The Inner Circle cover art

The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle

Written by: Mike Brown/Kevin Dahlstrom
Listen for free

About this listen

 Kevin Dahlstrom and Mike Brown are devoted to exploring one question: what makes a truly great life? The Inner Circle is a behind-the-scenes look into the conversations that they have off-camera. Join them for raw, unfiltered thoughts about money, work, identity, purpose, relationships, and spirituality. This show is a place to think out loud. Ideas do not need to be polished. Disagreement is welcome. The only requirement is honesty and a willingness to follow the truth—wherever it leads. The value comes from two people who trust each other enough to challenge assumptions, name blind spots, and stay in the conversation when it gets uncomfortable. Each episode focuses on a single topic and runs roughly fifteen minutes. The discussion is direct and unscripted, with the occasional guest joining when it adds perspective. Inner Circle opens a window into truth-seeking and invites you to listen in. If you want a place where real questions are taken seriously and thinking is allowed to evolve in real time, this will resonate.Copyright 2026 The Inner Circle Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • When You Get What You Want and it Changes Nothing - Inner Circle Ep 17

    When You Get What You Want and it Changes Nothing - Inner Circle Ep 17
    May 8 2026
    What if the mountain you are climbing right now is still the wrong one? Mike and Kevin both read David Brooks's Second Mountain and came away with the same conclusion: the model is incomplete. This episode is their attempt to finish it. They discuss: • Why reaching the top of the first mountain so often feels empty, and what that emptiness is actually telling you • The case for a third mountain, and why you probably have to climb the second one before you can even see it • How people dress up their achievement mountain in spiritual clothing and convince themselves they have changed • What Mike calls dirty fuel versus clean fuel, and how to tell which one is actually driving you • Whether losing your edge is something to fear or something to welcome • Do you have to climb the first mountain to eventually find peace, or is there another way in If you have hit a goal that was supposed to change everything and found yourself quietly wondering what comes next, this conversation will name what you are sitting with. The fun, it turns out, might be in not knowing. Connect with Kevin and Mike on X for more from The Inner Circle: Kevin Dahlstrom: https://x.com/Camp4 Mike Brown: https://x.com/mbrown_co
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • The Real Problem with Lifestyle Creep - Inner Circle Ep 16

    The Real Problem with Lifestyle Creep - Inner Circle Ep 16
    May 1 2026
    What if the real lifestyle creep has nothing to do with your spending? Mike and Kevin start with a debate about money but end up somewhere more interesting. Mike introduces the 30% Rule, something he started applying after a silent meditation retreat, and it stopped being about stuff pretty quickly. They discuss: • Why a high earning young professional skipping a ski trip with friends might actually be the wrong call • How to tell whether a purchase is really for you or for everyone watching • Why the dopamine hit of not spending can sometimes beat the high of buying something new • How the 30% Rule applies to commitments, friendships, and businesses, not just your budget • Why the person who says "I'm not busy" might be the most successful one in the room • Which kind of lifestyle creep Mike and Kevin think causes the most damage If you have ever described yourself as busy and secretly suspected that was the problem, this one is worth your time. Connect with Kevin and Mike on X for more from The Inner Circle: Kevin Dahlstrom: https://x.com/Camp4 Mike Brown: https://x.com/mbrown_co
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • The Transformation Happens Before the Money Does - Inner Circle Ep 15

    The Transformation Happens Before the Money Does - Inner Circle Ep 15
    Apr 27 2026
    Most people waiting on more money are actually waiting on more courage. Mike and Kevin start with a single tweet from a man who said $28,000 would finally let him start living, and they spend the episode dismantling the belief that external circumstances are what stand between anyone and the life they want. The conversation gets specific fast. Kevin is dealing with a torn tricep tendon that no amount of money can fix, which gives the whole discussion an unexpected emotional anchor. The contrast between problems money can solve and problems it cannot turns out to be the sharper edge of the episode. They discuss: • Why paying off the $28,000 in debt without changing the behaviors that caused it is a worse outcome than keeping the debt and changing the behaviors • Mike's concept of the "inevitable millionaire," and why the real milestone is becoming the person capable of creating that outcome, not the day the balance clears • The last step, next step framework, and why obsessing over the full path to a goal is the mechanism that keeps most people stuck at the beginning of it • How compound interest operates identically in reverse on debt, and why small consistent payments are the only real mechanism for elimination • Why attempting total life transformation in a single week is the most reliable way to end up exactly where you started • Mel Robbins going from not wanting to get out of bed to 10 million copies sold, and what her preserved Instagram feed of zero-like posts actually demonstrates If you are holding your real life in reserve until some number changes, this episode will challenge that bargain directly. The question Mike and Kevin keep returning to is not how to get the money, but how to make the outcome inevitable through behavior. That shift is smaller and harder than it sounds, and they do not pretend otherwise. Connect with Kevin and Mike on X for more from The Inner Circle: Kevin Dahlstrom: https://x.com/Camp4 Mike Brown: https://x.com/mbrown_co
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet