For two decades I looked back on my life and saw a list of failures, the corporate job I left, the farm that folded, the marriage that ended, the masterminds I demanded refunds from. Black and white, right or wrong. Even the good stuff landed as proof I'd fallen short.

This episode is about the word "failure" and how much of a life changes when you stop using it. I go through my own examples, one at a time and what each was actually training me for, including the belief I carried into every room that quietly guaranteed the outcome. Pain is real; the suffering is the story laid over it. You get to choose the meaning, and you're not behind, no matter what your past looks like.

Helpful Links:

The Great Life Experiment
You built the life. You hit the goals. But the pressure, overthinking, and old patterns still keep showing up. The Great Life Experiment is a free 30-day challenge with one question a day to help you uncover the unconscious patterns underneath it all.

Take the FREE quiz here: Pressure Pattern Profile Quiz

Topics covered

• The glasses that changed everything and the prescription glasses couldn't fix

• Handed-down beliefs: the worldview you inherited without choosing

• Naming the inner prescription and testing it instead of obeying it

• Why evidence follows focus and how that keeps a belief alive

• Ownership vs. blame: not your fault, still your responsibility

Chapters:

00:00 When everything looks like failure

00:33 Welcome to Real Influence

00:58 A quick thing before we start

01:20 The word I stopped using

02:20 Quitting hockey out of fear

03:46 The farm, the marriage, the "failures"

04:20 The masterminds and the refund clause

05:50 The moment I saw it was a choice

06:05 You're not behind — you're on time

08:28 Reframing each story for what it trained

13:33 Living your life as an experiment

15:00 Choosing the meaning from here

Connect with Joey on your favourite social platforms!

Joey Vaillancourt (Real Influence website)

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

YouTube

Enhance your mental clarity, focus, and brain wellness with NeuroVizr—get 10% off with code JOEYV.

Transform your meditation and boost sleep, creativity, and focus with Sens.ai—save $100 with code REALINFLUENCE.

About:

Joey Vaillancourt is the host of Real Influence, a show for high performers who can't turn it off. If you've built the life, hit the goals, and still feel the pressure, this is for you. Joey helps entrepreneurs and executives rewire the unconscious patterns driving the need to force, fix, and prove, so they can achieve more by leading with presence instead of pressure.