Human School

Miles Adcox
  • 4.9 (65)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT
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We’ve been taught everything except how to be human. In a world obsessed with output, Human School is where we study what happens within. This podcast was born from a journal entry during a breakdown. A reminder that struggle isn’t weakness - it’s instruction. Human School reframes pain as purpose, productivity as presence, and leadership as inner clarity. We’re building the education we never got. Through stories, tools, and raw conversations, we help people stop performing their lives–and start participating in them. Welcome to Human School.

  1. Dr. Neil Bomar: Why Small "Paper Cuts" Do More Damage Than Big Injuries

    3D AGO

    Dr. Neil Bomar: Why Small "Paper Cuts" Do More Damage Than Big Injuries

    Learn more about Onsite and Milestones at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully. What if the wounds you can't name are doing more damage than the ones you can? What if healing doesn't happen in a sterile office, but around a campfire, in a community, or on a paddleboard? Dr. Neil Bomar, Vice President of Medical Services at Milestones, is not your typical psychiatrist. He's a man who spent years trying to fit inside the box of Western medicine before realizing the box wasn't right for him. He traded the "treat 'em and street 'em" model of traditional medicine for a radically human approach to psychiatry. An approach that blends neuroscience, experiential therapy, and the healing power of nature and genuine connection.   In this conversation, Dr. Bomar opens up about his own "death day," the childhood moment that quietly rewired how he moved through the world. He shares what it was like to discover, well into his career, that his infectious enthusiasm and relentless positivity were, in part, a defense mechanism against pain. He goes deep into the surreal Thanksgiving when a bullet fell from the sky, struck him in the nose, and lodged in his cheek. And why, even then, his developmental wounding left the deeper mark.   Miles and Dr. Bomar explore the dangerous myth that you must choose between brokenness and resilience, the subtle harm of toxic positivity, and why leading with your highlight reel is the fastest way to kill real intimacy. They introduce frameworks like "death days," event trauma versus developmental wounding, and angel work, making complex psychological concepts feel like something you'd hear from a trusted friend.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Tell the Difference Between Event Trauma and Developmental Wounding How to Stop Weaponizing Your Story and Start Letting It Work For You How to Recognize Your "Death Day" How Toxic Positivity Can Be Just as Damaging as Toxic Negativity How Your Deepest Wound Is Often the Hidden Root of Your Greatest Strength How to Identify the "Angels" in Your StoryHow to Know When You've Crossed from Doing the Work into Over-Identifying with Your Pain How to Choose Being Relational Over Being Right in Every Room You Enter How Community Heals What Therapy Alone Cannot  Follow Human School:  YouTube - Human School Podcast  Instagram - @humanschoolofficial  Threads - @humanschoolofficial  TikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss: 00:00 Meet Dr. Neil Bomar  00:04:35 Why Dr. Bomar Left Traditional Medicine Behind  00:10:01 A Western Medicine Doctor Meets Experiential Therapy 00:11:27 The Family Intensive at Onsite That Changed Everything 00:13:40 What He Learned About Sadness Growing Up 00:14:40 "Happy Jack": The Public Man, the Private Reality, and the Weight of Both  00:21:29 The "Goodness of Fit" Theory: Feeling Like an Outlier in Your Own Family 00:26:30 What Is Developmental Wounding? 00:27:30 "Death Day": The Childhood Moment That Quietly Rewires Your Identity  00:29:49 A Bullet Fell From the Sky 00:33:00 Event Trauma vs. Developmental Wounding: Which One Is Actually Harder to Heal  00:38:30 What Is Trauma, Really? Cutting Through the Expert Debate to What Actually Matters  00:44:06 What He Heard It 25 Years Too Late  00:48:57 Overcompensating From Insecurity 00:54:00 Angel Work: Identifying the People Who Saw You Before You Saw Yourself  00:57:45 The Bravest Thing a Leader Can Say  00:58:36 Leading With Your Highlight Reel vs. Your Failures 01:00:27 Over-Identifying With Your Illness: Where Healing Ends and Victimhood Begins  01:05:35 Angel Work Healing That No Playbook Could Have Predicted  01:09:07 What a Client Said About Milestones That Stopped Him Cold 01:19:09 A Question That Changes Everything - Being Right or Being Relational 01:25:51 What Miles & Dr. Bomar Into Now 01:29:58 Dr. Bomar's Parting Message to Listeners

