Healthy Mind, Healthy Life

There is a quiet myth in startup culture: that building something big requires sacrificing your body, your relationships, and your inner life. But what if the most durable companies are built by people who know how to take care of themselves before the pressure hits?

Host Yusuf sits down with Mike LeBlanc, a decorated Marine Corps officer, Harvard Business School graduate, co-founder of Cobalt Robotics and Foundation Future Industries, and author of the upcoming book What If Anger is the Answer? Mike brings a grounded, honest perspective on what it really takes to build under pressure, why rigidity breaks companies, and why the first system any company runs on is the founder's own health and mindset.

About the Guest:

Mike LeBlanc is a former Marine Corps major who completed three tours to the Middle East, served as an economic and technology advisor to the Pentagon, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He co-founded Cobalt Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup backed by Sequoia, Founders Fund, and Coatue, which raised over $120 million and was acquired in 2024. He is now co-founder of Foundation Future Industries, building humanoid robots for the U.S. Department of Defense. His book What If Anger is the Answer? is available for pre-order on Amazon, Target, and Barnes and Noble.

Key Takeaways:

Internal grit is the skill no one can give you. Being turned down by over a thousand investors while still raising more than $100 million requires an inner resilience that goes far deeper than strategy. The founders who survive rejection have already decided they know what they have.

Stop stretching your neck. Mike's Lamarck vs Darwin analogy is clear: most people exhaust themselves adapting to whatever environment they're in. The smarter move is to find the environment where you are already the best fit.

There are no bad genres, only bad stories. Stress, uncertainty, and hard pivots are not signs something went wrong. They are features of the startup genre. Reframing difficulty as part of the experience, not a detour from it, is what keeps founders going.

Founder burnout is often hidden resentment. When founders become controlling under pressure, what is usually underneath is not fear. It is a feeling that no one else cares the way they do. Naming that honestly is the first step to leading better.

Food, sleep, and exercise are the three easiest levers. Emotional and hierarchy pressures are hard to control. Your workout, your sleep, and what you eat are fully in your hands. When everything else feels uncertain, protect these.

The builder is the first system. Your nervous system, your sleep debt, your body all flow directly into your decisions, your culture, and your company. Taking care of yourself is not a detour from building. It is building.

Connect With Mike LeBlanc:

Book (pre-order): What If Anger is the Answer? by Mike LeBlanc

Available at: Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mike-leblanc-20783b114

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Opening: What If the Healthiest Founders Build the Strongest Companies?

[03:00] Welcome: Who Is Mike LeBlanc? (approx.)

[04:00] The One Internal Skill Every Founder Must Build: Grit After a Thousand Rejections [07:00] Lamarck vs Darwin: Stop Stretching Your Neck and Find Your Environment

[08:00] The Misconception About Building: Embrace the Genre, Not Just the Goal

[10:00] Flow, Eudaimonia, and Why Flourishing Beats Happiness as a North Star

[12:00] What Is Really Behind Founder Control and Reactivity Under Pressure

[17:00] The Practical Shift: Food, Sleep, and Exercise Are the Easy Levers [20:00] Lead Yourself First: The Builder Is the First System the Company Runs On

Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik

Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here

By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.

Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.

With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.

Contact: 💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™

📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact

🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club

📍 Based in: India & USA

🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork

🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest

📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/

 

#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #entrepreneurship #foundermentalhealth #burnoutprevention #leadyourself #innerresilience #mindsetmatters #startuplife #healthymindset #buildermentalhealth #mentalhealthpodcast #personaldevelopment #physicalhealth #flourishing #entrepreneurjourney #selfleadership

What if the parts of your story you have been hiding are the very parts that hold your healing? This episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life is a conversation about radical self-acceptance, the courage it takes to own your past, and why belonging is not a luxury but a lifeline.

Host Avik sits down with Tamara Fyke, founder of Love in a Big World, multimedia artist, educator, and community builder, to explore what it really means to move from feeling lost to feeling beloved. Through her own journey of divorce, single motherhood, adoption, and an art show that became a declaration of wholeness, Tamara offers something rare: an honest, grounded invitation to stop running from your story and start living from it.

