For so many high achievers, success becomes a survival mechanism instead of real healing from trauma. In this conversation, Michael Unbroken and inner child healing expert Ingeborg Mooiweer break down why working harder, achieving more, and collecting accolades never truly resolve childhood wounds. They explore how high performance can lead to burnout, divorce, health issues, and feeling emotionally unsafe, even when life looks “successful” from the outside.

You will learn:

• Why high performance often comes from childhood survival mechanisms, not genuine safety.
• What inner child work and reparenting actually look like in real life, step by step.
• How to create an emotionally safe “container” so you can finally address the root of your trauma.
• The role of environment, relationships, and self‑talk in long‑term healing and resilience.

If you are a high performer, entrepreneur, or leader who feels stuck in the same emotional patterns no matter how successful you become, this episode will help you understand what is really driving your behavior and how to start creating change that lasts.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro: High achievers and trauma

01:00 Why success will not heal your wounds

03:15 Survival mechanisms and childhood trauma

10:00 Inner child work and reparenting explained

20:12 Balancing high performance with real healing

If you found this valuable, subscribe for more conversations on trauma healing, inner child work, and becoming unbroken, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it today.

It’s amazing what can happen when you step outside your comfort zone and answer the call of ayahuasca for deep healing and spiritual transformation. In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with ayahuasca guide and retreat leader Yasha Shah to unpack what really happens in the medicine space – beyond the hype, beyond the biohacking, and beyond the Instagram retreats.

You’ll hear Yasha’s raw story of battling depression, ADHD and desperation, trying everything from psychiatry to Reiki before finally traveling to Peru for a 21‑day immersive ayahuasca experience that changed his life – and then seemed to “stop working” when old patterns returned months later. After losing about 2.5 million dollars in the stock market and facing his own dark night of the soul, Yasha went back out into the world, spending a year in Nepal and India searching for gurus in the Himalayas, only to realize that no one else could save him – and that true healing demanded a different kind of spiritual honesty and responsibility.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What ayahuasca is and how Indigenous Amazonians discovered and combined specific plants like ayahuasca and chacruna to create the medicine, against impossible odds in a jungle of tens of thousands of species.
• How tribes in Peru and Colombia understand trauma as “soul loss” – and why they use ayahuasca not only for healing, but also for hunting, finding medicine plants, communicating with ancestors, and navigating the spiritual world, including the darker side of brujeria and energetic attacks.
• Why many Western seekers focus only on DMT, the default mode network and “inner child work,” while Indigenous healers emphasize spiritual and energetic dimensions that can’t be reduced to brain science alone.

Michael also shares his own firsthand experience drinking ayahuasca with Shipibo healers in a small group with multiple shamans and dedicated facilitators, including one night where he felt the crushing weight of every soul’s energy in the room until a shaman performed an intense energetic clearing with tobacco, blessed water and song that changed everything in an instant. As a self‑described rational, skeptical, Type‑A personality, Michael breaks down why this ceremony shattered his disbelief and opened him to a deeper understanding of plant medicine and spiritual reality.

If you’re curious about:

• Ayahuasca for depression, trauma and spiritual healing
• How to think about safety, lineage and integrity when choosing a retreat or shaman
• The real difference between quick‑fix “biohacking” and long‑term, spiritually grounded healing

…this conversation will give you grounded insight from both a skeptical entrepreneur and a student‑turned‑guide who has lived this path across Peru, Colombia, Nepal and India.

Watch until the end for practical reflections on how to approach ayahuasca responsibly, what questions to ask before you sit with any facilitator, and why some people don’t get lasting results – plus what might be missing in their healing process from a spiritual and energetic perspective.

Most people think kids who commit violent crimes are just “bad seeds” – but the truth is far more complex and rooted in childhood trauma, foster care, and survival. In this in‑depth conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with Wendy B. Smith, author of Before There Are Crimes, to explore what really leads young people into juvenile justice and adult prison.

You’ll learn how traumatic childhoods, unsafe neighborhoods, hunger, and constant exposure to violence shape a child’s brain and decision‑making long before a crime is ever committed. Wendy shares research and real stories from former juvenile offenders so you can understand the hidden factors behind youth crime, recidivism, and why punishment without healing doesn’t work.

If you work in mental health, foster care, juvenile justice – or you grew up in chaos yourself – this episode will challenge the myths about “criminal kids” and show why early support and trauma‑informed care matter.

Timestamps:

00:00 Why we misunderstand people who commit crimes

02:00 Wendy B. Smith on Before There Are Crimes

05:00 What every juvenile offender had in common in childhood

10:00 Foster care, trauma, and the path to prison

20:00 How chronic stress rewires kids’ brains

30:00 Why many youth end up in adult prison anyway

Here is a concise, SEO‑optimized YouTube description tailored to this episode and script:

If life is kicking your ass right now and you feel stuck, lost, and asking “why me,” this conversation is for you. In this episode of the Think Unbroken Podcast, Michael Unbroken sits down with author, musician, and survivor Ben Barbic to talk about his new book Rise and Climb: Finding Purpose Through Pain and the exact decisions that turned rock bottom into a life of purpose and happiness.

