Most people don’t avoid change because they’re afraid of action.They avoid it because they’re afraid of the questions.

The ones that surface late at night.The ones you don’t ask at work.The ones you don’t bring home.The ones that quietly shape your future whether you acknowledge them or not.

This week’s episode of the Normal 40 Podcast is different by design.

It’s a live Q&A recorded inside The Speakeasy — a private, unlisted LinkedIn community where high performers show up to ask the questions they can’t safely ask anywhere else.

What emerged wasn’t advice.It wasn’t a plan.It was a pattern.

Every question landed in one of four buckets we all face eventually:1. Purpose.2. Risk.3. Relationships.4. Legacy.

Questions like:

* “I like my job… but I know I’m capable of more. Now what?”

* “How do I speak up when honesty feels professionally dangerous?”

* “I’m successful on paper. Why doesn’t it feel like my best work?”

* “How do I finish well?”

This episode isn’t about quitting your job.It’s about finding your voice before you need to.

We talk about why most “risk” is really just uncertainty, how clarity actually forms (hint: not through thinking harder), and why community is a must-have if you want your next chapter to work.

If you feel like you’re standing at a line you can see, and feel, but haven’t crossed yet, this conversation will land.

🎧 Listen to Episode #80:The Questions That Change Everything: Purpose, Risk, Relationships, and Legacy[Podcast link]

And if you want access to the room where these conversations happen live:

👉 Join The Speakeasy here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12553961/

Your life can look very different in a year.But only if you start.

—Lon

The first time Keith Pochick joined this podcast, he had just walked away from medicine and into a classroom full of eighth graders. His story hit home because it was raw; a man in mid-leap, hoping he wasn’t crazy for wanting a simpler, more joyful, more human life.

Two years later, Keith sits down with Lon to talk about what life actually feels like on the other side of his trade. And what he describes is something most high achievers haven’t felt in years: ease, presence, and the spark he now calls the soul tickle — that unmistakable, physical sensation of doing work that touches your life at the deepest level.

Keith also shares the story behind his new book, Tickled Soul, and why he felt compelled, almost obligated, to write it. What started as a legacy gift for his children became something much bigger: a declaration of what he believes, who he is, and how he hopes others will rediscover the parts of themselves they’ve forgotten.

This episode is an honest look at what it means to start over, stay the course, and finally feel like yourself again.

What to Expect

-Why Keith walked away from medicine and why he hasn’t looked back

-What it really feels like on the other side of a big life trade

-How burnout quietly rewrites your identity

-What middle school students taught him that medical training never could

-The spiritual experience behind Tickled Soul—and the legacy it creates

-The unexpected freedom of being fully present again

Key Takeaways:

-->The Trade only looks reckless to people who’ve ignored their own restlessness.

-->Money can’t buy meaning, but presence can.

-->You don’t have to be burned out to want something better.

-->Legacy is what people will remember when your voice is no longer in the room.

-->If you want to live differently, you have to slow down long enough to feel what’s missing.

📘 About the Book: Tickled Soul

In his debut book, Keith shares a thoughtful memoir about what happens when the life you built no longer feels like the life you’re meant to keep. What begins as a quiet “what if” becomes a full‑scale reinvention—from seasoned ER physician to middle‑school science teacher.

Through stories of faith, purpose, motivation, and meaning, Keith explores the beliefs and inner philosophy that made such a radical midlife transition not only possible, but necessary.

It’s a wake‑up call for anyone sitting in the status quo, wondering if there’s more to life than the role they’ve been playing.

Order the book directly from the publisher here:

Tickled Soul (hardcover)

Tickled Soul (softcover)

What’s Next?

If you’re feeling the restlessness Keith once felt, that quiet knowing that your current life isn’t your forever life, this episode is your invitation to stop ignoring it.

If this episode speaks to you, this is an invitation to join the growing Normal 40 community to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether through a free Ramble, Lon's Insider group, or his bestselling book 'The Trade,' this episode is your call to action to start designing your next chapter.

Find it all right here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Learn more about Keith Pochick here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpochick/

Most people go into medicine to help people.But somewhere along the way, the system swallows that dream.

Long hours. Broken processes. Pressure to perform, not to care.

But not Chris Cannell.

Chris is a PA, endurance athlete, husband, father of three, and president of a national nonprofit in legal medicine. But more than that, he’s a man who kept chasing the spark that started it all: a sister’s cancer diagnosis, a team on the field, and a deep belief that medicine could still feel human.

In this episode, Chris joins Lon for a conversation about reinvention, restlessness, and building something better for patients, providers, and the families caught in between.

Together, they talk about what happens when you hit the ceiling of your success, when your ambition gets mislabeled as discontent, and how the right partner, the right mission, and the right moment can give you permission to lead from your gift.

This isn’t just a conversation about medicine.It’s about meaning.It’s about movement.And it’s about creating the future you’ve been quietly craving.

What to Expect:

--How a childhood cancer diagnosis shaped Chris’s calling

--What football, medicine, and leadership taught him about purpose

--The role his wife Stacy played in giving him permission to change

--What most high-performers get wrong about reinvention

--Why he’s creating a new model for healthcare through community

--What it really means to be great at something—and why most people won’t say it out loud

Key Takeaways:

-> Restlessness isn’t a flaw, it’s a clue.

-->Permission doesn’t mean control.

-->If you want to build something that lasts, build it with people who care.

-->You don’t have to know how it ends. You just have to know what matters now.

-->Your best work is still in front of you, if you’re willing to believe it.

About Chris Cannell

Dr. Chris Cannell is a doctoral-trained Physician Associate with 22+ years of clinical experience in emergency medicine, orthopedics, critical care, and internal medicine. But what makes Chris stand out isn’t just his credentials, it’s his mission.

He’s a nationally recognized voice on healthcare quality, patient safety, and medical risk, and a powerful advocate for restoring purpose and humanity to the people who deliver care.

Chris has led clinical teams, shaped national policy conversations, and built bridges between medicine, law, and education. He serves as the President of PAs in Legal Medicine, sits on multiple boards, teaches across leading PA programs, and works as a respected consultant in medical-legal risk, healthcare innovation, and clinician leadership.

But beyond the titles, Chris is a builder of people. A connector. A father. A runner. A relentless advocate for the providers who’ve given everything to healthcare and are ready to build something better.

Dr. Chris has an upcoming masterclass training as a medical legal, educational, and healthcare consultant. More details here: https://www.theapcconsultant.com/healthcare-disruptors

You can connect with Chris here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-apc-consultant/

What's NextIf you’ve ever wanted to try something different—but talked yourself out of it—this is your sign to explore the path you haven’t yet taken.

If this episode speaks to you, this is an invitation to join the growing Normal 40 community to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether through a free Ramble, Lon's Insider group, or his bestselling book 'The Trade,' this episode is your call to action to start designing your next chapter.

Find it all right here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein