Topic hub

Mindset & beliefs

Everything I do starts here. As a child I was told I might never speak; the belief that I would proved stronger than the prognosis. These episodes dig into how beliefs form, how they quietly run your behaviour, and how — with the right tools from NLP and psychology — you can rewrite the ones that hold you back.

95 episodes

11 min

Does Habit Tracking Work? The Mechanism Behind the Tick Box

David Watts unpacks the psychology of habit tracking — why the humble tick box works, and why it isn't magic. Drawing on self-monitoring research, the what-the-hell effect and the work of James Clear and Charles Duhig…

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11 min

Deep Work: The Neuroscience of Real Focus

Deep work isn't a personality trait — it's a trainable capacity, and the modern world is engineered to fragment it. David unpacks the mechanisms behind focus failure: attention residue, the 23-minute ramp, and the dop…

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13 min

Persuasion vs Manipulation: Where the Line Actually Is

David Watts dismantles the false equation that all influence is manipulation, offering three testable questions that draw a sharp line between the two. Drawing on threat-detection neuroscience, Cialdini's principles,…

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12 min

How to Stop Overthinking: Quieting a Busy Mind Without the Woo

David Watts unpacks the mechanism behind overthinking — the default-mode network, threat-driven problem-solving, and why 'just stop thinking about it' backfires — then offers five grounded tools to quiet a busy mind.…

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11 min

Habit Stacking: Bolt the New Onto the Sturdy

Why your morning coffee runs flawlessly on autopilot while your good intentions collapse by Thursday — and how to borrow that reliability. David unpacks the cue-routine-reward loop, the one-sentence formula for habit…

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11 min

Why Positive Affirmations Don’t Work (and What Does)

Positive affirmations don't just fail for the people who need them most — they actively backfire. David unpacks the 2009 Wood study, explains why the brain treats a bold declaration as a lie to be rebutted, and lays o…

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14 min

Why Willpower Fails (And What Actually Works)

David Watts dismantles the seductive myth that lasting change is a matter of wanting it more. Drawing on the neuroscience of habit, dopamine, and environment design, he explains why willpower is the wrong engine — and…

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8 min

The Machine That Gave Me My Voice Back

The voice narrating this episode is an AI clone of my own — trained on about three hours of my real recordings, because my health does not always check my publishing calendar. This episode is the machine introducing i…

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13 min

Why I’m Back (And Why Most of What You’ll Hear Isn’t Me)

The show is back — and this episode is me, live at the microphone, explaining everything. Where I've been (the honest version: CIDP, hospitals, and a body that keeps picking fights with itself). Why I stopped conventi…

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10 min

Living with Chronic Pain

In today's episode, David provides a raw and honest update on his ongoing health journey, particularly his struggle with pain and muscle cramps that have intensified despite medical treatments. He shares his latest th…

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44 min

Nicki Rowbotham — Embrace Your elegant Power

In this episode, I chat with Nicki About her latest book. It's time to shine! Nicky Rowbotham’s Embrace Your Elegant Power will help you move from playing small to shining bright in your life in a way that works for y…

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42 min

Kevin Palmieri — Thoughts Are Things Choose Yours Wisely

In this episode, I chat with Kevin about his journey and how doing inner work can result in outer success. A little about Kevin: I am the CFO, Founder & Co-Host of Next Level University, a Global Top 100 Self-Improvem…

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42 min

Tramayne Monaghan — The Shepherd And The Beast

In this episode, I chat with Tramayne about his book The Shepherd And The Beast, the hero's journey for leaders. The hero’s journey is for everyone. We all need to be leaders in a world awash with people’s opinions an…

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48 min

Malcolm Ray — The Tyranny Of Growth

The Tyranny of Growth is a modern epic that exposes the lie of economic growth. It provocatively recounts how the 2008 global financial meltdown and COVID-19 pandemic have become the leading cause of governments’ and…

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40 min

Terry Angelos — Fine Artist, Wife Mother, Author White Trash

In this episode, I chat with Terry about her book White Trash My Year As A High-Class Call Girl. This is an incredibly raw and real account of a year in the life of the author. In my opinion, a book that took incredib…

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45 min

Prof Wahbie Long — Author, Psychologist, Thinker

On this episode I chat with Wahbie about his latest book Nation On The Couch, this is a fascinating interview as we discuss the psychology of South Africa. About Wahbie: Wahbie Long, PhD, is a senior lecturer and clin…

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40 min

Ralph Mathekga — The ANC‘s Last Decade

On this episode I talk with Ralph about his latest book The ANC's Last Decade. Ralph is an incredibly humble man with a keen political eye in his book he talks about the decline of the ANC and how it could potentially…

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40 min

Daniel Strauss — The Billionaire Mindset

On this episode I chat with Daniel about his roots, growing up and his journey to become a successful venture capitalist. In The Billionaire Mindset, Daniel explains what this means and how to adopt this life-changing…

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50 min

Frank Vos — Businessman, Author, Coach Mentor, Beyond Burnout

On this episode we chat to Frank about his life, career and his latest book Beyond Burnout. About Frank: As a CEO, having wrestled for over two decades with the trials and tribulations that come with running a multi-n…

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41 min

Robin Wheeler — Entrepreneur, Mystic, Coach, Author

On this episode I chat with Robin about his insight series of books and we also talk about his brand Being Yourself For A Living. From Robin: There’s a new way to be, a new humanity. It’s not new to me but I’m feeling…

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46 min

Adii Pienaar — Entrepreneur, Family Man, Author

On this episode I chat with Adii about the companies he has founded, his Latest Book Life Profitability, and his latest business venture. Adi shares the following with us: I'm not a great fan of labels. For as long as…

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43 min

Pepe Marais — Entrepreneur, Author, Creative, Thinker,

On this episode I chat with Pepe about his new book Twenty Habits That Break habits. This is a brilliant follow up to Growing Greatness and I would definitely recommend reading both books. Pepe is the author of Growin…

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30 min

Colleen Benade — Entrepreneur, Healer, Body Talk, Reiki

On this episode I chat with Colleen about her healing practice, we talk about the various healing modalities she uses including Body Talk and Reiki. Colleen is passionate about people and their individual transformati…

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35 min

Tim Keys — Entrepreneur, Trainer, Coach, Sales Genius

On this episode I chat with Tim about Virtual Selling and what the lockdown and subsequent work from home ethos means for selling. Dubbed the “professor” because of his passion for effective learning, Tim founded the…

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37 min

Anne Biccard — Author, ER Doctor, Animal lover

On this episode I chat with Dr Anne Biccard author of Saving a Stranger’s Life.The Diary of an Emergency Room Doctor Fair warning this book will make you laugh and cry, and you will not walk away from it without a new…

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36 min

Michael Hook — Entrepreneur, Platinum Tribe Creator, Author

On this episode I chat with Michael about his book 2020 The Year that Killed Retirement 2020 The Year that Killed Retirement is a delightful book. Michael Hook believes that retirement as we know it is dead and urges…

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13 min

The Chef Show — Demo

On this demo episode we chat with Chef Koo Pillay and Sarah Gray about the SA Chefs Association. What does the association do and what some of the plans are going forward.

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37 min

Mike Saunders — Entrepreneur, Digital Crusader, Author

On this episode I chat with Mike about his latest book Human Centric. Mike Saunders is a digital consultant in the digital economy, a successful entrepreneur and a prolific author. His extensive experience spans more…

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41 min

Deborah Hartung — Human Resources, People, Culture, Change

On this episode I chat with Deborah about HR, Culture and Change. Are you a business or HR leader who wants to help create the new world of work and lead with authenticity and empathy? Are you ready to change beliefs,…

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41 min

Lucy Rodrigues — Transformational Coach, Energy Healer

On this episode we take a slightly different angle as we chat to Lucy about her life, work and journey. Lucy says "my work involves working closely with others, as their transformation coach. Through my own journey, I…

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47 min

Malcolm Mooi — Entrepreneur, Educator, Ed Tech Pro

On this episode I chat with Malcolm about the state of education in our country, where we are going with education in the digital age. We also chat about the platform he has launched called Zibuza.net very clearly a p…

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41 min

Penni Du Plessis Divine Space

On this episode I change course just a little and we explore the healing properties of sound, colour and energy with Penni. I have personally had a couple of treatments with Penni and they are awesome, her Antanea tec…

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26 min

Charlotte Kemp — Futurist, Speaker, Author

On this episode I chat with the effervescent Charlotte Kemp about her latest book Futures Alchemist. The book is a combination of educational guide and adventure story. Definitely on my must read list. http://charlott…

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34 min

Derek Cikes — Commercial Director Payflex

On this episode I chat to Derek Cikes about the state of online purchasing in South Africa, where we are going in terms of adoption of online payments. We also talk about a new product they have launched called Payfle…

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40 min

Tim Keys — The New World Of Selling

On this episode I chat to Tim Keys founder and CEO of The Sales Institute about the new world of selling and the fact that we are all actually sales people. https://salesinstitute.co.za/

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39 min

Denis Vaden — State 5 Coffee and their recent acquisition

On this episode I chat to Denis Vaden about State 5 Coffee and their latest acquisitions and making State 5 mobile. Denis is a great guest and well worth a listen he shares some of his secrets to success and how he ac…

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39 min

Femi Adebanji — Customer Experience vs Customer Serice

On this episode I catch up with an old friend Femi Adebanji and we discuss his life, work, his speaking career and the customer experience versus customer service. Is there a difference and if so what is it?

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38 min

Leon Fourie — Success Strategist

On this episode we chat to success strategist Leon Fourie about his his journey his book, personal branding and how subconscious programming can sabotage us

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37 min

Shelley Walters — The Sales Council

On this episode we chat to Shelley Walters from The Sales Council about the art of sales and building sales teams https://www.thesalescounsel.co.za/

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