Curiosity Class

The Diagnosis That Built an Empire w/ Rich Fettke (Ep #50)

A deficiency report told Rich Fettke he "lacks what it takes to succeed." An oncologist told him he had about six months to live. Both were wrong - and the second one accidentally launched an 88,000-member real estate investing company. Rich Fettke is the co-founder of Real Wealth, bestselling author of The Wise Investor, master certified coach, and a guy who went from special education classes to a book deal with Simon & Schuster. He's helped investors acquire nearly 8,000 rental properties - and it all started with a misdiagnosis and his wife's pivot to a radio show about wealth. What you'll take away: * Why the worst news of Rich's life became the best thing that ever happened to his family's finances - and how Kathy Fettke turned a cancer scare into the first real estate podcast on iTunes * The "future self" visualization Rich has used with hundreds of coaching clients (and now built as an AI) - and why Jeff cried doing it the morning of this recording * LUFU: the four-letter relationship framework that transformed how Rich communicates with his wife, his kids, and his clients - and why most men get it backwards. Links mentioned: * Rich's Future Self guided audio (free): realwealth.com/grow [https://realwealth.com/grow/] * The Wise Investor [https://www.amazon.com/Wise-Investor-Parable-Creating-Financial/dp/B0B2C89YQ1/ref=sr_1_2?crid=VN4TQVKTKS53&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.owSuvDldEbm1W1vykygJAJHgfDmromRDJSU3CF-jUaHtS5LfJHUOYygGdOuIYpStc3Lre3pCNdqGwW-tCFlfsNxJL89z5f7LzDe3U8bmBNMcFiuASLg8Zz_Dkzg-VVVn.P_FdSy9ft6ngnVtaSmaXNaqZ20eD16WXiLS0-czpL7Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=Rich+Fettke&qid=1779154736&sprefix=rich+fett%2Caps%2C232&sr=8-2] by Rich Fettke (Amazon) * Extreme Success [https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Success-Program-Succeed-Struggle/dp/0743229533/ref=sr_1_3?crid=UVVCHYJM00UP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.owSuvDldEbm1W1vykygJAJHgfDmromRDJSU3CF-jUaHtS5LfJHUOYygGdOuIYpStc3Lre3pCNdqGwW-tCFlfsNxJL89z5f7LzDe3U8bmBNMcFiuASLg8Zz_Dkzg-VVVn.P_FdSy9ft6ngnVtaSmaXNaqZ20eD16WXiLS0-czpL7Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=rich+fettke&qid=1779154992&sprefix=rich+fe%2Caps%2C237&sr=8-3] by Rich Fettke (Amazon) * Scaling Smart [https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Smart-Design-Self-Managing-Business/dp/1960178164/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UVVCHYJM00UP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.owSuvDldEbm1W1vykygJAJHgfDmromRDJSU3CF-jUaHtS5LfJHUOYygGdOuIYpStc3Lre3pCNdqGwW-tCFlfsNxJL89z5f7LzDe3U8bmBNMcFiuASLg8Zz_Dkzg-VVVn.P_FdSy9ft6ngnVtaSmaXNaqZ20eD16WXiLS0-czpL7Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=rich+fettke&qid=1779154992&sprefix=rich+fe%2Caps%2C237&sr=8-1] by Rich & Kathy Fettke (Amazon) * Brian Johnson's Philosopher's Notes [https://www.philosophersnotes.com/] * Heroic app [https://www.heroic.us/] * Getting to Zero [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306924803/?bestFormat=true&k=getting%20to%20zero&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-v2_k0_1_15_de&crid=37UBFFCC7BEM1&sprefix=getting%20to%20zero] (book on relationships) Follow Curiosity Class: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7B5EEc3jGs8t9dbDIEW8hD?si=cd742bc3dbe54afb] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-class/id1753587331] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/] Interested in sponsoring? curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

600 Nervous System Scans Later w/ Ben Lee (Ep #49)

After 600 nervous system scans on high performers and billionaires, Ben Lee discovered something unsettling: the most successful people he tested were often the most physiologically broken - despite their saunas, peptide protocols, and breathwork routines. The one person who scanned nearly perfect? A guy who'd lost half his wealth in a divorce and stopped chasing. Ben Lee is the founder of re:center, a wellness residency in Costa Rica that started as a men's retreat, failed, and pivoted into one of the most compelling product-market-fit stories you'll hear - built around high-achieving women who were burning out and willing to do something about it. What you'll take away: * Why the most optimized people on paper (billionaires with saunas, peptides, and breathwork coaches) often have the worst nervous system scans - and what the one exception did differently * How Ben discovered his real customer wasn't men (who won't talk about wellness) but high-achieving women filling out intake forms at 10 PM on a Tuesday - and why the speed of their responses was the most important data point * What a "high-functioning rehab center" actually looks like: 7-to-21-day personalized residencies built around your cycle, your nervous system, and your actual life - not a rigid retreat that takes your phone away Links mentioned: * re:center: https://www.recenterlife.com/ [https://www.recenterlife.com/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recenterlife/ [https://www.instagram.com/recenterlife/] Follow Curiosity Class: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1 [https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1] * Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7B5EEc3jGs8t9dbDIEW8hD?si=ab1e2920dd484cb0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/7B5EEc3jGs8t9dbDIEW8hD?si=e9e754aa8e854956] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-class/id1753587331 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-class/id1753587331] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/] Interested in sponsoring? curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

