Internal Momentum

Ben Wendel
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  • Entrepreneurship

Internal Momentum is a podcast about the moment something finally moves out of the way. Not the advice you already know. Not the strategy you’ve heard a hundred times. But the internal shift that made different behaviour possible in the first place. We all know what we should do. Eat better. Train consistently. Have the hard conversation. Focus. Commit. Lead properly. And yet… we don’t. So the real question isn’t what to do. It’s what changed internally when someone finally did it. This podcast is built around a single, quiet question: What shifted inside you that made the new behaviour inevitable? Through long-form conversations with founders, operators, leaders, creatives, and high-performers, we explore: the internal blocks people were carrying without realising itthe beliefs, identities, or fears that were quietly in the waythe perspective shifts that dissolved resistance rather than overpowering itthe moments where effort was replaced by clarityhow momentum returns when you stop fighting yourselfThese aren’t motivational stories or tactical playbooks. They’re conversations about internal transformation, the reframes, realisations, and internal decisions that changed how someone showed up day after day. Because sustainable momentum doesn’t come from more discipline. It comes from removing the friction inside the person. If you’re building something, a passion, a business, a life - and you’re tired of trying to force yourself forward, this podcast is an invitation to look at what’s actually in the way… and what happens when it finally shifts.

  1. 4d ago

    Patricia Almeida: Success Without Self-Love

    You can achieve everything you set out to achieve. And still feel completely empty when you get there. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Patricia Almeida, a life coach, NLP trainer, and certified Advanced Wim Hof Method instructor, to unpack what it actually costs to live life on autopilot, and what it takes to find your way back. Patricia shares what happened when she reached almost everything she had set out to achieve in her corporate HR career, and still felt hollow inside. She reflects on the decision to leave her career and her familiar environment, travel overseas, and spend years in meditation, retreats, and self-development work trying to find out what was missing. She opens up about lacking self-love for most of her adult life without ever realising it, and what it actually took to reconnect with who she really was underneath the mask she had been wearing. Ben and Patricia explore why ice baths and cold exposure work as a mirror for whatever a person is suppressing, and why the discomfort of the cold reveals patterns that show up everywhere else in life too. They talk about self-sabotage, procrastination, and the quiet forms of self-destruction that hide behind a life that looks successful from the outside. Ben opens up about his own struggle with discernment and decision-making, and Patricia walks him through a live coaching moment using her own techniques, right there in the conversation. They also unpack the difference between chasing one defined purpose and simply living with intent, and why waiting to discover a single life mission can keep people stuck rather than moving. Patricia shares the small daily practices she uses to shift her state, calibrate her decisions, and stay aligned with her values, the same tools she now teaches her own clients. If you have ever achieved everything you thought you wanted and still felt something was missing, this episode will give you a way back to yourself. About the Guest Patricia Almeida is a Perth-based life coach, NLP trainer, and certified Advanced Wim Hof Method instructor. She runs a one-to-one coaching practice built on her own S.H.I.F.T. Method and leads public Wim Hof Method workshops across Perth, combining breathwork, cold exposure, and mindset training to help people reconnect with themselves and live with purpose. Connect with Patricia: Instagram: @patriciaalmeidacoaching Website: www.patriciaalmeidacoaching.com Chapters: 00:54 Introduction to Ice Baths and Self-Connection 03:14 The Journey to Self-Discovery 05:36 The Importance of Self-Love 08:27 Meditation as a Tool for Self-Connection 11:11 Understanding Self-Sabotage 13:46 NLP and Its Impact on Personal Growth 16:36 The Role of Wim Hof Method in Coaching 19:17 Navigating Emotional States 21:59 Choosing the Right Techniques for Clients 25:03 The Lifelong Journey of Self-Discovery 38:18 The Power of Positive Reframing 41:39 Understanding Procrastination and Taking Action 45:40 Building Habits and Overcoming Resistance 47:18 The Importance of Commitment and Accountability 49:12 Making Decisions with Purpose 55:41 Living with Purpose and Intent

