Listen the hell up because we're done playing small. Most people spend their lives marinating in their own excuses, waiting for a permission slip from the universe that isn't coming. They think "getting your shit together" is a slow, painful crawl through a desert of boredom. It's not. It's a quantum leap fueled by the realization that you are the one standing in your own goddamn way.

In this episode of The Spirit of the Deal, Brandon G. Handley sits down with Nick Barba—a man who was once so committed to his own destruction he landed a full-page ad in Thrasher just to prove he could survive the chaos. Nick didn't just stumble into sobriety; he tried to systematically debunk the 12 Steps like a jaded investigative reporter, only to accidentally save his own life in the process. Now, he's the co-founder of Revival Recovery Residences, proving that even the most stubborn "victim mentality" can be traded in for a life of purpose and real estate empires.

Stop waiting for the ball to drop and start catching the ones you've already thrown. In this deep dive, you're going to learn exactly how to stop robbing yourself of your own happiness and start making moves that actually matter. We're breaking down:

The "Terrible Twos" of Sobriety: Why putting down the bottle is only 10% of the battle, and how to survive the ego-shattering reality of the other 90%.

The Art of the Spontaneous Empire: How Nick went from a "maybe" conversation in a car to owning a sober living facility in less time than it takes most people to pick a Netflix movie.

Identity Theft: Why you need to murder your old self to make room for the person who actually gets things done.

The Blueprint of Belief: How surrounding yourself with the right "quirky" winners (like Brandon Novak) acts as a cheat code for your own success.

The promise is simple: By the time you finish this episode, you'll realize that "luck" is just what happens when you finally stop being an asshole to your future self. It's time to get out of the way and let the spirit of the deal take over. Eat your vegetables, do the work, and listen to this episode before you find another way to screw up a good thing.

• Website: www.revivalrecoveryresidence.com
• Main Line: 302-600-2691

The deal isn't closed by force; it's closed by clarity. Most enterprise leaders are currently white-knuckling the steering wheel, treating AI like a basic search engine while their competitive advantage evaporates. This episode shifts the perspective: AI is not just a tool; it is a mech suit for your mind designed to expand your capacity and regulate your output.

We navigate the transition from manual friction to bio-electric leverage. You will learn how to move beyond simple queries to engage AI as a strategic thought partner. This allows you to iterate faster, fail forward in private, and show up to every high-stakes meeting with the unshakable groundedness of a leader who has already mapped every variable. Regulation is the new competitive advantage.

In this episode, you will discover:

• The Exoskeleton Mindset: Why your biological bandwidth requires a mechanized frame to scale in the current environment.
• Frictionless Iteration: How to use AI to "fail fast" and refine your vision before you ever step into the boardroom.
• Somatic Certainty: Using deep data preparation to achieve psychological safety, ensuring your "energetic marker" signals authority, not anxiety.
• The Champion's Toolkit: Leveraging Google NotebookLM and other assets to make the "yes" easy for your stakeholders.

Stop operating at 1x capacity. Start regulating your resonance and leveraging the physics of the modern deal. The advantage belongs to those who move with the least friction.

The new year has arrived, and with it, the predictable surge of "system noise." While the rest of the world is busy scrubbing the movie screen with Windex—trying to fix external results through sheer force and 3:00 AM ice baths—we are going into the projection booth. In this episode, we diagnose why most high-performers are trying to run enterprise-level software on fried hardware.

The "Spirit of the Deal" isn't about finding your inner peace; it's about system maintenance. We are bridging the gap between the boardroom and biology. If your nervous system is screaming "unsafe" during a negotiation, your prospect will feel the friction, no matter how polished your script is. Your biology is the bottleneck, not your strategy.

In this episode, we discuss:

The Projection Metaphor: Why working harder is just scrubbing a screen when the scratch is actually on the internal film.

Hardware vs. Software: Why somatic intelligence is the processor speed required to run the "Quantum Leap" strategy.

The Middle Path: How to merge Vagus nerve regulation with EBITDA targets without losing your edge.

Diagnostic Frameworks: Identifying if your current operating system is prone to overheating, ghosting, or people-pleasing under pressure.

Stop white-knuckling the steering wheel. Your nervous system is running an outdated operating system, and it's time for a mandatory upgrade. Learn how to regulate your internal state so the external deal closes by resonance, not force.

Ready for a hardware scan? Check the show notes for our free Diagnostic Tool to identify where your nervous system is cracking under the pressure of your current bandwidth.

Diagnostic Tool

The deal isn't closed by force; it's closed by clarity.

In the high-stakes environment of global enterprise, we are trained to monitor external metrics: ROI, market volatility, and competitive leverage. However, most leaders are operating with significant internal friction, drowning out the very signals they need to navigate complex terrain. Michael McAdams, author of An Angel Told Me So, joins the show to reframe our understanding of guidance and high-performance coherence. This episode is a masterclass in expanding your internal bandwidth to receive the strategic intelligence already available to you.

Regulation is the new competitive advantage. Most professionals are "white-knuckling" their way through the day, unaware that their own internal noise—a chaotic "mini solar system" of thought—is blocking the frequency of the "Spirit Teachers" and advisors that exist adjacent to our physical plane. Michael demonstrates that when we quiet the nervous system, we move from a state of force to a state of flow, allowing us to operate with less friction and more resonance.

