Most people don't wait until the end of life to discover what's important.

They simply wait too long to act on what they've known all along.

Inspired by Bronnie Ware's The Five Regrets of the Dying, this episode explores the hidden pattern behind the most common life regrets and why so many ambitious people unknowingly build lives around expectations instead of intention.

If you've been caught in hustle culture, constantly postponing happiness until the next milestone, this episode offers a different perspective.

Rather than blowing up your life, Joey explains how small shifts in awareness can help you reconnect with what actually matters.

• The real meaning behind the five deathbed regrets

• Why high performers are especially vulnerable to burnout

• How societal expectations quietly shape our decisions

• Why authentic living begins with better questions

• Reflection exercises to help you start course correcting today

00:00 The Question Successful People Avoid

00:42 The Five Regrets of the Dying

02:06 One Pattern Behind Every Regret

03:14 Why This Book Changed My Life

05:28 The Five Deathbed Regrets

07:38 Whose Life Are You Living?

09:52 The "Later" That Never Comes

11:18 Borrow the Clarity Now

12:15 Course Correct Without Starting Over

13:49 Awareness Is the Beginning

15:02 Final Reflections

Connect with Joey on your favourite social platforms!

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joeyvaillancourt/

https://www.facebook.com/joey.vaillancourt.9/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-vaillancourt/

https://www.youtube.com/@joeyvaillancourt-realinfluence

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/the-30-day-challenge/

Enhance your mental clarity, focus, and brain wellness with NeuroVizr—get 10% off with code JOEYV. https://neurovizr.com/?ref=rirxqhll

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

It's 9 PM.

You told yourself you'd be done hours ago.

But you're still answering messages, checking one more thing, handling one more problem, and convincing yourself that this season is temporary.

For many entrepreneurs and high performers, the issue isn't a lack of discipline. It's not poor time management. It's a subconscious pattern that equates being needed with being valuable.

In this episode, Joey Vaillancourt shares the personal story that changed his relationship with work, family, and success. From hustle culture conditioning to high functioning anxiety and the constant need to stay available, he explores why so many successful people struggle to actually be present in their own lives.

This conversation is about nervous system regulation, awareness, work life balance, and learning how to stop overworking without sacrificing your ambitions.

The goal isn't doing less.

The goal is becoming someone who can fully experience the life they're working so hard to build.

• High performer burnout and hidden pressure patterns

• Why being available is not the same as being present

• The relationship between overworking and identity

• Stress management for entrepreneurs

• High functioning anxiety and subconscious conditioning

• The downside of hustle culture

• How nervous system regulation supports sustainable success

• Practical ways to reconnect with what matters most

00:00 The 9 PM Moment

01:11 Why Overworking Isn't a Time Problem

02:37 Being Available vs Being Present

03:41 The Night That Changed Everything

05:04 The Wake-Up Call From My Wife

06:21 Repeating the Same Pattern

07:16 What You're Really Working For

08:08 Principle 1: Available Is Not Present

10:02 Principle 2: Pressure Is a Learned Pattern

12:25 Principle 3: The Life You're Protecting

15:43 Principle 4: You Don't Need to Leave to Change

18:36 Finding Peace Before the Next Milestone

18:52 Awareness Is the First Shift

20:08 The Question That Changes Everything

Connect with Joey on your favourite social platforms!

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joeyvaillancourt/

https://www.facebook.com/joey.vaillancourt.9/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-vaillancourt/

https://www.youtube.com/@joeyvaillancourt-realinfluence

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/the-30-day-challenge/

Enhance your mental clarity, focus, and brain wellness with NeuroVizr—get 10% off with code JOEYV. https://neurovizr.com/?ref=rirxqhll

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

Why do some comments stay with us for years while others roll right off our backs?

In this episode, Joey Vaillancourt explores the hidden reason feedback feels so personal and why criticism often triggers something much deeper than the conversation itself.

Using a personal story about receiving difficult workplace feedback, Joey breaks down the beliefs, emotions, and unconscious patterns that shape how we respond when someone points out a weakness, challenge, or blind spot.

You'll learn how to receive feedback with a growth mindset, separate facts from stories, and use criticism as a tool for self-leadership rather than self-judgment.

If you're a high performer who struggles with criticism, overthinking, or feeling not enough, this episode will give you a practical framework for responding differently.

TheGreatLifeExperiment.ca — You built life. You hit the goals. But the pressure never actually left.

The Great Life Experiment is a free 30-day challenge with one powerful question each day to help uncover the unconscious patterns driving stress and suffering.

Start here → thegreatlifeexperiment.ca

🔗 Take the FREE Pressure Pattern Profile Quiz → https://joeyvaillancourt.com/pressure-pattern-quiz/

• Why feedback feels threatening

• Constructive feedback vs personal identity

• How to stop taking criticism personally

• The beliefs driving emotional reactions

• The Real Influence Ladder framework

• Emotional regulation during difficult conversations

• Receiving feedback with a growth mindset

00:00 The Feedback That Haunted Me for Years

01:05 Why Feedback Feels Personal

02:13 The Belief Behind Every Reaction

03:21 Feedback Is a Mirror, Not a Verdict

04:22 The "B Player" Story

06:38 Why Meaning Creates Suffering

09:02 What Feedback Meant Growing Up

10:16 Separating Facts From Stories

11:08 A Real-Life Example at Home

13:20 The Question That Changes Everything

15:03 The Real Influence Ladder

18:56 Feedback as Information, Not Identity

21:18 The Gift Hidden Inside Criticism

Connect with Joey on your favourite social platforms!

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joeyvaillancourt/

https://www.facebook.com/joey.vaillancourt.9/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-vaillancourt/

https://www.youtube.com/@joeyvaillancourt-realinfluence

https://joeyvaillancourt.com/the-30-day-challenge/

Enhance your mental clarity, focus, and brain wellness with NeuroVizr—get 10% off with code JOEYV. https://neurovizr.com/?ref=rirxqhll

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