  2. Aug 8

    Manisha Bhudia: Money Starts With Mortality

    Some people inherit a path. Others decide to break it. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Manisha Bhudia, financial adviser and wealth strategist at Ultimum Financial Services, to unpack why money means very little until you know exactly what you are building it for. Manisha grew up in Nairobi, where the shape of her life was mapped out before she was old enough to question it. She was eight years old when her mother sat her and her two brothers down and told them their father might not survive a car accident, and it was the hopelessness in her mother's eyes that day that changed the direction of everything after it. Unable to afford further study, she registered with a UK accounting institute at nineteen, ordered textbooks from London, and spent six years as her own student and her own lecturer, driven by the belief that giving up would be a disservice to generations who had not been born yet. Ben and Manisha explore what happens when a person is quietly told their capability does not count, and how proving that your existence matters can become the engine behind an entire career. They talk about mortality, and how the sudden loss of Manisha's mother in 2022 changed the way she spends her time, her attention, and her money. Manisha shares the conversation she had with her daughter on a school run past a cemetery, and the question she puts to every client before a single financial strategy is written. They also go somewhere most money conversations never go. Ben admits that family is not actually his top value, despite saying it for most of his life, and talks about letting go of the pressure to be a perfect father. Manisha offers a different way to hold all of it, values arranged in a circle rather than a hierarchy, where no part of a life has to be sacrificed to make room for another. If you have ever worked hard for money without being able to say clearly what the money is actually for, this episode will hand you the question to sit with before you build anything else. About the Guest Manisha Bhudia is a Perth-based financial adviser and wealth strategist with Ultimum Financial Services, working across accounting, tax, investing, estate planning, and behavioural finance. Born and raised in Nairobi, she taught herself Chartered Management Accounting from textbooks ordered out of London before immigrating to Australia in 2007, and in 2021 was named one of the fifty most influential advisers in Australia by Financial Standard. Her work centres on helping business owners, professionals, and women build financial independence around a life they have actually defined for themselves. Connect with Manisha: Website: ultimumfinancial.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/manishabhudia Chapters: 00:50 Introduction to Manisha Bhudia's Journey 03:08 The Promise of Education and Change 05:41 Defining Moments and Mindset 07:59 The Role of Education in Empowerment 09:54 Cultural Perspectives on Women's Empowerment 12:31 Balancing Motherhood and Professional Life 15:35 The Importance of Support Systems 18:09 Awareness of Mortality and Living Fully 23:43 Finding Balance Between Living and Saving 29:12 The Importance of Understanding Your 'Why' 30:21 The Meaning of Money and Life's Purpose 33:15 Holistic Financial Planning and Life Experiences 35:41 The Journey of Self-Discovery and Podcasting 38:30 Identity Beyond Roles and Celebrating Individuality 41:20 Finding Your Why Through Mortality Awareness 44:16 The Impact of Life Events on Perspective 46:14 Creating Memorable Moments and the Role of Money 48:54 Letting Go of Perfectionism in Parenting 52:34 Challenging Societal Values and Personal Truths

  3. Aug 1

    Shaunace West: Healing By Letting Go

    Some people are stopped by illness. Others are finally started by it. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Shaunace West, life coach, yoga teacher, and founder of Slow Mail Club, to unpack what happened when the achievement that once felt like proof of her worth was interrupted twice by breast cancer, and what she found once she stopped running from it. Shaunace shares what it was like to be diagnosed at twenty seven, hide her mastectomy from almost everyone at work, and quietly return as though nothing had happened. She reflects on the second diagnosis two years later, stage four and growing through her sternum, the forty day fast that did not heal her, and the medium who somehow sensed something was wrong before she said a single word. She recounts the night she finally allowed herself to fall apart, and the clarity she woke with the next morning. Ben and Shaunace explore what it took for him to get out of his head and into his body during their work together, why achievement never quite delivers the fulfilment it promises, and the belief, praised into him as a child, that made proving himself feel like survival rather than choice. They also unpack the human design session that left Ben unsettled in the best way, and the self-love Shaunace had to rebuild from nothing after surgery took away not just her body but her sense of being desirable at all. If you have ever chased the next achievement hoping it would finally feel like enough, this episode will show you what it costs to keep running, and what becomes possible the moment you stop. About the Guest Shaunace West is a life coach, yoga teacher, and founder of Slow Mail Club, a slow living project delivered by post. A former occupational therapist, she survived breast cancer twice, including a stage four recurrence, and now helps ambitious, high performing people build success that actually feels fulfilling. Connect with Shaunace: Instagram: @shaunacee_west Slow Mail Club Instagram: @slowmail_club Website: www.shaunacewest.com.au Slow Mail Club: slowmailclub.com.au Chapters: 00:47 Introduction to Shaunessy West and Her Journey 01:56 Shaunessy's Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Its Impact 09:08 Reevaluating Life After Cancer Recurrence 18:24 The Power of Emotional Release and Healing 22:22 Guidance for Those Facing Similar Challenges 24:25 The Cycle of Achievement and Internal Fulfillment 29:04 The Journey from Head to Body Awareness 30:51 The Simplicity of Self-Love and Mindfulness 32:25 Transformative Experiences: From Self-Loathing to Self-Love 35:37 Rediscovering Authenticity and Inner Child 36:27 Understanding Human Design: A New Perspective 46:58 The Slow Mail Club: A Creative Journey

  4. Jul 25

    David Jenyns: Unhealthy Sense Of Urgency

    Most business owners are the single biggest obstacle in their own business. The freedom they say they want is the exact thing they keep avoiding. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with David Jenyns, founder of SYSTEMology and the man who once sold the Melbourne Cricket Ground for $24.95, to unpack why so many business owners stay trapped in the daily grind of the thing they built to set themselves free. David shares the moment he realised he did not have to be the person holding everything together. After building and exiting several businesses, he documented every process, hired a CEO, and stepped out of his own operations, then watched the business keep running without him. He is honest about the fact that he does not even like documenting systems himself, and that the real shift came from surrounding himself with people who do. Ben opens up about resisting systems for almost fifteen years, and about the identity that had quietly formed around being needed. He describes a two week holiday with his phone switched off, and how being nobody's go-to person left him feeling like a loser rather than free. Together they explore why the business owner is almost always the wrong person to build the systems, why a dedicated systems champion changes everything, and how so much of what keeps us stuck is not a time problem but an identity one. They also get into the AI shift that has turned systemisation on its head, the day a quarter of David's business disappeared overnight, and what it was really like to be mentored by E-Myth author Michael Gerber, including the surprising truth about meeting a hero up close. Underneath all of it sits a simple and uncomfortable idea. A business can only grow to the ceiling of the person running it. If you have ever felt too busy to fix the thing that is burning you out, or quietly tied your worth to how much everyone needs you, this episode will show you what waits on the other side of letting go. About the Guest David Jenyns is a Melbourne-based serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, and keynote speaker, best known as the founder of SYSTEMology and the software platform systemHUB. After documenting his systems and stepping out of his own business in 2016, he built a methodology now used by business owners across dozens of industries and countries. He has written three books, including Systems Champion, and was personally mentored by E-Myth author Michael E. Gerber. Connect with David: Website: systemology.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-jenyns YouTube: youtube.com/c/systemHUB Facebook: facebook.com/davidjenyns X: x.com/davidjenynsChapters: 00:44 The Entrepreneurial Journey Begins 05:32 The Resistance to Systems 10:10 The Role of the Systems Champion 14:41 Embracing AI in Business Systems 19:11 Overcoming Internal Resistance 24:01 Identity and Business Ownership 27:08 The Identity of a Business Owner 29:10 Navigating Life After an Exit 29:39 The Evolution of Systemization 32:50 Reimagining Business Processes 34:29 Working with Michael Gerber 37:01 Lessons from Heroes 40:16 Embracing Ordinary and Extraordinary 42:33 The Grind of Entrepreneurship 44:32 The Urgency of AI Adoption 50:05 Systemizing Personal Development

  5. Jul 18

    Claire Markwick: Grow Yourself To Grow Your Business

    Most business owners read their numbers like a history book. By the time the story is written, it is already too late to change the ending. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Claire Markwick, a consulting CFO at OURCFO, to explore why the numbers most business owners rely on are pointed in the wrong direction, and what changes when you learn to read them forward instead of backward. Claire spent over twenty years in tax accounting before growing frustrated with work that only ever reported on what had already happened. She shares what it was like to lose her mojo for numbers, why she stepped away to study human behaviour, and how she came back with a different understanding of what her work is really for. Her point is simple and uncomfortable: your business cannot grow beyond you as a person. Ben and Claire explore the financial windscreen, why profit and the money in your bank account are not the same thing, and why so many owners feel stuck despite doing everything right. They move from the practical into the personal, covering certainty as a basic human need, the identity shift that has to happen as a business grows, and the reframing skill that separates the people who keep going from the people who stall. Ben opens up about the fifteen years he spent unable to read a profit and loss statement, and the ego that kept him busy and needed for far too long. Together they unpack why being called talented can feel like an insult, why the version of yourself you become on the way to the numbers matters more than the numbers, and why no one is coming to save you. If you have ever felt stuck in your business despite working harder than ever, this episode will change how you look at both your numbers and yourself. About the Guest Claire Markwick is a consulting CFO at OURCFO, a Perth-based outsourced financial consultancy helping ambitious small and medium businesses across Australia. Originally from the United Kingdom, she partners with business owners to turn their financial data into forward-looking strategy across profit, cash flow, and business valuation. She brings a deep interest in human behaviour and personal growth to the way she reads a set of numbers. Connect with Claire: Website: ourcfo.com.au LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/clairemarkwick Instagram: @claire_markwick Chapters: 00:46 Introduction to Financial Insights 03:57 Understanding the Financial Windshield 06:57 The Impact of Forward-Looking Financials 11:47 The Importance of Certainty in Business 15:36 Profit vs. Cash Flow: Understanding the Difference 19:50 The Journey of Financial Literacy 29:32 Overcoming Mental Barriers in Business Growth 30:55 Embracing Challenges as Growth Opportunities 35:51 The Power of Reframing Perspectives 42:11 The Importance of Self-Reflection and Growth 46:52 The Role of Environment in Personal Development 51:57 Empowering Others Through Leadership 55:31 Taking the Leap into Entrepreneurship

  6. Jul 11

    Theo Venter: 22,000 Volts To The Heart

    One small decision can take everything. And one brave second can give it back. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Theo Venter, keynote speaker and the only known person to have survived a 22,000 volt electrical shock through the heart, to unpack the moment that ended his old life and the slow brutal rebuild of a new one. Theo shares what was running through his head on the morning of 13 February 2006, when he took his insulated gloves off 12 metres in the air to loosen one stubborn nut on a live power pole. The gut feeling that screamed at him to stop. The two and a half seconds hooked on the line. The first four days in hospital preparing to die and saying goodbye to his wife and three children, before the radiologist told him he was going to survive after all. Ben and Theo also walk through what came next. The 24 operations. The dark room he locked himself in after his friends saw what he had become. The five brave seconds he counted down before calling someone instead of taking his own life. The marriage breakdown. The two year fight to pick up a fork again. And the day he finally sat in the park with his kids and lived out the impossible dream that kept him going. The deeper conversation moves into ownership, ego, and the masks both men have worn. Theo describes the moment a mentor refused to let him keep blaming, excusing, and denying. Ben opens up about his own two marriage breakdowns and the slow realisation that his wife had been married to a performance, not to him. Together they explore why convenient choices are the ones that cost the most, and what it actually takes to come back from losing everything. If you have ever made a small choice you cannot take back, or felt yourself disappearing inside a version of you that is not really you, this episode will sit with you long after it ends. About the Guest Theo Venter is a Perth-based keynote speaker, two-time author, and the only known person to have survived a 22,000 volt electrical shock through the heart. Since 2010 he has spoken to hundreds of thousands of workers and leaders across Australia and internationally, sharing his story through the Just Another Day keynote built around the Six Bedrock Foundations and the Five Brave Seconds. He is the official RediMed Safety Ambassador and a recent over-50s World Champion in physique bodybuilding. Connect with Theo: Website: theoventer.com LinkedIn: Theo Venter Instagram and Facebook: Theo Venter Story Chapters: 00:39 The Shocking Incident 04:59 The Fight for Survival 09:07 Gratitude for Medical Care 12:20 Lessons from Near-Death 19:02 The Journey of Recovery 24:25 Embracing Uncertainty and Self-Discovery 27:13 The Journey of Self-Acceptance 31:40 Authenticity and Vulnerability in Relationships 37:11 Finding Joy in Ordinary Moments 42:13 Setting Goals and Overcoming Challenges

  7. Jul 7

    Paula Gowland: A Life With No Limits

    A fall from a bed changed everything. Then the unravelling began. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Paula Gowland, author, speaker and business culture consultant, to unpack what it actually takes to lose a part of yourself and rebuild who you are from the ground up. In June 2014, Paula slipped while hanging freshly washed curtains and broke her leg in four places. What followed was 758 days in hospital, the loss of her left leg above the knee, the loss of the family home, the loss of the family business, and three close brushes with death. She shares the morning she woke up without her leg, the day her seven-year-old stopped being able to visit, and the night she found her husband John passed out beside a lake after months of drinking his way through the grief. Ben and Paula explore what actually happens to a family when one person disappears into a hospital room for years. The communication breakdown between her and John. The friends who quietly drifted away because they did not know what to say. The strangers who walked into her hospital room in Sydney with food and conversation. The moment four months after she finally came home when she fell again, broke her remaining leg, and spent seventeen weeks in a wheelchair grieving everything she had been too focused on surviving to grieve before. They also dig into the identity work. What it meant to become the lady with one leg in shopping centres and at school gates. Why her car now carries the number plate that reads "legless". And why, after years of building a trauma coaching practice on the back of her story, she decided last year to retire that identity entirely and move into something completely different. If you have ever wondered how someone rebuilds a life after losing almost everything, this episode will give you an honest, unsentimental look at what that actually takes. About the Guest Paula Gowland is a Sunshine Coast author, speaker, and business culture consultant. After surviving 758 days in hospital and an above-knee amputation at 42, she rebuilt her life alongside her husband John, was named the Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network 2022 Sustainable Business Woman of the Year, and released her memoir Legless: One Woman's Journey from Trauma to Triumph in 2024. She now runs Leadership and Culture Co, helping business owners and leadership teams build cultures that hold up commercially. Connect with Paula: Website: paulagowland.com.au Instagram: @paulagowland LinkedIn: Paula Gowland Chapters 00:42 The Accident and Its Aftermath 07:00 Navigating Life in the Hospital 12:59 The Impact on Family Dynamics 16:50 Rebuilding Relationships and Life 20:45 Lessons Learned and Moving Forward 23:40 The Power of Community Support 24:33 Grieving and Finding Strength 26:31 Overcoming Physical Challenges 27:18 Navigating Dark Thoughts 29:31 Perception and Identity 33:23 Inspiring Others Through Adversity 34:24 Transitioning from Trauma to Empowerment 35:50 Building Business Culture 39:03 Key Concepts for Personal Growth 42:14 Living Life with No Limits