    1h 33m
  2. Shawn & Andrew East: Managing High-Stakes Pressure in Every Season of Life

    FEB 18

    Shawn & Andrew East: Managing High-Stakes Pressure in Every Season of Life

    With campuses near Nashville and San Diego, Onsite supports people navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully.   What if the discipline that made you a champion is the same thing quietly destroying your most important relationships?   What happens when two elite athletes stop chasing gold medals and start chasing something far more meaningful — each other, their kids, and a life that actually feels like home?   Shawn Johnson East is an Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated gymnasts in American history. Andrew East is a former NFL long snapper, entrepreneur, and now holds a doctorate in psychology. Together, they've built a marriage, a family of three young kids, businesses, and a media platform in full public view. But what stands out in this conversation is the radical honesty they bring to the parts of their story.   In this deeply personal conversation, Shawn opens up about the dark side of elite gymnastics — going professional at 12, being trained to go emotionally numb under pressure, and how that survival skill followed her into adulthood and marriage. She reveals her years-long battle with disordered eating and how retiring from gymnastics left her without an identity. Andrew shares the performance anxiety that blindsided him and how losing football forced a painful gift that ultimately shaped everything good that came next. He also opens up about losing his father, Guy East, and how his dad's relentless curiosity modeled the kind of partner and father he's worked hard to become.   We talk about what it means to protect a marriage when the odds are stacked against you, and why commitment, not chemistry alone, is the thing that makes it last. Shawn and Andrew also share more about their upcoming book, The Courage to Commit, and how the title is the foundation of how they live their lives.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Use Your Athletic Background to Build a Stronger Marriage How Going Numb Under Pressure Creates Hardness at Home and What to Do About It How to Navigate the Identity Crisis That Comes After Leaving a High-Performance Career How to Recognize When Your Greatest Strength Has a Shadow Side That's Hurting the People You Love How to Create Daily and Weekly Rhythms That Keep a Marriage Connected Without Over-Complicating It How to Relearn How to Play, Fail, and Start Over After Reaching the Top of Your CraftHow to Use Curiosity Instead of Criticism When You Don't Understand Your Partner How to Commit Fully to Something and Discover That Sticking With It Creates Beauty You Could Never Have Planned  Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most - Miles Adcox   Follow Human School:  YouTube - Human School Podcast  Instagram - @humanschoolofficial  Threads - @humanschoolofficial  TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Meet Shawn and Andrew East  00:05:02 The Athletic Brain Meets Married Life  00:08:34 The Special Forces Experience 00:10:21 Going Professional at 12 00:13:26 Two Different People Behind Closed Doors 00:15:15 The Debate That Started an Honest Marriage Conversation  00:18:23 Andrew's Dad Taught Him About Curiosity 00:22:00 Having Each Other Changed What Was Possible  00:27:52 Their Marriage Game Plan Day to Day 00:37:47 What Miles Learned Watching Thousands of Couples  00:40:27 Having Kids Rewired Andrew's View of Optimization  00:44:12 Depression, Eating Disorders, and Breaking the Cycle 00:51:27 The Career He Thought Would Last 15 Years  00:56:18 How to Navigate a Major Life Transition 01:01:04 Miles's Two-Word Prayer That Got Him Through His Darkest Season  01:03:32 What The East's Are Most Excited About Right Now

    1h 11m
  3. Meghan Riordan Jarvis: Falling Apart as a Grief Expert & Creating What Grief Was Missing

    FEB 11

    Meghan Riordan Jarvis: Falling Apart as a Grief Expert & Creating What Grief Was Missing