Building Houses Out of Grass w/ Josh Dorfman (Ep #48)

A former Weyerhaeuser executive told Josh Dorfman his company would never matter. Now the largest homebuilder in America just ordered 10 million of his panels — made from grass, not trees. Josh Dorfman is the founder and CMO of Plantd, a building materials company using perennial grass that grows 10x faster than trees to make structural panels for homes. He's also the creator of The Lazy Environmentalist (Sirius Radio show, two books, a Sundance Channel TV series) and host of the Supercool podcast. What you'll take away: * Why the material your house is built from is literally "the most crappy thing that meets code" - and what replaces it * How a SpaceX life-support engineer, a Craigslist treadmill, and a pickle barrel became the origin story of a climate tech company * The reframe that changed Josh's entire career: selling environmental solutions by never talking about the environment 🔗 Links mentioned: * Plantd: https://plantdmaterials.com [https://www.plantdmaterials.com/] * Supercool podcast: https://getsuper.cool [https://getsuper.cool/] * Book: Codename Helene (historical fiction / leadership) 📬 Follow Curiosity Class: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7B5EEc3jGs8t9dbDIEW8hD?si=2ff1b32b5d854034] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-class/id1753587331] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/] Interested in sponsoring? curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

The Trojan Horse of Self-Love w/ Justin Nault (Ep #47)

A nutritional therapist tells his clients to stand in a mirror and say "I love you" ten times. Most of them can't do it. That's when the real coaching starts - because if you can't love yourself, no macro plan or fitness routine is going to stick. Justin Nault is a certified nutritional therapist, entrepreneur, and content creator with nearly a million followers. He built his first supplement company from a baby formula he made in his kitchen for his niece who was given three years to live — after a Vanderbilt neurologist admitted he'd never thought to check the ingredients in her formula. What you'll take away: * Why "trauma-based ambition" keeps the goalpost moving no matter how much you achieve - and how to tell if yours is healthy or not * The reason 75% of the American food system qualifies as metabolic toxins, and what Justin eats instead (it's simpler than you think) * How unconditional self-love is the actual foundation of lasting health changes - and why the mirror test reveals more than any blood panel Chapters: 00:00 Cold open 00:01 Justin's background - from fat kid to body dysmorphia 03:13 Savannah - his niece's terminal diagnosis and the formula that changed everything 09:38 How Savannah is doing today 10:37 From music career to content creator 16:43 Self-love as the real foundation of health change 19:01 The mirror work exercise that breaks people 21:20 Trauma-based ambition vs. healthy ambition 26:41 Shadow work, the mirror method, and non-duality 33:00 People pleasing as anti-self-love 38:40 Energy - interpersonal and metabolic 43:22 What metabolism actually is and what Justin eats 52:21 Justin's daily routine - sunrise, 20-minute workouts 55:28 Nault Systems - Justin's AI operations company 🔗 Links mentioned: - In Search of the Perfect Human Diet (documentary) - The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk - Clovis Nutrition: clovisnutrition.com - MedChoice supplements (Amazon) - Nault Systems (AI operations) - Justin on Instagram: @justinnaultofficial 📬 Follow Curiosity Class: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1 * Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7B5EEc3jGs8t9dbDIEW8hD?si=ab1e2920dd484cb0 * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-class/id1753587331 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/ Interested in sponsoring? curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

How to Bet Against a Fraud w/ Freddy Brick (Ep #46)

Freddy Brick's job is to find the companies that are lying to investors - and then bet against them before the truth comes out. Freddy is a partner at Muddy Waters, one of the most well-known activist short-selling firms in the world. They've exposed frauds across Asia, Europe, and the US, including companies that turned out to have Russian intelligence connections. What you'll take away: * Why the companies most likely to be frauds are often #5-25 in a hot industry - and how to spot the pattern * The difference between a melting ice cube and an actual fraud, and why shorting frauds is paradoxically one of the hardest ways to make money * How Freddy went from complete AI skeptic to daily Claude user in under 3 months - and what that tells us about the next wave of white-collar disruption Books mentioned: * Fatal Risk by Roddy Boyd * The Big Short by Michael Lewis * Greatest Trade Ever by Greg Zuckman 📬 Follow Curiosity Class: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CuriosityClass1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-albaum-pe-21288b142/ Interested in sponsoring? Curiosityclasspod@gmail.com