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About the show

We’ve been taught everything except how to be human. In a world obsessed with output, Human School is where we study what happens within. Hosted by Miles Adcox, this podcast was born from a journal entry during a breakdown –– a reminder that struggle isn’t weakness; it’s instruction. Through raw conversations with world-class experts, therapists, and thinkers, Human School reframes pain as purpose, productivity as presence, and leadership as inner clarity. If you are navigating personal growth, emotional health, and self-discovery, you are in the right place. Welcome to Human School.

Newest episodes

The Cost of Helping Everyone But Yourself with Harry Hudson

1 hr 53 min

Harry Hudson beat Hodgkin lymphoma at 20, lost his dad the week before his first album, toured the world and started a charity for teens with cancer, and spent most of those years staying busy so he wouldn't have to feel.   If you're the funny one, the busy one or the one who helps everybody else, you'll hear yourself in this. Harry tells Miles about his dad, who was an addict and never missed a game, the stranger at his first chemo who changed how he lived, and the call that got him to ask for help.     YOU'LL LEARN  Why staying busy can be a way to escape Bonnie's two rules before his first chemo: put what you love ahead of the hard thing, and write your life down What to say to someone with cancer instead of "How are you feeling?" How Harry built a new relationship with his dad after he died Why asking for help is easier than the story in your head says    EPISODE CHAPTERS  00:00 Intro 06:00 A dad who was an addict and never missed a game 34:00 Why staying busy was his escape 42:00 A record offer and cancer in the same week 51:00 Bonnie's question: "Would you die for music?" 58:00 What to ask someone with cancer instead of "How are you feeling?" 01:03:00 Losing his dad the week before his first album 01:24:00 When helping others becomes a mask 01:27:00 Asking for help from rock bottom 01:39:00 Making Don't Be Precious with Dylan Pace    Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04Dr_0-0  If you're having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US).    CONNECT WITH HARRY HUDSON  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harryhudson/  Website: https://harryhudsonmusic.com  Hey, I'm Here For You: https://heyimhereforyou.org   New album Don't Be Precious, out January 2027. First single out now.      STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL  Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04Dr-9v0  Follow Human School on Instagr...

How to Be Present When Life Feels Short with Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman

1 hr 17 min

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot says songs like "Meant to Live" are a huge part of him, but never the whole story. In this conversation, he tells Miles about the rest of it.  In this episode, Jon and Miles talk about the gap between who we are in front of people and who we are at home: the parts of ourselves we keep out of view, what our kids reflect back to us, and how remembering that life is short changes what we reach for.  YOU'LL HEAR  "Part of me feels this" and the myth of the monolithic personality How we end up yelling at ourselves through our kids Why Jon “plays the music for free” and what he’s really paid for Why your worth is intrinsic, whether the applause comes from a crowd or a phoneWhat your 14-year-old self would think of you Elliott Smith by candlelight, and what a broken string makes possible EPISODE CHAPTERS  00:00 Welcome Jon Foreman  08:00 The myth of the monolithic personality  14:00 The face of the band vs. who am I  28:00 The songs were more honest than I was  32:00 Yelling at ourselves through our kids  43:00 Would your 14-year-old self like it?  48:00 We're not around death enough  1:02:00 "I play the music for free"  1:05:00 "My job is to make people clap for me"  1:14:00 If today was your last day  At Onsite, much of the work looks like what Miles and Jon describe here: meeting a younger part of yourself, before the world told it who to be. Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_nX0  CONNECT WITH JON FOREMAN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonforeman/ Website: https://jonforeman.com Switchfoot: https://switchfoot.com Forever Now is out now. The Forever Now Tour runs through November, with Europe in early 2027.   STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_Rv0 Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_XZ0 Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_JX0 Learn more about Onsi...

Ten Years of Hearing No, Then Everything Changed ft. MŌRIAH

1 hr 38 min

“Suffering is inevitable, but I think misery is pretty self-inflicted.” From the outside, MŌRIAH looks like she has it all together: Grand Ole Opry performances, a role in The Chosen, a spot in CMT’s Next Women of Country. What you don’t see is the nearly ten years she spent feeling unseen, believing that if something wasn’t hard, it didn’t count. She tells Miles what finally changed: learning the difference between suffering and misery, building her music around her Mexican heritage and her family, walking into therapy convinced it was a joke, and how she and her husband stay close while both work in film and music. YOU’LL HEAR Why ambitious people mistake difficulty for valueWhat building up resentment cost her, in time and relationshipsComing home to her culture, her family, and herselfWhy she spent her last dollar on a short filmFrom certified therapy skeptic to advocateThe one thing she does to make sure someone feels seen EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome MŌRIAH 06:00 Finding her music in her own backyard 11:00 Suffering vs. misery 23:00 Family, heritage, and the strawberry photo shoot 36:00 Her dad, and spending her last dollar on Nice Life 48:00 Being invisible, then the spotlight 1:01:00 Therapy skeptic 1:20:00 Marriage as two sovereign nations 1:29:00 New film, JIMMY, and her last word MŌRIAH showed up to Onsite a 10 out of 10 on skepticism. If that’s where you are too, Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04C8B--0 CONNECT WITH MŌRIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holamoriah/ Website: https://www.moriahofficial.com/ “Home to Me” plays over the end credits of JIMMY, in theaters November 6. STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04C8CgT0 Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04C8CXV0 Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04C8Dtf0 Learn more about Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04C8B--0

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All episodes

The Cost of Helping Everyone But Yourself with Harry Hudson

1 hr 53 min

Harry Hudson beat Hodgkin lymphoma at 20, lost his dad the week before his first album, toured the world and started a charity for teens with cancer, and spent most of those years staying busy so he wouldn't have to feel.   If you're the funny one, the busy one or the one who helps everybody else, you'll hear yourself in this. Harry tells Miles about his dad, who was an addict and never missed a game, the stranger at his first chemo who changed how he lived, and the call that got him to ask for help.     YOU'LL LEARN  Why staying busy can be a way to escape Bonnie's two rules before his first chemo: put what you love ahead of the hard thing, and write your life down What to say to someone with cancer instead of "How are you feeling?" How Harry built a new relationship with his dad after he died Why asking for help is easier than the story in your head says    EPISODE CHAPTERS  00:00 Intro 06:00 A dad who was an addict and never missed a game 34:00 Why staying busy was his escape 42:00 A record offer and cancer in the same week 51:00 Bonnie's question: "Would you die for music?" 58:00 What to ask someone with cancer instead of "How are you feeling?" 01:03:00 Losing his dad the week before his first album 01:24:00 When helping others becomes a mask 01:27:00 Asking for help from rock bottom 01:39:00 Making Don't Be Precious with Dylan Pace    Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04Dr_0-0  If you're having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US).    CONNECT WITH HARRY HUDSON  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harryhudson/  Website: https://harryhudsonmusic.com  Hey, I'm Here For You: https://heyimhereforyou.org   New album Don't Be Precious, out January 2027. First single out now.      STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL  Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04Dr-9v0  Follow Human School on Instagr...

How to Be Present When Life Feels Short with Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman

1 hr 17 min

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot says songs like "Meant to Live" are a huge part of him, but never the whole story. In this conversation, he tells Miles about the rest of it.  In this episode, Jon and Miles talk about the gap between who we are in front of people and who we are at home: the parts of ourselves we keep out of view, what our kids reflect back to us, and how remembering that life is short changes what we reach for.  YOU'LL HEAR  "Part of me feels this" and the myth of the monolithic personality How we end up yelling at ourselves through our kids Why Jon “plays the music for free” and what he’s really paid for Why your worth is intrinsic, whether the applause comes from a crowd or a phoneWhat your 14-year-old self would think of you Elliott Smith by candlelight, and what a broken string makes possible EPISODE CHAPTERS  00:00 Welcome Jon Foreman  08:00 The myth of the monolithic personality  14:00 The face of the band vs. who am I  28:00 The songs were more honest than I was  32:00 Yelling at ourselves through our kids  43:00 Would your 14-year-old self like it?  48:00 We're not around death enough  1:02:00 "I play the music for free"  1:05:00 "My job is to make people clap for me"  1:14:00 If today was your last day  At Onsite, much of the work looks like what Miles and Jon describe here: meeting a younger part of yourself, before the world told it who to be. Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_nX0  CONNECT WITH JON FOREMAN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonforeman/ Website: https://jonforeman.com Switchfoot: https://switchfoot.com Forever Now is out now. The Forever Now Tour runs through November, with Europe in early 2027.   STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_Rv0 Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_XZ0 Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04CV_JX0 Learn more about Onsi...

Ten Years of Hearing No, Then Everything Changed ft. MŌRIAH

1 hr 38 min

“Suffering is inevitable, but I think misery is pretty self-inflicted.” From the outside, MŌRIAH looks like she has it all together: Grand Ole Opry performances, a role in The Chosen, a spot in CMT’s Next Women of Country. What you don’t see is the nearly ten years she spent feeling unseen, believing that if something wasn’t hard, it didn’t count. She tells Miles what finally changed: learning the difference between suffering and misery, building her music around her Mexican heritage and her family, walking into therapy convinced it was a joke, and how she and her husband stay close while both work in film and music. YOU’LL HEAR Why ambitious people mistake difficulty for valueWhat building up resentment cost her, in time and relationshipsComing home to her culture, her family, and herselfWhy she spent her last dollar on a short filmFrom certified therapy skeptic to advocateThe one thing she does to make sure someone feels seen EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome MŌRIAH 06:00 Finding her music in her own backyard 11:00 Suffering vs. misery 23:00 Family, heritage, and the strawberry photo shoot 36:00 Her dad, and spending her last dollar on Nice Life 48:00 Being invisible, then the spotlight 1:01:00 Therapy skeptic 1:20:00 Marriage as two sovereign nations 1:29:00 New film, JIMMY, and her last word MŌRIAH showed up to Onsite a 10 out of 10 on skepticism. If that’s where you are too, Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04C8B--0 CONNECT WITH MŌRIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holamoriah/ Website: https://www.moriahofficial.com/ “Home to Me” plays over the end credits of JIMMY, in theaters November 6. STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04C8CgT0 Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04C8CXV0 Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04C8Dtf0 Learn more about Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04C8B--0

Rebuilding After Betrayal: Infidelity, Codependency, and Radical Ownership with Carl & Laura Lentz

1 hr 42 min

How do you rebuild your life after the crushing wreckage of betrayal? In this powerful episode of Human School, Miles Adcox sits down with Carl and Laura Lentz to explore the raw reality of surviving infidelity, breaking free from codependency, and choosing radical personal ownership when your world falls apart.  What You'll Learn:  The profound, isolating loneliness of betrayal trauma and why finding safe, grounded support changes everything.  How to break the cycle of codependency by choosing your own healing and health, regardless of your partner's choices.  The critical psychological difference between staying trapped in the comfortable hiding place of shame versus taking total personal accountability.  Practical emotional tools for managing triggers, shortening repair times after conflict, and navigating gut-wrenching family conversations with your children.   Episode Chapters: 00:00 Welcome Carl & Laura Lentz 00:46 The Reality of Healing After Infidelity 07:05 Choosing Ownership Over Shame 15:47 The Loneliness of Betrayal 21:51 Seeking Help & Finding Hope 37:02 The Decision to Stay and Fight 42:18 Forgiveness vs. Safety 51:00 Eradicating Shame 1:15:58 Navigating Triggers & Practical Tools 1:31:32 Looking Back & Words of Wisdom Ready to take the next step in your own healing journey? Discover how Onsite's transformational therapeutic intensives and emotional health retreats can help you move from survival and betrayal into deep, lasting self-discovery. Learn more about Onsite here: https://hubs.la/Q04BhNwh0  CONNECT WITH CARL & LAURA  Follow Carl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/   Follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/   Get your copy of Overcoming Infidelity: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497     STAY CONNECTED TO HUMAN SCHOOL  Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04BhP9b0   Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04BhPlj0   Follow Human School...