    If this conversation resonated, Onsite & Milestones are safe places to land and process grief. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully. Have you ever been hit by grief so hard that it knocked you off every foundation you thought you had? What if grief isn't a problem to be solved, but an energy inside your body that's asking to be tended? And no one ever taught you how.   Meghan Riordan Jarvis is a trauma therapist, bestselling author of the memoir End of the Hour, and the host of Grief is My Side Hustle, a podcast that has helped thousands of people feel less alone in their loss. But what makes Meghan extraordinary isn't just her clinical expertise in trauma-informed care, EMDR, and body-centered healing; it's the fact that she fell completely apart after her mother died, and had the courage to seek help as a patient in the very world she had spent her career serving. In this conversation, Meghan opens up about losing her mother six years ago and what it felt like to arrive at a treatment program as a clinician who "knew everything." She reveals the early childhood loss that shaped her, the fury that drove her to build something new, and how a morning walk with her Episcopal priest friend changed the way she practices daily. Watch in real time as Meghan does what she does best: shows up with compassion first, no fixes required. Miles and Meghan also pull back the curtain on the Grief M.E.N.T.O.R. Method: Meghan's six-component framework that is rewriting how clinicians, companies, and everyday people understand and support loss. From the neuroscience of why your brain codes grief like a trauma folder, to why the five stages of grief were never meant for you, to why your body literally cannot trust itself to heal if you never go to the bathroom during the workday, this conversation is the grief education none of us ever got.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Understand What Grief Actually IsHow to Recognize When Your Body Is Carrying Grief Before Your Mind Does How to Stop White-Knuckling Through Hard Seasons Alone How to Apply the Grief M.E.N.T.O.R. Method as a Daily Practice How to Support a Grieving Person Without Saying the Wrong Thing How to Tell the Difference Between Grief and Clinical Depression and Why It Matters How to Reframe the Story You're Telling About Your Loss How to Move Anger and Energy Through Your Body Instead of Staying Stuck in It How to Stop Looking Outside Yourself for the Answers  Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most - Miles Adcox   Follow Human School:  YouTube - Human School Podcast  Instagram - @humanschoolofficial  Threads - @humanschoolofficial  TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   What We Discuss: 00:00 Introduction 00:01:17 Meet Meghan Riordan Jarvis 00:02:35 It's Always About the Story: The Red Tabaco Barn 00:13:15 Grief Redefined 00:20:48 The Labyrinth at Onsite 00:27:10 Sacred Instincts and Knowing What You Need  00:29:09 How Miles and Meghan Met 00:34:23 Meghan's Grief Origin Story & What Launched Her into This Career 00:43:26 Grief vs. Depression: Why Treating Them The Same Way is a Critical Mistake 00:45:44 A New Season of Grief - Life After Losing Her Mom 00:57:21 How Fury Became Rocket Fuel for the Grief M.E.N.T.O.R. Method  01:02:10 Why Even the Experts Aren't Protected 01:07:04 What to Say to a Griever: Practical, Human Guidance  01:12:02 The Neuroscience That Explains Everything  01:16:41 Empathy vs. Compassion: Why the Distinction Matters and How It Changes Who You Become  01:23:44 Meghan's Three-Step Framework 01:25:03 The Triangle of Trust 01:29:17 Mangled Spirituality, Morning Walks with a Priest, and Phone Alarms 01:36:21 What Happens When You Don't Address Grief 01:39:54 The Grief M.E.N.T.O.R. Method Explained  01:54:09 Why Miles Changed What Onsite Calls Its Clinicians  01:57:20 The Closing Message Neither of Them Planned

    2 hr
  4. Mallory Ervin: What I Had to Lose to Find Myself

    FEB 4

    Mallory Ervin: What I Had to Lose to Find Myself

    If this conversation resonated, Onsite offers immersive therapeutic experiences to help you slow down, reconnect, and get honest about what matters most. With campuses near Nashville and San Diego, Onsite supports people navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully.   What happens when you stop performing your life and start living it? What if the exhaustion you're feeling isn't a sign you're doing something wrong, but proof you're finally doing something real?   Mallory Ervin has lived much of her life in front of people—as Miss Kentucky, on The Amazing Race, as a creator who's built an expansive online community, and as the founder of brands like Living Fully and In My Sundays. But what makes her story compelling isn't the resume. It's what she's done underneath all of it. Instead of hardening or hiding, Mallory has softened. She's let her life shape her work, and she hasn't rushed past the hard seasons or cleaned them up before telling the truth.   In this conversation, Mallory opens up about the cost of being known, the weight of building businesses while raising young kids, and the moments that forced her to ask whether she was living fully or just filling her days. She talks about the difference between being busy and being present and why rest became the foundation of her most successful business. She reveals what it's like to rebuild your sense of self when the world already has an opinion about who you are.   This isn't a conversation about balance or having it all figured out. It's about what it takes to stay human in the middle of a life that moves fast, feels full, and demands more than you sometimes have to give.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to stop living in the performance and start living in the presenceHow grief doesn't follow a timeline and why that's okayHow motherhood forces you to confront who you really areHow to build a business around rest when you've spent your life runningHow to navigate the gap between who you are in public and who you are at homeHow to stop waiting for permission to take up spaceHow to let your life shape your work instead of the other way aroundHow to stay soft in a world that rewards being hardHow to honor the liminal space instead of rushing to the next thingHow to stop apologizing for being human  Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most - Miles Adcox   Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School 00:00:17 Meet Mallory Ervin 00:02:02 Showing Up Tired and Grateful 00:05:19 Why Authenticity Became Non-Negotiable 00:07:32 Why Recovery Was the Greatest Gift of My Life 00:17:20 Rock Bottom, Surrender, and Radical Honesty 00:23:10 You Don’t Have to Hit Rock Bottom to Change Your Life 00:32:57 Distraction, Social Media, and Avoiding Yourself 00:41:15 When Help Turned Into Addiction: Mallory's Journey to Recovery 00:58:52 What Recovery Support Actually Looks Like 01:08:30 Earning a PhD in Yourself 01:13:38 The Temptation to Go Back to Old Patterns 01:18:58 What Recovery Taught Me About Daily Life 01:35:52 Defining What "Live Fully" Really Means in Life 01:40:33 The Balance in Being Driven to Excellence and Staying Present 01:43:44 Creating a Life Your Kids Can Learn From & Be a Part Of 01:55:33 The Entrepreneur: Live Fully & In My Sundays  01:59:03 Closing Reflections on Authentic Living

    2h 2m
  5. Drake White: Finding Out Rock Bottom Has A Basement

    JAN 21

    Drake White: Finding Out Rock Bottom Has A Basement

    Transform your trauma at Onsite. Visit onsiteworkshops.com to explore life-changing programs designed to help you heal, grow, and rediscover hope. What if the worst moment of your life became the foundation for everything that came after? Country music artist Drake White collapsed on stage in 2019 during a performance in Roanoke, Virginia. He was diagnosed with an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a tangled mass of blood vessels in his brain that ruptured mid-song, paralyzing his left side. What could have ended his career and his life became the beginning of a deeper story about faith, resilience, and purpose. In this conversation, Drake shares the surreal experience of having a stroke on stage and waking up in the hospital, unable to move half his body. He talks about how his wife duct-taped her leg to his and helped him relearn how to walk, only to face her own paralysis months later. He reflects on the moment a buck appeared on a trail camera behind his house and how that single image reignited his will to live. Drake goes into the basement of rock bottom, the power of covenant in marriage, and why listening to the quiet pull to “turn right instead of left” has reshaped how he lives. This is a conversation about losing everything you thought made you who you are and discovering that rebuilding teaches you who you’ve always been. In this conversation, you’ll learn: How to find purpose when everything that defined you is stripped away Why rock bottom has a basement and how foundations are built there How to turn trauma into testimony without skipping the pain How to navigate marriage when both partners are hurting How nature and hunting became part of Drake’s healing journey Why honoring bad days doesn’t cancel hope How to break free from negativity loops and victim narratives How to listen to the quiet pull guiding your next step Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most—Miles Adcox Follow Human School:YouTube – Human School PodcastInstagram – @humanschoolofficialThreads – @humanschoolofficialTikTok – @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss:00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School00:00:30 Drake White's Story: From Collapse to Comeback00:02:31 Rock Bottom Has a Basement: Building a Foundation in the Hole00:03:43 The Building Science Degree and Why Foundations Matter00:04:52 Getting Through Your Twenties Without Real Adversity00:10:40 Being in Her First Wedding: The Story of Pursuing Alex00:14:10 Diagnosed with an AVM: A Mass the Size of a Lime in His Brain00:16:21 August 16th, 2019: Taking the Stage in Roanoke, Virginia00:22:06 "I Thought I Had a Flat Tire, Not That the Engine Was Going Down"00:23:20 Exploration Over Fear: Surfing the Wave Psychologically00:25:19 The Deep Sleep Where He Had His Interaction with God00:26:22 Alex Drives Seven Hours: What Love Looks Like in Crisis00:28:43 Four Months Later: Alex's Paralysis in Steamboat Springs00:30:29 Calling for Help from Their Moms - "Nobody Loves You Like That"00:33:25 Relearning to Walk: The Thread of Hope Running Through It All00:35:39 Growing Up Baptist and Questioning Everything00:44:54 "The Ability to Have a Good Day in Bad Situations Is a Superpower"00:46:52 Taking a Right This Morning: Listening to the Pull00:51:02 Instinct, Intuition, Faith, and Self-Awareness00:53:03 Science and Religion Coexist: The Western Civilization Experiment01:00:05 "There's Always a Deeper Route" - Why Am I Here and Where Am I Going01:02:27 Coming Home After 40 Days and 40 Nights in the Hospital01:03:35 The Trail Camera Behind the House: A 175-Inch Deer01:12:11 Neuroplasticity: The Brain Forms New Pathways Around Lesions01:15:18 Make Your Trauma a Testimony for Somebody Else01:18:30 Ladder to the Sky: A Hunts the Healing Story01:21:38 Breaking the Negativity Loop, Blame Cycle, and Victim Narrative01:24:03 The Benefit for the Brain: A Night of Advocacy and Encouragement01:28:55 Be the Quarterback for Your Own Care

