EP793: Joseph Riggio - How To Make Better Decisions

Nicky Billou

"Arrogance is the ability to recognize you own the decision. You own the idea of what to do. I make the decision — and then when I make it, I own the responsibility, whether it works or it doesn't."

Most leadership training of the last two decades has sold leaders on a particular version of themselves: collaborative, humble, peer-level with their teams. On the surface, there's nothing wrong with that picture. The problem, according to Joseph Riggio, is what it quietly does to accountability. When leaders come to believe that decisions are collective, they also stop owning the outcomes — and that's where organizations quietly start to rot.

Riggio spent 36 years working at the sharp end of decision-making: with C-suite executives, high-net-worth investors, and special forces operators for whom bad decisions carried consequences far beyond a missed quarter. What he found, across all of those contexts, is a consistent pattern he calls ontological arrogance — not arrogance in the pejorative sense, but in the original one. The willingness to stand in your own authority, gather input from the people around you, and then own the call. Completely. His book, In Praise of the Ontology of Arrogance, makes the case that this quality — unfashionable as it has become — is precisely what distinguishes leaders worth following from those who manage by consensus and wonder why nothing moves.

The conversation ranges across the territory that shaped Riggio's thinking: his years as a practicing architect in 1980s New York, his encounter with Werner Erhard's training and the transformation he witnessed from the front of that room, his years studying NLP under Roy Frazier and training alongside John LaValle, and the eventual synthesis that became his Decision Architecture Correction Methodology. He and Nicky also dig into what good decision-making looks like at the level of national leadership — using Trump, Lombardi, and Hoover as case studies — and why the capacity to change your mind when new information arrives is a mark of strategic intelligence, not weakness.

Joseph Riggio is a master trainer in neuro-linguistic programming and the creator of the Decision Architecture Correction Methodology. Over a 36-year career, he has worked with senior executives, C-suite leaders, high-net-worth investors, and special forces personnel — wherever the quality of a decision carries serious weight. He trained under Roy Frazier, a trainer personally endorsed by NLP co-founder Richard Bandler, and later built close professional relationships with John LaValle, Bandler's longtime co-trainer. His recent book, In Praise of the Ontology of Arrogance, offers a framework for restoring genuine leadership accountability in an era of collaborative drift.

Learn more & connect:

https://www.josephriggio.com

Resources mentioned:

In Praise of the Ontology of Arrogance

Sex, Possibility, and Transformation — Marsha Martin

NLP training with Roy Frazier — referenced as formative; find via https://www.josephriggio.com

The Sterling Men's Weekend — https://www.sterlingmensweekend.com

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP792: JJ Virgin - What If Age Was Your Biggest Advantage

Nicky Billou

"People who are excited about aging live seven and a half years longer than people who aren't."

Most people treat declining energy, slower recovery, and creeping weight gain as the inevitable price of getting older. JJ Virgin thinks that framing is both wrong and dangerous — not because aging isn't real, but because the belief itself accelerates the decline. When you decide that slowing down is what people your age do, you stop fighting it. And then it becomes true.

Virgin has spent decades at the intersection of exercise science, nutrition, and functional medicine — long enough to watch the culture around aging shift from acceptance to optimization. What she's seen consistently is that the people who stay vibrant into their sixties, seventies, and beyond aren't doing anything mystical. They're moving hard, staying curious, refusing to act their age, and surrounding themselves with people who expect more of them.

That same mindset applies directly to business. Virgin argues that the people most likely to fade are the ones who get too comfortable — and that the antidote, whether in the gym or the boardroom, is constant challenge. Age, she contends, can actually be an advantage for entrepreneurs willing to keep showing up: you have the reps, the pattern recognition, and the credibility that no amount of raw intelligence can replicate.

The conversation ranges from the emerging science of peptides and regenerative medicine to the psychology of sales, the moral responsibility of knowing you can help someone and staying silent, and the unconventional family she has built — one that includes her ex-husband, her current husband, and a Sunday dinner tradition that most people assume is impossible after divorce.

JJ Virgin is a four-time New York Times bestselling author whose books include The Virgin Diet and The Sugar Impact Diet. She is the host of the Well Beyond 40 podcast and founder of the Health Business Growth Collective, a company dedicated to helping healthcare practitioners build financially successful practices. She has built a multi-million dollar personal brand at the intersection of health, nutrition, and entrepreneurship.