How to Stop Self-Sabotaging and Finally Finish What You Start with Jon Acuff

1 hr 40 min

What is procrastination actually costing you? Turns out, almost everything. In this episode, Miles Adcox welcomes author and speaker Jon Acuff to Human School for an honest, practical, and deeply encouraging conversation about procrastination, overthinking, and the strange ways our minds block the lives we want to live.   Jon opens up about his own struggles with anxiety, the danger of old "soundtracks," and why the hardest part of a new goal is often the weight of past failures. Packed with humor and tactical wisdom, Jon and Miles break down how to retire broken soundtracks and finally give yourself permission to be remarkable.   Looking to shift the way you think? Onsite offers transformational experiences to help you live the life you deserve. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04zCzKf0⁠  In This Episode, You'll Learn:  The real psychology behind why we avoid the things we want to do most.   How to shift your internal soundtrack using the "Retire, Replace, Repeat" method.   Why optimism is a daily practice, not a personality trait.   How to separate fear from decision-making so you can finally cross your finish line.  Learn more about Jon and grab a copy of Procrastination Proof: https://jonacuff.com/ Stay Connected to Human School:  Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zCFsz0  Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zCBRJ0  Learn more about Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04zCzKf0  Follow Human School on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04zChTr0 Episode Chapters: 00:00 - Welcome Jon Acuff – Author of Procrastination Proof 02:00 - The 34-Year Delay 06:00 - Growing Up Anxious and Running Hot 09:30 - Scars as Lighthouses & The Power of Going First 13:30 - Mental Health, Rumination, and Mindset 16:00 - Live Coaching: Unpacking Miles' Book Goals & Resistance 22:00 - High Performers and Changing Your Fuel Source 27:00 - Repetition, Symbols, and Soundtrack Cards 31:00 - Experiential Healing, Empathy, and Feedback Loops 35:40 - Writing for Teenagers and Handle-Making 44...

Ashley McBryde on Sobriety, Generational Trauma, and Unlearning Survival

1 hr 39 min

"They said, 'We need you to stop.' And I said, 'I need me to stop, too.'"  Grammy-winning country artist Ashley McBryde joins Miles for a deeply moving, unfiltered conversation as she reflects on her roots in the Ozarks, the complexities of generational trauma, and what it truly means to be seen.   Ashley opens up about her long relationship with alcohol, the terrifying night that led her to treatment, and how getting sober allowed her to finally hear her own voice and recognize the person in the mirror. This is a powerful discussion on unlearning old programming, re-parenting your younger self, and why true art doesn't require a dark place.  If you’re ready to begin a new chapter, Onsite offers transformational experiences to help you live the life you deserve. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04zdx0K0  Episode Chapters:  00:00 – Introducing Ashley McBryde 05:00 – Growing Up in the Ozarks & Early Musical Roots 17:00 – Nervous System Responses, Childhood Trauma, and Inner Child Work 44:00 – Generational Trauma, Religion, and Re-framing Family Dynamics 56:00 – The Reality of "High-Functioning" Addiction & Stepping Into Recovery 1:18:00 – Finding Pure Joy in Sobriety and Making Art Without Suffering   Stay Connected to Human School  Human School Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zdtB60  Miles Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zdw7Z0  Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04zdt6t0  Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04zdx0K0 

How to Find Peace When a Relationship Can't Be Fixed with Matthias Barker (Live from the Transform Trauma Conference)

1 hr 5 min

What happens when the mental health expert becomes the one navigating a family crisis? In this deep and deeply personal conversation, therapist and author Matthias Barker sits down with Miles at the Transform Trauma Conference –– Europe’s largest mental health and wellness conference in Oxford, England –– to open up about his own journey through family estrangement, grief, and reconciliation.   Together, they break down the real-world stuff we all deal with: why healing must come before forgiveness, the difference between setting a healthy boundary and running away, the traps of modern pop psychology, and what it actually takes to find "peace with what's possible." Whether you're a mental health professional or just trying to navigate your own family system, this conversation offers real tools for real life. Learn more about Transform Trauma and other Master’s Events: https://mastersevents.com/  Are you unfurling your own stories around family, trauma, and mental health? Onsite offers transformational experiences to help you live the life you deserve. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ6_l0    Episode Chapters:  00:00 - Welcome to Human School... LIVE! 01:45 - Meet Matthias Barker: From drama kid to building a platform 05:00 - The Family Crisis: Addiction, divorce, and estrangement 07:00 - Learning from Grief Expert David Kessler 11:00 - The Intersection of Trauma and Grief in Family Conflict 15:30 - Peace with What’s Possible: Rethinking reconciliation 26:30 - The Research on Contempt and Emotional Abuse 31:30 - Boundaries vs. Avoidance: When to engage and when to step back 39:30 - The Danger of Pop Psychology and Weaponized Therapy Speak 49:30 - The Trap of Rumination vs. True Psychological Healing 55:30 - The Hardest and Most Meaningful Parts of Being a Helper Stay connected to Human School  Substack: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ71f0  Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ6Y40  Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ71f0  Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ6...

The Selfish Reason to Be Generous with Philanthropy Expert Rondal Richardson

1 hr 48 min

What if the secret to improving your own life, health, and happiness had nothing to do with self-care and everything to do with giving back? In this episode of Human School, host Miles sits down with long-time music industry veteran and philanthropist Rondal Richardson to flip the script on how we think about generosity. Because you don't need millions of dollars or a massive platform to make a real impact. Today, Rondal shares remarkable behind-the-scenes stories from his 40-year journey in the music business—working alongside legends like The Judds, Garth Brooks, and Naomi Judd—and how an "almost Oprah moment" changed the trajectory of his life.   You’ll also discover practical ways to get involved in charity, how to know which organizations and causes to align with, and why the best way to heal your own life is often to show up for someone else.  If you're in middle Tennessee, join the Music Community Foundation for a Give Like Dolly event this weekend: https://www.giving9to5.com/ Stay Connected Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ4Zt0 Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ50V0 Subscribe to Our Substack: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ55q0 Looking to dive deeper into your own story? Onsite offers the opportunity to come back to yourself. Learn more here: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ53Z0 In this episode: 00:00 – Introduction to Rondal Richardson and entertainment philanthropy  00:54 – Meet Rondal Richardson, founder and executive director of the Music Community Foundation  00:03:00 – The story of meeting Miles through Naomi Judd  00:15:30 – The Oprah Winfrey connection 00:23:40 – Rondal’s origin story: starting on the road at age 17  00:32:15 – Touring with Garth Brooks and country music history  00:40:50 – Making the pivot from the music industry to philanthropy  00:46:00 – The psychological and physical benefits of service  01:03:40 – Vetting charities: Charity Navigator, 990s, and finding your cause  01:17:40 – The impact: Raising $350M+ an...

What My Daughter Knows About Stress That I Forgot

13 min

We spend an enormous amount of energy trying to learn how to be healthier, less stressed adults – but what if the answer isn't learning something new, but remembering what we knew before we got so complicated?  In this special solo episode of The Human School Podcast, host Miles Adcox hands the microphone to his seven-year-old daughter, Birdie Rose. With zero media training and absolute honesty, Birdie shares her thoughts on art, missing teeth, strawberries and ketchup, and what makes her feel closest to the people she loves. In this conversation and reflection, Miles unpacks four unexpected lessons on stress, curiosity, presence, and connection that children carry naturally — lessons that adults spend a lifetime trying to find their way back to. In this episode:  00:00 - Introducing Birdie Rose: The 7-Year-Old Podcast Guest   01:20 - Lesson 1: Curiosity Over Certainty (The Power of "I Don't Know")   04:00 - Lesson 2: Presence Over Productivity (Why Play Doesn't Need a Reason)   05:50 - Lesson 3: Expression Over Impression (Strawberries in Ketchup and PR Filters)   07:45 - Lesson 4: Relationship Over Performance (What Kids Actually Want From Us)   09:40 - Finding Courage: How We Regulate Fear Inside Relationships   11:45 - Final Encouragement from Birdie (And How to Keep Showing Up)  If you’re looking for ways to connect back to yourself, Onsite can help. Learn more about our experiences: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj150 Follow Human School: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj450 Follow Miles: https://hubs.la/Q04xch_N0 Subscribe to Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj3y0

How to Rewire Your Brain for Peace, Creativity, and Purpose with Dr. Martha Beck

1 hr 47 min

Are you living the life you actually want, or are you just trying to please everyone around you?  In this episode of Human School, Miles sits down with world-renowned author, sociologist, and life coach Dr. Martha Beck for an exceptionally honest and deep conversation on human nature, breaking free from anxiety, and finding your true path.  Martha shares her personal journey — from her time writing for Oprah’s Magazine and earning degrees from Harvard, to radically transforming her life by committing to a full year of total honesty. Together, Miles and Martha explore the biological roots of anxiety, how societal expectations force us to sell out our true nature at an early age, and how simple creative acts can serve as a direct antidote to mental distress.  In this episode, you’ll discover:  The Root of Modern Anxiety: Why our current educational and social systems conflict with human evolution.  The "Visual Cliff" Study: How children learn to judge their own worth by watching the adults around them.  The Power of Caving Early: Why learning to apologize quickly and drop ego heals relationships faster than anything else.  Creativity vs. Anxiety: How engaging the creative parts of your brain actively shuts down panic and stress.  The "One-Degree Turn": How making tiny, honest shifts in your day-to-day choices can completely realign your life.  The K.I.S.T. Method: A practical, step-by-step tool using Kind Internal Self-Talk to navigate intense panic attacks and internal conflict.   Whether you’re feeling burned out, stuck in people-pleasing patterns, or simply searching for more peace in your daily routine, this episode provides a compassionate roadmap back to your whole self.  Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more at www.experienceonsite.com     Episode Chapters:  00:00:00 Welcome Martha Beck  00:02:46 What Comfort Means Today   00:04:41 Root Causes of Modern Anxiety  ...

"I Had to Learn to Live Again" — Amy Grant on Starting Over at 65

1 hr 48 min

What happens when life completely rewires your timeline overnight?  Six-time Grammy winner Amy Grant joins the show for an exceptionally raw and vulnerable conversation about navigating back-to-back life-altering health crises — from emergency open-heart surgery to a traumatic brain injury that forced her to pause everything.  Amy candidly opens up about the physical reality of memory loss, the emotional weight of starting over at 65, and why she ultimately decided to write a eulogy to her younger self. She also breaks down the worst advice she received early in her career, and how letting go of control allowed her to finally embrace the gift of unplanned interruptions.  Whether you are navigating your own unexpected life shift, recovering from trauma, or searching for margin in a chaotic world, this episode is a masterclass in grace, resilience, and true freedom.  Key Takeaways from This Episode  Interruptions are often invitations. Real growth happens when you stop viewing life's disruptions as obstacles and start viewing them as redirections. Release past versions of yourself. Holding onto who you used to be prevents you from accepting and healing who you are right now. Margin isn't extra time — it's intentional space. Recovery and peace require actively protecting your energy from external expectations.  Are you looking for support after your own season of change? Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more at www.experienceonsite.com    Episode Chapters:  00:00 - Dragging Old Suitcases: Amy Grant’s New Season  00:38 - "Don't Talk So Much, Just Sing"  06:01 - The First Recording at Age 15  08:24 - Overcoming Limits  12:22 - The "River of Life" & Facing the Waterfall  20:56 - Health Scares: Open-Heart Surgery & the Bike Accident  27:17 - Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)  31:02 - The Assignment: Writing a Eulogy to Her Younger Self  35:57 - Undoing Childhood Scr...

Overcoming Self-Judgment and Walking Through Grief with Judah & the Lion

1 hr 31 min

When life throws loss, grief, and change your way, how do you allow the pain to transform you rather than destroy you?   In this episode of Human School, host Miles Adcox sits down with Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald of the alt-folk band Judah & the Lion on the release day of their album, Process. Together, they walk through a raw and vulnerable conversation about what it truly takes to heal.   Judah opens up about losing family members to mental health struggles, navigating divorce, and working through addiction while performing on major stages around the world. Brian shares his perspective on stepping into fatherhood while on tour, keeping the band's brotherhood intact through dark seasons, and learning to redefine identity. From the metaphor of a caterpillar in a cocoon to learning how to stop harsh self-judgment, this conversation is a grounded reminder that transformation is messy, but hope is always available.     In this episode, we discuss:  The Cocoon Metaphor: Why real emotional growth requires letting go of who you were.  Grief & Mental Health: Processing tragic loss, addressing addiction, and separating the symptom from the disease.  Self-Compassion: Overcoming shame, letting go of control, and learning to speak kindly to yourself. Parenting & Growth: Navigating big life transitions and raising kids while working through your own past.Behind the Songs: The spontaneous origin story behind their track "Prism".    Memorable Quotes:  "The caterpillar has no memory of wings." — Judah Akers   "We're not through the pain, but we're in it together, and there's hope." — Brian Macdonald   "Addiction is a symptom. Shame, guilt, and not knowing yourself... are the disease." — Judah Akers   "It's okay to be scared and brave at the same time. You can actually do both." — Miles Adcox     Episode Timestamps:  00:00:00 – Meet Judah & The Lion 00:04:42 – The Metaphor of Transformation 00:11:42 – Fatherhood & Evolving Identity 00:15:39 – Unpacking Rock Bottom & Vulnerab...

Stress Is Trying to Protect You — Here's How to Listen

9 min

It seems like everyone is talking about stress. How to manage it. How to get rid of it. How to avoid it at all costs. But maybe in our journey to eradicate stress from our lives, we’re losing something far more valuable.  In this solo conversation, Miles Adcox reframes our entire relationship with stress. Instead of treating stress like an opponent to beat, what if we treated it like a system trying to protect us?   Join Miles as he shares the importance of building capacity over elimination, why meaningful living requires being stretched, and how to become a trusted partner to your own nervous system.  In this episode, we explore:  ​Why "trauma" can feel clinical, but stress is universal  ​ Stress as the body's brilliant system for adaptation The difference between removing stress and building capacity ​ How curiosity replaces shame when looking at our nervous systems  Looking to go deeper into your personal growth journey? The conversations on Human School are shaped by the work happening at Onsite Workshops. If you're looking to slow down, break patterns, and do the inner work, visit experienceonsite.com  Episode chapters:   00:00 Intro: Is stress really the enemy?   00:40 The room that changed how I view trauma vs. stress   01:45 How burnout and emotional exhaustion actually begin   02:35 Why modern wellness tools miss the mark   03:15 Stress is an adaptation system, not a design flaw   04:15 Every meaningful thing in life asks something stressful of you   05:10 Increasing capacity vs. eliminating stress   05:55 Everyday pressure vs. profound adversity   06:45 Stress is an experience, not an identity   07:20 Why modern nervous systems are carrying more than ever before   07:50 Swap shame for curiosity: Becoming a student of your nervous system   08:35 Stop playing tug-of-war with your body  Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04tfRwT0

Finding Success Without Losing Yourself: Larry Fleet on Fame, Fatherhood, and Staying Grounded

2 hr 9 min

What do you do when you go from singing at local bars to millions of video views, playing at Madison Square Garden with Morgan Wallen, and hearing 20,000 people sing your lyrics back to you? If you’re Larry Fleet, you still shop at Ace Hardware.  Larry Fleet writes the kind of country songs that feel like your own memories — jumping railroad tracks in a truck bed, learning how to tell stories in a barbershop chair, the sound of truck tires in the gravel. In this conversation, Larry opens up about the “simple” mistakes we’re making in modern storytelling, what fatherhood has changed in his songwriting, and how he's managed to tour and write with Willie Nelson, Morgan Wallen, and other heroes of the genre without losing the guy from White Bluff, Tennessee.  The conversations we have on Human School are shaped by the work happening every day at Onsite. If you feel stuck in the same patterns, Onsite's Living Centered Program helps you slow down, go deeper, and do the inner work that changes things. If you’d like to learn more about Onsite, visit us –– experienceonsite.com In this conversation:  Why “clutter” might be the enemy of great storytelling  The $5-a-head night Larry still keeps close, and why he never lets himself forget it  Why he built his newest record with zero radio in mind — and what happened when it hit anyway  The ways fatherhood has changed him, including teaching him new ways to communicate with others  The surprising place his storytelling voice actually comes from   What it actually takes to stay a person instead of becoming a product once people start paying attention  How to build a songwriting career one bad song (then a hundred more) at a time  How to stay "a normal dude" while touring arenas with Willie Nelson and Morgan Wallen  Why simple, honest storytelling can reach people that polished products can't    Episode timestamps:   00:00:00 — Welcome to Human School  00:06:30 — Small-town origins 00:25:30 — Another Year Older — the new record ...

Is Certainty Making Us Lonely? with Miles Adcox

17 min

Why does being right feel so much better than being curious? And is our obsession with certainty the cause of our greatest divides? This episode breaks down the psychology behind certainty — why our brains default to it, what it costs us in our relationships, and why curiosity might be the more reliable path to actually feeling connected to other people. What you'll learn How confirmation bias shapes what we believe is true, without us noticing it happeningWhat the illusory truth effect is, and why repetition can make an opinion feel like factHow to tell the difference between healthy disagreement and contemptWhy algorithms and media incentives reward certainty over nuance — and what that does to us over timeA mindset shift for staying curious under pressure, borrowed from an unlikely place: horsemanshipWhy feeling understood does more for anxiety than winning an argument ever doesHow to hold strong beliefs without needing everyone around you to agree Building your curiosity muscles? Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more here. Timestamps 00:00 — This might be why you're feeling lonely02:30 — Illusory truth effect and confirmation bias05:30 — Making content in the age of outrage07:00 — The real product is Identity09:45 — A horse changed everything13:00 — Understanding vs. "winning"15:00 — Becoming harder to recruit Stay connected with Human School: YouTube - https://hubs.la/Q04rLNLl0 Instagram - https://hubs.la/Q04rLNVX0 Threads - https://hubs.la/Q04rLP6D0 TikTok - https://hubs.la/Q04rLPfY0

Is Your Gut Connected to Your Mental Health? with Funcitonal Medicine Practitioner, Dr. Chris Motley

1 hr 40 min

Have you ever gotten a clean bill of health and still felt like something was wrong? What if the anxiety, the brain fog, the thing you can't explain isn't in your head, but a story your body inherited? Dr. Chris Motley is a functional medicine practitioner and acupuncturist based in Nashville, and the host of the Ancient Health Podcast. For over 22 years, he's blended Chinese medicine, kinesiology, and biofeedback with Western diagnostics to find what standard testing misses — the chronic weaknesses that don't show up on a bloodwork panel but show up in how we sleep, how we digest, and how we carry stress in our bodies. In this episode, Dr. Motley and Miles talk about how inflammation from food can weaken the blood-brain barrier and surface in surprising ways — and why the weakest organ in your body often maps straight back to how your parents and grandparents lived. Today, you'll learn how to read your body's own signals, why curiosity heals faster than fear, and what it actually looks like to get to the root of a problem instead of managing its symptoms. In this conversation, you'll learn: How chronic inflammation from food can weaken the blood-brain barrier and show up as anxiety, depression, or brain fogHow to read your body's own signals — sleep patterns, digestion, even facial features — the way a functional medicine practitioner doesHow your weakest organ can map directly back to how your parents and grandparents livedWhy processed food, not just screens, may be driving the rise in childhood behavioral changesHow the gut-brain axis connects what you eat to how you feel within hoursWhy getting curious about a weakness — instead of afraid of it — is the first step to healing itSimple, low-cost first steps to a more fulfilled, healthier life anyone can start today If this stirred something in you, Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and stored trauma that your body is asking for. Learn more at experienceonsite.com...

Building Self Worth Without Approval with Tori Kelly

1 hr 14 min

Have you ever believed you're only worthy of attention when you're performing and perfect? What if the thing you fear your kid will inherit is the exact thing you've never worked through yourself?   Tori Kelly, a Grammy-winning vocalist who's been sharing her voice with the world since she was a kid, sits down with Miles for a conversation about identity, motherhood, and what happens when the performance stops.   Tori opens up about growing up in a mixed-race householdwhere she often felt othered, getting signed at 12 and "shelved" before she'd lived enough life to have something to say, and the lie she quietly believed for years: that she wasn't worthy of attention unless she was singing. She talks about touring stadiums with Ed Sheeran while pregnant, writing her new album, God Must Really Love Me, in two weeks while holding her newborn son, and why his first cry made the record.   Tori and Miles go deep into the perfectionism she traces back to her earliest days on stage, the phone cleanses she uses to fight comparison, and why motherhood has made her want her son to see her mess up, say sorry, and be human. Miles shares a mentor's metaphor about gratitude that reframes how you see whatever you're circling right now, and Tori tells the story of the drive where the phrase "God must really love me" came out of her mouth before it became an album title.   Ever notice the pattern you're trying to protect your kids from is usually the one you haven't fully worked through yourself? Onsite's Living Centered Program for parents and adults ready to finally do their own work, not just manage everyone else's. It's not about becoming a perfect parent; It's about becoming an honest one. Learn more at experienceonsite.com   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Trace Perfectionism Back to the Stage Instead of the Story You Tell YourselfHow to Stop Performing for Approval and Start ActuallyFeeling ItHow Becoming a Parent Can Break a Pattern You Didn't Know You Were Repeati...

