Born Before the Algorithm

Victory Igberase
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Education
  • Updated Weekly

Born Before the Algorithm is a podcast about people who grew up before social media, smartphones, and AI—and are now navigating a rapidly changing digital world. Through honest conversations and personal stories we explore technology, work, relationships, culture, and what it means to adapt when the future arrives faster than expected. Whether you’re keeping up or catching up, this podcast is for anyone learning to thrive in the age of algorithms.

  1. 4d ago

    The Game of Awareness: Leadership, Fear, Intuition & High Performance — with Steve Barton

    What happens when external success doesn’t automatically create internal peace? In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Steve Barton explores the internal game that shapes how we lead, make decisions, and perform under pressure. With more than 47 years of real-world business experience, Steve shares lessons from helping grow his family’s retail floral business from $200,000 to $2 million in annual revenue—and what he discovered about success, fear, self-doubt, and fulfillment along the way. Steve introduces The Game of Ten®, an awareness-based coaching framework designed to help leaders move from reactive patterns toward greater clarity, intentionality, intuition, and inner stability. We also explore leadership in the age of AI: what happens when technology can analyze more data and make decisions faster, and why human awareness, intuition, emotional intelligence, and judgment may become even more important. This is a conversation about high performance without losing yourself—and why sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn’t learning how to do more, but learning how to operate differently. 📬 Guest Details Name: Steve BartonRole: High-Performance Executive Coach & AuthorCreator: The Game of Ten®Website: https://www.stevebartoncoaching.comExperience: 47+ years of real-world business experienceBusiness Background: Helped grow his family’s retail floral business from $200,000 to $2 million in annual revenueFramework: The Game of Ten® — an awareness-based coaching process focused on clarity, intentionality, intuition, and inner stabilityExpertise: Executive coaching, leadership, emotional intelligence, awareness, intuition, high performance, decision-making, personal developmentKey Themes: Fear, self-doubt, guilt, shame, reactive patterns, leadership under pressure, inner stability, sustainable performance, AI and human judgmentFocus: Helping executives, entrepreneurs, and high performers understand the internal patterns influencing their decisions and performanceProfessional Background: Decades of personal development work influenced by Gestalt psychology; coaching process presented to the Harvard Business School Case Study Team

  2. 4d ago

    Stop the Leaks: Life Energy, the Ego Robot & Living Like a Human — with Karen Bentley

    What if one of the most valuable things we have isn’t money, time, or technology—but our life energy? Karen Bentley joins Born Before the Algorithm to explore what happens when we move through life automatically, constantly reacting, consuming, working, and giving our attention away without consciously deciding where our energy should go. Her philosophy challenges us to recognize the ways we “leak” energy and learn to become more deliberate about how we live. Karen introduces the concept of the “ego robot”—the automatic part of ourselves that can react predictably to disappointment, rejection, disrespect, or conflict. She also shares her three core skills: stopping, harmlessness, and extreme self-care. The conversation connects these ideas to the modern technological world, asking whether algorithms, notifications, automation, and AI are making life easier—or making humans more automatic. Ultimately, Karen challenges us to protect our ability to stop, choose, create, and live intentionally. 📬 Guest Details Name: Karen BentleyRole: Bestselling Award-Winning Author & EducatorCreator: WarriorSTRONG Training ProgramsCreator: LOVE Experience & The Sugarfree Miracle Diet SystemBook: The WarriorSTRONG ManifestoWebsite: karenbentley.comCore Framework: Life energy as an asset that can be conserved, accumulated, deliberately used, or wastedThree Core Skills: Stopping, Harmlessness, and Extreme Self-CareKey Concept: The “ego robot” — automatic patterns and reactions that can influence behaviorExpertise: Personal development, discipline, self-awareness, life energy, behavior patterns, self-care, personal power and intentional livingKey Themes: Automation, AI, technology, attention, discipline, conscious choice, emotional reactions, personal responsibility and living deliberatelyAdditional Resource: Karen’s 7-Day Stopping Challenge

