads minds” 32:37 — How a professional mentalist trains his mind 35:45 — The one major goal Wayne still hasn't achieved 38:28 — Wayne's system for achieving enormous goals 38:46 — Feel. Define. Plan. 39:57 — The power of asking for the next doable action 40:56 — What would ten-year-old Wayne think of his life today? 42:39 — Meeting his future self 42:49 — “Do what you're supposed to do.” 45:05 — Wayne attempts to read Marc's mind 47:35 — The first impossible prediction 49:35 — And then things get even stranger 50:28 — Why Wayne would still do this work for free 51:19 — Why the world may need more wonder 52:11 — Adult recess and Wayne's deeper purpose * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Mind Reader’s System for Achieving Almost Every Goal He Sets (Ft. Wayne Hoffman)

  4. Sep 20

    What Are You Training For? The Real Point of Living Longer (Ft. David Stewart)

    David Stewart has spent much of his life looking closely at people. As a photographer, he worked around the world, shot his first Vogue ad in his twenties, and worked in New York during the Andy Warhol era. But as David got older, he began noticing something strange: while youth was marketed through aspiration, possibility and beauty, aging was increasingly framed through fear, decline and limitation. He decided to challenge that story. Today, David is the founder of SuperAge and AGEIST, building a new model around longevity that goes far beyond biomarkers or simply trying to extend lifespan. In this conversation, we explore what it actually means to stay fully alive as we age, why optimism may be essential to pursuing wellness, how social connection fits into longevity, the danger of turning health into an endless optimization project, and why David believes we need to move from consuming information to taking action. We also explore the creation of the Super Age Games, his personal practices for managing stress and mental fitness, and the simple morning ritual he uses to deliberately counter the negativity our minds naturally absorb. This is a conversation about making the life you have worth extending. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:12 — Building a life around values instead of internal dissonance 04:22 — The photographer who turned down work that didn't align 05:53 — Vogue, Paris and working around Andy Warhol 07:34 — The realization that changed how David thought about aging 10:03 — Why brands misunderstood people over 50 13:17 — The health crisis that forced David to change his own life 16:57 — How AGEIST evolved into SuperAge 22:25 — Why information alone rarely changes behaviour 24:30 — Building trust before building products 26:26 — The spontaneous idea that became the Super Age Games 29:42 — Why friendship and social connection belong in longevity 32:38 — “I've been in a gym for 40 years. What am I training for?” 33:06 — Why biomarkers aren't the destination 34:37 — Turning longevity into something you can actually measure 37:33 — The 78-year-old who became competitor number one 40:43 — What David wants people to feel after the Games 43:18 — Why pursuing wellness requires optimism 45:49 — David's “battery” model for stress and energy 46:58 — The morning “brainwash walk” that resets his mind 49:45 — Counter-programming the brain's natural negativity bias 51:59 — Why the journey itself has to be enjoyed * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    What Are You Training For? The Real Point of Living Longer (Ft. David Stewart)

  5. Sep 13

    Why You Can’t Stop Chasing the Next New Thing (Ft. Eric Athas)

    New York Times editor and Saying No to New author Eric Athas explores why our brains are drawn to novelty, how businesses remove the friction between desire and consumption, and why reclaiming a few moments to think could radically change the choices we make. From dopamine and social media to clutter, persuasion and the disappearing “new thing gap,” this conversation is ultimately about learning to say no to meaningless novelty so we can say yes to what actually matters. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 02:44 — Why opportunities for deep thinking are disappearing 04:59 — Turning a childhood disadvantage into a strength 07:39 — Inside Eric’s work at The New York Times 10:09 — Navigating journalism, truth and trust in a chaotic era 13:09 — Why Saying No to New is a work of journalism 14:30 — The contradiction: an early adopter who learned to say no to new 17:13 — When new things start creating more problems than they solve 19:52 — Dopamine, discomfort and why our brains chase novelty 22:23 — Thinking as a superpower in a frictionless world 23:22 — The “new thing gap” — and why it has almost disappeared 27:07 — The sophisticated influence machine behind what we buy 30:52 — Decluttering as an audit of yesterday’s decisions 32:20 — What clutter and constant task-switching do to our attention 34:08 — Why saying no to new can help us discover the right kind of new 35:33 — The surprising relationship between exploration and happiness 37:24 — How to see novelty hiding inside familiar experiences 39:46 — Finding joy in what was hiding in plain sight * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Why You Can’t Stop Chasing the Next New Thing (Ft. Eric Athas)

  6. Sep 6

    A Psychologist’s 40-Year Lesson on What Actually Changes a Life (Ft. Dr. David Zelman)