Raising Capable Kids in the Anxious Generation with Sissy Goff & David Thomas

1 hr 31 min

How do you help an anxious child build real confidence instead of just managing their fear? What if the very thing keeping your kid unsafe is how hard you're working to protect them?   Sissy Goff and David Thomas are two of the most trusted voices in child and adolescent mental health today, counselors at Daystar Counseling Ministries and hosts of the popular Raising Boys and Girls podcast. With more than three decades combined sitting across from kids and their families, they've become go-to resources for parents navigating anxiety, emotional development, and resilience in childhood. Their new New York Times Bestselling book, Capable, just carried them through a national press tour, including a stop on the Today Show, and for good reason: it takes on one of the most urgent questions facing parents right now.   In this conversation, Sissy, David, and Miles unpack why so many kids today aren't just anxious; they're increasingly unwilling to try, and what parents can actually do to build resilience instead of just managing symptoms. They talk through the difference between attunement and over-protection, why "trust your gut" might be the most important piece of parenting advice out there, and how to set healthy boundaries around technology and social media without shutting your kids out of the world they're growing up in. It's a grounded, hopeful conversation about childhood anxiety, parenting under pressure, and what it actually takes to raise capable, confident kids in an overwhelmed world.   Your kids are watching you more closely than they're listening to you. Onsite's Living Centered Program is a place for parents ready to do their own work, so the patterns they pass down are worth passing on. Learn more at experienceonsite.com.   Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   For more resources and tools from Sissy Goff & David Thomas, visit raisingboysandgirls.c...

How to Talk to Anyone with Bobby Bones

1 hr 15 min

What's the real difference between showing up for someone and rescuing them? Can a single pair of socks undo years of not letting yourself feel anything? Bobby Bones went from a campus radio station in Arkansas to the National Radio Hall of Fame, two #1 New York Times bestsellers, and a syndicated morning show heard by millions, turning his own story into a reason other people feel less alone in theirs. He sits down with Miles Adcox eight weeks into fatherhood, in a season that's forced him to slow down after two decades of never having to. Bobby opens up about being raised by a 16-year-old motherwho struggled with addiction his whole childhood, the trailer he bought her the first time he made real money, and the hard lesson in what enabling actually looks like when you love someone who's sick. He reveals the moment a stranger's kindness at a therapy intensive at Onsite finally broke him open, and shares the four-letter word his mother never said but it’s the one his grandmother said so consistently it became the only safety he knew. Miles and Bobby go deep into being triggered by both praise and criticism, why Bobby only checks hiscomments on Tuesdays, and the grief of having a daughter who'll never meet the grandmother who shaped him most.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Turn Your Own Insecurities Into a Bridge for Someone Else'sHow to Tell the Difference Between Supporting Someone in Addiction and Enabling ThemHow to Stay Consistent With Someone Even When It Feels Like Nothing Is ChangingHow to Recognize When Both Praise and Criticism Are Actuallya ThreatHow to Build Boundaries So Social Media Doesn't Run YourNervous SystemHow to Respond Instead of React When You Feel ChallengedHow to Find Safety in a Relationship After a ChildhoodWithout ItHow to Let a Stranger's Small Act of Kindness Actually LandHow to Talk to Your Kids About the Parts of Your Story ThatStill HurtHow to Know You Were Consistent Enough, Even When Nothing Else Felt Certain  Feelin...

When One Dream Ends with Reece Weaver

1 hr 30 min

Have you ever lived a dream so fully that you felt the quiettug to walk away?  Not because it failed you, but because something new was calling. What does it look like to anchor your identity in somethingthat can never be taken from you, even when everything you've built your life around closes a chapter?   Reece Weaver spent her entire third season as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader (DCC) carrying a decision nobody outside her closest circle knew about yet. The preacher's granddaughter from Jacksonville, Florida who started dancing at three, earned a scholarship to the University of Alabama —where she also met her husband Will — and felt something shift in her chest the moment she walked into AT&T Stadium as a sophomore. In the years to follow she has become the most-followed DCC in the franchise's history, a breakout presence on Netflix's America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,and then spent a year in therapy, prayer, and conversation with people she trusts, processing a feeling of “what’s next?” she couldn't explain and couldn't ignore. In this conversation, Miles Adcox and Reece gets to the story underneath her retirement announcement. Reece opens up about the mental and emotional toll that the spotlight created long before the headlines caught up. She talks about the comparison trap that quietly became perfectionism, not being able to ignore people’s opinions and critiques on social media, her mom's reminder that "if that crown ever gets too tight, we can easily take it off," and why the word "retirement" still doesn't sit right with her. Miles and Reece also get to explore the joy of this next season and what is to come: a book, new hometown, being a cheerleader to her friends, and open hands for more opportunities.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Know When a Dream Is Finished vs. When You AreHow to Separate Your Identity from the Thing You're Best AtHow to Let "Two Things Can Be True" Change YourNext DecisionHow to Carry Perfectionism W...

Refusing to Waste Pain with Clea Shearer (The Home Edit)

1 hr 10 min

Have you ever fought the hardest battle of your life and then not known what to do once it was over? What if the story you thought defined you was actually the prologue to something even bigger?   Clea Shearer is co-founder of The Home Edit — the brand, the Netflix show, the New York Times bestselling books. But the Clea in this conversation has spent four years navigating a cancer journey her own doctors call a medical anomaly. From her diagnosis to a double mastectomy, followed by many emergency surgeries, she has faced complications most people never encounter. And she's done it all publicly, because she made a promise in Paris the day after her diagnosis: she was going to make her cancer purposeful.   Miles and Clea go into all sides of facing a cancer treatment, especially the ones no one mentions. She opens up about the depression that hit after ringing the bell, being medically induced into menopause, losing her breast for the third time, and the first real fight she and her husband, John, had in 21 years. But she also shares how making her suffering public became the thing that saved her, why she considers cancer one of the great honors of her life, and what she's learned about building community and finding purpose on the other side.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to find purpose in the middle of the worst thing that's ever happened to youHow the “ring the bell” moment can become its own kind of rock bottomHow illness fatigue affects even the most loving support systemsHow to receive help without guilt or resistanceHow sharing your story publicly can become the thing that heals youHow to tell the difference between relief and healing and why you need bothHow to rebuild meaning when you don't know what you were fighting for anymoreHow the community becomes your greatest medicine when nothing else worksHow to find the honor inside the hardest thing you've never asked forHow to keep going when you don't know if there's another side  Whether you're n...

Keeping a Soft Heart After Hard Things with Connor Smith

1 hr 29 min

What does it actually look like to rebuild from the insideout — before the world even knows you needed to? What happens to a person when tragedy arrives not as a slowunraveling, but all at once — and the only thing left standing is who you actually are? What does it look like to grieve something you can't talkabout, for a family you can't reach, while the world keeps watching?   Country singer-songwriter Conner Smith landed his firstpublishing deal on Music Row at 16 years old. By 21, he was opening for his heroes. By 24, he'd gone independent, walked away from a label, and released a raw 10-song acoustic record, not because anyone told him to, but because it wasthe first music he ever actually believed in. In this conversation, Conner opens up to Miles about themoment he stopped writing songs for approval and started writing them for himself, why going independent felt less like a career risk and more like self-respect, and the story of June 8th — the night he was involved in a fatal accident. He shares how grief, silence, and the community that showed up becamethe foundation for the most important growth of his life, what it was like to sit with the family of the woman who died, and why honoring her legacy is now woven into who he's becoming.   The conversations we have on Human School are shaped by the work happening every day at Onsite. For more than 45 years, Onsite has helped people slow down, get honest about their stories, and experience meaningful change through world-class therapeutic experiences. Learn more at ⁠experienceonsite.com.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to know when you're writing someone else's song with your own life How early success can quietly steal your sense of self How to rebuild your artistic identity from the inside out How to tell the difference between stewardship and striving How community carries you when you can't carry yourself How to redefine success before the milestone redefines you How forgiveness can be the most...

Learning You Don't Have to Earn Love with Alana Springsteen

1 hr 4 min

What if the songs you've been writing were actually thetherapy you desperately needed? What if the version of you that felt like the black sheep your whole life was the one who would help the rest of us feel less alone?   Alana Springsteen has been performing since before she knewwhat performing cost her. She signed her first publishing deal at 14, earned a gold record before she turned 25, CMT's Next Women of Country, and has shared stages with Keith Urban and Tyler Hubbard — all while quietly carrying a version of herself she hadn't yet figured out how to put down. Her sophomorealbum, I Hope This Helps, is the result of what happened when she stopped grinding and started digging. Miles and Alana go deep into the fear woven into her faith,the people-pleasing that had her questioning “why,” the EMDR session that surfaced a memory from four years old, and the eating disorder she kept hidden until she was finally ready to let her mom in. This is a conversation about what it costs to become who you were always meant to be and the honesty aboutthe journey to get there.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Tell the Difference Between Faith and FearHow Performing for Love Slowly Erodes Your IdentityHow to Use Curiosity as a Tool for DeconstructionHow People-Pleasing Becomes a Mask You Can't Take OffHow to Pick Up the Mirror Instead of the MicroscopeHow EMDR Unlocks Childhood Memories Still Running Your Adult LifeHow to Recognize When Validation Has Become a DrugHow to Write Your Way Through Seasons That Would Otherwise Break YouHow to Let Your Parents See Who You Actually AreHow to Stop Waiting for Permission to Love Yourself  The conversations we have on Human School are shaped by the work happening every day at Onsite. For more than 45 years, Onsite has helped people slow down, get honest about their stories, and experience meaningful change through world-class therapeutic experiences. Learn more at experienceonsite.com.   Follow Human School: YouTube - Human...

The Courage to Be Yourself with Skylar Gray

1 hr 50 min

Have you ever felt like becoming quieter was the only way to survive being too much? What if the chaos you chased and the life you almost missed were both pointing you home?   Skylar Grey is a five-time Grammy-nominated artist, SpotifyBillions Club member, and one of the most distinctive voices of the last two decades. Known for her work with Eminem and Dr. Dre, she sits down with Miles Adcox to talk about the parts of her story the highlight reel never shows: a 1,500-person Wisconsin town, being told she was too much, a friendship breakup she never forgot, and a teacher who said music wasn't a career — the last day she went back to class.   Skylar opens up about retreating to an Oregon cabin afterher record deal fell apart, how that silence gave her "Love the Way You Lie," and the fears that kept her shrinking even as the world grew louder. She shares what it took to believe she deserved real love, why she's letting the wild little girl back out, and how Wasted Potential became a story she wrote for herself — one that might save someone else.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How childhood fractures quietly shape your adult lifeHow being "too much" can become what makes youunforgettableHow to find yourself after the world trains it out of youHow to tell the difference between influence and inspirationHow burnout signals you've drifted from your own voiceHow fear of criticism shrinks your art and your lifeHow to know when you've earned the right to want what you wantHow polarizing art finds the people who need it mostHow to write through darkness without forcing a resolutionHow to build a life that makes the work worth doing  The conversations we have on Human School are shaped by the work happening every day at Onsite. For more than 45 years, Onsite has helped people slow down, get honest about their stories, and experience meaningful change through world-class therapeutic experiences. Learn more at experienceonsite.com.   Follow Human School: YouTube - Human S...

Hugging the World Back Together with Tim Harris

1 hr 33 min

What if the most powerful thing you could offer the world wasn't your résumé or achievements, but simply your presence and a hug?   Tim Harris is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, Special Olympics athlete, author of The Book of Hugs, host of the Big Heart Talks with Tim podcast, and founder of Tim's Big Heart Foundation. Raised in Albuquerque, Tim built a life around one belief: love, kindness, and connection can change everything. He ran Tim's Place: Breakfast, Lunch & Hugs, greeting every guest at the front door — all while living with Down syndrome, not in spite of who he is, but because of it.   In this conversation, Tim shares about his seven steps to an awesome life, what he told a worried father whose baby would be born with Down syndrome, and why hugs are the best medicine in the world. Miles and Tim talk about their love of country music and feature a special performance of a country classic. These new best friends cover it all before Tim’s 5 o’clock flight home.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to be the light instead of complaining about the darknessHow to use your superpower to lift someone in their hardest momentHow to dream something and then do the work to make it realHow friendship becomes the foundation for everything worth buildingHow to lead with love in every room you walk intoHow kindness attracts more kindness back into your lifeHow to grieve loss while still showing up for the worldHow asking first makes connection strongerHow to recognize the gift in people that the world underestimatesHow to love someone for a thousand years, starting today  Human School is powered by the work happening at Onsite, a place where people step out of their normal rhythms to do deeper healing work in community. Learn more here.   Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   More from Tim:Book Tim to Speak in your Community Listen to Tim's Podcast Follow...

How to Make People Feel Truly Seen with Mary Bellofatto

1 hr 58 min

Have you ever met someone who spent 50 years healing others and somehow became more human with every one of those years? What would it mean to stop hiding behind your busyness, your title, or your phone, and let someone actually see you?   Mary Bellofatto is a pioneer in mental health who has spent five decades walking the hardest terrain human experience offers — trauma, disordered eating, addiction, grief, and couples work. With deep mastery in psychodrama, she has brought healing to therapy rooms across the world. At 81, she still wakes up excited, tears up at the thought of never retiring, and gets out of Ubers last because someone needs to finish their story.   In this conversation, Mary opens up about what it means to be a catalyst without burning out, why loneliness is cured by learning to be alone, and how shame shields the grief we won't feel. She shares the moment a young man in Uganda said, "I'm just a boy," and freed himself from years of soldiers' shame. Miles and Mary go deep into disordered eating, including what she said in a bathroom that finally unlocked the real story underneath. Eighty years of hard-won wisdom, delivered with Arkansas common sense and lack of clinical jargon.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Be a Catalyst Without Losing YourselfHow Loneliness Can Be Cured by Learning to Be AloneHow Shame Functions as a Shield for Unprocessed GriefHow to Widen Your Definition of Grief Beyond LossHow the Stories We Tell Ourselves Build a Lifetime Around a LieHow Psychodrama Unlocks What Talk Therapy Can't ReachHow to Hold Space Without Trying to Fix AnyoneHow to Recognize When Busyness Is a MedicatorHow Disordered Eating Is Really About DignityHow to Live Your Legacy Right Now — Not Someday  Human School is powered by the work happening at Onsite, a place where people step out of their normal rhythms to do deeper healing work in community. Learn more at ⁠⁠experienceonsite.com⁠. Learn more about the Pastor's Living Centered Program th...

The Pressure to Get It "Right" with Thomas Rhett

1 hr 59 min

Have you ever stood in the middle of a life that looks great on paper and still felt like you were failing the people right in front of you? What if being hard on yourself isn't humility?  It's just the long way around to never believing you're enough? And what happens when the same obsessive drive that makes you world-class at your craft is the exact thing that makes it hard to just sit down and watch your kid eat cereal slowly?   Miles sits down with his longtime friend for one of the most honest and wide-open episodes yet. Thomas Rhett brings all of himself — the songwriter who goes all in on everything he loves, the dad of five learning to trade productivity for presence, and the man doing the real work to make sure who his family experiences every day is the same person the world admires from a distance. This one is full of laughter, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of honesty that only happens between two people who genuinely trust each other.   This conversation is about the guy who flips on the bedroom lights at 6:30 AM, trying to get five kids out the door, and wonders on the drive home if he loved them well at all that morning. The man who told a new friend upfront, "I'm not a good friend" — and actually believed it. The songwriter who can make strangers cry but struggles to list three ways he was showing up for his own kids. Miles and Thomas Rhett go deep into what it actually looks like to chase congruence, to be as present and real inside your home as you are when the world is watching.   Thomas Rhett shares what his first trip to Onsite taught him about letting go, how a simple question from his counselor cracked something open about the way he sees himself as a father, why he's writing his most intentional album yet, and what he hopes his kids say about him long after the number ones stop counting.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Stop Measuring Your Worth by Rooms That Aren't FullHow to Ask the Question: "How Do I Know I'm a Great Father?...

How To Navigate Hard Conversations with Jefferson Fisher

1 hr 22 min

Stuck in the same emotional patterns? Onsite's LivingCentered Program is a five-day intensive that helps you slow down, go deeper, and do the inner work that changes things. Learn more at ⁠https://hubs.la/Q04dV_Xl0   Have you ever taught others how to communicate, but still lost it in your own kitchen?   What if the best communicators in the world are still works in progress, and that's exactly the point?   Jefferson Fisher is a board-certified trial attorney, NY Times bestselling author of The Next Conversation, and one of themost-followed voices on communication online. Behind the millions of views is a husband, a dad, and a fifth-generation attorney from small-town Texas still figuring it out in real time. In this conversation, Miles and Jefferson get into the real stuff — a flooded house, a morning fight, imposter syndrome, and why even the best communicators still have to earn their reps every day.   Jefferson opens up about the moment being a public-facing person started changing his everyday life, why going to extremes in arguments almost never works, and the phrase his wife came up with mid-argument that changed how he sees conflict. Miles shares a raw moment from his kitchen and what happened when he finally stopped doubling down and let his wife bring the temperature down.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Enter Hard Conversations with Something to Learn, Not Something to ProveHow the Ignition and Cooling Phases Work in Real ArgumentsWhy Affirming a Feeling First Is the Most Disarming Move You Can MakeHow Vulnerability Builds More Trust Than Any Credential on the WallHow to Stop Going to Extremes in Conflict and What to Do InsteadWhy the Best at Being Human Learn It From Living, Not StudyingHow to Tell the Difference Between a Reaction and a RepairHow Fame Makes the Very Things You Teach Harder to PracticeWhy What's Good for the Family Is Good for the BusinessHow to Let Go of the Conversation You Had Scripted in Your Head Follow Human School: Y...

"I Quit Something Every Thursday" with Bob Goff

1 hr 41 min

Stuck in the same emotional patterns? Onsite's Living Centered Program is a five-day intensive that helps you slow down, go deeper, and do the inner work that changes things. Learn more at experienceonsite.com   What if the most meaningful thing you ever did wasn't whatmade you famous, but who you showed up for when nobody was watching?   What if the key to getting unstuck isn't adding more to yourlife, but having the courage to quit something on a Thursday?   Bob Goff — NYT bestselling author, founder of Love Does, andhonorary consul to Uganda — joins Miles Adcox for one of the most honest conversations in Human School history. These two have traveled conflict zones together, worked with San Quentin, and called each other in the gutted middle-of-the-night moments real friendships are made of.   Bob opens up about walking away from law, stepping back fromspeaking, and handing over the nonprofit, he literally wrote the book on. He shares the four lies he tells himself daily and why naming them changed everything. He tells the story of Kabi — a Ugandan witch doctor convicted of child sacrifice — whom Bob prosecuted, befriended on death row, and watched transform an entire prison. They go deep on finding your "eight," the epidemic of loneliness, and why so many of us are surrounded by acquaintances but starving for real friendship.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Use Context to Replace Judgment Before It Costs You a RelationshipHow to Know the Difference Between Self-Aware andSelf-AbsorbedHow to Find Your Eight and Stop Mistaking Acquaintances for FriendsHow to Quit Something Every Thursday and Why It's the Most Freeing PracticeHow to Stop Freeze-Framing People in Their Worst MomentHow to Replace "How Are You" with a Question ThatOpens a DoorHow to Recognize Your Tells and What They're ReallyProtectingHow to Catch Someone on the Bounce After the CraterHow to Connect Your Why Before You Make the MoveHow to Show Up for the Hard-to-Love Without an Agenda  Fol...

Building A Career Without Losing Yourself with Nicolle Galyon

1 hr 39 min

Nicolle mentions her time at Onsite's Living Centered Group Intensive in this conversation and the transformation thathappened for her during that program. If you want to know more about that experience, visit experienceonsite.com or give our team a call at 1(800)341-7432. Have you ever built a life that looks like everything you wanted and realized you left the most important version of yourself behind? What if going home and getting quiet enough to hear yourself was actually the bravest thing you could do? Nicolle Galyon is one of country music's most decorated songwriters — BMI Songwriter of the Year, ACM Song of the Year winner, and the writer behind hits for Dan + Shay, Lee Brice, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, andcountless others. But beyond the number ones, Nicolle has done something harder: she stopped, looked inward, and rebuilt her life around what matters most. In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Recognize When Achievement Has Become Your Medicator How to Find the Childhood Script Running Your Life Without Permission How to Trade the Pressure of Outcomes for the Freedom of Loving the Process How Stillness Unlocks the Creativity That Noise Has Been Blocking How to Build a Career Without Losing Yourself in It How to Cultivate an Abundance Mentality When Someone You Love Is Winning How Community — Not Achievement — Is the Real Marker for a Meaningful Life How to Navigate Success in a Marriage Between Two Creatives How to Raise Kids Who Feel Belonging Instead of PressureHow to Know When It's Time to Go Home Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial Mentioned in This Episode: Songs & Daughters - @songsanddaughtersNicolle's Music What We Discuss: 00:00:00 – Meet Nicolle Galyon 00:05:07 – Why Stillness Is Essential 00:07:51 – The Psychology of Boredom 00:15:08 – What Nicolle Rediscovered When She Finally Slowed Down 00:19:00 – Ref...

Hardy: Life, Fatherhood, and Figuring It Out as You Go

1 hr 47 min

Real healing for real people. Onsite offers personal growth workshops and intensive therapeutic experiences just outside Nashville and San Diego. Learn more at experienceonsite.com.   What does it actually take to stay human when the worldturns you into a commodity? And what happens when the panic attacks you've been outrunning finally catch up with you?   HARDY is one of the most respected names on Music Row. With 18 number ones to his name, songs for Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, and Ella Langley, and his own albums, including Quit and Country! Country!, he's built something rare: a career that's loud and a character that's honest. But behind the stages and the chart success is a guy who survived a terrifying tour bus accident, quietly battled panic attacks, walked into an Onsite intensive and came out the other side with something most artists never find — a healthy relationship with all of it. In this conversation, HARDY opens up about the night his tour bus flipped on the interstate, what it was like to FaceTime his fiancée covered in blood right before getting in the ambulance, and how he spent a full year numbing his way through the aftermath before his nervous system finally sent the bill. He reveals how a golf-course panic attack convinced him it was time to make the call for help, what happened when EMDR walked him back to a hospital bed he doesn't even remember, and why that infant version of him is the one he wept for the hardest. He also talks candidly about new fatherhood, the decision to cut from 90 tour dates down to 34, and why he'd rather be the “Mayor of Music Row” than the biggest name on it.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Recognize When You're Medicating Trauma Instead of Processing ItHow EMDR Can Reach Pain You Don't Consciously RememberHow to Tell the Difference Between a Panic Attack and aHeart Attack (and Why Your Brain Can Convince You of Either)How Becoming a Parent Reverses Your Perspective on Your Ow...

Dr. Jeffrey Balser: How Great Leaders Handle Hard Things

1 hr 55 min

If this conversation moves you, Onsite might be the nextstep. Their immersive workshops are where people go to stop performing and start doing the real work. Visit experienceonsite.com or call 1(800) 341-7432 to find the experience best for you.   What if the grief you buried as a teenager becomes the force that makes you human enough to lead thousands?   What if the greatest leadership lessons come not from aboardroom, but from a bedside?   Dr. Jeffrey Balser is the CEO and President of VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center, one of the most respected academic medical institutions in the world with 45,000 employees and over a billion dollars in annual community benefit. But beneath the title is a man who spent a lifetime learning what most leaders never slow down long enough to figure out: that the grief you don't deal with follows you into the boardroom, that the skills you build in crisis belong just as much at home, and that the most important thing you lead may not be on your org chart.   In this conversation, Miles and Jeff move between thepersonal and professional, with the ease of two people who have spent years paying attention. They talk about losing a mother to cancer at sixteen, how he chose the wrong path in college, and what it cost to walk out of one room where a patient didn't survive and into the next where someone needed him at full capacity. They talk about the Saturday email that confirmed the COVID vaccine worked, how his wife is to credit for Melinda keeping Nashville's parks open during the city shutdown, and why he's had the same executive coach for 25 years. What emerges in this conversation is a portrait of a man leading one of America's great institutions not by having all the answers, but by staying honest about how much he still has to learn.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Turn Personal Tragedy Into Emotional Resilience That LastsHow to Lead Tens of Thousands Without Losing the Human in the RoomHow to Use the "Weekend Rule" t...

Bear Rinehart: The Long Surrender to Freedom

1 hr 43 min

Spend a few days getting honest, going deeper, and walking out lighter at Onsite. Visit ⁠experienceonsite.com⁠ to learn more or call 1-800-341-7432 to find the best experience for your story. Have you ever carried shame so long it started to weigh more than the life you were living? What if surrender isn't giving up, but the one move that sets everything free? Bear Rinehart is the frontman and voice of NEEDTOBREATHE — one of the most distinctive vocalists of his generation, whosesongs have filled arenas for two decades. But beneath the anthems is a man who spent years growing into what the world saw as a rock-and-roll frontman. As a preacher’s kid with social anxiety, a survivor of childhood trauma, and an artist who learned early that revealing too much could cost you everything, Bear has carried more than most people would guess from the stage. In this conversation, Miles and Bear share stories about shame, recovery, faith, fatherhood, and what it costs to finally step fully into who you are. What emerges is a portrait of two men in the middle of their own ongoing surrender, finding out in real time how much they have in common. That surrender became NEEDTOBREATHE’s newest project — The Long Surrender — the most personal record yet to the band, written by Bear in the early mornings, recorded in first takes, and built around the one lesson Bear keeps coming back to: that freedom isn't found by holding it together. It's found the moment you stop and let others into your healing.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Recognize When Shame Is Masquerading as StrengthHow to Tell the Truth When You Fear Losing the RelationshipHow Surrender Becomes a Daily Practice, Not a One-Time EventHow to Create From Your Real StoryHow to Repair With Your Kids Before the Moment PassesHow to Know When Something You've Made Is True Enough to ReleaseHow to Build a Community That Goes DeeperHow to Use Influence for Impact Without Losing YourselfHow to Say Grateful 20 Years In...

Kathleen Murphy: What It Means to Come Home to Yourself

1 hr 39 min

If something in this episode resonated, it might be worth a conversation. Onsite offers intensive workshops near Nashville and San Diego for people navigating burnout, trauma, relationships, and addiction. One free call with their team can help you find the right fit. Visit ⁠experienceonsite.com⁠ or call 1-800-341-7432. Have you ever been so buried in survival that you couldn't feel your own worth? What if everything you survived was quietly shaping you into exactly the person someone else needs? Kathleen Murphy, M.A., LMFT, LPC, is one of the most respected trauma clinicians in the field. Before that, she was homeless, addicted, and living on the streets with a one-year-old daughter, cycling through fourteen treatment programs before her life changed. She opens up about her childhood trauma and how it stuck with her, growing up as "a sin" in her mother's eyes, and what it felt like to be "symbolically annihilated." She reveals how Viktor Frankl’s book, a newspaper found on the street, and a shelter bed that arrived two weeks instead of six months later changed everything — and how those experiences became the foundation for the way she teaches today. She goes deep on why our hearts are like music, how we tune each other back to the key of life, and what it really means to stop arguing with reality. In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Find Your "Heart Home" and Why It Changes Everything How Suffering Becomes Your Greatest Gift to Others How to Stop Arguing With Reality and What Changes When You Do How to Tell the Difference Between a Boundary and Reaching Your Limit How Borrowing Someone's Eyes Dissolves Conflict Without Losing Your Voice How to Tune Your Heart Back to the Key of Life How to Help Someone Without Giving Advice How to Wake Up From a Trance of Unworthiness How to Hear Someone New Even If They've Told You the Same Thing Before How to Let Your Mess Become Your Message Follow Human School: YouTube - ⁠⁠Human School Podcast⁠⁠ Instagram - ⁠⁠@h...

Chandler Moore: You Can't Heal What You Won't Let Anyone See

1 hr 49 min

With campuses near Nashville and San Diego, Onsite supportspeople navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully. Have you ever carried a secret so heavy it started to collapse everything around you? What if the most honest thing you ever did was also thebravest — and changed everyone watching? Five-time Grammy winner Chandler Moore has led worship formillions, but behind the music was a story he hadn't told anyone. In this episode, Chandler opens up about childhood trauma, addiction, 40 days in inpatient treatment, and the therapeutic disclosure that changed his marriage and his life. He reveals how recovery is reshaping his new music, why safetywas his most important discovery, and how his biggest frustrations turned out to be his calling.   Chandler goes deep into trusting your own reality, holdingtwo opposing truths, and finally stopping the performance, and how being the first in his family to do this work is now rippling into his kids, friendships, and art.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Recognize That Safety Is the Foundation of AllHealingHow to Find the Ember When You Feel Like the Fire Is GoneHow Vulnerability Becomes a Gift Instead of a PerformanceHow to Stop Testing the Waters and Start Telling Your TruthHow Your Authenticity Has an Audience and How to Find ItHow "Playing to One" Helps You Connect WithThousandsHow to Debrief What You Consume So It Doesn't Consume YouHow Owning Your Story Changes the People Watching YouHow to Hold Two Opposite Truths at the Same TimeHow to Move From Inspiring People to Actually Impacting Them Follow Human School: YouTube - Human School Podcast Instagram - @humanschoolofficial Threads - @humanschoolofficial TikTok - @humanschoolofficial   What We Discuss: 00:00:00 - Meet Chandler Moore 00:02:15 - Why This Podcast Felt Like the Right Fi...

Hunter Hayes: Chasing My Version of The Dream

1 hr 58 min

With campuses near Nashville and San Diego,Onsite supports people navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward livingmore fully.What if the music you've been making your whole life was actually the therapy you never knew you needed? What if chasing someone else's version of success is the very thing keeping you from discovering who you actually are? Hunter Hayes has been on stages since he was a toddler. He earned Grammy nominations before most people have figured out what they want to do with their lives. He toured with Taylor Swift, scored radio hits, and built the kind of career that looks flawless from the outside. But behind all of it was a kid whofelt deeply lonely, who learned early that love and acceptance were things you earned by performing, and who spent years chasing a version of success that someone else had defined for him. In this episode, Hunter goes into the emotional terrain behind his music: the relationship between performance and belonging, the cost of tying your identity to external validation from the time you're five years old, and what it feels like when early success levels off and you must decide who you are. Hereveals how years of therapy, intensive work, and learning to understand his brain finally gave him permission to stop performing his life and start participating in it. He shares the moment that songwriting stopped being about writing hits and became therapy set to a melody. What makes this conversation unique is that Hunter and Miles don't just talk about the destination, they walk through the actual work. This is a conversation about what it looks like to come back to yourself after years of giving yourself away and how creativity, when it's rooted in honesty rather than performance, can become the most powerful tool for healing you've ever had. In this conversation, you...

Dr. Neil Bomar: Why Small "Paper Cuts" Do More Damage Than Big Injuries

1 hr 32 min

Learn more about Onsite and Milestones at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully. What if the wounds you can't name are doing more damage than the ones you can? What if healing doesn't happen in a sterile office, but around a campfire, in a community, or on a paddleboard? Dr. Neil Bomar, Vice President of Medical Services at Milestones, is not your typical psychiatrist. He's a man who spent years trying to fit inside the box of Western medicine before realizing the box wasn't right for him. He traded the "treat 'em and street 'em" model of traditional medicine for a radically human approach to psychiatry. An approach that blends neuroscience, experiential therapy, and the healing power of nature and genuine connection.   In this conversation, Dr. Bomar opens up about his own "death day," the childhood moment that quietly rewired how he moved through the world. He shares what it was like to discover, well into his career, that his infectious enthusiasm and relentless positivity were, in part, a defense mechanism against pain. He goes deep into the surreal Thanksgiving when a bullet fell from the sky, struck him in the nose, and lodged in his cheek. And why, even then, his developmental wounding left the deeper mark.   Miles and Dr. Bomar explore the dangerous myth that you must choose between brokenness and resilience, the subtle harm of toxic positivity, and why leading with your highlight reel is the fastest way to kill real intimacy. They introduce frameworks like "death days," event trauma versus developmental wounding, and angel work, making complex psychological concepts feel like something you'd hear from a trusted friend.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Tell the Difference Between Event Trauma and Developmental Wounding How to Stop Weaponizing Your Story and Start Letting It Work For You How to Recognize Your "Death Day" How Toxic Positivity Can Be Just as Damaging as...

Shawn & Andrew East: Managing High-Stakes Pressure in Every Season of Life

1 hr 10 min

With campuses near Nashville and San Diego, Onsite supports people navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully.   What if the discipline that made you a champion is the same thing quietly destroying your most important relationships?   What happens when two elite athletes stop chasing gold medals and start chasing something far more meaningful — each other, their kids, and a life that actually feels like home?   Shawn Johnson East is an Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated gymnasts in American history. Andrew East is a former NFL long snapper, entrepreneur, and now holds a doctorate in psychology. Together, they've built a marriage, a family of three young kids, businesses, and a media platform in full public view. But what stands out in this conversation is the radical honesty they bring to the parts of their story.   In this deeply personal conversation, Shawn opens up about the dark side of elite gymnastics — going professional at 12, being trained to go emotionally numb under pressure, and how that survival skill followed her into adulthood and marriage. She reveals her years-long battle with disordered eating and how retiring from gymnastics left her without an identity. Andrew shares the performance anxiety that blindsided him and how losing football forced a painful gift that ultimately shaped everything good that came next. He also opens up about losing his father, Guy East, and how his dad's relentless curiosity modeled the kind of partner and father he's worked hard to become.   We talk about what it means to protect a marriage when the odds are stacked against you, and why commitment, not chemistry alone, is the thing that makes it last. Shawn and Andrew also share more about their upcoming book, The Courage to Commit, and how the title is the foundation of how they...

Meghan Riordan Jarvis: Falling Apart as a Grief Expert & Creating What Grief Was Missing

2 hr 0 min

If this conversation resonated, Onsite & Milestones are safe places to land and process grief. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully. Have you ever been hit by grief so hard that it knocked you off every foundation you thought you had? What if grief isn't a problem to be solved, but an energy inside your body that's asking to be tended? And no one ever taught you how.   Meghan Riordan Jarvis is a trauma therapist, bestselling author of the memoir End of the Hour, and the host of Grief is My Side Hustle, a podcast that has helped thousands of people feel less alone in their loss. But what makes Meghan extraordinary isn't just her clinical expertise in trauma-informed care, EMDR, and body-centered healing; it's the fact that she fell completely apart after her mother died, and had the courage to seek help as a patient in the very world she had spent her career serving. In this conversation, Meghan opens up about losing her mother six years ago and what it felt like to arrive at a treatment program as a clinician who "knew everything." She reveals the early childhood loss that shaped her, the fury that drove her to build something new, and how a morning walk with her Episcopal priest friend changed the way she practices daily. Watch in real time as Meghan does what she does best: shows up with compassion first, no fixes required. Miles and Meghan also pull back the curtain on the Grief M.E.N.T.O.R. Method: Meghan's six-component framework that is rewriting how clinicians, companies, and everyday people understand and support loss. From the neuroscience of why your brain codes grief like a trauma folder, to why the five stages of grief were never meant for you, to why your body literally cannot trust itself to heal if you never go to the bathroom during the workday, this conversation is the grief education none of us ever got.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Under...

Mallory Ervin: What I Had to Lose to Find Myself

2 hr 1 min

If this conversation resonated, Onsite offers immersive therapeutic experiences to help you slow down, reconnect, and get honest about what matters most. With campuses near Nashville and San Diego, Onsite supports people navigating burnout, relationship strain, addiction, trauma, or the sense that life feels off. Learn more at experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. A simple conversation can be the first step toward living more fully.   What happens when you stop performing your life and start living it? What if the exhaustion you're feeling isn't a sign you're doing something wrong, but proof you're finally doing something real?   Mallory Ervin has lived much of her life in front of people—as Miss Kentucky, on The Amazing Race, as a creator who's built an expansive online community, and as the founder of brands like Living Fully and In My Sundays. But what makes her story compelling isn't the resume. It's what she's done underneath all of it. Instead of hardening or hiding, Mallory has softened. She's let her life shape her work, and she hasn't rushed past the hard seasons or cleaned them up before telling the truth.   In this conversation, Mallory opens up about the cost of being known, the weight of building businesses while raising young kids, and the moments that forced her to ask whether she was living fully or just filling her days. She talks about the difference between being busy and being present and why rest became the foundation of her most successful business. She reveals what it's like to rebuild your sense of self when the world already has an opinion about who you are.   This isn't a conversation about balance or having it all figured out. It's about what it takes to stay human in the middle of a life that moves fast, feels full, and demands more than you sometimes have to give.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to stop living in the performance and start living in the presenceHow grief doesn't follow a timeline and why that's okayHow mo...

Drake White: Finding Out Rock Bottom Has A Basement

1 hr 31 min

Transform your trauma at Onsite. Visit onsiteworkshops.com to explore life-changing programs designed to help you heal, grow, and rediscover hope. What if the worst moment of your life became the foundation for everything that came after? Country music artist Drake White collapsed on stage in 2019 during a performance in Roanoke, Virginia. He was diagnosed with an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a tangled mass of blood vessels in his brain that ruptured mid-song, paralyzing his left side. What could have ended his career and his life became the beginning of a deeper story about faith, resilience, and purpose. In this conversation, Drake shares the surreal experience of having a stroke on stage and waking up in the hospital, unable to move half his body. He talks about how his wife duct-taped her leg to his and helped him relearn how to walk, only to face her own paralysis months later. He reflects on the moment a buck appeared on a trail camera behind his house and how that single image reignited his will to live. Drake goes into the basement of rock bottom, the power of covenant in marriage, and why listening to the quiet pull to “turn right instead of left” has reshaped how he lives. This is a conversation about losing everything you thought made you who you are and discovering that rebuilding teaches you who you’ve always been. In this conversation, you’ll learn: How to find purpose when everything that defined you is stripped away Why rock bottom has a basement and how foundations are built there How to turn trauma into testimony without skipping the pain How to navigate marriage when both partners are hurting How nature and hunting became part of Drake’s healing journey Why honoring bad days doesn’t cancel hope How to break free from negativity loops and victim narratives How to listen to the quiet pull guiding your next step Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most—Miles Adcox Follow Human School:YouTube – Human School PodcastInstagram –...

Donald Miller: Why the Villain’s Journey Shapes Who You Become

1 hr 44 min

Ready to do deeper work? If this conversation resonates and you’re feeling stirred to look more honestly at your own story, visit experienceonsite.com or call 1-800-341-7432. Onsite offers immersive therapeutic experiences just outside Nashville and San Diego—spaces designed to help you slow down, look under the hood, and reimagine what’s possible in your relationships and life. Have you ever wondered why the villain's journey matters more than the hero's? What if the worst thing that ever happened to you could become your greatest competitive advantage? Donald Miller didn’t set out to become one of the most influential voices in modern communication. He started by trying to write his way out of pain. From feeling invisible as a kid in Texas to becoming a bestselling author and the creator of StoryBrand, Donald’s work is built on one core truth: clarity creates connection. In this conversation, Donald opens up about the experiences that shaped him—father abandonment, poverty, ambition, and the inner villain stories we rarely examine. He shares why understanding the villain’s journey matters as much as the hero’s, how pain can become fuel rather than a prison, and why one of the most powerful phrases in leadership and parenting is simply, “Will you forgive me?” Donald and Miles explore how cognitive load impacts nearly every area of life—from relationships and parenting to business, culture, and politics. Donald reflects on becoming a father at 49, the fear of loving something you can’t control, and why congruence—not perfection—is the most effective parenting tool we have. He also offers a thoughtful critique of modern political messaging and the incentives that keep problems unsolved. This is a conversation about responsibility, healing, and learning to tell the truth—first to yourself, then to others. Follow Human School:YouTube – Human School PodcastInstagram – @humanschoolofficialThreads – @humanschoolofficialTikTok – @humanschoolofficial In this episode,...

Joshua Bassett: Vulnerability Isn't Weakness, It's the Pathway to Freedom

1 hr 33 min

What happens when you stop hiding from the hardest parts of your story? What if the moments that nearly broke you are actually the ones that wake you up?   Joshua Bassett—Emmy-winning actor, musician, and creator of the deeply honest album The Golden Years—opens up about navigating heart failure at a young age, surviving public heartbreak, wrestling with suicidal ideation, and discovering that vulnerability isn't weakness, it's the pathway to freedom. From growing up homeschooled with emotional distance in his family to living in his car in Los Angeles at 16, Joshua shares how he's learned to turn pain into purpose, shame into connection, and fear into art.   In this raw and revealing conversation, Joshua talks about the family meeting that changed everything, the lies he believed about his intelligence, the spiritual awakening that followed a psychedelic experience, and why he believes chronic fight-or-flight is the biggest problem of our time. He introduces practical tools like his "thought-feeling-impulse-truth" exercise, breathing techniques to calm your nervous system, and why artists have to "pave the road" through their own pain so others can walk it more easily.   Joshua also shares about Sammy Sundays, the homeless outreach he co-founded, why safety matters more than talent in the creative process, and how learning to say the unsaid became his greatest act of courage. This isn't a conversation about fame or celebrity. It's about what it takes to become fully human in a world that rewards performance over presence. And if you want to hear more of Joshua's story, his book ROOKIE comes out May 5, 2026. Pre-orders are available on joshuatbassett.com.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Use the "Thought-Feeling-Impulse-Truth" Framework to Process AnxietyHow Vulnerability Creates Connection, Even When It's TerrifyingHow to Get Out of Fight-or-Flight Using Science-Backed TechniquesHow to Stop Apologizing for Your Unique Way of ThinkingHow to Recognize Wh...