About the Guest:

Tamara Fyke is a creator, educator, artist, and the founder of Love in a Big World, a social-emotional learning organization she has led for over 30 years. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, she holds a Master's in Education from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. A multimedia artist who sings, writes, and paints, Tamara uses creative expression as a tool for personal healing and community connection. She also operates a personal creative platform called Tamara Creates.

Key Takeaways:

Owning your story is not the same as being defined by it. It means accepting that your hardships and difficult chapters are not separate from who you are; they are what shaped you. Trying to erase them is a form of self-rejection.

Healing does not mean moving on. It means radical acceptance: the willingness to say this happened, it mattered, and I am still here. That shift from "I survived it" to "it is part of me" is where real freedom begins.

Vulnerability is not weakness. It is permission. When Tamara shared her story through art, strangers saw themselves in it. The more honest we are about our own journey, the more we give others courage to be honest about theirs.

Isolation and shame are a dangerous pair. The more we withdraw, the louder shame speaks. Community, even one safe person, breaks the cycle. We were not built to heal alone.

Being seen matters more than we admit. A 10-year-old child remembered one thing about Tamara: she always called him by name. That simple act of recognition tells another human they are valued. It costs nothing and changes everything.

Practical tools for returning to yourself: daily journaling without censorship, a gratitude practice, and intentional body care such as walking, yoga, or breathwork. Not quick fixes. Honest daily commitments to coming back to yourself.

Connect With Tamara:

Love in a Big World: www.loveinabigworld.com

Tamara Creates: www.tamaracreates.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tamara-fyke-47816823

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Opening: There Is a Version of Us That Once Felt Lost

[06:00] Lost Girl No More: How an Art Show Became a Declaration

[11:00] What Happens When We Try to Bypass Our Story

[12:00] Radical Acceptance and the Shift from Broken to Beloved

[15:00] Why Belonging Is Central to Mental Health

[18:00] What Being Seen Without Judgment Actually Does to a Person

[21:00] Practical First Steps Toward Wholeness: Journaling, Gratitude, Body Care

[23:00] The Bravest Step: Telling the Truth to Safe People

 

Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik

Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here

By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.

Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.

With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.

Contact: 💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™

📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact

🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club

📍 Based in: India & USA

🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork

🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest

📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/

 

#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #healingjourney #radicalacceptance #selfacceptance #ownyourstory #mentalhealthpodcast #belonging #communityhealing #emotionalwellness #vulnerabilityisstrength #innerhealing #lostgirlnomore #arttherapy #mindbodyspirit #selflove #wellnesspodcast

What if spirituality was never meant to take you away from the dishes, the deadlines, and the hard moments? What if it was meant to meet you right there? This episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life strips away the performance of spiritual life and gets to something far more honest: the inner work that actually changes who you are.

Host Yusuf sits down with Misun Oh, educator, spiritual life coach, and founder of Sedona Codes, to explore why decades of meditation, retreats, and spiritual tools can still leave us reacting the same old way. Misun shares the raw moment she yelled at her then 3-year-old son, looked into his eyes, and saw her own frightened inner child looking back. That moment became a commitment that changed everything: not to fix her behavior, but to discover who she really was at the core.

About the Guest:

Misun Oh is a spiritual life coach and educator with nearly two decades of experience in educational leadership and over 15 years of deep spiritual and emotional healing work. Based in Sedona, Arizona, she is the founder of Sedona Codes, where she guides mothers through The Reparenting Journey and Generational Shift: helping parents break the cycles they grew up with and raise their children from wholeness rather than unhealed pain. She offers a free gift and a pre-session consultation called Miracle Happens When You Talk at her website.

Key Takeaways:

Spiritual tools are genuinely valuable, but they cannot substitute for the deeper question: who do I actually need to be? Identity-level change is what breaks old patterns at the root, not just in the moment.

Our children often become the mirror we have been avoiding. When Misun looked into her son's eyes after yelling at him, she did not see a misbehaving child. She saw the fear she had carried from her own childhood. The pattern was hers, not his.