    1h 31m
  6. Donald Miller: Why the Villain’s Journey Shapes Who You Become

    JAN 14

    Donald Miller: Why the Villain’s Journey Shapes Who You Become

    Ready to do deeper work? If this conversation resonates and you’re feeling stirred to look more honestly at your own story, visit experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. Onsite offers immersive therapeutic experiences just outside Nashville and San Diego—spaces designed to help you slow down, look under the hood, and reimagine what’s possible in your relationships and life. Have you ever wondered why the villain's journey matters more than the hero's? What if the worst thing that ever happened to you could become your greatest competitive advantage? Donald Miller didn’t set out to become one of the most influential voices in modern communication. He started by trying to write his way out of pain. From feeling invisible as a kid in Texas to becoming a bestselling author and the creator of StoryBrand, Donald’s work is built on one core truth: clarity creates connection. In this conversation, Donald opens up about the experiences that shaped him—father abandonment, poverty, ambition, and the inner villain stories we rarely examine. He shares why understanding the villain’s journey matters as much as the hero’s, how pain can become fuel rather than a prison, and why one of the most powerful phrases in leadership and parenting is simply, “Will you forgive me?” Donald and Miles explore how cognitive load impacts nearly every area of life—from relationships and parenting to business, culture, and politics. Donald reflects on becoming a father at 49, the fear of loving something you can’t control, and why congruence—not perfection—is the most effective parenting tool we have. He also offers a thoughtful critique of modern political messaging and the incentives that keep problems unsolved. This is a conversation about responsibility, healing, and learning to tell the truth—first to yourself, then to others. Follow Human School:YouTube – Human School PodcastInstagram – @humanschoolofficialThreads – @humanschoolofficialTikTok – @humanschoolofficial In this episode, you’ll learn: How Pain Can Become the Birthplace of PurposeWhy the Villain’s Journey Deserves as Much Attention as The Hero’sHow Reducing Cognitive Load Helps People Actually Hear YouWhy "Will You Forgive Me" Is as Powerful as "I Love You" How One Single Sentence at Onsite Unlocked Years of Stuck Pain Why Congruence Is the Most Powerful Parenting and Leadership Tool You Have How to Know When to Get on the Plane and When to Stay Home What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Intro – Welcome to Human School00:01:37 The Origin Story of Human School00:06:55 When StoryBrand Got Busy and Life Took Over00:08:38 The Three-Ring Binder That Changed Everything at Onsite00:10:26 How Onsite Reshaped Don’s Relationships00:13:07 Connection Is Where You Get the Most Meaning00:14:16 How Early Wounds Quietly Fuel Ambition00:19:12 Heroes, Villains, and The Stories We Avoid Examining00:24:10 "Onsite Healed and Redirected My Villain Story" 00:30:03 When Don Realized Writing Was an Effective Tool for Struggle00:38:15 How Don Went to Onsite in His Mid-Thirties and Everything Changed00:45:27 Having Your Heart Run Around the Room - The Fear and Wonder of Parenthood00:49:51 The Power of an Apology to Your Kid00:54:10 A Costly Business Mistake00:57:50 Why Leaders Fall into the Wizard of Oz Trap01:01:29 From Memoirs to Business Messaging 01:06:15 The Spectrum Brands Story: "Kids Love Aquariums" 01:08:30 The Jeb Bush Campaign vs. "Build a Wall"  01:10:08 Why Cognitive Load Applies to Parenting, Music, and Everything  01:14:05 The Doubling Tool: How Therapists Reduce Cognitive Load in Real Time01:17:48 How Onsite Gave Don His Sister Back01:19:26 AI, Clarity, and Communication01:25:20 Why Political Incentives Rarely Reward Solutions01:33:42 Why Nuance Doesn't Work in Storytelling  01:37:07 America’s Capacity for Self-Correction01:42:21 WeeklySoundbite.com and Don’s current work

