Ace Your Day with Shawn Kunkler

A Zen Mind | Interview with Jo Rose

In a Mindful CEO live event, Aaron interviews Jo Rose, founder and host of the Spotify Zen meditation podcast “A Zen Mind Guided Meditations” and CEO of Ascension Global Enterprise, a wellness media company focused on guided meditation, nervous system regulation, and neuroscience education. Jo shares how meditation helped her recover from PNES and severe night terrors during college, how she created five meditations in 2020, and how she revived the project in May 2023 while working in New York, growing from about 40,000 listeners to nearly 25 million with 1.2 million downloads per month. They discuss “McMindfulness,” arguing mindfulness is a way of being rather than a corporate productivity tool, and emphasize attention agency, presence in daily activities, and asking “why” to interrupt automatic habits like doomscrolling.

Aligned Action from Your “Encodings”

SHOW NOTES Most business advice starts with what you should do. This conversation starts somewhere different. Chris and Aaron explore the idea of "encodings," the natural abilities, interests, and patterns that seem to come preloaded into each of us. Drawing on insights from Jim Collins and their own entrepreneurial journeys, they unpack why so many leaders burn themselves out trying to follow someone else's playbook. The deeper question isn't whether action matters. It does. The question is whether your actions are aligned with how you're actually wired. If you've ever felt successful on paper but disconnected from the work itself, this episode offers a different lens for creating momentum, fulfillment, and results. Learn more about How to Live a Grateful Life in a Fucked Up World → https://thegratefulbreath.com [https://thegratefulbreath.com]  Learn more about From Hustle to Flow: Sell more by stressing less → https://www.therealtorsedge.com [https://www.therealtorsedge.com]  Find Aaron’s course on Stan.store here: → https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge [https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge] EPISODE OUTLINE 1. THE MANIFESTING VS. ACTION DEBATE Why action still matters, and why the real conversation lives somewhere deeper. 2. JIM COLLINS AND THE IDEA OF ENCODINGS The difference between learned competence and natural wiring. 3. THE TRAP OF BORROWED PLAYBOOKS How professionals adopt industry norms without considering their own strengths. 4. LOOKING BACK INSTEAD OF LOOKING FORWARD Why clues to your calling are usually found in your history, not your imagination. 5. FORCED ACTION VS. ALIGNED ACTION The energy difference between doing what works and doing what fits. 6. AARON'S PATTERN OF REINVENTION The relationship between passion, longevity, and sustainable effort. 7. DESIGNING A BUSINESS AROUND YOUR WIRING What happens when you build around your natural gifts instead of your weaknesses. 8. THE INFINITE GAME OF MEANINGFUL WORK Why fulfillment often comes from expressing who you already are.

The Hidden Advantage of Curiosity

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY What if curiosity is more than a personality trait? What if it’s one of the most practical business advantages a leader can cultivate? In this episode, Chris and Aaron explore the relationship between curiosity, growth, identity, health, leadership, and meaningful work. The conversation moves far beyond productivity hacks and into the deeper question many founders quietly wrestle with: how do you keep growing without becoming numb, rigid, or disconnected from yourself? Through stories, humor, frustration, and reflection, they unpack how curiosity creates movement where shame, certainty, and burnout tend to create stagnation. This is a conversation for thoughtful business owners who want sustainable growth without losing their humanity in the process.   Learn more about How to Live a Grateful Life in a Fucked Up World → https://thegratefulbreath.com [https://thegratefulbreath.com]  Learn more about From Hustle to Flow: Sell more by stressing less → https://www.therealtorsedge.com [https://www.therealtorsedge.com]  Find Aaron’s course on Stan.store here: → https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge [https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge]   EPISODE OUTLINE 1. THE HEALTH JOURNEY OPENER Chris and Aaron joke about weight loss, discipline, and the emotional tension around personal change. 2. WHY RESULTS ALONE EVENTUALLY STOP MOTIVATING US The conversation explores why external goals often lose emotional pull over time. 3. CURIOSITY AS AN INFINITE GAME Aaron and Chris unpack curiosity as a sustainable fuel source for growth and transformation. 4. THE TRAP OF HUSTLE CULTURE CERTAINTY How rigid identity, overconfidence, and performative productivity disconnect leaders from real learning. 5. CURIOSITY CREATES PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY The hosts discuss how curiosity softens defensiveness and opens space for evolution. 6. BUILDING BUSINESSES AROUND EXPLORATION A deeper conversation about creating businesses, communities, and cultures that reward discovery instead of exhaustion. 7. FUTURE PULL VS SHAME PUSH The distinction between being pulled toward possibility versus pushed by fear, guilt, or inadequacy. 8. LEADERSHIP THROUGH OPENNESS Why the best leaders often ask better questions instead of pretending to already have all the answers.

Ace Your Day with Shawn Kunkler

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY What happens when successful people realize the game they’ve been playing is exhausting them? In this conversation, Chris Angell, Aaron Hendon, and Shawn Kunkler explore the tension between achievement and presence, especially inside industries obsessed with production, image, and constant striving. They unpack what mindful leadership actually looks like in the real world, why so many professionals feel disconnected despite outward success, and how authentic conversations can create a different way of working and living. This episode is less about tactics and more about reclaiming humanity in a culture that rewards performance over connection. Learn more about Shawn Kunkler and Ace Your Day: homewardassociates.com [http://homewardassociates.com]  shawnkunkler.com [http://shawnkunkler.com] fifteenminutemomentum.com [http://fifteenminutemomentum.com]  Learn more about How to Live a Grateful Life in a Fucked Up World → https://thegratefulbreath.com [https://thegratefulbreath.com]  Learn more about From Hustle to Flow: Sell more by stressing less → https://www.therealtorsedge.com [https://www.therealtorsedge.com]  Find Aaron’s course on Stan.store here: → https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge [https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge] EPISODE OUTLINE 1. Opening reflections on mindfulness and “one moment at a time” 2. Why The Mindful CEO started as a reaction to hustle culture 3. Shawn Kunkler’s journey and the origins of Realtor180 4. The emotional cost of production first business culture 5. Real estate, identity, ego, and the pressure to perform 6. What authentic leadership and human connection actually require 7. Creating meaningful conversations instead of transactional networking 8. Redefining success through presence, purpose, and alignment

I don't want to work that hard (and other confessions)

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY What happens when the goals you’ve been chasing stop feeling meaningful? In this candid conversation, Chris and Aaron unpack the tension many thoughtful entrepreneurs feel between wanting growth and refusing to sacrifice themselves to hustle culture. They explore why traditional motivation eventually breaks down, how shallow goals quietly drain energy, and what it looks like to build a future that genuinely pulls you forward. This episode is less about productivity and more about the deeper question underneath it all: what kind of life is actually worth organizing yourself around?   Learn more about How to Live a Grateful Life in a Fucked Up World → https://thegratefulbreath.com [https://thegratefulbreath.com]  Learn more about From Hustle to Flow: Sell more by stressing less → https://www.therealtorsedge.com [https://www.therealtorsedge.com]  Find Aaron’s course on Stan.store here: → https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge [https://www.stan.store/realtorsedge] EPISODE OUTLINE 1. Confessions, vulnerability, and why transparency matters 2. The hidden exhaustion underneath self improvement culture 3. Why external goals stop motivating thoughtful people 4. The difference between pressure and future pull 5. Business purpose versus personal purpose 6. The problem with shallow definitions of success 7. Aligned action versus alpha grind culture 8. Creating an infinite game worth becoming for