  8. Jun 27

    Dean Mousad: The Currency Of The Next World

    Some people find purpose through clarity. Others find it by almost dying, more than once. In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with Dean Mousad, social entrepreneur, counsellor, and co-founder of Brothers in Need and 5 Before 5 Solutions, to unpack what happens when a man who spent eight years numbing himself through drugs, alcohol, and gambling gets a second chance, and then a third, and then a fourth. Dean shares what life looked like before the transformation. The entertainment industry, the ego, the addictions, the overdose on his 24th birthday that became the turning point. He opens up about growing up in a dysfunctional family, wanting to be seen, and the childhood patterns that drove eight years of self-destruction before faith pulled him back. Ben and Dean explore the journey from self-centred to servant leader, the role Islam plays in shaping Dean's daily life and work, and the moment that changed everything: burying his grandmother with his own hands and realising that nothing material follows you into the ground. They talk about what it means to build five companies and three charities from a place of purpose rather than ego, and how Dean navigated a cancer diagnosis at 36 with the belief that seventy percent of it is mental, emotional, and spiritual. The conversation also moves into unexpected territory. Ben shares his own discomfort with faith, his fear of praying in case it works, and his struggle with control. Dean reframes perfectionism, ego, and the idea that religion requires you to be ready before you begin. If you have ever wondered what would be left of your life if you stripped away the money, the status, and the performance, this episode will sit with you for a long time. About the Guest Dean Mousad is a Sydney-based social entrepreneur, registered counsellor, and co-founder of Brothers in Need, a charity supporting people experiencing homelessness across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. He is also the co-founder of 5 Before 5 Solutions and Project Quran, and has spent over a decade building organisations grounded in personal growth, community service, and faith. Connect with Dean: Instagram: @5before5solutions Instagram: @brothers_in_need Website: 5before5solutions.com.au Website: brothersinneed.org.au Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Dean Mousad's Journey 02:04 The Pre-Transformation Dean: A Life of Struggles 03:55 Understanding the Roots of Addiction 06:20 The Role of Faith in Transformation 11:50 Catalysts for Change: Key Moments in Faith 17:07 Continuous Growth: The Journey of Self-Improvement 22:50 Navigating Faith and Communication 28:15 Islam: Misconceptions and Understanding 31:18 Understanding Prophets and Their Role 32:11 The Quran: Unchanged and Timeless 34:13 The Journey of Faith and Curiosity 36:02 The Importance of Perspective in Faith 38:18 Sincerity in Seeking Truth 40:26 Navigating Control and Surrender 44:09 The Process of Growth and Perfection 48:16 Community Projects and Social Impact 51:56 Gratitude as a Practice and a Feeling 54:05 Acceptance and Navigating Life's Challenges

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About

Internal Momentum is a podcast about the moment something finally moves out of the way. Not the advice you already know. Not the strategy you’ve heard a hundred times. But the internal shift that made different behaviour possible in the first place. We all know what we should do. Eat better. Train consistently. Have the hard conversation. Focus. Commit. Lead properly. And yet… we don’t. So the real question isn’t what to do. It’s what changed internally when someone finally did it. This podcast is built around a single, quiet question: What shifted inside you that made the new behaviour inevitable? Through long-form conversations with founders, operators, leaders, creatives, and high-performers, we explore: the internal blocks people were carrying without realising itthe beliefs, identities, or fears that were quietly in the waythe perspective shifts that dissolved resistance rather than overpowering itthe moments where effort was replaced by clarityhow momentum returns when you stop fighting yourselfThese aren’t motivational stories or tactical playbooks. They’re conversations about internal transformation, the reframes, realisations, and internal decisions that changed how someone showed up day after day. Because sustainable momentum doesn’t come from more discipline. It comes from removing the friction inside the person. If you’re building something, a passion, a business, a life - and you’re tired of trying to force yourself forward, this podcast is an invitation to look at what’s actually in the way… and what happens when it finally shifts.

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Wendel
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ben Wendel
  • Show Website
    Internal Momentum