    1h 44m
  7. Joshua Bassett: Vulnerability Isn't Weakness, It's the Pathway to Freedom

    JAN 7

    Joshua Bassett: Vulnerability Isn't Weakness, It's the Pathway to Freedom

    What happens when you stop hiding from the hardest parts of your story? What if the moments that nearly broke you are actually the ones that wake you up?   Joshua Bassett—Emmy-winning actor, musician, and creator of the deeply honest album The Golden Years—opens up about navigating heart failure at a young age, surviving public heartbreak, wrestling with suicidal ideation, and discovering that vulnerability isn't weakness, it's the pathway to freedom. From growing up homeschooled with emotional distance in his family to living in his car in Los Angeles at 16, Joshua shares how he's learned to turn pain into purpose, shame into connection, and fear into art.   In this raw and revealing conversation, Joshua talks about the family meeting that changed everything, the lies he believed about his intelligence, the spiritual awakening that followed a psychedelic experience, and why he believes chronic fight-or-flight is the biggest problem of our time. He introduces practical tools like his "thought-feeling-impulse-truth" exercise, breathing techniques to calm your nervous system, and why artists have to "pave the road" through their own pain so others can walk it more easily.   Joshua also shares about Sammy Sundays, the homeless outreach he co-founded, why safety matters more than talent in the creative process, and how learning to say the unsaid became his greatest act of courage. This isn't a conversation about fame or celebrity. It's about what it takes to become fully human in a world that rewards performance over presence. And if you want to hear more of Joshua's story, his book ROOKIE comes out May 5, 2026. Pre-orders are available on joshuatbassett.com.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Use the "Thought-Feeling-Impulse-Truth" Framework to Process AnxietyHow Vulnerability Creates Connection, Even When It's TerrifyingHow to Get Out of Fight-or-Flight Using Science-Backed TechniquesHow to Stop Apologizing for Your Unique Way of ThinkingHow to Recognize When You're Pushing Emotions Down Instead of Processing ThemHow to Create Safety in Creative SpacesHow to Stop Letting Other People's Perceptions Define Your IdentityHow Love Is Worth Living For Even in Your Darkest Moment Learn More About OnsiteDiscover the transformational experiences that support deep healing and growth. Visit experienceonsite.com to learn about Onsite's immersive programs in Tennessee and Southern California, or call 1-800-341-7432.   Follow Human School:YouTube - Human School PodcastInstagram - @humanschoolofficialThreads - @humanschoolofficialTikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Welcome to Human School00:00:41 Meet Joshua Bassett00:03:19 Why Vulnerability Is Always Met With Vulnerability00:07:53 The Hospital Room Confession: When Heart Failure Brought His Family Closer00:10:33 The Family Meeting Where Everything Shifted00:19:17 Why Polarization Sells and Productive Conversations Don't Have Winners00:22:29 How Artists Are the Ones Who Will Bring Culture Back Together00:28:04 The Film Role That Gave Him Back Pain From Vicarious Trauma00:30:02 Mirror Neurons: How We Catch Emotions Like a Cold00:35:09 Why Fight-or-Flight Is the Biggest Problem of Our Time00:39:27 The 20 Tools He Uses to Get Out of Fight-or-Flight00:41:21 Thought-Feeling-Impulse-Truth: The Framework That Changed His Life00:43:10 Life Lessons from Universal Studios Experiences00:50:14 Sammy Sundays: The Homeless Outreach That Radically Changed His Life00:53:07 The Vagus Nerve and Science-Backed Ways to Calm Your Nervous System00:57:09 Guided Breathing Exercise: 4 Seconds In, Hold for 7, Out for 801:00:36 Why He Can't Be Attached to Someone Else's Plan01:10:05 What Brought Him Back to Music01:13:08 Why Safety Matters More Than Talent in the Creative Process01:18:09 How Public Perception Shapes and Distorts Who We Think Someone Is01:21:25 The Night He Almost Gave Up01:28:18 What He'd Say to Someone at a Crossroads Right Now

    1h 34m
  8. Janet McDonald: You Become a Better Leader by Becoming a Better Human

    12/31/2025

    Janet McDonald: You Become a Better Leader by Becoming a Better Human

    What if the loneliest position you'll ever hold is the one you worked your whole life to achieve? What if everything you learned about leadership left out the most important part? Janet McDonald, CEO of Onsite, didn't start her career planning to lead with vulnerability. She started at 14, running a ladies boutique in downtown Franklin, TN while her friends worked as her employees. At nine years old, she was already holding her family together after her parents' divorce, learning early that "if it is to be, it's up to me." That message drove her through a successful career in management consulting, always climbing and achieving, until she realized something was missing.   Janet first heard about Onsite the way many do: someone told her, "It changed my life." Then another person said it. Then another. Her curiosity piqued, but she was skeptical. Either they had a really good marketing campaign, or something real was happening an hour outside Nashville, TN. When she applied to be Chief Operating Officer, she thought, "Who in their right mind is going to drive an hour every day out here?" But as she drove up the hill to the campus, something shifted immediately.   What makes Janet's leadership distinctive is that she bridges two worlds that rarely meet: strategic clarity and courageous vulnerability. In this conversation, Janet opens up about the cost of leadership, including the loneliness and isolation, and reveals how her pre-teen self still shows up in boardrooms. She shares why curiosity is the number one skill of any leader, and why the 18-inch journey from head to heart is the hardest one you'll ever make. In this conversation, you'll learn:  How to Lead from Behind Instead of in FrontHow Your Nine-to-Fourteen-Year-Old Self Still Shows Up in BoardroomsHow to Change Your Observer to Open Up New Possibilities for ActionHow to Ask "What Is It Like to Be on the Other Side of Me?"How to Depersonalize Conflict After Establishing ConnectionHow to Navigate the 18-Inch Journey from Your Head to Your HeartHow to Bring Soul Back into Leadership and LifeHow to Love Others Really Well by First Learning Everything About YourselfHow to Unlock Capacity in Already Successful PeopleHow to Fill in the Blanks Without Assuming You're Right  Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most. - Miles Adcox Learn More About Onsite Discover the transformational experiences that changed Janet's life and leadership. Visit experienceonsite.com to learn about Onsite's immersive programs in Tennessee and Southern California, or call 1-800-341-7432 to explore how we can support your journey. Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast  Instagram - @humanschoolofficial  Threads - @humanschoolofficial  TikTok - @humanschoolofficial What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Welcome to Human School 00:00:31 Meet Janet McDonald: Leading from Alongside, Not in Front 00:03:04 Getting Interested in Leadership at a Young Age 00:06:56 Second Half of Life: Helping Others Have Their Best Career 00:09:23 What Leadership Afforded Her and What It Cost 00:11:48 What's Missing from Traditional Leadership 00:15:30 Everyone Kept Telling Her About Onsite 00:17:25 Applying to Be COO at Onsite 00:22:00 Teaching What Traditional Leaders Are Starving For 00:25:42 The Onsite Effect: Watching Transformation Happen in Real Time 00:26:58 You Become a Better Leader by Becoming a Better Human 00:29:00 Our Observer & It's Impact 00:31:56 Your Inner Child Is Always with You 00:35:49 The Exercise: What's It Like on the Other Side of Me? 00:38:30 Making Assessments and Acting Like They're Facts 00:40:00 Onsite: Growth as a Human, Not Just a Leader 00:45:28 How Dialog Changes After Connection 00:50:10 The Myth of Work-Life Balance  00:57:00 The Number One Skill Is Curiosity  01:00:25 Regenerative Leadership: Bringing Soul Back  01:01:58 Three Lessons from Janet's Living Centered Program  01:04:28 The Plot Twist: It's Not Just Leadership, It's Life

    1h 12m
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4.9
out of 5
65 Ratings

About

We’ve been taught everything except how to be human. In a world obsessed with output, Human School is where we study what happens within. This podcast was born from a journal entry during a breakdown. A reminder that struggle isn’t weakness - it’s instruction. Human School reframes pain as purpose, productivity as presence, and leadership as inner clarity. We’re building the education we never got. Through stories, tools, and raw conversations, we help people stop performing their lives–and start participating in them. Welcome to Human School.

Information

  • Creator
    Miles Adcox
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Miles Adcox
  • Show Website
    Human School

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