  3. 4d ago

    The Years We Were Never Guaranteed: Reinvention, Relationships, the Human Side of Life-Gaylen Wilson

    What happens when life forces you to start over—and then gives you more time than you ever expected to have? Gaylen Wilson joins Born Before the Algorithm to talk about repeated reinvention, sobriety, relationships, resilience, technology, and the unexpected gift of a second chance. From farming and stockbroking to alcoholism and 20 years of sobriety, computer consulting, entrepreneurship, serious heart failure, and ultimately a heart transplant, Gaylen’s life has been shaped by moments that demanded he rebuild. After his heart transplant in 2018, Gaylen began looking more deeply at relationships and the emotional challenges couples face, particularly around shame, intimacy, communication, and erectile dysfunction. Alongside his wife, Heather, he co-founded The Monument Method Institute, focusing on emotional safety, conflict repair, intimacy, personal responsibility, and relationship readiness. In this conversation, Gaylen reflects on what it means to live with time you were never guaranteed, how technology is changing relationships, and what we should never outsource to algorithms. Because technology can optimize connection—but trust, vulnerability, commitment, and love still require human beings. 📬 Guest Details Name: Gaylen WilsonRole: Certified Thriving Relationship Coach, Author & Heart Transplant SurvivorCo-Founder: The Monument Method InstituteCo-Founder: Heather WilsonWebsite: monumentmethodinstitute.comExperience: 20 years of sobriety and a heart transplant survivorBackground: Farming, stockbroking, computer consulting, computer repair, field-service technologyExpertise: Relationships, emotional safety, conflict repair, intimacy, relationship readiness, personal responsibility, resilience and reinventionFocus: Helping individuals and couples build stronger, healthier relationships and navigate the emotional challenges that can affect intimacy and connectionKey Themes: Reinvention, sobriety, resilience, relationships, technology and dating, emotional safety, intimacy, second chances, purpose and making the most of the time we’re given

  4. Sep 27

    The Brain Behind the Leader: Neuroscience, Leadership & Leading with Intention — Dr. Marcia Ruben

    In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Vicz sits down with Dr. Marcia Ruben, executive coach, organizational consultant, graduate leadership professor emerita, and author of The Neuroscience of Leadership: Rewire. Untangle. Lead. With more than three decades of experience working with leaders, Dr. Ruben explores what happens inside the brain when people are under pressure, why intelligent and capable leaders can still fall into unhelpful patterns, and how self-awareness can change the way we lead. The conversation also examines leadership in an increasingly algorithm-driven world, including the effects of constant notifications, information overload, AI, and automated decision-making on human attention and judgment. Ultimately, great leadership isn’t only about having the right skills or access to better technology. It’s also about understanding our own patterns, learning to pause, and becoming intentional about how we respond. 📬 Guest Details Dr. Marcia Ruben
Executive Coach | Organizational Consultant | Graduate Leadership Professor Emerita | Author Book: The Neuroscience of Leadership: Rewire. Untangle. Lead. Book: https://bit.ly/4dRAJDi

  5. Sep 27

    You Are Not Your Past: Identity, Emotional Patterns & Reinventing Yourself — with Leo Dulay

    In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Vicz sits down with Leo Dulay, transformational coach, hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, and author of You Are Not Your Past, to explore identity, emotional patterns, and the possibility of changing the story we carry about ourselves. After 22 years at AT&T, Leo experienced a major career transition when he was laid off in 2019. Losing an identity he had built over decades led him to question who he was beyond his career and eventually inspired his work helping others recognize and change patterns that may be keeping them stuck. The conversation explores how past experiences can shape present behavior, why familiar emotional patterns can be difficult to break, and how people can begin separating who they are from what they have experienced. Leo and Vicz also examine identity in the age of algorithms, social media, and AI—and whether technology can reinforce the stories we already believe about ourselves or help us discover new possibilities. Because your past can explain you, teach you, and shape you—but it doesn’t have to determine who you become. 📬 Guest Details Leo Dulay
Transformational Coach | Hypnotherapist | NLP Practitioner | Author Book: You Are Not Your Past Website: leodulaycoaching.com

  6. Sep 25

    Retired and Reimagined: Reinvention, Purpose & Designing Life After Work — with Lisa Haynes

    In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Vicz sits down with Lisa Haynes, a certified executive and retirement coach, author, and former CFO, to explore what happens when a long career comes to an end and you suddenly have to decide what comes next. Lisa shares her own journey from corporate leadership into retirement and explains why preparing for retirement involves much more than financial planning. Purpose, identity, relationships, structure, curiosity, and fulfillment can all become important parts of creating a meaningful life after work. The conversation also explores reinvention, technology, AI, and the changing relationship between work and life. As careers become increasingly shaped by technology, Lisa offers perspective on adapting to change and creating a new chapter intentionally. Ultimately, retirement may not be about simply stopping work. It may be about gaining the freedom to decide what deserves your time—and discovering that one chapter ending can be the beginning of something completely different. 📬 Guest Details Lisa Haynes
Certified Executive & Retirement Coach | Author | Former CFO Books: Retired and Killin’ It: The Ultimate Retirement Plan You’ve Got This! Reinvention with IntentionWebsite: retiredandkillinit.com

  7. Sep 23

    The Power of Being Different: Differentiation, Leadership & Winning Hearts — with Barry LaBov

    In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Vicz sits down with Barry LaBov, a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, author, speaker, and brand strategist, to explore what it really means for a business to be different in an increasingly automated world. Barry shares his perspective on why companies become commodities, how organizations can discover what genuinely makes them unique, and why differentiation should begin with employees—not just customers. The conversation also explores leadership, branding, storytelling, customer connection, and the challenge of standing apart when businesses have access to the same technology, data, automation, and AI tools. As AI makes it easier to create and imitate, Barry explains why authentic human connection, culture, identity, and the courage to celebrate what makes an organization unique may become more important than ever. A conversation about business, leadership, technology, and one question that continues to matter: What makes you different? 📬 Guest Details Barry LaBov
Two-Time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year | Author | Speaker | Brand Strategist Founder: LABOV — Marketing & Training Firm Book: The Power of Differentiation: Win Hearts, Minds and Market Share
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Website: www.barrylabov.com

  8. Sep 22

    Beyond Compliance — Accessibility, Inclusion, and Building a More Human Digital World—Maxwell Ivey

    What happens when technology is designed without everyone in mind? In this episode of Born Before the Algorithm, Vicz sits down with Maxwell Ivey, known as The Blind Blogger, to explore accessibility, inclusion, entrepreneurship, technology, AI, and resilience. Maxwell shares his journey from building an online business in 2007 to becoming an accessibility educator, speaker, writer, entrepreneur, and consultant. They discuss why accessibility is about more than compliance, how businesses can create better digital experiences, and how AI could either remove barriers or create new ones. This conversation is ultimately about something bigger than technology: making sure people are able to participate in the world we’re building. 👤 Guest Contact Details Guest: Maxwell Ivey — The Blind Blogger
Website: https://www.theaccessibilityadvantage.com/home
Business: The Accessibility Advantage
Focus: Accessibility, inclusion, entrepreneurship, technology, AI, disability advocacy, digital accessibility
Social/Professional: The Blind Blogger / accessibility education and speaking

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About

Born Before the Algorithm is a podcast about people who grew up before social media, smartphones, and AI—and are now navigating a rapidly changing digital world. Through honest conversations and personal stories we explore technology, work, relationships, culture, and what it means to adapt when the future arrives faster than expected. Whether you’re keeping up or catching up, this podcast is for anyone learning to thrive in the age of algorithms.

Information

  • Creator
    Victory Igberase
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Victory Igberase
  • Show Website
    Born Before the Algorithm