Key takeaways from this session include:

• The Physics of Filtering: How to use specific affirmations as a biological "aura of protection" to ensure only high-vibrational, positive signals reach your mind.
  Navigating the Veil: Understanding that we are not the sole property of ourselves and that our spirit guides are invested in our recognition of their existence.
• The Graduation Perspective: Reframing "success" and "death" through the lens of continuity and evaluation rather than finality or punishment.
• Psychometry and Sensory Intelligence: The mechanics of tapping into objects and environments to read the energetic resonance of a situation.

Stop trying to override the system with sheer willpower. Learn to regulate, listen, and access the "Spirit of the Deal" through the quiet power of human physics. Michael McAdams provides the blueprint for shifting from a frantic search for success to a coherent state of being where the student is always ready and the teacher always appears.

www.spiritspeaks.com

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• The spirit of giving can transform the holiday experience.
• Creating experiences through giving is more meaningful than material gifts.
• Embracing AI can enhance creativity and productivity.
• Gamifying life can make self-improvement more engaging.
• Small acts of kindness can have a big impact.
• Tracking personal growth can be fun and rewarding.
• The holiday season is an opportunity for reflection and gratitude.
• Community support can enhance personal development.
• Setting goals can be more enjoyable with a gamified approach.
• Looking forward to the new year can inspire positive change.

• The True Meaning of Christmas Giving
• Harnessing AI for Creative Growth

• "Let's gamify life!"
• "Go ahead and check it out!"
• "Have a great holiday season!"

Stop hiding behind the glass screen. Your nervous system knows the difference between a pixel and a handshake, and so does your client's. In a world sedated by the comfort of remote work, we are seeing a massive System Error in how deals get done. You cannot test drive a private jet on Zoom. If you want the signature, you need to be in the room where the oxygen is.

In this episode, we sit down with Glenn Poulos, a veteran operator who doesn't just play the game; he writes the code. With forty years of tenure and multiple eight-figure exits, Glenn isn't offering fluff. He is offering a masterclass in Biological Leverage and Operational Architecture. We strip away the "hustle" mythology to look at the physics of high performance, moving from the entropy of Chaos to the precision of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System).

We are going to recode your approach to the deal. Glenn breaks down the lethal difference between "people first" and "structure first," and why getting that order wrong is a bankruptcy-level event. We also deploy the blueprints for integrating AI not as a replacement, but as a voltage multiplier for your bandwidth, allowing you to focus on the high-stakes human connection that actually moves the needle.

Here is the Protocol Upgrade you will install today:

• Override the "Powers That Be": Why waiting for approval is a broken operating system, and how to physically map out and confront every decision-maker in the chain (the 24-hour Steel Mill case study).
• From Chaos to EOS: How to identify when your business is running on a System Error and the architectural changes needed to stabilize your revenue.
• The Somatic Truth of Sales: Why big tickets only get punched face-to-face, and why you need to get your boots on the ground to respect the biology of the deal.
• AI as Leverage: Using machine intelligence to handle the low-frequency noise so your nervous system can handle the high-frequency signal.

The suit respects the arena, but the barefoot respects the biology. It's time to stop submitting tickets and start writing the software.

Find out more about Glenn here: https://glennpoulos.com/

Let's be honest for a second. Most people aren't selling from their vision; they're selling from survival. That tightness in your chest or that hesitation before you pick up the phone? It isn't a flaw—it's biology. Your brain is wired to protect you first and expand you second. But here's the hard truth: you cannot stay in survival mode and expand at the same time. When your income is tied to your safety, your creativity flatlines, your risk tolerance vanishes, and you suffocate the deal before you even walk into the room.

In this episode, we are stripping down the "hustle harder" rhetoric and looking at the raw neuroscience of performance. We're exploring the gap between who you are right now and the version of you that commands the room effortlessly. We break down why your subconscious views growth as a threat, how to rewrite your internal narrative, and why identity always supersedes strategy. This isn't just about closing a sale; it's about regulating your nervous system so you can actually see the opportunities standing right in front of you.

Here's what we're getting into:

• The Science of Survival: Why financial pressure literally lowers your cognitive ability and blinds you to creative solutions.
• Friction as Fuel: How to reframe fear not as a stop sign, but as the heat necessary for your next quantum leap.
• Presence is the Strategy: Why your "calm" closes more deals than any script, and why your identity is the ultimate funnel.
• The Human Advantage: Why AI can scale your output but will never replace your intuition, empathy, and embodied presence.

It's time to stop shrinking to fit the room and start expanding to own it. Remember, the deal is always spiritual before it is strategic.

Membership info here: https://3daychallenge.elysearcher.com/

Summary

In this conversation, Chris Dyer shares insights on leadership, company culture, and the importance of saying yes to opportunities. He discusses his current projects, including AI in social media management and environmental initiatives in the wine industry. Dyer emphasizes the significance of positive leadership and the seven pillars that contribute to a thriving workplace culture. He reflects on his personal growth journey and the transformative power of embracing new experiences.

Takeaways

Successful people do not focus on their weaknesses.
The spirit of the deal is about shrinking the loop.
Positive leadership is about understanding what works.
Saying yes can lead to unexpected opportunities.
Company culture is crucial for employee satisfaction.
The seven pillars of leadership are essential for success.
Transformational leadership requires constant learning.
AI can streamline social media management for organizations.
Environmental responsibility is important in all industries.
Personal growth often comes from stepping outside comfort zones.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Energy Check
01:59 Chris Dyer's Background and Current Projects
05:36 AI and Social Media Management
09:22 The Wine Industry and Environmental Impact
13:29 Transformational Leadership and Company Culture
17:39 The Seven Pillars of Positive Leadership
21:18 The Importance of Saying Yes
25:22 Positive Leadership vs. Toxic Positivity
29:24 Conclusion and Future Endeavors