Real transformation begins with a sincere inner commitment, not a polished plan. Misun did not know how she would change. She only knew she refused to pass the wound on. That unscripted commitment set a three-year journey in motion.

Surrender is not giving up. At her lowest point, when every strategy had failed, Misun reached complete surrender: the willingness to live with pain rather than fight it. That opened her to a moment of profound clarity about her true identity.

You are not what your mind tells you. Much of our suffering comes from believing the stories our minds construct about who we are. Misun's turning point was recognizing that the version of herself she had believed in was simply not the truth.

One person who sees your greatness can change your life. Her closing message: find just one person who can hold a clear vision of your potential when you cannot see it yourself. That kind of witness is one of the most powerful healing forces there is.

Connect With Misun Oh:

Website

Free gift and pre-session consultation

Instagram: @coach_misun

Facebook: Misun Oh

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Opening: What If Spirituality Is Not an Escape, But the Way You Meet Life?

[03:30] Welcome: Who Is Misun Oh and What Does Spiritual Mean in Daily Life? (approx.) [05:00] A Decade of Spiritual Work That Still Left Her Reacting the Same Way (approx.)

[07:00] The Moment in the Car: Yelling at Her Son and Seeing Her Own Inner Child [09:30] The Commitment That Changed Everything: I Refuse to Pass This On (approx.)

[11:00] Three Years of Life Upside Down: What Deep Commitment Really Costs (approx.) [12:00] Complete Surrender and the Experience of Coming into the Light

[14:00] Identity Shift: From Who I Was Told I Am to Who I Actually Am

 

Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik

Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here

By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.

Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.

With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.

Contact: 💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™

📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact

🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club

📍 Based in: India & USA

🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork

🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest

📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/

#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #spiritualhealing #innerchild #generationaltrauma #breakthecycle #mindfulparenting #spiritualgrowthdaily #identityshift #consciousparenting #selfdiscovery #mentalhealthpodcast #innerwork #radicalacceptance #healingjourney #mindfulnessineverydaylife #reparenting

What if the boy who "never cried" wasn't strong? What if he was just trained not to? This episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life explores one of the quietest crises in mental health today: the emotional shutdown of boys, and how it follows them all the way into manhood.

Host Avik sits down with Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst, a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience, to unpack the science and the story. Together they walk through why boys are born with a broader emotional range than girls, how early micro-reactions from caregivers begin narrowing that range in infancy, and what men living in that emotional desert can start doing today to find their way back.

 

About the Guest:

Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst is a licensed psychologist based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with over 30 years of clinical experience working with preschoolers through adults. She has dedicated much of her career to understanding how culture restricts the emotional development of boys and men, often leaving them disconnected from the feelings that build healthy relationships. She is the author of Read, Reflect, Respond: The 3 Rs of Growth and Change, a Bronze Medal winner at the Global Book Awards.

 

Key Takeaways:

Boys are born with a broader emotional range than girls, but culture begins narrowing that range as early as infancy, through subtle micro-reactions from caregivers that teach boys which feelings are "safe" to express.

What gets labeled as misbehavior in boys, restlessness, aggression, acting out, is often misunderstood emotion that has nowhere healthy to go. Recognizing this early changes how we respond to boys in pain.

The "emotional desert" many men live in is not a personality trait. It is a learned survival strategy. The feelings are not gone; they are buried, and with the right support, accessible again.

Women often say they want emotionally open men, but research and clinical experience show that many women have also been conditioned not to receive male emotion. Both sides need education and practice.

Building a feeling vocabulary is one of the most practical first steps for emotional recovery. Dr. Vanderhorst offers a free downloadable feelings sheet on her website that parents can print, post in the home, and use with children and themselves.

Men struggling to name what they feel are not broken. They are normal. The path back begins with curiosity, not pressure. A journal, a feelings sheet, or a trusted therapist can all be gentle entry points.

Connect With the Guest

Website: https://www.drvanderhorst.com/ 

Book: Read, Reflect, Respond: The 3 Rs of Growth and Change (available on Amazon)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloria-vanderhorst-ph-d-730826b/

Facebook: facebook.com/drvanderhorst

Free feelings sheet: Available to download at www.drvanderhorst.com

 

Episode Chapters

[00:00] Opening: What Does a Boy Learn When Tears Are Weakness?

[10:30] How Infant Brains Learn to Suppress Emotion (approx.)

[17:00] When Misbehavior is Misunderstood Emotion (approx.)

[21:00] The Misconception That Boys Are Less Emotional

[28:00] The Emotional Desert: How Culture Creates It (approx.)

[33:00] What Parents Can Do Right Now: Building a Feeling Vocabulary

[35:00] Where to Begin If You Are Living in That Desert

 

Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik

Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here

By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.

Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.

With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.

Contact: 💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™

📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact

🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club

📍 Based in: India & USA

🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork

🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest

📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/

#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #boysmentalhealth #emotionaldevelopment #mentalhealth #masculinity #emotionalintelligence #parentingboys #raisingboys #menshealthmatters #mentalhealthpodcast #healingjourney #emotionalhealing #selfawareness #mentalwellness #breakthecycle #wellnesspodcast

Most leaders are taught to trust data, follow projections, and push harder when results stall. But what if the real reason growth feels forced has nothing to do with strategy at all? What if the block is energetic, not operational?

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Avik sits down with Carrie Cardozo, master psychic, business strategist, and healer, to explore how intuitive intelligence and energetic alignment shape the way high-level leaders make decisions, scale sustainably, and step fully into their CEO identity. If you've ever felt stuck despite doing everything right, this conversation might reveal what the numbers never could.

About the Guest:

Carrie Cardozo is a master psychic, business strategist, mentor, author, and creator of one of the largest psychic development communities in the world. She works with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and high-level leaders to integrate intuitive intelligence into business strategy, helping them scale sustainably while leading with clarity and integrity.

Key Takeaways:

True intuition feels like a quiet, peaceful knowing. It lives in the middle, not in fear and not in excitement. Learning to tell the difference between emotional impulse and genuine intuitive clarity is one of the most important skills a leader can develop.

Energetic leaks in business are real and costly. Misaligned offers, employees in the wrong roles, and leaders who operate from exhaustion rather than alignment all drain the energy that fuels growth and sustainable success.

The top performers quietly use energetic awareness and intuitive intelligence to sense shifts in the market before the data confirms them. It's not mystical. It's a sixth sense that can be developed and applied practically.

When a leader is not fully embodying their CEO energy, other people can feel it. Deals take longer, conflicts arise, and growth stalls. Clearing that misalignment can produce immediate, tangible shifts in business outcomes.

The body holds what the mind hasn't processed. Physical tension, recurring pain, or chronic fatigue can be the first signal that something energetically hasn't been addressed. Tuning in to that is not weakness. It's leadership wisdom.

The single most powerful question for any stuck leader is: what am I truly afraid of? Sitting with that honestly, without performance or pressure, is where real shifts begin.

Connect With Carrie Cardozo:

Website: https://carriecardozo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriecardozo/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-cardozo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carrie.d.cardozo

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/carriecardozo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carriecardozo

 

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] The Question Behind the Strategy: What if the real leadership edge is internal?

[04:39] Carrie's Story: From running a $16M company to discovering her psychic gifts in the boardroom

[08:25] What Leaders Get Wrong About Intuition: The gap between emotion and true intuitive clarity

[12:31] Reading the Energetics: How psychic intelligence spots business trends before the data does

[17:25] Energetic Leaks and CEO Identity: Why some leaders work hard but stay stuck

[21:07] The Shift That Changes Everything: Aligning with your true leadership energy

[24:35] The Inner Question: What to ask yourself when you've done everything right and still feel blocked

Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik

Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here

By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.

Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.

With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.

Contact: 💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™

📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact

🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club

📍 Based in: India & USA

🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork

🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest

📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/

#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #intuitiveledaership #psychicbusiness #energeticAlignment #ceomindset #businessintuition #consciousleadership #innerwisdom #leadershipmindset #mentalwellness #selfhonesty #healthymindlife #entrepreneurmindset #alignedgrowth #soulguidance