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What actually makes a life incredible?

Not big moments.

Not Instagram highlights.

Not achievement for achievement’s sake.

In this episode, Ryan and Vic unpack what they really mean by “build the incredible life you deserve” — and why it has far more to do with foundations than outcomes.

If your life were a house… which part of the foundation is cracking?

In this episode, we explore five core building blocks:

1. Purpose – Direction, Not Pressure

2. Relationships – Belonging Takes Intention

3. Joy & Play – Not a Reward, But Fuel

4. Growth & Learning – Stay Open

5. Alignment & Integrity – The Tension You Feel Matters

—

Reflection Questions from This Episode

• What are you optimizing for right now: performance, approval, or meaning?
• Who do you feel most yourself around?
• Who knows what you’re actually carrying?
• What did you used to do just because it made you feel alive?
• Where are you leaking energy?
• What small boundary would bring you relief?

You don’t need to overhaul your life.

Pick one foundation.

Choose one small action.

Just start.

🎧 Listen now on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Prior GCY Episodes Mentioned

• Get Unf*cked: Your Are Not a Problem to Fix (A companion to this episode)
• Purpose: Define, Discover and Live Your Why
• The Energy Between Us: What Makes Relationships Meaningful with Susan Clark
• Let's Talk About Our Boundaries!

External Resources

• The School of Joy (schoolofjoy.co)
• Ingrid Fetell Lee’s TED Talk, "Where Joy Hides and How to Find It" and book Joyful

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to interpret discomfort, confusion, or lack of momentum as proof that something is wrong with us.

In this episode, Ryan and Vic challenge that assumption.

They unpack what it really means to get unfcked* — not by fixing yourself, but by recognizing when you’re simply under-resourced, not broken.

Together, they explore three core elements that are often missing when life starts to feel heavy or stuck:

• Clarity – not certainty or a 10-year plan, but orientation
• Direction – movement without needing to feel “ready”
• Autonomy – the right to want what you want without justification

You’ll hear personal stories, coaching reflections, and practical reframes to help you stop diagnosing yourself as the problem — and start asking better questions about what’s actually missing.

In this episode:

• Why confusion and discomfort are not character flaws
• How the “fix yourself” mindset quietly runs the self-help industry
• The difference between being broken and being under-resourced
• Why motivation follows action (not the other way around)
• What autonomy really costs — and why it’s worth it

Reflection questions from the episode:

• What are you assuming is a personal flaw that might actually be a missing input?
• If you didn’t need to be sure, what would you try?
• Where are you living someone else’s version of “enough”?
• If you assumed you weren’t broken, what would you stop apologizing for?

Key takeaway:

You don’t need fixing.

You need support, space, and permission to listen to yourself.

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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Vic and Ryan kick of Season 3 of Go Coach Yourself!

They look back at the 2025 Season 2 and tease what is coming in 2026. They touch on Heated Rivalry, both the TV show and the books, their amazing 2025 guests, how they will double down on the tagline for 2026 and extend an invitation.

Their invitation: We want hear from you. We are looking for folks who want be coached, folks who want hear their issue or their challenge or their successes talked about. We want answer your questions and help you get unfucked to build the incredible life you deserve.

So reach out. You can send us a text message directly via the link below. You can reach out to either of us on LinkedIn or you can email us at hey@gocoachyourselfpodcast.com

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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Every year, the holiday season invites us into a strange mix of celebration, reflection, chaos, joy, expectation, and—let’s be honest—just trying to keep it together long enough to coast into January with our sanity intact.

So this year, Go Coach Yourself! is offering a little gift: The 12 Days of Coaching, a playful redux of the classic “12 Days of Christmas,” reimagined as a short, daily burst of leadership wisdom to close out the year strong.

Instead of partridges, pear trees, and various types of birds no one actually wants, each day brings a micro-practice designed to help leaders reset, re-center, and re-enter the new year with intention. Think of it like a tiny advent calendar for your leadership brain—no chocolate, but way more satisfying.

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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In this episode of Go Coach Yourself!, Vic and Ryan tackle the common urge to fix people's problems rather than hold space and truly listen.

Dive into the reasons why jumping into fixer mode doesn't work and hear about the importance of holding space and providing support without solving. Learn why your well-intended advice might backfire and how to create meaningful connections.

This episode has practical tips and empowering questions that help you show up in a way that supports and doesn't solve.

Links to articles:

HBR - What Great Listeners Actually Do

Psychology Today - How Unsolicited Advice Harms Your Relationships

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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In this episode of Go Coach Yourself! hosts Vic and Ryan answer four reflection questions to close out the year meaningfully.

They explore overcoming challenges, building or breaking habits, feeling proud, and strengthening relationships by looking back on their year and focusing in on some key moments. Through personal anecdotes, they touch on themes such as the importance of action over motivation, dealing with physical injuries, improving sleep habits, and reconnecting with past colleagues.

They encourage you to use these questions not just at the year-end but any time for personal growth.

Four questions:

1. What is one challenge you have overcome this year and what did it teach you about yourself?

2. What's a habit you've built or broken that has improved your quality of life this year?

3. What is a moment from this year when you felt truly proud of yourself, what happened?

4. What relationship you have strengthened this year and what made it grow?

Two bonus questions:

- What's a meaningful act of kindness you've experienced or given recently?

- What's one thing you're grateful for this year that you might have taken for granted in the past?

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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Have you ever looked at your career and thought, “Does any of this even make sense?”

In this episode, Ryan and Vic unpack two common career paths:

• The portfolio career – built through experiments, pivots, and lots of different chapters.
• The mastery career – built through depth, focus, and long-term growth in a specific craft or field.

Neither is better. What matters is how you understand your patterns, your identity, and the meaning inside your story.

Ryan shares his non-linear path across wine, HR, L&D, and coaching as an example of a portfolio career. Vic shares how she built a mastery career in leadership and manager development without a traditional degree, and why experience and curiosity matter just as much as credentials.

You’ll hear:

• Common limiting stories for both portfolio and mastery careers (and how to reframe them).
• How to spot the patterns that have been there all along, even when your CV looks “messy” or “too narrow.”
• Why your next move should be driven by identity, not fear.

We wrap with practical coaching questions you can use right away to make sense of where you’ve been and what might be next.

This episode is for you if:

• You’ve done a lot of different things and worry you “never stuck with anything.”
• You’ve gone deep in one area and feel stuck or trapped by your expertise.
• You’re somewhere in between and just want language and clarity for your journey.

Listen in, grab a notebook, and start seeing your career through a kinder, clearer lens.

Resources

• Go Coach Yourself! - You Are Not Your Job Title
• Go Coach Yourself! - Uncovering Your X-Factor: Conversations on Honesty and Intention with Francesca Ranieri

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

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Are you holding back on your dreams because you're scared of failing or not being perfect?

Tune in as Vic and Ryan discuss why starting small, slow, and even scared is the secret to forward momentum.

Through personal stories and practical tips to help you take that leap this epidose covers how to get started despite the fear or desire for perfection. Its never too late, you are not too old, you are qualified enough, start slow, start small, start scared, just get started.

Links to Previous Episodes

Summer Shorts - This is Goodness in Failure

Why is 'What Do You Want?' Such a Tough Question

Confronting Your Inner Sabateurs

Finding, Connecting and Nurturing Your Leader Within

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk