Dr. Ron Stotts on why smart leaders burn out, what conscious leadership actually looks like, and how to lead from clarity instead of fear.
GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops
WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems
WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Actionable clarity on breaking burnout cycles, leading more consciously, and reconnecting with purpose without walking away from success.
Most business owners know how to push. Dr. Ron Stotts helps them learn how to breathe.
Ron has spent 45 years working with founders, executives, and high performers who look successful on the outside but feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected on the inside. In this conversation, Ron and Bernie unpack why business growth stalls when the person running the company is running on empty — and what it takes to fix that without burning everything down.
Ron explains how childhood emotional patterns quietly run adult businesses, why the smartest leaders are often the most stuck, and how conscious leadership starts with something as simple as a breath. He breaks down the difference between knowledge and wisdom, walks through what neurological rewiring actually means in plain language, and shares the one question leaders refuse to ask themselves.
His two-month foundation program clears the inner noise. His nine-month integration program rewires the brain for sustained, calm, collaborative growth. Clients span California to Australia — founders, CEOs, and executives who are done leading from fear.
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Next Steps
Bernie (00:22)
a question to our audience. You're doing everything right, so why does your success feel empty and misaligned? That's the question our guest speaks to directly in this episode. He'll unpack why so many founders, leaders, and professionals feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected, even when their business looks successful from the outside. We're going to explore the difference between knowledge and wisdom in business, why avoiding inner work quietly limits growth, how fear shows up as overwork.
Control or constant motion. What it really means to lead with clarity instead of ego, and how to reconnect with purpose without walking away from success. Our guest today is Dr. Ron Stotts He's been transforming lives for over 40 years as a philosopher, educator, and transformational coach. His work bridges deep wisdom with real-world application, helping people and organizations unlock clarity, purpose, and sustainable growth.
Doctor Stotts, welcome. It's a pleasure to have you here today.
Do you have a favorite quote or saying you'd like to share?
Ron (01:17)
Well, I think the title of the of the program is pretty much the favorite quote. yeah, I remember, you know, walking in Big Sur, California with Joseph Campbell and he shared that quote with me and it really s struck home in terms of my working with clients and helping them work through their emotional backlog at the time and working with couples and business people back then and yeah, so
That that's probably my favorite quote is, you know, you've got to enter that cave that you fear to enter to find the treasure that you seek.
Bernie (01:48)
So Ron tell me you you have titles, you have credentials, but who are you beyond that? Like if if if someone is gonna walk up and say, I'm gonna need help and how do I how do I know Ron has has the gravitas to
Get me past my problems.
Ron (02:04)
Well, just probably because of my lifestyle. You know, when I got out of the Marine Corps I was suicidal, chemical imbalance, PTSD, and I was a mess, quite literally. And it was really from that very broken place I figured out what I needed to do to recreate myself, discover who I truly was and start living the life that I you know, really
was meant to live and so I've walked the walk. the the journey that I help others on is a journey that I'm intimately familiar with and have taken thousands of times, not only on my own but with others.
Bernie (02:40)
I find it fascinating that you also have the word philosophy as part of the a background. And I I think it's fa it's fascinating. I think it's cool. What what brought you into the philosophical neck of the woods as as part and parcel of the overall process of becoming you and what you do?
Ron (02:57)
Well, you know, I my first stab at getting better was, you know, traditional education. You know, I went into getting degrees and pieces of paper that I thought the information I'd get would help me. And and through that process I certainly learned a lot and benefited greatly from that experience, but I really f didn't find answers. I still was having a lot of troubles and that's when I started digging deeper. It's like, well what's
what's underneath this formal education and what's more in terms of ancient wisdom, in terms of, you know, even even physics and looking in all those different directions. And that became a journey that I'm still on today. You know, still looking deeper, always trying to figure out more. And I enjoy it. It's an adventure for me that allows me to continue to grow and continue to support others in their growth.
Bernie (03:46)
Is there a certain philosophy that you tend to gravitate to or certain series of philosophical points of view that you work with that resonate strongly with you and and your programs?
Ron (03:58)
There certainly has been throughout the years. I have been doing this for about forty-five years. So yeah, at various times various ideas and concepts come into mind. But be honest with you, they start evolving out of your own experience, out of my recognizing that you know, that the universe is perfect, that everything that's happening to me and coming into my life is really designed to support my growth. It's not
I'm not being attacked, I'm not you know, I'm not having challenges, I'm having opportunities. And you know, I've gotten to a point now where I guess my whole philosophy in life is all I really need to do is breathe and be curious. And when as as I breathe and be curious, that allows me to be present. And in that present state, I'm able to access the highest levels of thinking and awareness that I
I'm capable of accessing. So it allows me to really handle everything and anything that comes up in my life. You know, whether I'm working with a client or remodeling a bathroom or playing golf.
Bernie (04:59)
golf. there we go. There we go. Are you a good golfer?
Ron (05:01)
Am I a good golfer? Has anybody a
Bernie (05:04)
Well
I'll reframe it. Do you enjoy playing golf?
Ron (05:07)
I love playing golf. Perfect. Perfect. And people say that I'm fairly good, yeah.
Bernie (05:12)
I I wasn't gonna judge. I just you know, some sometimes people play golf and it's like, Yep, yep, it's it's a it's a goal. You had that handicap down. Awesome.
Ron (05:22)
Yeah. Every time you hit it, it's a new opportunity to to do well.
Bernie (05:26)
Yeah, usually it's my opportunity to get the get the bird in the tree and as it goes shanks the wrong direction. but that's just me though. And I have to practice more often than once a year. What was your cave? What was your cave moment that you came across that you know that brought this together that censored it going, you know, someone has that quote over here and now I've just I've just come through and I go I found my I found my bear in my cave type thing.
What was your moment that made that crystallize?
Ron (05:53)
Good question. I've had many, to be honest with you. And I you know, initially though, it was I was probably, you know, I was very much into meditation when I was young. I mean, I probably by the time I was 40, I'd meditated 30,000 hours or so. Some one of my students figured out at some point. But I was in my I think early forties and I'd never really involved involved in drugs or anything like that. And I
decided to take mushrooms just to see what in the world all that was about. And I was laying on the beach in Santa Barbara, California, in a lovely spot that I used to go to. And as I was laying there, I very graphically found myself in a direct experience of discovering a cave. And as I looked into that cave, I saw all these amazing, frightening looking masks. And
As I was looking in that and looking at all these masks, I found myself really, instead of being frightened, I went, Wow, these are amazing, these are incredible pieces of art. And the next thought that came to me is like, this is my inner cave. Those are those were masks that I created as a child to protect myself. And I did the strangest thing, but I just called into the cave and I said, Great job.
talking to my inner child. It was pretty abstract at that point, but I was very very grounded in that experience. And and he finally came out and, you know, a little frustrated that I hadn't been frightened away like everybody else, but it really allowed me to see the reality of that, you know, and I mean I had a direct experience of it. And, you know, so the the inner cave is something, you know, at this point in my life I
I've put up party lots lights and have music and invite friends in and if they see something that needs to be cleaned up they let me know. But you know, it it's various times. I mean I I think I was in my sixties when I was going through an experience and I saw you know, I started really having like something was being released on a level that I was not n used to. And it was
watching all the f folks, guys that were killed in Vietnam that I was and you know, all my friends, you know, I'd lost several dozen friends over there. And it was an interesting, terrifying and exciting moment that continued on and on for quite a while, but it allowed me to heal, you know, it took that it took that much healing, that much preparation.
before I was really able to see my deepest scar. And that deepest scar was of course losing all those friends. And it r just became that I it just was another healing opportunity for me. And that's really what I'm grateful for is now whenever anything comes up, it's just that's great because it's another level of healing. It's another level of expansion. You know, just recently I
was getting a little frustrated with my work because I wasn't all of a sudden client you know with a client decline and and I realized, it's time for me to shift what I do and I began exploring a whole nother level that I'm ready to work on now. So in other words, wasn't the universe saying, you know, you're you're too old, you're too whatever, and you're not doing the work anymore. It says it's time for you to evolve. And that's really the journey into the inner cave is
You know that you hear people saying, Well, I don't I don't feel like I'm enough, or I'm not f fulfilling my potential or whatever they come up with. Well, you're not enough. That's the truth of it. But the r interesting and amazing and wonderful part is that that only is an indicator that it's time to go within and access more of who and what you are, so that you can be more than enough. And once you discover that, then your your life shifts to one where you're evolving all the time.
Because anytime something comes up, you just you know it's time to heal something, you heal that, that gives you access to another part of yourself, and in that that growth process you become more whole, more authentic, more capable, and life continues.
Bernie (09:43)
So the cave is is is a metaphor or allegory. And do people realize that you know as as a kid, you know, they've they experienced certain things that put them back on their feet on their heel and you know it and it's it's stuck with them. They haven't let go. So do you help get people and find that cave and you know, one way or the other and sort through it?
Is that is that like a long process? Is that something that at that stage one? And then stage two is now you work through the you work through the you know what's what's behind door number one, let's go to door number two and now start exploring what you can do. Is is that kind of the process?
Ron (10:20)
I would say that's a that's a way to look at it. Yeah. The it only takes a couple of months, it really does, to really discover and really move into that cave. And that cave, of course, is filled with all the unacknowledged emotions and fears and things that, you know, protected us as a child, but now sabotage our life. And so as we go in there and and sort through that, we become more self aware.
And we become more aware of our own emotions and we become more emotionally intelligent, which allows us to become more conscious, which allows us to really relate better with others. And that's really where the leadership work that I do comes in. Because as those leaders become more conscious, they lead more consciously and they create a more safe, supportive, cooperative, collaborative environment, which inevitably ends up increasing productivity and profits. So they
don't have to go into that old top down controlling model any longer. They can go into one that really allows them to integrate and connect with their family more fully, with themselves more fully, with others more fully, enhancing not only their life but their businesses.
Bernie (11:27)
It almost seems like when you talk about work culture, you know, if i i if you're in Japan, for example, they have a work culture in in North America there's a work culture. In Europe there's a different work culture. Are there any any parts of the business culture that are yeah, that's not that's not the that's the bravado, you know, like the the hoorah moment and it's like hold on here a second,
i to get success it's it's more than just that. It's one thing to have gumption, it's but another thing to have, you know, to get there. Is is there something about business culture that we are
Misreading, misunderstanding.
Ron (12:00)
You know, I would say almost, you know, at least eighty percent of the folks that come to me, they're very smart. They really are. I mean, it's a little overwhelming sometimes. But what I always find is as we dive down into where they come from and do the more foundational work, is th their being smart was a way that they got acceptance and love as a child. You know, a child wants love and acceptance more than anything else, and they'll do whatever they need to get that unconditional love. And so
if they get accolades for being smart, then they develop that one. I didn't. I I went a different way. But you know, that intelligence gets them the love and acceptance, it gets them into the right schools, it gets them into the right job. And and you know, by the time they're suc you know, they're successful, everything's feeling good, everything's way going the way they think it should go. But all of a sudden
throughout, you know, a a period, they start recognizing that even when they use the same same methodologies, same ways of thinking, same ways of being, even when they double down on the effort to in you know, instigate it, it's not working any longer. And that's to them, be honest with you, a very scary time because all of a sudden everything they've relied on isn't working as fully as it should.
To me, it's an exciting time because that means they're ready to evolve. They're ready to access more of who they are. And the truth is that that glass ceiling that they're running into, if we if we share that, is really just an indicator that they need they're ready to become more self aware. They're ready to become more emotionally intelligent, not only with themselves but with others. And that increases their
Capacity, the capability of not only taking care of themselves and relating with others, but to run a business more consciously. You know, there's, I mean, I've got books on it and I've read many books on it. There's different levels of leadership. And when you look at those, and that's what really got me into, you know, working with leaders, is you look at the different levels, and they're really just different levels of maturity. They're different levels of self-awareness, they're different levels of consciousness.
Which means consciousness just you're more aware of who who you are, what you're thinking, what you're emotionally feeling. You're just more more aware of how you're not reacting in life, you're responding in life. And so when I realized that the the really some of the top folks were really just more conscious people, I just happen to have that ability to take people into those levels of consciousness.
So that became my focus, you know, if I'm gonna create a more conscious and caring world, then what better way than to help leaders who can really have a huge impact not only in their organization but on a societal level, help them become more conscious so that they their life becomes one of ease and greater success, but also they're influencing all those folks around them. I mean, some of the people I work with have a couple thousand employees, and boy, when those employees start
feeling the the the you know r effects of their you know the CEOs or the founders you know shifts it really creates an amazing transformation throughout the organization, throughout the families of the people in that organization. You know, it's just an incredible transformation throughout.
Bernie (15:14)
You know, I've I've heard the expression iron sharpens iron. And so is this inf once you get into more consciousness around around you, awareness of what's happening around you, awareness of your you yourself, you know, the task at hand, is it more a matter of being able that if something is not going per plan, that you are more adaptable and adjust?
almost going with a flow, like you know, like a leaf in the wind, right? You know. Once it starts to fall, it just follows a pattern, right? And where the wind takes it. Is it somewhat the similar idea, although hopefully a little more a little more structure than the wind blowing the leaf around. You know, you know the the the bolt didn't go where it's supposed to go. And hmm, that's interesting. yeah and do a workaround. Is is is that being in that kind of that zone where you
crossing a path or something and you know you have to experience a ad not adverse outcome, but it's just it's not quite as as expected. Is is that part of the process too?
Ron (16:10)
Think in terms of, you know, you're trusting your mind, you're trusting your ways of being in control of your life, you're trusting all those things, and then they all of a sudden they're not working very well, as we talked about a moment ago. What what's really going on is those most of my clients are very logical left brain. They use that left brain logic that capability is creating an optimum path to get to where you want to go to.
But it leaves out the entire right brain's perspective of being more emotionally aware, being more spontaneous, being much, much bigger picture. And so initially what starts happening is they begin because as you go into that inner cave and you take care of those challenges that weren't not resolved when you were young and all the various clutter that we leave in there, as we begin to clean that up, our mind starts getting quieter.
And as our mind gets quieter, the integration of the left and right brain begins to to develop. And that then the forebrain begins to, in that quiet environment, begins to also bl blossom, I would say, because so all of a sudden you're starting to get integrated whole brain thinking. You're literally accessing levels of thinking and thought that you just didn't have access to before. Most people
One of the biggest challenges I have is getting people to breathe. I I would think that would be something we naturally do, but most people, as soon as they're uncomfortable, emotions come up, or anything that feels threatening to them, they they literally stop their breath. They stop breathing. And, you know, when I ask them about that, they go, well, that allows me to, you know, prepare myself to handle whatever's going on. In other words,
They stop breathing and shut down to be in control. Well, of course, my perspective on that is doesn't that actually put you out of control? And once they start realizing that, they realize, yeah, I don't have access to my higher levels of thinking. I'm not breathing, so I put my body in a you know signaling fight or front flight. So, you know, all of a sudden that
motivates them to breathe and open up and begin to access those higher levels of thinking. You know, that inevitably all the things, and I said this earlier, all the things that we did to protect ourselves as a child become the very things that sabotage our life as an adult. So we want to go clean those up, become more self-aware, become more conscious so that we can be a better person and see life from a place of opportunity ra and ease rather than challenge and you know
sending off the all the challenges and pain that might come. And you know, that allows us to become a more confident, authentic, whole, you know, capable human being. You know, we heal the gut and open up the heart, which opens up the mind to levels of awareness and thinking that we just didn't even know were available.
Bernie (19:00)
Earlier on in the as we're describing the overall process and it almost seems like there are two elements, knowledge and wisdom. And knowledge is one thing but wisdom is much more than that. Can you walk me around that story?
Ron (19:14)
Well, knowledge is what you know you know, and you can access that knowing and and use it. And that's great. you know, my more advanced, you know, the two month program is kind of the foundation. And then I have a nine month program that really integrates everything that they've been learning. And it's really where the you know, everybody talks about the two months because the most transformative experience of their life. Well, the nine month subtler, but it's actually where the greater transformation takes place.
Because that's when all the rewiring, neurologically rewiring of the brain is is solidified and and and really enhanced to the whole entirely new levels. And so I mean what I you know, one of my mentors, Joseph Campbell, was one of them, but Buckminster Fuller was another. And Bucky, you know, I remember on stage one day, he were about 250 business people in front of us, and he he just stopped.
You know, I was like 27, he was 87, so I was a little more, you know, socially uncomfortable with just standing on a stage in front of people. And and he was just was looking up and it's like, Well, what what are you doing here? Yeah. But that night we were sitting in front of the fire having some hot chocolate and and I asked him, big big bold move on my part to you know, well, why you know, what what was that about? And he goes, I was just accessing information.
You know, and and he really taught me how to by quieting my mind, which I was already good at, that I could rather just sit in that silence, that I could access information, whether it's a new design or a personal challenge or whatever it is, you can access an entirely different level of thinking from that quiet inward place. I call it big mind, accessing big mind. And for people to run
organizations in this ever more complex and and tumultuous world that we're in, you know, they can't, you know, in the old days you go, well, let's look back at what we did five years ago or let me get back to you in a couple of weeks or something. You I mean, we don't have time for that. We have to be present. We have to be moving forward. We have to make be decisive. And that means you really need to be able to access what I'm calling big mind, that that place where you're accessing what you're calling wisdom.
It's the best of who and what we are. And it comes out without having without any effort. You know. So it's I mean, I actually n understand now the research shows that, you know, we have the different frequencies that we are familiar with, the alpha, delta, theta, whatever the fourth one is. And anyway. usually yeah, thanks.
Usually we're accessing one of those, you know, for sleeping or meditating or efforting and trying on something. Well, when you learn to quiet your mind, because you've healed all that garbage that was keep keeping you in a noisy mind, you quiet your mind and you really focus on a specific thing that you're looking for. What they call an alpha bridge is created across all of those different frequencies. So you're really accessing the best of all those frequencies.
Simultaneously. And that's giving you levels of information, wisdom, if you will, that you wouldn't have access to otherwise. So on one level, I can talk about healing the inner child and the hero's journey and all of those things. But on another level, I'm really just talking about restructuring, rewiring neurologically the brain.
Bernie (22:27)
For our audience for the purposes of our audience, when you say rewiring, you know, if if you think of let's say you come up to your car and you've got to rewire it, that means you're pulling, you know, here's a bundle of cable on a harness. Out it goes, in goes a new harness and maybe another interface somewhere into the space. And I know you're not, you know, you're not it's not actual physically taking parts of the brain in and out, which s sounds really odd. But when you're talking about rewiring, what is if
for clarity for the audience, what do you mean by that? And I I I I I think I have an understanding of it, but I want to hear your take on it.
Ron (22:58)
Well, the neurology of the brain, which just as a side note, we also have the same neurology in our gut and in our heart, that's more recent discoveries. But th the the wiring, the neurology in our brain, is literally the wiring in our brain. If we're saying the same thing, doing the same thing, then it's that neurological path is is well established. You know, if I'm reacting to something and get angry or frightened or whatever my normal reactions are that
That's a well-established path. Well, as I start, instead of stopping breathing and not reacting, as I'm breathing and being curious, all of a sudden that path starts going, we we're doing it different now. So we start literally going down a neurological, a new neurological path or developing a new neurological path. And so, and the old path begins to weaken and
It's like, we're not using that anymore, so we'll use that for something else. And so you literally are neurologic, you know, the brain brain is very plastic and it very malleable and it changes all the time. You know, as a child, it's just you know, the the rate of that change is is incredible. But even as an adult, I mean, you know, it's it's definitely a use it or lose it situation. You know, I'm seventy-eight and
feeling like I'm as sharp as ever and other people at my age are not so much. So yeah.
Bernie (24:18)
When you're doing the rewiring, is it usually change meets with resistance because people it's it's almost like water, you know, it always it always finds the easiest path. Not and easiest is not necessarily the term wanna use, but the you know, this this is the path. If I have to change the path, that's gonna take more energy. Do you find that your clients then have to
kind of focus on it till they get that returnment happening and re engage it in a in a new way. Is there a little more energy they have to do? Is it they have to be mindful that, you know, to breathe, for example. Like you know all of a sudden I'm in the middle of a meeting and I'm going And then you know you you f you lock you lock your oxygen supply in your lungs, which is good, but it's only good for so long and then afterwards your body's gonna go, Yeah, you you you're gonna yeah. Is is is that an energy thing for them?
Ron (25:05)
For me, we we're we use our old patterns because we're used to them. They seem effortless. But as I introduce people to new patterns of of breathing and using their mind and quieting their mind, I mean a noisy mind is the mind literally uses about thirty percent of our calories. So if you've got a noisy mind, you literally are going uphill all the time. You're wearing yourself down, you're burning out, all of those, you know.
Different ways we have of talking about it. And so I think probably a trick that I've learned somewhere on along this path is I help people understand how exciting the new opportunities are in front of them and how easy they are to access those opportunities. And so that shift becomes one of rather than struggle to get rid of an old pattern, it's excitement in in establishing the new pattern. And so it really
it's pretty effortless because the old way just doesn't make sense to them anymore. The new way makes all the sense in the world and rewards them time and time again as they continue to journey down that new way.
Bernie (26:06)
Ego. How does that does that provide more resistance? Does that provide easier or is it just understanding there is an ego? And you know, almost like you if you step out of side of yourself, you know, if that's my ego, hm, okay, tr trim the sails here or or tweak it. You know, you can have imposter syndrome or you could be the other end of the spectrum where yeah, y y you're not worried about trying to do something, it just may not have the i my most ideal outcome. How do you work with ego in that whole whole scenario?
Ron (26:32)
E ego is what we develop to take care of ourselves on this planet. You know. Living and working in the world, we need an ego to take care of us. And so we have these childhood patterns that we've established that when we've communicated to our ego, this is how you know, we want you to stop breathing, we want you to protect us. We don't want to have these feelings, we don't feel safe around those people. You know, whatever those ways of protecting and and helping us get through the world.
that we've recognized work for us as a child. That's what we're using. But the ego is just a part of us that can also change. I mean, my ego's job is to make sure that I'm breathing and being curious. That's its only job. And it does it really well. You know, it's it's not about defending me or protecting me because it realizes that just puts me out of control.
It wants the best for me, so it puts me in control by breathing and being aware and able to access the higher levels of thinking. You know, I there's an old Indian story about the king and queen who need to go out and tour their territory and their kingdom, and they put the seamstress who they trust in charge. And of course, the seamstress isn't a leader, and so she starts the only way she can control things is by controlling and shutting things down and making rules and
You know, very fear-based leadership. And you know, so when they finally do come back, you know, she doesn't even want to let them in the kingdom because then things will change and things won't be safe. And so that's kind of that seamstress is your ego. You know, you you it it's just not meant to be in control of your life. It's it's just some it yes, it's a valuable part of you, but you need to determine what
your ego's job is so that it's supportive of your higher vision for who you are and what you're here to do.
Bernie (28:20)
If you had advice to to somebody out in in the in the audience, what's the one daily practice that can h help them stay grounded? Dealing with the ego, getting that breathing cycle going, what daily practice would you recommend someone do?
Ron (28:33)
Breathe. Literally. Yeah.
Bernie (28:35)
I thought it would be telling jokes, man, and just get some good laughs going. Positive jokes. obviously not derisive, but you know, positive ones.
Ron (28:42)
Why not just sit and and for ten minutes and breathe in and breathe out? And you might say, breathing in, breathing out inwardly as you're breathing. You might breathe in to the count of four and breathe out to the count of ten. Hold out to the count of ten, breathe in to the count of ten, hold to the count of ten, breathe out to the count of ten. There's just all sorts of
breathing styles that allow you, you know, we can't quiet the mind, if you tell it to quiet down, it'll just be trying and efforting. So it's kind of a not not going to get any results. But if you give the mind something to do, and then it'll thrive. You know, look at this, watch this, breathe, pay attention to this. What happens then is the mind is quiet enough to allow the development of all of who and what you are.
You begin to see your highest aspiration, your compass heading in life. You begin to see opportunity where you only saw challenge and difficulty before. You know, the quieter the mind, the more you are in control of your life. The more in control of your life, the more rewarding, enjoyable, and exciting your life becomes.
Bernie (29:52)
Give me your experience of leaders you've engaged with, what's the one question they never want to ask themselves?
Ron (29:58)
What's the one question nobody asks themselves? It's hard.
Bernie (30:01)
Or they don't want to ask themselves.
Ron (30:02)
Why am I so afraid?
Bernie (30:04)
Hence the
Ron (30:04)
Yeah.
I mean, I I'm watching, you know, I watch people and they're just they're coming from a contracted, frightened, over controlling place. And I understand why. You know, if all of a sudden I lost my ability to breathe and and have have higher level thinking, that would be a pretty scary place for me. Really would. And that's where a lot of people are living.
They don't need to. It doesn't take much to shift that. But now imagine you're running a c a c corporation or a company and you have all these people with all their challenges. And you know, you find yourself just being reactive rather than responsive because you're not in control of yourself even though you're trying to be. That's a scary place.
Bernie (30:44)
You find some people are kind of hesitant when you say philosophical approach, like even even excuse me, even when you're talking about Eastern philosophy meditation. Well, it doesn't have to be Eastern. You can get that in Europe too, because you know, monks were out there meditating and making wine apparently, and other things. But do you you find that you get a little bit of resistance at the beginning till they understand that, you know, listen, if you're if you're
If you're breathing, your body's relaxing and you you find that it takes a little bit of a challenge or is it usually most people accept it and go with it and just didn't realize the door was there to open.
Ron (31:19)
Well, you have to you have to open that cave door and and get out all the clutter out of there. You know, it's like a it's like a hoarder. They collect all these things and their house is so filled that they can hardly move from one room to another. But the truth is those things feel like they protect them. You know, I'm I had a associate who worked with hoarders and she was telling me how, you know, to get them to throw out anything, you know, a piece of paper or
you know, one one of three hundred t shirts or whatever it is they collect, you know, is very, very difficult, you know. The hoarder resists and fights and you know, but once they throw out one thing, then you help them process out and let go of another and then another. And then pretty soon, you know, she gets to a point where they're willing to let go. Then she brings in her team, they bring in a dumpster and they start taking everything out. And so and that's really
very similar to what what I see the experience here is. Initially pretty scary, but very quickly it becomes exciting. It can becomes exciting because you start seeing what's holding you back, seeing where the real challenges are, the they're within you. And that gives you control over them. You know, it's like, I can do something about that. I can't do anything with these outer things.
And all of a sudden you start beginning to recognize what your highest intention is, and you know where you want to go in your life. You start recognizing you have access to much more than you ever knew you were aware of or could think about. And so life becomes pretty exciting. And that's what draws them forward into wanting more. You know, the initial two-month thing is just really the foundation of the structure that we're going to build to, you know, to support them throughout their life and supporting others around them.
Bernie (33:00)
Ron, if someone's listening to this show, what would be the hey, I gotta get a hold of Ron trigger? You know, w what what would they be seeing in their life? You know, they're sitting on their throne, so to speak, furtively, and you know, and they're looking around going, you know what, something it's something's off. Obviously they have to recognize something's off, otherwise they'll they'll carry on and not stop. But what are the what are the flags that they should be looking for?
Ron (33:23)
Your relationship with yourself is mirrored in your relationship with others. So if you're feeling disconnected or if you are disconnected within yourself, you're going to see that mirrored in your relationship with others. You're not going to have, you know, even in your personal relationships with your with your spouse, with your kids, you're not going to have that relationship that you'd truly like to have. You know, you're leading from a place of more authoritative control rather than cooperation and collaboration.
There's all sorts of indicators if somebody's willing to look at it. You're not breathing. And it it gets exhausting. You know, you're try you're trying and efforting and pushing and forcing. You know, you're feeling overwhelmed. You're feeling burned out. and other people are being burned out by you, by you know, most so many leaders just lead with their ego. You know, they slosh all of their garbage out.
onto everybody they work with, and that's exhausting to a lot of people. So you start losing the best people in your organization. So there's lots of indicators throughout your life that you could be doing doing more. You could be more. And you know, I mean why in the world people can't find the courage to fall in love with themselves? Why in the world people can't find the courage to recognize what their highest aspiration in their life is so that they
Their life has meaning and purpose and direction. You know, why in the world people don't want to continue to evolve and want to get stuck in some limiting comfort zone that literally ends up killing them? Doesn't make any sense to me.
Bernie (34:51)
Ron, if someone wants to get a hold of you, say, listen, I I need to breathe. I need my eagle to park itself a little bit more or reshape itself, how do they get find you?
Ron (35:01)
I would just go to my website, it's Ron Stotts S T O T T S dot com. And you know, there's material they can download for free that you know, will help them begin that inner journey. There's certainly lots of information so that they can understand it more fully. And you know, they can recomm read about the programs and see what's a fit for them. And then when they're ready, they can get on a discovery call with me and I'll kind of take them into a
place where they get to see exactly what they're up against and what they need to do so that they can create the life they're they're d worthy of creating.
Bernie (35:35)
Your client base right now, is it just centric to the continental US? Is it North America? Is it global?
Ron (35:42)
Well, I have hello coming from California today. I have a another guy coming from Australia on Monday and Tuesday.
Bernie (35:50)
It's a perfect one. it's far reaching. Ron, I want to say thank you so much for being a guest today. This is really awesome. I really appreciate it. I've learned more myself. Ron helps you. And Ron looks you know, helps you l it's more than just looking successful on the outside, it's about being aligned on the inside.
You need to reconnect with that purpose, clarity. And if you're not breathing, of course, then you know Ron can help kind of, you know, figure that that that process out and get the medication piece. Because, you know, that's kind of the goal.