Dr. Lisa Riegel reveals why 85% of New Year's resolutions fail by week 2 and the brain science that makes change actually stick. The NeuroWell Framework explains how your thalamus (Harold) and amygdala (Bob) hijack decision-making and what to do about it. In this conversation, Dr. Lisa A. Riegel, breaks down the neuroscience of self-regulation, the 4 states of awake, a 30-minute relaxation protocol, and her 8C Commitment Framework for making personal change last.

Dr. Lisa A. Riegel is a leadership strategist, educator, and author who helps organizations use neuroscience to build cultures of engagement, wellbeing, and sustainable change. She's the creator of the NeuroWell Framework and author of NeuroWell. With over 2 decades of experience across education, nonprofit, and community-based organizations, she translates complex brain science into practical tools leaders can use.

• Outliyr Biohacker’s Peak Performance Shop: get exclusive discounts on cutting-edge health, wellness, & performance gear
• Ultimate Health Optimization Deals: a database of of all the current best biohacking deals on technology, supplements, systems and more
• Latest Summits, Conferences, Masterclasses, and Health Optimization Events: join me at the top events around the world
• FREE Outliyr Nootropics Mini-Course: gain mental clarity, energy, motivation, and focus

• Your brain is a corporation: the thalamus (Harold) handles data, the amygdala (Bob) runs security, your prefrontal cortex is the CEO
• 85% of Americans ditch their New Year's resolutions by week 2
• A 30-minute relaxation alarm trains the vagus nerve to auto-regulate
• The "solution to pollution is dilution": you can't erase negative brain filters, but you can crowd them out
• Social anxiety is misdiagnosed 98.7% of the time, per NIH data Dr. Riegel cites
• Roughly 30% of Americans have undiagnosed blood sugar issues masquerading as mental health disorders
• AI cognitive offloading atrophies the exact brain region responsible for character, morals, and consciousness
• Celebration is the #1 underrated ingredient in the 8C Commitment Framework for sustained change

00:00 Intro

02:31 Your brain is a company (meet Harold & Bob)

05:12 The 4 states of awake: calm, alert, alarm, fear

07:53 Which protective filters to keep vs. dilute

08:11 Building your trigger sheet

13:08 The 30-minute relaxation alarm

16:24 Why 85% of goals fail by week 2

20:49 Why your proprioceptive system is broken

24:11 AI anxiety and the local expert crisis

34:10 The vault: workplace venting done right

36:01 Chronic stress, autoimmune disease & blood sugar

37:18 Social anxiety is misdiagnosed 98.7% of the time

42:28 Creativity is born of boredom

49:42 The 8C Commitment Framework

• Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vhShZwzwQsI
• Full episode show notes: https://outliyr.com/259

• Instagram
• Twitter (X)
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

• Subscribe
• Leave an Apple Podcast review
• Suggest a guest

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for us? Let me know in the show notes above and one of us will get back to you!

Be an Outliyr,

Nick

What if the reason your wins never feel like enough isn't a motivation problem, but a decision you made at age 3 that you don't even remember?

Executive coach and former RAF pilot Will Steel joins Nick Urban to unpack how unconscious childhood decisions become the invisible architecture of an adult life.

Will trained in ontological coaching under Werner Erhard's lineage and now works with CEOs, Buddhist monks, imams, and aspiring heads of state. His core message: limiting beliefs aren't abstract thoughts you can affirm your way out of.

They're precise decisions made in specific moments, and they keep generating evidence to prove themselves right until you get to the exact words you said to yourself.

Will Steel is an executive coach, former RAF pilot, and author of Free to Lead. He helps leaders build authentic, high-performing teams by focusing on identity, purpose, and behavior. His work blends military discipline with deep ontological inquiry, and he won't coach anyone for less than 12 months because real identity work takes time.

• Outliyr Biohacker’s Peak Performance Shop: get exclusive discounts on cutting-edge health, wellness, & performance gear
• Ultimate Health Optimization Deals: a database of of all the current best biohacking deals on technology, supplements, systems and more
• Latest Summits, Conferences, Masterclasses, and Health Optimization Events: join me at the top events around the world
• FREE Outliyr Nootropics Mini-Course: gain mental clarity, energy, motivation, and focus

• Limiting beliefs form from silent decisions made in specific childhood moments, not from the events themselves

• Your behavior produces the exact evidence that proves your hidden decisions right

• "I am depressed" fuses you to a state, "I have depression" treats it like a stomach ache and releases identity

• Body symptoms often communicate unsaid words — sore throats, sprained ankles, and digestive issues can map to suppressed messages

• "Fly the airplane" is the RAF drill Will uses in boardrooms: wings level first, checklist second

• Subtraction beats addition when you're stuck, get the facts before adding more strategies

• Real coaching happens in the listening, not the prescribing

• Fitra is an Arabic word for true essence, the seed that grows into a perfect plant in any soil

00:53 Unidentified past decisions limit what's possible

02:13 How belief loops form and lock in

07:22 "You should have been a girl" — the 40-year story

12:44 What ontology actually is

18:08 "I am depressed" vs "I have depression"

22:00 Body symptoms as unspoken communication

33:04 Fly the airplane: the emergency drill for life

43:28 Why subtraction beats stacking skills

46:14 Coaching CEOs, monks, and imams

51:32 The scientist whose $600 rate hid an 11-year-old story

56:33 The art dealer and the $17 million question

1:05:15 What fitra means and why it matters

• Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eaBLmzfqf1s
• Full episode show notes: https://outliyr.com/258

• Instagram
• Twitter (X)
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

• Subscribe
• Leave an Apple Podcast review
• Suggest a guest

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for us? Let me know in the show notes above and one of us will get back to you!

Be an Outliyr,

Nick

RNA microbiome testing reveals what DNA gut tests fundamentally miss. Your gut bacteria have 3,000+ genes each — DNA tests see zero of their actual activity. Dr. Momchilo (Momo) Vuyisich, Co-founder & CSO of Viome and former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist, explains why RNA-based metatranscriptomics is a quantum leap over DNA sequencing for understanding your microbiome and personalizing nutrition.

Dr. Momo Vuyisich spent 12 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory developing RNA-based technology for digitizing human biology. He co-founded Viome in 2016 with Naveen Jain, and the platform has since tested 500,000+ customers across 100+ countries. His personal journey with NEU5GC autoimmune sensitivity drove his mission to replace opinion-based nutrition with data-driven, personalized recommendations.

• Outliyr Biohacker’s Peak Performance Shop: get exclusive discounts on cutting-edge health, wellness, & performance gear
• Ultimate Health Optimization Deals: a database of of all the current best biohacking deals on technology, supplements, systems and more
• Latest Summits, Conferences, Masterclasses, and Health Optimization Events: join me at the top events around the world
• FREE Outliyr Nootropics Mini-Course: gain mental clarity, energy, motivation, and focus

• DNA microbiome tests show composition only — RNA tests reveal which of 3,000+ bacterial genes are actually active
• 16S rRNA sequencing cannot distinguish pathogenic bacteria from beneficial ones
• Akkermansia can protect or destroy your gut lining depending on fiber intake and gene expression
• Carnitine supplements may cause cardiovascular disease via the TMAO pathway in certain people
• Viome's biological aging clock shows keto and paleo dieters age faster on average
• No whole food is universally good or bad — personalization requires your own molecular data
• The gut microbiome stays stable for 5-6 months; test semi-annually
• Viome currently measures 25,000 of ~100,000 biochemical reactions powering the body
• Three randomized controlled trials validate Viome's personalized nutrition approach

00:00 Introduction

02:44 Why RNA is the single best molecule to study

06:16 RNA instability — why it took 6 years to develop

08:02 Why 16S sequencing is nearly useless

11:02 Akkermansia's 3,000 genes: help or harm?

17:37 Microbiome as a dynamic self-adjusting ecosystem

23:20 NEU5GC sensitivity & mammalian food reactions

25:50 Food sensitivities (IgG) vs allergies (IgE)

29:55 Viome's 3-part approach: seal gut, reduce inflammation, personalize

41:07 Biological aging clock: keto & paleo age faster

49:13 Dry fasting crashed mitochondrial function score

52:07 Machine learning identifies metabolic bottlenecks

1:00:23 Viome measures 25% of human biology, 10% actionable

• Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bB8Zj_9pIv8
• Full episode show notes: https://outliyr.com/257

• Instagram
• Twitter (X)
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

• Subscribe
• Leave an Apple Podcast review
• Suggest a guest

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for us? Let me know in the show notes above and one of us will get back to you!

Be an Outliyr,

Nick