The moment you blame or complain, you disempower yourself, River says. Excuses are in the same boat. What if you decided to become empowered by dropping blame, along with assuming full responsibility … and no more excuses! Here’s a radical perspective: there is no such thing as not having time, it’s simply not a priority.

What if ALL your ideas and expectations around reward are simply beliefs you’re carrying subconsciously, but not necessarily true? River illuminates how “reward” is one of the agreements most deeply woven into our belief matrix, from childhood onward; how it drives us in myriad ways and creates its own form of suffering.

River views personal transformation as a two-factor equation: a necessary level of self-awareness, coupled with doing the work—owning our projections, transference, attachments, expectations, etcetera. Unlearning our old patterns and practicing new behaviors. Yet most people aren’t doing their inner work… even if they think they are!

Most people are stuck in limiting patterns, and often carry a sense of brokenness. River puts forward the radical view that you cannot actually be broken, even when it feels as such; you can’t be anything less than whole. Further, life changes dramatically when we stop looking through the lens of brokenness.

At some point or other, disappointment is simply part of the human journey; River points out this is largely because of our expectations, attachments, and projections, and that we're creating our own suffering, as usual. Learning to reframe our situation is just one of the golden keys to freedom in this episode.

To launch Season 2, River circles back to the core of his work as a holistic coach, outlining radical integrity as a gestalt of core authenticity and wellness, advocating it as a path to transformation and freedom. Honesty is required on all levels, but so too is assuming full responsibility for your life and how you respond.

Uncertainty is a part of life, yet we seek to avoid it through a variety of mechanisms. River shares a couple of reasons why not knowing feels uncomfortable for most people, and that "leaning into" uncertainty is a learned skill (just like patience)—as well as a golden key for becoming free.

"Change your brain, change your life," is what River says to clients in his holistic coaching program. Beyond the steps and process of how to set the stage for neurogenesis and increasing neuroplasticity, something fascinating happens related to brain frequencies when we practice altruism. Ready to rewire and change your brain?