Janet McDonald: You Become a Better Leader by Becoming a Better Human

1 hr 12 min

What if the loneliest position you'll ever hold is the one you worked your whole life to achieve? What if everything you learned about leadership left out the most important part? Janet McDonald, CEO of Onsite, didn't start her career planning to lead with vulnerability. She started at 14, running a ladies boutique in downtown Franklin, TN while her friends worked as her employees. At nine years old, she was already holding her family together after her parents' divorce, learning early that "if it is to be, it's up to me." That message drove her through a successful career in management consulting, always climbing and achieving, until she realized something was missing.   Janet first heard about Onsite the way many do: someone told her, "It changed my life." Then another person said it. Then another. Her curiosity piqued, but she was skeptical. Either they had a really good marketing campaign, or something real was happening an hour outside Nashville, TN. When she applied to be Chief Operating Officer, she thought, "Who in their right mind is going to drive an hour every day out here?" But as she drove up the hill to the campus, something shifted immediately.   What makes Janet's leadership distinctive is that she bridges two worlds that rarely meet: strategic clarity and courageous vulnerability. In this conversation, Janet opens up about the cost of leadership, including the loneliness and isolation, and reveals how her pre-teen self still shows up in boardrooms. She shares why curiosity is the number one skill of any leader, and why the 18-inch journey from head to heart is the hardest one you'll ever make. In this conversation, you'll learn:  How to Lead from Behind Instead of in FrontHow Your Nine-to-Fourteen-Year-Old Self Still Shows Up in BoardroomsHow to Change Your Observer to Open Up New Possibilities for ActionHow to Ask "What Is It Like to Be on the Other Side of Me?"How to Depersonalize Conflict After Establishing ConnectionHow to Navigate the 18-Inch...

Tyler Hubbard: Becoming Yourself When the World Knows You as Half of Florida Georgia Line

3 hr 20 min

What if the person you became after tragedy is exactly who you were meant to be? Can you rebuild a friendship after the world watched it fall apart?   Tyler Hubbard built one of the biggest acts in country music history with Florida Georgia Line: breaking records, selling out stadiums, and changing the genre forever. But before the charts and the spotlight, he was a kid from small-town Georgia washing cars to make ends meet, learning work ethic from a father who collected people the way most collect things, and finding solace in music during the hardest moment of his life.   In this raw conversation, Tyler opens up about losing his father, Roy Hubbard, at 20 in a tragic accident, and the real story behind Florida Georgia Line's breakup. A story that is not the political narrative the internet created, but the human one about boundaries, business decisions, and two friends navigating an impossible season during a pandemic. Tyler also shares stories about why he played the inauguration, how he met his wife, Hayley, and knew she was the one, and why he's finally ready to let people see the man behind the brand.   This is a conversation about second chances, choosing faith over fear, and why sometimes the hardest thing to do is simply tell the truth.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Turn Tragedy Into Faith Instead of BitternessHow Your Childhood Work Ethic Shapes Your Adult SuccessHow to Navigate Partnership Breakups Without Destroying the RelationshipHow to Set Boundaries When Your Business Partner Wants Something DifferentHow to Handle Public Criticism Based on False NarrativesHow to Stay in the Middle When the World Demands You Pick a SideHow to Process Grief While Building a CareerHow to Rebuild a Friendship After Years of SilenceHow to Lead with Your Values When Everyone's WatchingHow to Be Vulnerable Without Being a Victim  Follow Human School:YouTube - Human School PodcastInstagram - @humanschoolofficialThreads - @humanschoolofficialTikTok - @humansch...

Ashley Gorley: Staying Human When Everyone Expects You to Be a Machine

1 hr 35 min

What does it mean to have more number one songs than anyone in country music history and still struggle with sleepless nights, wondering if any of it matters? What if the machine everyone thinks you are is actually just a person trying to figure out why they're here?   Ashley Gorley has written more number-one songs than anyone in country music history. His work has shaped the sound of modern country music through hits recorded by Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, and countless others. But the numbers don't tell his story.   Ashley grew up in Danville, Kentucky, a small farm town where sports were everything and nobody he knew loved their job. He moved to Nashville for college, then spent eleven years grinding before his first real success. He has built a career on a simple goal: to write "songwriter" on his taxes.   Despite achieving what most would consider impossible, including 85+ number one songs, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and running one of Nashville's most successful publishing companies, Ashley found himself wrestling with the weight of wondering what it all means.   Partnering with The Onsite Foundation, the success of the hit "I Am Not Okay" with Jelly Roll funded the Creatives Support Network, a place where songwriters can process their stories and struggles in a therapeutic space for no charge.   Today's conversation is an honest look at what it takes to stay human when everyone expects you to be a machine, how to carry success without letting it carry you, and why the best legacy has nothing to do with the songs you write.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Navigate Rejection Even at the Top of Your Field How Your Greatest Compliment Might Have Nothing to Do With Your Career How to Set Goals You Can Actually Control How to Recognize When Being "Used" Is Actually Okay How to Build Time for Vulnerability Into High-Pressure Creative Spaces How to Dissolve Yourself and Write for Someone Else's Voice How...

Victor The Good Boss: A Story About Second Chances For the People Who Need Them Most

1 hr 0 min

What if the person society gave up on is one conversation away from changing their entire life?   What if the best leaders don't wait for people to ask for help, but they go find them?   Victor Oliveira, known to millions as "The Good Boss," doesn't just talk about second chances. He drives the streets looking for people who need one. From buying coffee for his employees to pulling over on highways to offer hope to people living on the streets, Victor has built a movement around one simple truth: everyone deserves to be seen as equals who've just been through different struggles.   Victor's story didn't start with generosity. It started in a Massachusetts state prison, where a young man who'd dropped out of high school and fallen into drug dealing sat on a prison bed and decided his life wasn't over. That two-year sentence became his reset button.   In this raw and moving conversation, Victor opens up about the monumental moments that happened before becoming the man millions now know for stopping on the side of the road and asking one question: "Do you want help?" Through the stories he has been a part of, Victor reveals why refusing to hold people's hands and giving tough love is often what can help change people's stories. This is a conversation about redemption, leadership, and what it really means to see people. Victor doesn't just save lives. He reminds us that the most overlooked person in your city might be the one who changes everything if someone just stops long enough to care.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Turn a Prison Sentence Into a Second Chance at LifeHow to Offer Opportunity Without Enabling DependenceHow to Approach Someone Living on the Streets With Dignity and RespectHow to Build a Business That Reflects Your Values From Day OneHow to Navigate the Treatment World With No Experience and Pure DeterminationHow to Raise Money and Manage Resources for People in CrisisHow to Balance Tough Love With Radical CompassionHow to Use Social M...

Moments with Miles: When the Life You Built Starts to Stretch You

15 min

What if the thing that's exhausting you is actually the life you once begged the universe for?   What if your tiredness isn't evidence of failure, but proof that you're living a life that asks something of you?   In this solo episode, Miles Adcox shares a message that unexpectedly resonated with millions. But before unpacking why this landed so deeply, he tells a story that changed his entire perspective on gratitude, loss, and what we choose to focus on.   Miles opens up about the tension between being tired and being grateful, between feeling overwhelmed by the life you built and remembering you once dreamed about having it. He reveals why so much of the advice we hear about rest and unplugging can feel idealistic when you're in the thick of raising kids, leading teams, or building something from nothing. This isn't about glorifying burnout or romanticizing exhaustion. It's about learning to hold two truths at once: you can be stretched and still be exactly where you're supposed to be.   Miles goes deep into the concept of reframing, explaining how shifting the way we interpret our experience changes how our brain and body hold it. He shares the psychological principle that "gratitude without honesty is denial, but honesty without gratitude is despair." This conversation will help you see that not everything stretching you is breaking you; sometimes it's growing you.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to distinguish between exhaustion that drains you and exhaustion that sustains youHow a brown dead spot in a yard became a prized possession and shifted everythingHow to reframe "I have to" into "I get to" without denying the weight you're carryingHow psychological reframing changes the way your brain and body hold stressHow to hold both tiredness and gratitude without falling into denial or despairHow to recognize if your overwhelm is evidence of purpose, not failureHow the life you dreamed about still asks something of you (and why that's not a problem)How...

Dax: What Happens When You Finally Take the Shot You've Been Too Afraid to Take

1 hr 41 min

What if the anger you've been running from is actually the fuel you need?   What happens when an 11-year-old discovers manifestation, commits a decade to basketball, then rewrites his entire life story with a poem on a bus?   Dax has built a career on saying what most people are afraid to say out loud. He is blending hip hop, gospel and country influences into music speaking from a place of raw vulnerability. But before the millions of followers and sold-out tours, he was a kid who felt invisible.   In this conversation, Dax opens up about discovering the Law of Attraction at age 11, spending ten years in what he calls an "unhealthy commitment" to basketball, and the pivotal moment on a team bus when he wrote his first poem and opened up a new outcome for his life. He reveals his ten-month journey of sobriety, confronting the tough questions and realizations of his lifestyle that changed everything.   Dax shares how anger became his alchemy; not something to escape, but a force he learned to harness through repetition and mental discipline. From mental health walks to the liquor store to performing sober for the first time, Dax's story is about transforming every rejection, every missed opportunity, and every uncomfortable emotion into art that changes lives.   This is a conversation about standing in your divinity, taking the jump when it matters most, and discovering that the person you're chasing when you drink is actually who you already are when you're fully present.   In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Transform Anger Into Your Greatest MotivatorHow the Law of Attraction Changed Everything at Age 11How to Use Repetition as Your Only Real SuperpowerHow Missing Your Shot Can Become Your Greatest TeacherHow to Build an Audience From Zero to Millions Through Strategic FocusHow to Know When Alcohol Has Stopped Being a Tool and Started Being a CrutchHow to Perform Without the Substance You Thought You NeededHow to Quiet the Noise of the World So You Can Hear...

Will Guidara: The Night He Came in Last Changed Everything

1 hr 28 min

What does it cost to be exceptional at something? And is that price worth paying? How do you know when competitiveness becomes calling—or when it just becomes noise? Will Guidara grew up in restaurants, watching his father balance being a Hall of Fame dad while caring for Will's mother, who developed quadriplegia after a brain cancer diagnosis. At 12 years old, a single dinner at The Four Seasons changed everything. That night sparked a journey that would take him from Cornell to working for legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer, eventually transform Eleven Madison Park into the #1 restaurant in the world. But this isn't a story about climbing to the top; it's about what happened after. Will opens up about the night he came in dead last on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list and how that became the catalyst for completely reimagining what excellence could mean. He shares the legendary stories behind the restaurant's most magical moments. Then COVID hit, allowing Will to rethink his next steps in the New York restaurant scene. Miles and Will explore the danger of tying your entire identity to your work, what it means to welcome people truly, and why small gestures matter more than grand productions. This conversation is about hospitality as a philosophy for life—turning toward people with curiosity, being fully present, and remembering that excellence and empathy can live in the same room. In this conversation, you'll learn: How to Turn Adversity Into Your Greatest Teacher Instead of Your Biggest EnemyHow to Know If Competitiveness Is Serving You or Destroying YouHow to Create Unreasonable Hospitality in Any Relationship or Work You DoHow to Recognize When Your Identity Has Become Too Wrapped Up in What You DoHow to Be Intentional and Creative in the Pursuit of the Relationships That MatterHow to Give Yourself Grace to Feel Disappointment Before Jumping Into Cheerleader ModeHow to Create Margin When Everything You're Invited to Feels MeaningfulHow to Make Peopl...

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