Alan Barratt on entrepreneurship, business ownership, and the reality of building a brand from the ground up.

Everyone wants the freedom of being an entrepreneur, but few are ready for the weight of total responsibility. Alan Barrett, the founder of Grenade, joins me to discuss what it actually takes to succeed in the protein bar market. He shares the unfiltered truth about being unemployable, taking full ownership of your outcomes, and navigating the friction that comes when you start disrupting major industry players.

🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits

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Try Grenade: https://www.grenade.com/

Grenade on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teamgrenade

Allan Barratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_barratt/

Chapters:

0:00 Trailer

1:20 How Alan and James actually met

3:23 Richard Branson: "I don't know where there is"

5:24 Starting Grenade on a £500 loan

9:27 Selling supplements gym to gym

11:29 The first protein flapjack

15:36 When the supplement industry was the Wild West

17:38 Positioning against the chocolate bar

21:40 Making a bar people could actually afford

25:46 Why most people should not be entrepreneurs

27:48 Selling the first business

31:50 Doing right by people pays you back

35:52 Fitness plus military: where the name came from

37:42 The fat burner that started it all

41:46 The fight for the Grenade trademark in America

45:47 The bottle, the shape and a copycat industry

49:54 Borrowing a 17-tonne gun to steal the show

53:56 Demand outstripping supply

58:03 Beating Twix into the UK top 20

1:00:05 Mars complains to Nielsen

1:01:57 No disruption in chocolate for 40 years

1:02:24 The phone call from Giovanni Ferrero

1:04:07 Ferrero or Cadbury: a two-horse race

1:08:11 Choosing Mondelez, and going full circle to Birmingham

1:12:18 The lawyer who got it badly wrong

1:16:20 Cashing half, rolling half back in

1:20:22 What Grenade is worth now

1:24:26 What America teaches you about packaging

1:26:27 When one can bursts across 50 pallets

1:30:36 Fifty countries that supposedly share a language

1:34:39 Where Grenade goes next

1:36:43 The Cadbury Creme Egg protein bar

1:40:50 Those companies are gone. Grenade is still here

1:44:55 Hitching the caravan to the Ferrari

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Rebecca Oliver-Mooney joins James Smith for a conversation that starts with a left-handed can and ends up somewhere far more uncomfortable. Founder of the Raising The Glass network and a drinks industry buyer who has sat on the other side of the table from hundreds of challenger brands, Rebecca explains why most founders put half their message where the shelf will hide it, why GLP-1s are about to reshape what food and drink gets made, and why menopause is the category nobody has been willing to build for yet.

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Rebecca Oliver-Mooney On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-oliver-mooney-65730614/

She explains:

◼️ Why retailers cover the bottom half of your packaging, and what belongs up top

◼️ What GLP-1s actually do to appetite, and why the shame is the bigger problem

◼️ Why menopause is the next outcome-led category in food and drink

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:26 The Left-Handed Can

03:07 Why Retailers Hide Half Your Packaging

03:42 Ingredients vs Benefits On Pack

04:43 The Conversation About Hiding The Eye

06:19 What Raising The Glass Actually Is

07:55 Was I Being Hypersensitive?

08:44 The Free Mentoring Platform

10:16 Do Men Really Interrupt More?

11:53 Two Women Founders Getting On Shelf

14:18 Toy Trucks And Gendered Play

17:29 Changing Your Political Stance

18:16 Algorithms And Echo Chambers

19:50 Women Coming Into Neutonic

21:26 Electrolytes And The Salt Brands

23:50 GLP-1s: The Real Conversation

24:38 Do You Still Eat On GLP-1s?

28:07 The Shame Around The Medication

30:36 Never Being Hungry Again

32:13 Two Extreme Views On Telling People

36:08 GLP-1s Compared To Insulin

39:20 When Only One Of You Can Afford It

40:53 Wealth, Connections And Starting Again

46:25 Are Men More Driven To Seek Status?

47:59 The Iceberg Model

48:48 Imposter Syndrome

51:11 Raising Investment

53:33 This Candidate Is Probably Going To Be A Man

55:58 Equality vs Equity

58:25 The Employee Who Was Caring For His Mum

59:08 HRT And Dr Louise Newson

01:01:30 Menopause Behind Closed Doors

01:03:32 Anabolic Steroids And Crashed Estrogen

01:04:43 Nothing Is Explained At School

01:06:21 Menopause As The Next Category

01:10:20 Calm, Energy And What Sells

01:15:08 How Buyers Actually Pick Products

01:18:18 The Category Diamond

01:19:06 Smoke And Mirrors For Challenger Brands

01:21:29 Find Your Tribe

01:23:01 You Deserve To Be In The Room

01:25:13 Fake It Till You Make It: The Power Pose

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Jason 'Foxy' Fox joins James Smith, on his wife's birthday no less, for an unfiltered and very funny conversation that swaps the usual topics for a proper sit-down with the boys. A former UK Special Forces operator and the longest-serving member of the SAS: Who Dares Wins directing staff, Foxy opens up about becoming a dad again at 50 after seven years of IVF, missing his son's birth over a WhatsApp video call, and why newborn sleep deprivation hits harder than anything the military threw at him.

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Jason Fox On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jason_carl_fox/

Jason Fox On X - https://x.com/jason_carl_fox

Ultra 4 Charity - https://ultra4charity.com

He explains:

◼️ Why newborn sleep deprivation is worse than military exercises

◼️ What it's really like to be away working when your child is born

◼️ How Ultra 4 Charity makes ultra marathons accessible for everyone

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:30 Baldness, Hair Transplants and Finasteride

07:05 How Fatherhood Feels Different Second Time Around

08:08 James's Son Blocked From Entering the UK

09:22 Missing His Son's Birth Over WhatsApp

12:22 Older Parents and Seven Years of IVF

14:59 James's Adoption and the Stolen Cheque

17:22 Ibiza Chaos and Writing a Will

19:31 The Pregnancy Complication That Forced an Early Birth

21:37 James's Emergency C-Section Story

24:20 Special Forces vs Newborn Sleep Deprivation

25:10 The Sleep Coach That Actually Worked

28:11 Being Away Filming SAS: Who Dares Wins

30:10 Sam Burgess: Headlocks and Falling Off the Wagon

35:44 Is London Still Worth It?

39:08 Ultra 4 Charity: Running for Veterans

41:42 How Jiu-Jitsu Gives Veterans Purpose

42:27 Foxy's Muay Thai and BJJ Journey

45:08 Snapping His Leg on a 300ft Tower

48:25 Getting Caught by a 'White Belt'

50:14 Rolling With a GB Judo Black Belt

53:57 Why Strikers Scare James

55:43 The Shoplifter Who Sang for the Queen

58:00 Teaching Young Leaders About Mental Health

59:10 James Nearly Joined the Army

01:00:29 Has Britain's Attitude to the Military Changed?

01:02:15 Veteran Support and Military Respect

01:03:07 The ThruDark Story

01:07:37 The Blocked Urethra That Led to Sepsis

01:13:36 In Praise of NHS Emergency Care

01:14:54 A Bali Moped Crash and NHS Hallways

01:18:11 Foxy's Only Real Goal in Life

01:20:41 Adult Circumcision and Other Injuries Down There

01:22:11 The Schoolyard Punch and Gaps in Body Armour

01:23:57 MrBallen's Grenade Story

01:26:41 From an IED Blast to a UK High Street in 16 Hours

01:28:45 Calm in Chaos, Chaos in the Calm

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Frank Greeff joins James Smith fresh off a $180 million exit for a raw conversation about tax, talent and why the game never really ends. Frank breaks down the $6.2M tax bill from selling his last business, the proposed Australian capital gains changes that would have doubled it, and why, hand on heart, he isn't sure he'd have started his last company if those rules had existed first.

Check out Kinso on YouTube : @KinsoAI

Follow Frank Greeff on intagram : https://www.instagram.com/frankgreeff_/

Try Kinso: https://www.kinso.ai/

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Chapters:

00:00 The $6.2M Tax Bill

03:05 Australia's Proposed Capital Gains Changes

04:19 How Indexation Doubles the Tax to $12M

05:31 "Show Me the Incentive, I'll Show You the Outcome"

06:53 Capital Gains Isn't Income Tax

07:39 The Trickle-Down Effect of Building Businesses

08:55 Gaming the System & the "Nurses and Teachers" Trap

11:13 Killing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

12:44 Why the Rich Leave: Dubai & $1.5M a Year

14:46 The UK £100k Tax Trap

15:50 Becoming a Reddit Hit Piece

16:43 Three of His Network Have Already Left

18:51 New Zealand: No Capital Gains Tax

20:05 Why Australia Is an Entrepreneur's Dream

20:56 Hostels, Sleepwalking Lies & the Woolworths Confession

22:44 How Hard It Is for Brits to Stay in Australia

24:31 Locked Out in the Pandemic

25:50 The "Plane That Couldn't Land"

28:38 Dinner With Tony Abbott & Chris Williamson

31:06 Payroll Tax: The "Temporary" 1950s Tax

31:57 Daniel Priestley & the Lifestyle Business

32:44 The Dinner Bill Analogy: When the Rich Leave

34:31 What Kinso Actually Does

36:29 Filtering Spam & Rebuilding Context

38:39 Fundraising Stories: The Dubai Deck

40:05 Why WhatsApp Is King

41:05 Inside Kinso's Beta & Manual Onboarding

42:53 The Netflix Content Strategy (11.9M Views)

44:48 Thinking Like a Media Company

45:53 The Character Arbitrage

47:56 15 Reels a Day & Trial Reels

49:41 Instagram Edits & the Sauna Guy

50:36 The Nicotine Pouch Trick Shot Ad

51:59 Trying Neutonic on Camera

53:56 TikTok Shop: 45,000 UK Sales

55:56 The Fake "Caught Cheating" Reels Model

57:24 Retail Blows His Mind

58:12 Rate of Sale & the Language of Retail

01:00:43 Business as a Coping Mechanism

01:02:16 Money as a Byproduct of the Game

01:03:35 Relief, Not Happiness, When You Hit Goals

01:04:44 The Pregnancy Analogy & a Live Negotiation

01:07:30 Do You Ever Get Bored?

01:08:20 The Post-Sale Support Group Dinner

01:10:49 Buying the RS6 & Feeling Nothing

01:11:49 What Necker Island Was Really Like

01:13:22 Losing the Ability to Enjoy Things

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Andrew Jenkins, the Traitors star, joins James Smith for a raw conversation about resilience, identity, and rebuilding a life after everything is taken away. At 21, Andrew was pronounced dead at the scene of a catastrophic car accident, lost half his skull and over half his blood, and was told he'd never walk, talk, or recognise anyone again. He walked out of that hospital and then spent 15 years suffering in silence behind a good body, a nice house, and a successful banking career.

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🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Andrew Jenkins On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/andrewjenkinsofficial/

Andrew Jenkins On YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@andrewjenkinsofficial

Andrew Jenkins's Website – https://www.andrew-jenkins.co.uk/

He explains:

◼️ Why failure is how you learn and why cotton-wool parenting is failing kids

◼️ How he attached his identity and his father's love to a rugby ball

◼️ Why the people with the biggest smiles are often struggling the most

◼️ How to get to the root cause instead of papering over the cracks

◼️ Why talking doesn't make you weak it makes you stronger

Chapters:

00:00 The Hidden Cost of Success

01:13 First Impressions from The Traitors

01:50 The Real Problem With Resilience

02:37 Why Business Owners Are Terrified to Fail

03:22 No More First, Second or Third at School

04:29 The Coach Who Told Him the Brutal Truth

06:43 The Dream of Playing Rugby for Wales

06:54 Attaching His Dad's Love to Rugby

08:08 James's Rugby Days and Welsh "Supplements"

09:14 The Catastrophic Car Accident

11:02 Told He'd Never Walk Again

11:56 "I Guarantee I'll Walk Out of Here"

12:40 Brain Injury, CTE and Rugby

13:37 The Other Four People in the Car

14:38 Living With the Trauma

15:52 Great on the Outside, Hating Himself Inside

16:25 Losing His Identity and His Dad

18:39 How One Concussion Can Change a Person

19:30 His Son's Concussions and a Parent's Fear

20:45 Finding Another Outlet for Competition

23:12 Sport, Business and Meritocracy

24:11 Climbing the Wrong Ladder

25:36 Does More Money Make It Worse?

28:01 Why One Bad Day Can Wreck the Privileged

29:26 Growing Up in the Graveyard of Ambition

30:43 James Being Locked Out of Australia

32:35 Happiness Is an Internal Job

35:57 Happiness vs Pleasure and the Hedonic Treadmill

37:31 Why Every Goal Feels Empty

38:59 Talking Yourself Through Your Emotions

40:08 Root Cause Analysis for Mental Health

42:02 The Chimp Paradox and Self-Awareness

42:58 Environment vs Brain Chemistry

43:54 Menopause, Women and Suicide

44:26 TRT, Testosterone and Low T

47:24 Crashing Your Estrogen — The Male Menopause

48:38 James's Own Low Testosterone Story

49:58 Talking to His Son About Drugs

52:36 The Four Ways He Measured Masculinity

53:35 Telling His Parents the Truth

55:08 Being the Responsible One

55:55 Why We Should Educate Kids Honestly About Drugs

57:39 The Truth About Ketamine

58:26 Alcohol vs Everything Else

1:01:54 Psychedelics as Mental Health Treatment

1:03:23 Amsterdam After His Mother Passed

1:04:52 LSD in the Park and a Friend's Breakthrough

1:05:42 Acid at a Wedding

1:07:35 Closing Advice: Believe in Yourself

1:09:03 Creating a Second Path

1:10:14 Surround Yourself With the Right People

1:11:00 Breaking Stigmas — Talking Makes You Stronger

1:12:36 Meeting the Man Who Saved His Life

1:13:07 Where to Find Andrew

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Tom Hawley joins James Smith to expose the deliberate machinery behind a cost-of-living crisis most people don't even know is happening to them. The co-founder of Azura Financial, one of Australia's top 10 brokerages and a three-time Residential Broker of the Year, Hawley argues that inflation isn't a natural force but a policy choice, a quiet tax on your purchasing power that hits lower and middle-income earners hardest precisely because they can't see it.

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🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Tom Hawley on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tom_hawley_/

Azura Financial – https://www.azurafinancial.com.au

Chapters:

00:00 The Hidden Tax Nobody Voted For

01:13 What Is Inflation Really?

04:11 Why Governments Want Your Money to Lose Value

06:44 Capital Gains: How the Goalposts Just Moved

08:01 Why High-Growth Investment Gets Punished Most

09:08 James's Plan to Dodge the Tax Man

10:30 Is the Stock Market Even Worth the Risk Now?

13:35 Are Australia's Politicians Thick or Deceptive?

15:35 Did Labor Politicians Just Commit Insider Trading?

16:50 Pulling the Ladder Up on Negative Gearing

19:42 Australia Is in Economic Trouble

22:43 The Immigration Trap: Six Years Locked Out

27:59 The 457 Visa That Vanished Overnight

31:18 What GDP Growth Actually Hides

32:37 The Festival Trick That Explains the Economy

35:24 Printing Money Is Just Diluting You

38:03 Government Waste and the $70,000 Plaque

41:14 Three Tiers: Government, Employment, Self-Employed

45:09 The Curse of Never Switching Off

47:59 Chasing a Billion-Dollar Exit for Neutonic

50:02 Why the Journey Beats the Payday

53:03 A Petrolhead's Defence of Buying the Car

57:31 Why Ripping It for Ten Kids Is Worth It

01:00:00 Smiles Per Mile vs Saving It All

01:02:25 The Revolver Logic of Retirement

01:04:20 Should You Buy a House or a GT3?

01:08:02 Why Buy When the Market Feels Worst

01:11:48 The Leverage Play Explained

01:13:18 Will Gen Z Just Inherit It All Anyway?

01:15:00 Are We Heading For a Death Tax?

01:17:08 The Welfare Trap: Better Off Not Working

01:21:33 You Get Less of What You Tax

01:23:49 Will Australia Lose Its Entrepreneurs?

01:24:54 Tall Poppy Syndrome vs the American Way

01:27:38 Closing Advice for the Everyday Punter

01:28:51 What the Government Must Do to Save the Australian Dream

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Diren Kartal joins James Smith for an honest, often hilarious conversation about what running a small business actually does to you once the money is coming in but the freedom isn't. Diren is a personal trainer and Turkey's number one fitness coach with over 1.2 million followers, and despite bringing in hundreds of thousands a year he can't shake the feeling that none of it sticks. Together they unpick the tax trap that's bleeding British high-earners dry, the brutal "valley of death" stage of scaling, his secret ADHD diagnosis, and why the two of them keep eyeing the exits to Australia, Dubai and Turkey.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Diren Kartal's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/DirenKartal

Diren Kartal On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/diren.kartal/

He explains:

◼️ Why he can earn hundreds of thousands a year and still not feel a penny of it

◼️ The HENRY trap, and why earning over 100k in the UK can quietly leave you worse off

◼️ The secret ADHD diagnosis and meds that finally turned the noise off and let him focus

◼️ Why the rich borrow against their assets instead of selling, and never pay the tax

◼️ Why short-form scrolling left him "depressed and disgusted" and long form is the real comeback

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Running A Small Business

01:25 Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing

01:52 HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet

03:21 The Cost Of Living In London Right Now

04:07 Every Tax Under The Sun

05:25 Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down

06:27 Business Rates Are The Real Killer

07:39 Going All-In And How Tough It's Been

07:56 Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction?

09:00 Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit

10:27 The Real Reason People Stopped Posting

11:58 Living It vs Looking Like You're Living

12:51 The Steven Bartlett Problem

14:19 Being Unapologetically Yourself

15:10 Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back

17:00 The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson

18:03 The Diren Kartal Experience

20:27 Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task

22:00 Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder

23:54 The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You

25:36 Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory

26:23 The Pressure Nobody Warns You About

27:45 You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail

28:28 Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back

29:25 Getting The Psych Test

30:25 Six Months On ADHD Meds

32:20 Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself

34:30 Is There A Real Return On The Meds?

35:35 Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One

36:53 The 150 Grand Website Regret

37:50 Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse

40:04 289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year

41:20 Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It

43:50 Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less

45:12 Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It

46:23 Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes?

47:04 Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains

49:05 Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense

51:32 How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them

53:16 Will He Stay In Australia?

53:43 How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax

55:01 The Stuff They Never Teach You In School

56:17 The Money Chat That Changed Everything

57:43 The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell

58:38 If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small

59:06 We're Both Hypocrites About Debt

01:00:17 Tripling The Money As An Investor

01:02:20 The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates

01:04:26 What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu

01:07:28 Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats

01:08:35 Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture

01:09:06 Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey

01:10:47 Should You Get Assessed For ADHD?

01:11:33 Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics

01:12:36 Raising A Son Without The Noise

01:13:23 Wrapping Up

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👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Chris Voss's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@NegotiationMastery⁩

Chris Voss On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thefbinegotiator/

Chris Voss joins James Smith for a masterclass on the psychology of negotiation, trust, and getting what you want without ever splitting the difference. A former FBI hostage negotiator and the bestselling author of Never Split the Difference, Voss breaks down why most people negotiate badly, how loss aversion quietly runs the room, and why the goal is never to win the moment but to build something that lasts.

He explains:

◼️ Why splitting the difference leaves everyone feeling cheated

◼️ How to catch a liar off guard and then get them to tell the truth

◼️ Why predictability, not charm, is what actually builds trust

◼️ The grocery store move that turns a stranger into an ally

◼️ Why walking away only works when you genuinely mean it

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Splitting the Difference

02:23 Why We Overreact to Loss

03:26 The Emotions You're Born With

03:59 Loss Aversion, Jiu Jitsu and the Submission

05:20 Catching Liars in Their Own Web

06:14 How a Polygraph Really Works

08:01 Shu Ha Ri and the Art of Mastery

10:34 Sending Students Into the Wild to Practice

11:15 The Three Commodities in Every Negotiation

12:36 The Broccoli Sprouts Masterclass

13:30 Priming and the Power of Pattern Interrupt

15:10 Why Using Someone's Name Defuses Violence

18:33 The Hardest Part Isn't Catching the Lie

20:25 Short Term Loss vs The Loss That Kills You

22:32 Why Entrepreneurs Make Weak Negotiators

23:18 How to Actually Ask Your Boss for a Raise

26:03 The Hidden Power of Deference

27:21 The Sales Tricks That Have Been Weaponised

29:49 Why Honest Sellers Win More Deals

31:33 Predictability Is Trust in Disguise

33:15 Inside the Black Swan Community

35:47 Buying a Car With Empathy Instead of Ego

37:19 Is Walking Away a Skill or a Bluff?

40:29 Relationships Are Ongoing Negotiations

42:17 Never Be So Sure You'd Miss Something Better

44:50 Cadence, Silence and Sounding Important

46:08 Using Humour to Disarm a Cold Room

48:25 Deactivating Fear Instead of Fighting It

50:10 Negotiation, Dating and the Renewals Process

52:11 Should You Ever Touch During a Negotiation?

53:13 Where to Start If You Want to Get Good

55:35 The 48 Hour Challenge That Will Change Your Day

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Sonny Webster joins James Smith for an honest conversation about what training, money and ambition actually look like once you hit your 30s. A British Olympic weightlifter who competed at Rio 2016, Sonny is now a fitness entrepreneur building global training platforms, and he doesn't hold back on the realities of optimisation culture, the TRT debate.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Sonny Webster's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@sonnywebsterGB

Sonny Webster On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb/

He explains:

◼️ Why training after 30 becomes a completely different ball game

◼️ How peptides and GLP-1s are quietly reshaping the fitness industry

◼️ What moving to Dubai really costs (and why money evaporates faster)

◼️ Why handing over money is the thing that actually makes people change

◼️ Where testosterone sits for the everyday athlete who'll never compete

Chapters:

00:00 The Testosterone Debate and Sonny's WADA Ban

00:57 Why Training After 30 Hits Like a Brick Wall

02:10 Olympic Lifting for Longevity, Not Platforms

04:15 Going Sober and the Death of the Wild Weekend

05:07 Peptides, TRT and the World of Optimisation

06:26 Why GLP-1s Make You Hate Alcohol

07:50 Grabbing the Low-Hanging Fruit First

08:32 Becoming a Slave to Your Wearables

12:24 How Dubai Changed Sonny's Physique

16:22 Tax-Free Living and the Money That Evaporates

18:45 Going Back to the UK and Embracing London

20:54 Why Your Friendship Circle Shrinks in Your 30s

23:31 Sonny's Goals: Minimal Effective Dose

26:27 Body, Business, Relationships, You Can't Have All Three

28:05 The Power of a Business Coach and Cutting the Noise

30:16 Why Paying for Something Makes You Actually Do It

31:00 Why Free Codes Create the Worst Clients

32:32 No Transformation Without the Pain

34:48 As Close to 50 as I Am to 23

35:34 Testosterone, the Enhanced Games and Masters Lifting

38:28 The Track Car Logic of TRT

40:34 The Double Standards of Optimisation

41:31 Are We the Peak Optimisation Generation?

43:34 Relationships, Freedom and Finding Hannah

44:56 Having Kids and Knowing When You've Got "Enough"

49:30 The Fair Points Podcast and Missed Opportunities

51:52 Taboo Topics and Creating a Safe Space

52:36 Building a Legacy in Dubai

56:14 Speed Cameras, Statham and Going Bald Gracefully

59:14 The Russian Banya Near-Death Experience

01:01:45 Scaling The Lifting Zone and the Clothing Brand

01:03:09 Wrapping Up

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Paul Mort joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation on work-life balance, building a business you don't want to escape, and why most people are chasing a version of freedom they haven't earned yet. A two-time Master Coach of the Year, bestselling author, and podcast host, Paul Mort makes the case that work-life balance isn't a time problem or a workload problem; it's a clarity problem, and you can't hit a target you can't see.

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📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Paul Mort's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@paulmortofficial

Paul Mort on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/paulmort/

He explains:

◼️ How boundaries — not balance — are what actually protect your life

◼️ Why a great hire is an investment, not a cost

◼️ What a "shitty job" teaches you that Gen Z has been sold out of

◼️ Why you should buy back time before you buy the Ferrari

Chapters:

00:00 The Real Problem With Work-Life Balance

03:10 You Haven't Earned Chapter 20 Freedom Yet

04:45 Boundaries Are How You Protect What Matters

06:26 Hire People Who Manage You, Not the Other Way Round

08:55 Bringing Other Humans Into the Business

09:45 Death By a Thousand Requests

12:27 A Ferrari or a Member of Staff?

13:45 Why a Great Hire Is an Investment, Not a Cost

14:30 Has Gen Z Been Sold a Pipe Dream?

15:07 Why James Only Hires People Who've Had a Shitty Job

16:50 The Hires That Went Wrong

17:32 Your Biggest Haters Are Former Fans

20:25 Chasing Clout and Why It's Never About You

21:13 When the Comments Feel Like the Whole World

22:39 Defending Your Friends but Not Yourself

25:49 Practising Gratitude as Success Gets Complicated

27:01 Your Values Shift — and That Becomes a Boundary

29:14 Lying to Yourself About Being Happy "Later"

30:09 Could You Actually Retire? And Would You?

32:38 The Curse of the Creator-Led Business

34:06 The Fear of Losing Relevancy

35:02 Paul's 18-Month Disappearance and Comeback

35:54 Doing Less of the Stuff You Hate

36:51 The 2014 Ad That Turned James Into a Marketer

38:17 Why the Old Marketing Still Works

39:35 What Gen Z Doesn't See About the Grind

41:56 Eating Shit: Empty Seminars and Worse

42:08 The Boot Camp Disaster Story

42:47 The Hidden Work-Life Balance of a 9-to-5

45:11 A Shrinking Runway With the Kids

45:31 Jealous of People Sinking Beers at the Airport

47:34 Shedding Your Old Skin

47:42 Four Years Booze-Free and Training at Lunchtime

49:14 The Eight Sleep Obsession

53:57 Japanese Toilets and Things You Don't Value Till You Try

55:25 Why a Nice Car Is Integral to How You Feel

58:54 Being Sensible With Money to Buy Back Freedom

58:43 Swapping Time for Money, Money for Time, Money for Money

59:14 The Retirement Gamble Nobody Talks About

01:00:41 Diminishing Returns and Setting Up Your Kids

01:02:56 Getting Kicked Out of School and the Job Centre Story

01:04:48 Raising Kids to Know What Hard Work Feels Like

01:06:02 How Do You Feel About Tax?

01:08:00 Is the UK a Good Place to Build a Business?

01:09:02 Strong Opinions From People Who've Never Done It

01:10:18 Brown Belt Humility and Getting Touched Up by Pros

01:11:33 Getting Outclassed by Your Own 15-Year-Old Son

01:12:34 Seasons of Training — and the Hypocrisy of It

01:13:11 Why "Work a Bit Less" Is Too Vague to Work

01:14:08 How Do You Grow a Business in 3.5 Days a Week?

01:15:03 Ask Better Questions, Set Clearer Goals

01:15:44 What Paul's Working On: The 90-Day Transformation Returns

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Tom Bilyeu joins James Smith to discuss how broken the modern economy really is. The host of Impact Theory and co-founder of Quest Nutrition argues that inflation is theft, that you cannot save your way to success anymore, and that elites are quietly funneling wealth from the working class.

He explains:

◼️ Why a balanced budget changes every policy argument

◼️ How property markets get fixed by deregulation, not taxes

◼️ Why men should be encouraged to go hard in the paint

◼️ How AI is shrinking headcount while multiplying output

◼️ Why paying down debt can quietly beat the stock market

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Tom Bilyeu's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu

Tom Bilyeu On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Not Understanding The Economy

02:30 Inflation Theft and The Hidden Wealth Transfer

03:10 Australia's Capital Gains Tax Bombshell

05:03 The Negative Gearing Property Trap

08:01 Why The Stock Market Is Basically Gambling

11:19 Tom's Advice For An Ambitious 22-Year-Old

13:11 Why Society Now Hates Male Ambition

15:39 Women, The Patriarchy and Sexual Selection

17:48 Why People Demonise Billionaires

21:41 The American Buying Mentality vs The UK

23:14 What Actually Made America Great

26:42 Generational Amnesia and Forgotten Hardship

30:43 Living in Los Angeles and California

33:01 Can The Whole World Live The American Dream?

35:46 Japan, Assimilation and Shared Values

38:38 American Political Corruption as Entertainment

42:01 Human Nature, Greed and AI Government

45:00 Why AI Is The New Internet Moment

45:59 How AI Is Transforming Tom's Business

49:09 Video Games, VR and Escaping Reality

54:04 Addictive Personalities and Gaming

55:34 The Simple Financial Playbook

58:06 The Truth About Paying Down Your Debt

1:01:46 Should You Be Buying Bitcoin?

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