At some point, your success starts to feel like a trap.

You’ve got the title, the money, the corner office—but something’s off.You’re restless. You’re starting to wonder, is this it?And no one around you seems to get it.

This episode is for you.

Lon and Adam are back to break down Lon’s next book, The Gap—the emotional, spiritual, and practical space between the life you’ve built and the life you know is still out there.

They dive deep into the 12 Ascents; the stages every elite provider must go through to move from the lower curve (the life they’ve outgrown) to the upper line (the life they want to build). These all are born from 1,000+ rambles Lon has had with people just like you.

What to Expect:

--What “The Gap” actually is and how to know if you’re in it

--Why most high performers flatline in their 40s (even while making more money)

--The real reason success can start to feel suffocating

--The hidden cost of someone else’s scorecard

--Why “freedom” is usually a mask for “I don’t want this anymore”

--The first 4 ascents: how to start, when to stop tolerating, and why clarity only comes through action

--Adam’s own journey and why reinvention doesn’t always mean quitting

Key Takeaways:

->Awareness → Acknowledgment → Acceptance → Permission → Action

->There’s a version of you you haven’t met yet, but you can feel them getting closer

->You don’t have to quit to start. But you do have to start if you ever hope to quit.

->Burn the scorecard they gave you. Write the one that’s yours.

->You’re not alone. But you have to get around people who make you believe it.

->The most important chapter of your life won’t be written by your boss.

🔁 What’s Next?

If this episode speaks to you, this is an invitation to join the growing Normal 40 community to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether through a free Ramble, Lon's Insider group, or his bestselling book 'The Trade,' this episode is your call to action to start designing your next chapter.

Find it all right here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Follow Adam Eaton here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-eaton-21646a4/

What happens when you’ve built a perfect résumé, then lose everything it stood for?

Laverne McKinnon was doing everything right.Climbing fast. Getting promoted every 18 months.She was a powerful voice behind some of the biggest shows on television—including CSI and Criminal Minds.

And then, one day, it all ended.

No warning. No performance plan. Just a quiet conversation behind closed doors… and a single word that changed everything:

Liability.

What followed was a collapse of identity, a decade of self-loathing, and a grief she didn’t yet have the words to name.She’d lost her job, her father, and her confidence—all at once.

But what she found, years later, was something even more powerful:A second résumé.A deeper calling.And a new kind of freedom she never thought she'd earn.

This conversation is one of the most human episodes we’ve ever recorded. We talk about ambition, pressure, identity, and the cost of being the one everyone else counts on, until you no longer count yourself.

What to Expect:

How losing her job during the height of her success became Laverne’s spiritual awakening

The difference between being “loyal” and being “obedient”

Why grief isn’t just about death but what happens when identity changes

How codependency shows up in high performers

The moment her life changed forever: “You’re a liability”

How one rogue coach (with no certifications) saved her life

Why your second résumé is more valuable than your first

Key Takeaways:

The people who helped you get here may not be the ones who can help you go next

You can grieve a job, a dream, or an identity and still begin again

The stories we carry about our past often aren’t true

Your second résumé holds the key to your next chapter—but only if you’re brave enough to read it

Permission doesn’t come from your boss, your spouse, or your friends. It comes from you.

🔁 What’s Next?

If this episode speaks to you, this is an invitation to join the growing Normal 40 community to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether through a free Ramble, Lon's Insider group, or his bestselling book 'The Trade,' this episode is your call to action to start designing your next chapter.

Find it all right here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Subscribe to Laverne’s Substack – Moonshot Mentor: https://moonshotmentor.substack.com/

Connect with her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavernemckinnon/

There’s a moment—quiet, invisible—when you stop asking for someone else’s approval… and start listening for your own.

That moment is called permission. And in this episode, Lon and Adam unpack what it actually means to give it to yourself, and why it’s often the hardest, most courageous thing you’ll ever do.

Lon reveals the real pattern behind over a thousand coaching conversations, and how nearly everyone who reaches out is stuck in the same swirl: aware something is off, acknowledging the discontent, accepting the truth… but waiting for a green light that never comes.

They also go deeper into the conversations that happen after you give yourself permission. With your spouse. With your friends. With the voices in your own head. Because the truth is: most of the people you love won’t understand. And some of the people you trust the most may never give you the validation you’re craving.

That’s why this episode is more than just about permission. It’s about power. It’s about identity. And it’s about choosing to trust the one vote that actually counts: your own.

What to Expect

--Why “permission” is the most misunderstood phase of any transformation

--The true cost of waiting too long to trust your gut

--How to navigate the spiral of awareness → acknowledgment → acceptance → action

--The exact words Lon uses in real-life Rambles that help people start moving

--What to do when your spouse, friends, or coworkers don’t get it

--Why most people don’t need better advice; they need better questions

Key Takeaways:

--No one is coming to give you the life you want. You have to permit yourself to go get it.

--Permission without action is just frustration.

--You don’t need a perfect plan—you need a clear first step.

--Your old friends might not understand who you’re becoming. That’s okay. Find the ones who do.

--You can trade what you have for something better… even if you don’t know what “better” is yet.

What’s Next?

If this episode speaks to you, this is an invitation to join the growing Normal 40 community to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether through a free Ramble, Lon's Insider group, or his bestselling book 'The Trade,' this episode is your call to action to start designing your next chapter.

Find it all right here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Follow Adam Eaton here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-eaton-21646a4/