We dive deep into childhood trauma, losing everything overnight, panic attacks, addiction, getting arrested at 28, and the mirror‑moment that forces you to choose: stay a lifer in your old identity or become the hero of your own story. Ben shares how he used therapy, meditation, music, and “flip the switch” decisions to correct the ship one day at a time and build a life as a present father, creator, and peaceful soldier.

In this episode you will learn:

• How to know when you have truly had “enough” and are ready to change your life
• Why one decision at rock bottom can snowball into a completely different future
• Practical ways to turn anxiety, panic attacks, and darkness into fuel for growth
• How to deal with shame, imposter syndrome, and your past without letting them define you
• What it really means to find purpose through pain and raise your standards again and again

Timestamps:

00:00 Facing reality and finding purpose through pain

03:15 What to do when life is kicking your ass

07:50 Childhood chaos, anxiety, and feeling different

13:10 Rock bottom, getting arrested, and the teddy bear moment

22:30 Panic attacks, letting go, and driving to Portland for therapy

32:20 Daily habits, long‑game thinking, and building momentum

47:30 Purpose through pain and using your story to help others

50:30 What it means to be Unbroken

If you are ready to rise and climb beyond your past, this episode will give you honest, real‑world tools to make one powerful decision today and start correcting the ship.

Listen to Ben’s music: search “Ben Barbic” on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major platforms.

Get Rise and Climb: Finding Purpose Through Pain on Amazon.

More episodes and resources: search “Think Unbroken Podcast” or visit thinkunbrokenpodcast.com.

Started a brand new company on July 1st with zero clients. Three weeks later, it had booked six figures in business. In this episode, Michael Anthony breaks down the exact 4-step framework he used to land his first client from scratch — no fancy funnel, no big audience, just a simple, repeatable process anyone can follow.

If you're starting a business with no clients and no idea where to begin, this is your roadmap.

What you'll learn in this video:

Why business is simpler than you think — it's just an exchange of value

How to identify the one skill you have that people will pay top dollar for

Why you have to believe in yourself before you ever take the first step

The uncomfortable, repeated action that actually creates results

Why patience — not motivation — is what separates people who make it from people who quit

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 – What I'd do if I had zero clients today

2:06 – What I'm actually an expert at (and how to find yours)

4:25 – Step 1: Identify the skill that's worth real money

6:49 – Step 2: You have to believe before you can create

9:13 – Free resource: the 7-Figure Entrepreneur Handbook

11:36 – Step 3: Take action and get in the damn game

13:36 – Step 4: Be patient and play the long game

15:54 – Final thoughts: there is a process for this

ABOUT MICHAEL ANTHONY

Michael Anthony (Michael Unbroken) is an award-winning keynote speaker, best-selling author, and award-winning podcast host who has generated over $30 million in online sales and built multiple seven-figure companies from the ground up. He is the founder of the Unbroken Business Support Group, helping entrepreneurs and business owners simplify their message, land clients, and scale with proven systems.

GRAB THE RESOURCE

Get the 7-Figure Entrepreneur Handbook for $7 — the 10 biggest lessons learned building a seven-figure company:

https://unbrokenbsg.com/handbook

WORK WITH US

https://unbrokenbsg.com

CONNECT WITH MICHAEL

Website: https://www.michaelunbroken.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelAnthonySpeaker

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-anthony-unbroken/

If you got value from this video, subscribe and leave a review — it means the world and helps this message reach more people who need it.

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Growing up in the same home does not mean you live the same story. In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with sisters Kathleen Harnish McKune and Karen Dickerson to explore how siblings can experience the same traumatic household in completely different ways and still find a path to healing together.

They share the reality of incest, sexual abuse, violence, manipulation, and emotional neglect in their childhood, and how those experiences shaped their identities, health, and relationships well into adulthood. You will hear how one sister became the “second mother” and dissociated to survive, while the other carried a high pain tolerance, dissociated from her body, and tried to protect everyone else.

Together they break down:

• How adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the brain, body, and long‑term health
• Why emotional dysregulation, hot tempers, people pleasing, and lack of boundaries are trauma responses, not personality flaws
• The role of sibling competition, being ranked and rated, and being pitted against each other by abusive parents
• What it really looks like to reconnect as adults, repair sibling relationships, and become best friends after years of isolation and estrangement

You will also learn about the 5 Rs of resilience from their book “Remarkably Resilient Community Matters”, why understanding the neuroscience of trauma shifts the question from “What is wrong with me?” to “What happened to me?”, and how regulation practices like breathwork, somatic work, meditation, and self‑care can help widen your window of tolerance.

If you grew up in a traumatic home, have a high ACE score, struggle with anger, shutdown, anxiety, people‑pleasing, chronic illness or chaotic relationships, this episode will show you that you are not alone and that healing is a lifelong journey, not a one‑time event.

Timestamps (suggested):

00:00 Intro – Why siblings’ trauma stories matter

03:00 Kathleen’s story: abuse, escape, and years of no contact

10:00 Karen’s story: “protector child”, suicide planning, and a dog that saved her life

17:00 How their father used comparison, ranking, and isolation to control the kids

24:00 Discovering ACEs and realizing their childhood was not “normal”

28:00 The 5 Rs of resilience and why regulation comes first

33:00 Trauma responses vs personality: hot heads, people pleasers, and no boundaries

40:00 Parenting, breaking cycles, and learning regulation with the next generation

48:00 Why healing never ends and how to give yourself grace on the journey

If this conversation resonates, share it with a sibling, friend, or partner who needs to hear they are not broken and that it is never too late to choose themselves and begin healing.

In a world drowning in anxiety, overwhelm, and constant pressure, what if your “anxiety” is not anxiety at all – but an old survival pattern your nervous system learned to keep you safe ? In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with nervous system specialist and creator of the Pattern Override Method, Sophia Tortarini, to unpack how to get back to baseline, regulate your body, and finally feel safe in your own skin again.

If you have ever walked into a room, read a message, or heard a certain tone and felt your chest tighten or your stomach drop before your mind could catch up, this episode is for you. Sophia explains why that response is not weakness or “brokenness” – it is a survival pattern your body wired in the past and was never told the danger was over. She shares how most of what we call anxiety is actually this pattern, how it once saved you, and how it may now be quietly costing you your peace, your relationships, and even your career, just like it almost cost hers.

You will learn:

• Why most day‑to‑day “anxiety” is actually a survival pattern, not a real‑time threat response
• The core principles behind Sophia’s Pattern Override Method and how it works directly at the nervous system level in real time, not just by talking about your past or visualizing your future
• The 90‑second to 2‑minute chemistry window: what actually happens in your body during a fear response and how looping thoughts turn a 90‑second wave into 30 minutes of panic
• Practical tools to interrupt the pattern in the moment, calm your nervous system, and “cut off” the old neural signal over time by repeatedly sending an opposite signal
• Why “the peace is in the pause,” and how delaying big decisions, moving your body, meditating, and journaling can keep you from burning everything down when you are triggered

Timestamp highlights:

00:00 – Why we are bathed in anxiety and overwhelm today

01:00 – Sophia’s definition of survival patterns vs anxiety and the Pattern Override Method

03:00 – How patterns show up in body language, relationships, work, and daily life

04:00 – Nature, nurture, and why constant fight/flight/freeze/fawn does not have to be your baseline

15:00 – The 90‑second chemistry rule and how to stop emotional looping with real‑time pattern interrupts

17:00 – “The peace is in the pause” – how to build a regulated decision‑making practice that actually sticks

If you are an entrepreneur, leader, or high‑performer who feels constantly on edge, reactive, or stuck in the same emotional loops no matter how much mindset work you do, this episode will give you a body‑based roadmap to real change. Come learn how to override survival mode, reset your nervous system, and break the habit of being the old you – one regulated breath and one interrupted pattern at a time.

This video description is written to target searches around betrayal, breakups, “gone girl” style manipulation, male victims, and turning pain into purpose, based on the actual content of your transcript.

Imagine waking up one day and realizing the person you loved and trusted plotted behind your back to deceive you, take your money, and leave you with nothing. That is exactly what happened to Justin Smith when his partner of eight years blindsided him and tried to “gone girl” him for a big payout.

In this powerful conversation with Michael Unbroken, Justin shares how his entire reality was suddenly flipped upside down, how he lost his support system overnight, and what it really feels like to claw your way out of a deep emotional pit when it seems like everyone is cheering for you to fail. He talks about betrayal, manipulation, trauma, and the difficult decision to hold on to his values instead of playing dirty in return, even when people were using every trick against him.

If you have ever been blindsided in a relationship, gone through a high conflict breakup, or felt used for money, this story will resonate on a deep level. Justin and Michael explore how men are often silent about being victims, how the media usually only shows one side of manipulation, and why your painful experiences do not have to define who you are. Instead, how you respond to them and what you build from that pain is what truly matters.

You will hear Justin break down:

• How his partner plotted in advance to deceive and manipulate him for financial gain
• What it was like to wake up in a “MacGyver” style moment and realize his life had been rewritten overnight
• The reality of losing his support system and feeling completely alone in the aftermath
• The inner work it took to rebuild his identity, self worth, and sense of purpose after betrayal
• Why he chose to transform his pain into a mission to help other people instead of becoming bitter or vengeful

This episode is for you if you are searching for:

• “Gone girl relationship story”
• “Blindsided breakup”
• “When your partner uses you for money”
• “Male victim of manipulation”
• “Turning pain into purpose after betrayal”

Watch this full conversation to learn how to rebuild when your world falls apart, reclaim your power after someone tries to destroy your life, and use your story to help others instead of letting it destroy you.

Timestamps (approximate):

• 00:00 – The moment everything flipped upside down
• 01:19 – Why this story matters for anyone who has been through painful experiences
• 01:49 – The day Justin’s partner tried to “gone girl” him
• 02:24 – Why men rarely talk about being manipulated and used
• 03:44 – Rock bottom, loneliness, and clawing out of the pit with no rescue coming

If this conversation speaks to you, hit subscribe for more real stories about healing from trauma, rebuilding after rock bottom, and becoming unbroken.