    After more than forty years working as a psychologist and executive coach, Dr. David Zelman has become fascinated by one question: how do we stop allowing the past to determine what we believe is possible next? In this conversation, David explores the internal dialogue shaping our decisions, why awareness has to come before another tool or technique, and how we can create conversations that pull us toward the lives we actually want. We also explore anxiety, meditation and self-awareness, why two competing conversations can't occupy the same mental space, and the remarkable story of how David transformed his relationship with his father by changing one deeply held interpretation. David also shares his definition of readiness—the moment willingness meets awareness—and why he believes asking "what?" and "how?" can sometimes move us forward more effectively than asking "why?" EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom TeachersGet your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas  Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 01:41 — From struggling student and college dropout to finding psychology 04:33 — What becomes obvious about life when you reach your seventies 05:10 — How our internal dialogue shapes our experience of life 07:19 — The question David starts with: “Where do you want to wind up?” 10:15 — Why we keep trying to build the future using information from the past 12:36 — David's decades-long Transcendental Meditation practice 14:33 — Asking: “What future does this action create?” 16:01 — Why awareness needs to come before another technique 17:35 — A simple demonstration of who's actually telling you what to do 19:54 — How the listener participates in creating their reality 21:52 — Possibility versus the certainty of already knowing 23:40 — What riding a bicycle teaches us about psychological distinctions 25:20 — Conversations from the past versus conversations for the future 28:33 — Anxiety, specificity and getting underneath generalizations 29:48 — The five-minute experiment David uses with stressed clients 31:50 — Why two competing conversations can't occupy the same space 34:20 — Changing the conversation during conflict with someone you love 36:21 — David's difficult relationship with his father 38:00 — The reframe that transformed “dominate and control” into “access and contribute” 39:36 — How changing one conversation helped David recover his relationship with his father 42:37 — Readiness: when willingness meets awareness 44:29 — Why journaling and resolutions aren't always enough 45:55 — Why another person can help us hear our real commitments 47:45 — Integrity, contribution and the future you're actually trying to build 50:32 — Why David prefers asking “what?” and “how?” instead of “why?” 51:38 — David's books and where to go deeper * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    A Psychologist’s 40-Year Lesson on What Actually Changes a Life (Ft. Dr. David Zelman)

  7. Sep 3

    The Blueprint (EP 7 of 7): You Don't Need a New Life, You Need This One Running Better

    Most 90-day plans die by week three, not because the practices were wrong, but because they were built as a new life stacked on top of the old one. In the final episode of the series, Marc walks through how to audit your existing routine for natural insertion points instead of carving out new time, how to set your minimum effective dose for travel weeks and high-pressure stretches, and how to let the people around you in on what you're doing so your environment supports the change instead of working against it. The episode closes by threading all seven pieces of the series — baseline, outcome and mantra, operating pattern, practice stack, blockers, and reset protocol — into one system. This is episode two of a 7-part series teaching you how to build your own 90-Day Mental Fitness Blueprint by hand. Start with episode one if you haven't yet — this one builds directly on your baseline scores. Have your plan built for you in 15 minutes → blueprint.mchampagne.com Use code POD50 for 50% off while this series airs. Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Blueprint (EP 7 of 7): You Don't Need a New Life, You Need This One Running Better

  8. Aug 30

    The Reframe We Could All Use. Stop Chasing. Start Choosing (Ft. Mandy Balak)

    Mandy Balak spent years being the founder, builder and person who could handle everything — until she began questioning what all that achievement was costing her. In this conversation, we explore the difference between chasing and choosing, why the leaders who pause may ultimately win, and how to keep your ambition without making your health, identity and peace the price of success. Mandy is the President of The Gathering and author of Chasing Enough: The High Achiever’s Guide to Sustainable Success, publishing September 22, 2026. EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas   Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 02:31 — Leadership starts with knowing what you stand for 03:38 — Mandy’s weekly ritual for staying aligned with what matters 05:42 — Why comparison can pull us toward someone else’s definition of success 07:39 — Who was “Mandy Pandy” before the world told her who to be? 09:05 — The best parts of Mandy’s father — and the complicated parts of their story 12:22 — Learning that she had to earn her place 14:29 — The pause that finally interrupted decades of survival mode 15:52 — Why Mandy deliberately sought out healthier models of success 17:20 — How The Gathering came back into Mandy’s life at exactly the right time 21:04 — Why “the leaders who pause win” 23:28 — The chasing leader vs. the choosing leader 25:19 — Why capacity may be the most important leadership metric 28:46 — How Mandy resources herself during an intense season 33:10 — Perfectionism, the lone wolf and learning to ask for help 36:05 — Forget the to-do list. Why we need “done lists” 37:45 — Why the person who can’t stop and the person who can’t start may have the same problem 40:05 — Notice. Release. Rise. 41:08 — What Mandy Pandy would say to her today * Special props 👇 Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Reframe We Could All Use. Stop Chasing. Start Choosing (Ft. Mandy Balak)
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Unpacking the stories and mental fitness practices of people living at the top of their game personally and professionally.

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