Expert Action Steps:

1. Move intentionally every single day. Daily movement is not optional maintenance — it is the most powerful tool available for extending both health span and mental sharpness.

2. Keep learning and seek out discomfort. Look specifically for challenges that force you to adapt — whether that is lifting heavier, taking on a new skill, or entering a room where you are the least experienced person.

3. Choose your thoughts about age and possibility with deliberate care. The research is clear that how you feel about aging shapes how you age. Decide who you want to be physically and mentally, and orient your daily choices around that version of yourself.

Learn more & connect:
JJVirgin.com
Well Beyond 40 podcast — available on all major platforms
Health Business Growth Collective — https://thehbgc.com/
Health Business Growth Show — available on all major platforms

Resources mentioned:
The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin — JJVirgin.com
The Sugar Impact Diet by JJ Virgin — JJVirgin.com
Understanding Women by Alison Armstrong — allisonarmstrong.com
Urolithin A / Timeline — timelinenutrition.com
BPC-157 — available through compounding pharmacies; consult a functional medicine practitioner

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP791: Amanda Johnson - How Books Can Build Your Authority

Nicky Billou

"What would be the use of me acquiring all of this for myself if I didn't leave it for somebody else?"

Most conversations about writing a book start in the same place: authority, credibility, speaking engagements, the business card that never gets thrown away. Amanda Johnson has spent 20 years in that conversation. But the insight that changed her work — and that shapes everything she does now — didn't come from a client who wanted to grow their brand. It came from a client who had 30 days to live.

Ruben was a business strategist, an empire builder, a man who had coached dozens of people in his image. When he was first diagnosed with cancer, he told Amanda he'd write his book after he beat it. He went into remission. Then the cancer came back, and they gave him a month. He called Amanda not to grieve but to get to work. He had three things left to do: hand over his business, marry his wife in a church, and finish the book. He wrote it in 30 days. He passed on day 31.

That story recalibrated what Amanda believes writing is actually for. Yes, a book puts a coach or consultant into a different tier of credibility — opens stages, closes clients, builds the kind of authority that a bio alone can't create. But beyond the business case, Amanda has found something else happening when accomplished people sit down to write. The blank page, unlike a live audience, gives nothing back. There's no room energy to read, no real-time feedback to ride. It's just the writer and their ideas — and that confrontation often reveals gaps in a framework the author didn't know were there, or stories they've been quietly carrying for years that still haven't been fully processed.

That's why giving clients a detailed chapter-by-chapter blueprint — what Amanda calls the message matrix — turned out not to be enough. The structure unlocked something, but many writers still couldn't move. They'd stall, miss emails, let the project drift. Amanda's answer was to kidnap them with consent. She created a retreat model, bringing clients together to write in community, with a witness. And that's when she saw it: for a certain type of high-achieving professional, especially those in the helping fields, there's often a piece of their story they've sealed off. They overcame something hard, moved on, and built something successful. But that sealed-off part is using energy — quietly holding them back from where they could go on stages, in their practice, in scaling. Writing, Amanda says, is one of the most powerful ways to release it. You let it come out through your hands, you look at it, and it no longer has the same grip.

Amanda Johnson is a writing coach and publisher known as The Story Oracle. She has spent over two decades helping thought leaders, coaches, and business owners find their core message, write with clarity, and bring books into the world that actually carry their voice. She founded Saved by Story House, a writing and publishing house for experts who are ready to leave something behind.

Amanda closes with three action steps for anyone who's been putting off the book:

1. Approach writing the way you've approached every other successful project in your business. You did not build what you've built without blocking time, developing a schedule, and putting protective boundaries around your work. The book deserves the same discipline. Treat it like a business priority, not a creative project you'll get to when things slow down.

2. Find a writing partner rather than a ghostwriter. A ghostwriter produces something efficient and often polished — but the energetic ownership of the work stays thin. When you write it yourself, even imperfectly, and have someone sharpen it, the book carries your fingerprints in a way that readers feel. Do as much of the writing as you can. Let someone else refine it.

3. Ask yourself honestly whether this book needs more time than you're used to giving a project. If there's a story calling to be told that still has weight when you think about it — sit with it. Find someone to witness it with you. Then put it into the world. Rushing past that story doesn't make it disappear. Processing it is often what makes the book powerful.

Learn more & connect:

Saved by Story House: https://www.savedbystory.house

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

How To Have An Unbeatable Mind with Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine

Nicky Billou

"You really have zero control over external circumstances. But when things are happening at super volatility and super fast, the bloom is off the rose that you have any control. So if you haven't learned to develop internal control and the calm abiding that allows you to be confident in spite of the VUCA — because you know that you'll be able to respond appropriately regardless of what happens externally — you're in trouble."

The world is moving faster than most human nervous systems were built to handle. Artificial intelligence is compressing decades of technological change into months. Old institutions are cracking. The social and political fabric feels like it's being stress-tested all at once. And according to Mark Divine — former Navy SEAL commander, martial artist, and one of the world's foremost teachers of mental toughness — none of this is an accident. It's the pressure that comes before a breakthrough.

Divine's framework for navigating chaos begins not with strategy or tactics, but with a deceptively simple premise: external control is an illusion, and it always was. The difference is that when the world moves slowly, you can maintain that illusion comfortably. When volatility accelerates, the illusion collapses — and the only people who remain effective are the ones who have done the inner work to build what he calls an *unbeatable mind*.

That framework spans five domains: the physical (a strong, durable body built through outdoor movement and natural discipline), the mental (developing whole-mind thinking that integrates left and right hemisphere, head and heart), the emotional (acknowledging that most adults are carrying unexamined trauma that clouds perception and decision-making), the intuitive (the signal that becomes clear once the noise in the first three domains is reduced), and the spiritual (the stillness required to discern your actual calling — not just what you're good at, but what you're here to do).

The conversation moves wide and fast — from David Hawkins' scale of consciousness to the future of human-AI integration to the possibility of longevity technology that could meaningfully extend human life. Divine doesn't shy away from the speculative edge of any of it, but his core message remains grounded: the outer world will always be beyond your control. The only leverage point is internal. Build that, and the rest becomes navigable.

**Mark Divine** is a former U.S. Navy SEAL Commander, the founder of SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind, and a bestselling author of multiple books including *The Way of the SEAL*, *Unbeatable Mind*, and *Kokoro Yoga*. He holds a black belt in multiple martial arts disciplines and has trained thousands of people — from elite military operators to corporate executives — in mental resilience, physical performance, and leadership. He is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher who has studied under masters in the Zen and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. His work sits at the intersection of Western performance science and Eastern contemplative practice.

Get outside and move. Walking, hiking, rucking, gardening — let nature be your gym. It naturally regulates sleep, improves eating habits, and unwinds the chronic tension that keeps most people in low-grade fight-or-flight.

Practice box breathing daily: inhale for five counts, hold for five, exhale for five, hold for five. Twenty minutes morning and afternoon gradually retrains the nervous system away from overdrive toward calm and steadiness.

Do nothing. Not meditation with a technique — just sit quietly without producing anything. Most driven people are almost entirely action-oriented. Stillness is the counterpart, and without it, clarity rarely surfaces.

Learn more & connect:

https://markdivine.com/

You can find all of Mark's books at https://markdivine.com/.

*Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.*

Roger Simon's New Book - EMET, One Man's Search For Meaning

Nicky Billou

“You don’t even have to succeed because it’s the process that makes you a man.”

Truth, purpose, faith, and the battle between good and evil take center stage in this episode of The Thought Leader Revolution. Through the lens of Roger Simon’s new book, EMET: One Man’s Search For Meaning, this conversation explores the Hebrew word for truth, the ancient golem myth, and the timeless human search for meaning. It’s a powerful discussion about confronting doubt, choosing purpose over comfort, and understanding why storytelling can reveal deeper spiritual realities.

Roger Simon shares how EMET blends thriller, mythology, modern Middle East events, and spiritual inquiry into one compelling story. He discusses the influence of faith on his writing, why every person has a purpose, and how his own journey from secular politics toward deeper religious reflection shaped the book. He also offers practical wisdom on aging, discipline, exercise, and living in service to something greater than yourself.

Roger Simon is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, bestselling novelist, journalist, and founder of PJ Media. Known for his Moses Wine mystery novels, political commentary, and decades of cultural insight, Roger continues to challenge readers with stories that combine suspense, philosophy, faith, and truth.

Expert action steps:

1. Develop a daily spiritual practice that keeps you connected to a higher purpose.

2. Exercise consistently and make movement part of your everyday routine.

3. Be intentional about nutrition and avoid excessive eating later in the day.

Learn more & connect:

Check out this article written about Roger’s book, EMET:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/bright/author-roger-l-simons-emet-conjures-a-protector-6003135

You can find EMET on Amazon.

https://a.co/d/015WTqn2

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP788: Matt Gallo - Unreasonable Confidence

Nicky Billou

“If you’re ever getting the feeling that there’s something more or that something new is possible, pull on that string.”

What happens when the life you’ve built no longer feels aligned with who you’re becoming? For many entrepreneurs, growth isn’t just about scaling a business—it’s about having the courage to reinvent yourself when new opportunities emerge. The challenge is that change rarely arrives with certainty. It arrives with risk, discomfort, and a decision to move forward before all the answers are known.

In this episode of The Thought Leader Revolution, Matt Gallo shares a journey that began in the fitness industry and evolved into business consulting, systems design, and AI automation. Along the way, he learned firsthand that technical expertise alone isn’t enough to build a successful business. Marketing, sales, systems, and leadership all play critical roles in transforming a passion into a sustainable enterprise.

Matt discusses the lessons learned from building and operating successful CrossFit gyms, navigating business challenges, and leading through the uncertainty of the COVID era. While many businesses struggled during lockdowns, Matt and his team focused on serving their community, maintaining connection, and adapting quickly to changing circumstances. Their commitment to delivering results and preserving community ultimately helped the business grow when many others contracted.

The conversation also explores the growing impact of artificial intelligence and automation on modern businesses. Matt explains why many entrepreneurs feel overwhelmed by rapidly changing technology and how simple AI-powered systems can eliminate bottlenecks, improve customer experience, and create more freedom for business owners. Rather than viewing technology as a replacement for human connection, he sees it as a tool that allows entrepreneurs to spend more time serving people and less time managing repetitive tasks.

Throughout the discussion, one theme remains constant: unreasonable confidence. Not blind optimism, but a willingness to trust your instincts, remain curious, and pursue possibilities that others might overlook. Whether you’re building a business, leading a team, or navigating a major life transition, Matt’s story is a powerful reminder that growth often begins when you decide to pull on the thread of what’s possible.

Matt Gallo is an entrepreneur, coach, and business systems strategist with a background in health, wellness, fitness, and community leadership. With experience in coaching, budgeting, event management, and organizational development, he has spent years helping individuals and businesses improve performance through better systems and processes. Today, through TrueFlow AI, he helps business owners leverage automation and artificial intelligence to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and create scalable growth without sacrificing the human element that drives great businesses.

Expert action steps:

1. Stay curious and keep learning.

2. Practice unconditional love and compassion.

3. When you sense a new possibility or opportunity, explore it instead of ignoring it. 

Learn more & connect:

https://trueflow.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-gallo-2a070829/

Also mentioned:

• CrossFit culture and entrepreneurship

• Leadership through adversity

• Community building during crisis

• Business partnerships

• Delegation and systemization

• AI automation and business efficiency

• Revenue diversification

• Sovereignty and personal freedom

• Customer experience as a competitive advantage

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP787: TL Nuggets #239 - 4 Cs And a P!

Nicky Billou

“The four C’s and a P basically are the foundation for you to build a thought leadership practice”

The most successful thought leaders don’t build influence by accident. They follow a process that turns expertise into visibility, trust, and ultimately business growth. The Four Cs and a P framework provides a simple roadmap: create valuable content, build credibility through proven results, develop recognition within your industry, convert authority into clients, and use platforms that amplify your message. When these elements work together, expertise becomes a business asset capable of creating both impact and income. 

The framework also highlights an important reality: great ideas alone are rarely enough. Content without credibility lacks trust. Credibility without visibility limits growth. Visibility without clients creates attention but not revenue. The final piece is platform—the channels and assets that help your message reach more people. Podcasts, books, speaking stages, websites, social media, media appearances, and email lists all work together to expand influence. Used strategically, the Four Cs and a P provide a practical foundation for building a scalable thought leadership practice and transforming expertise into meaningful results.

Also in this episode:

- Matt Church

- Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

- Robert Dilts: NLP Master Practitioner

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP786: Scott Gannon - I Did NOT Want To Be My Own Best Case Study

Nicky Billou

“I was expecting to create a perpetual wealth out of it. And that’s really what I try to do for people. Create a machine of perpetual building of wealth.”

Financial planning is often treated as something built around growth, returns, and retirement, but real life has a way of testing plans in unexpected ways. Building wealth is not only about increasing numbers on a statement. It is also about creating flexibility, control, and the ability to act when life suddenly changes direction. Financial structures become most valuable when they reduce friction and allow important decisions to happen quickly rather than forcing people into delays, panic, or sacrifice. True security is less about predicting the future and more about being prepared regardless of what happens.

Scott Gannon explains how his views shifted from chasing returns toward creating control. After spending decades in traditional investing and experiencing the stress and uncertainty that came with market volatility, he began searching for a more predictable approach to wealth building. When his daughter faced a life-threatening health crisis, he unexpectedly became the real-world example of the very systems he teaches clients to create. Scott describes having immediate access to capital that allowed his family to move quickly and secure life-saving treatment without waiting on approvals or disrupting long-term financial stability.    

Scott is the founder of Magnify Wealth and has spent more than two decades helping business owners rethink how money flows through their lives and businesses. After becoming frustrated with the uncertainty of conventional investing and major market downturns, he shifted his focus toward protecting capital, improving liquidity, and creating strategies designed to give people greater certainty and control. His work centers on helping entrepreneurs structure money so it can serve multiple purposes while creating security against unexpected challenges such as health emergencies, taxes, economic shifts, and long-term legacy planning.

Expert Action Steps

1. Build liquidity before you need it rather than scrambling during an emergency.

2. Shift financial thinking from maximizing returns to maximizing control and flexibility.

3. Create long-term structures that serve multiple purposes: emergency funding, business growth, and legacy planning.

Learn more & connect:

https://magnifywealth.ca/

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP785: TL Nuggets #238 - Embrace Sales! Embrace Selling! Embrace Serving!

Nicky Billou

“Sales is love. Love is sales.”

Sales is not something to avoid. It is the bridge between a problem and a solution. The biggest obstacle for many entrepreneurs is not marketing, content creation, or visibility. It is the reluctance to have direct conversations that help people make decisions. Business growth happens when sales is viewed as service, not pressure. When sales is approached with genuine care, it becomes a way to help people move beyond pain, uncertainty, and inaction toward meaningful results.

Many business owners treat sales as a necessary evil when it is actually one of the highest forms of service. The message throughout this episode is that sales creates the opportunity to understand someone’s challenges, help them believe in a better future, and guide them toward solutions. Better sales skills lead to greater confidence, stronger businesses, more fulfilled clients, and a larger impact on the people who need help the most.

This episode is a direct call to action for entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and thought leaders. Rather than looking for shortcuts, the focus is on developing the discipline, conviction, and commitment required to become exceptional at selling. Growth comes through practice, mentorship, coachability, and a willingness to serve others at a higher level. The more sales is embraced, the more opportunities there are to create transformation for others and success for yourself.

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

EP784: Jeff Kruszyna - A Bold Stand For Freedom

Nicky Billou

“There’s no big tech censorship on good old-fashioned physical management.”

Freedom depends on people being willing to take action rather than assuming someone else will solve the problem. Movements, businesses, and causes survive when people communicate directly, build trust, and create systems that cannot easily be controlled by outside forces. Attention has become harder to earn in a world full of noise, algorithms, and gatekeepers, making direct relationships more valuable than ever. Success often comes from choosing courage over comfort and moving into challenges instead of away from them. 

Jeff Kruszyna explains how direct mail continues to work in an era dominated by digital marketing and social platforms. Jeff argues that physical mail creates a stronger connection because it demands attention and avoids many of the filters and censorship concerns found online. He shares stories of supporting political and charitable causes, helping organizations survive pressure campaigns, and building fundraising systems that generated significant results when other channels faced obstacles. 

Jeff is a fundraising strategist and founder of JMK Victory who has raised more than $100 million for America First campaigns, conservative organizations, Christian charities, and veteran groups. Jeff specializes in direct mail fundraising and has spent more than two decades helping causes, political campaigns, and nonprofits communicate effectively while building long-term donor relationships.

Expert action steps:

1. Commit to continuous learning and curiosity rather than assuming you’ve mastered your field.

2. Move toward difficult situations with courage instead of retreating from discomfort.

3. Build a foundation around faith, values, and strong people who help keep you aligned.

Learn more & connect:

https://www.jmkvictory.com/

https://getjeffk.com/

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.