What happens after the performance is over?

In this episode of The Manuel Transmission, Monnica returns from a high-stakes week in Las Vegas, hosting a massive leadership event, taking creative risks in a male-dominated industry, and pushing through long days “on” from morning to night.

The result? A standing ovation. A buzzing nervous system. And a weekend spent recovering.

We talk about:

• The cost of being “on” for 16–18 hours a day
• Imposter syndrome, even after a win
• Pain tolerance, performance, and the stigma around “handling it”
• Introverts surviving extrovert environments
• Why reflection - not experience - is what actually teaches us

Anchored by Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, this conversation explores the difference between chaos and processing. Maybe mayhem isn’t the week itself. Maybe it’s what happens when we don’t integrate it.

"You can’t stop the waves. But you can learn to surf."

And sometimes… you just get back on your bike and ride.

☕ One record. One reflection. One transmission at a time.

🎧 New episodes every Sunday.

#Marriage #Leadership #Burnout #IntrovertLife #PersonalGrowth #Reflection #GenX #LadyGaga #Podcast

January has a way of speeding things up, until you pause long enough to notice what it’s been asking.

In this episode, Monnica and Brad take an honest read on the first month of the year and the moment that quietly shifted everything: twelve intentional minutes of stillness. What started as a practice they’d been avoiding became a reset of pace, attention, and awareness in real time.

The conversation opens with a simple question Monnica asked in a recent interview: How do you manage yourself? From there, it unfolds the way their weekly ritual always does, over coffee, with a vinyl record spinning, and no real agenda beyond paying attention to the lives they’re actually living.

They talk about managing attention, keeping lists short, saying no, habit-stacking, and why presence doesn’t fix everything, but it does clarify where to start. Midway through the episode, they stop talking and try the practice together, then reflect on what those twelve minutes revealed about focus, nervous systems, and how easily momentum can run ahead of awareness.

Along the way, they check in on January highs and lows, re-entry after vacation, health and energy, leadership, current events, and the music that gave this conversation its rhythm, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Greatest Hits.

This isn’t a reset. It’s a change in pace.

One record.
One reflection.
One transmission at a time.

🎧 New episodes every Sunday
☕ Marriage • Leadership • Attention • Presence • Real Life • Gen X

This week, we press record, start over (again), and let the conversation find its own rhythm.

Over coffee and Queen’s Greatest Hits, Brad and Monnica reflect on why some songs become shared cultural moments, how counterculture shows up in unexpected places (yes, even Bicycle Race), and what it means to choose your own lane instead of riding with the flow.

From laughing about pub crawls in Scotland and greatest-hits debates, the conversation gradually deepens, into grief, aging parents, carried shame, acceptance, and the quiet signals our bodies send when we don’t slow down enough to listen. They talk honestly about therapy, communication, emotional awareness, and the tension between living like we have forever and knowing that we don’t.

This episode holds both lightness and weight, the two sides of the same coin. A reminder that noticing matters, that joy and sorrow coexist, and that presence isn’t something you arrive at later. It’s something you practice right now.

One record. One conversation. Still figuring it out.

Transmission: The Sheldon

In this episode, we stumble (briefly) into Nebraska, wrestle with why some art feels heavy while still being honest, and end up naming one of our most familiar patterns: The Sheldon.

You know the one, hyper-literal, head-down, problem-solving mode that forgets there are humans in the room.

From there, the conversation widens. We talk about how we each relate to music differently, how attention quietly shapes our experience of work and rest, and why noticing our patterns matters more than trying to eliminate them. We reflect on vacation re-entry, stress data that surprised us, and the difference between being focused and being available.

Along the way, we explore:

• Why Nebraska didn’t make Monnica’s Top 25 (and why that’s okay)
• Naming patterns as a way to soften them, not judge them
• Attention as a superpower, and what hijacks it
• Perfectionism, self-compassion, and recovering when your mind wanders at the worst possible moment
• Small practices that help us come back to where our feet are

No fixes. No five-step plans. Just a curious look at how our minds work, and a gentle invitation to notice where yours goes this week.

As always:

May your coffee be strong, and your conversations stronger ☕️

Learning Their Names

This transmission is about awareness turning into understanding.

Last week, Brad and Monnica set a simple intention: notice more. This week, they take the next step—recognizing patterns as they show up in real time, in conversations, relationships, work, and internal reactions we usually run on autopilot.

They explore how patterns form as protective strategies, why they once served us, and what happens when they quietly start running the show. Through reflections on listening, editing, family dynamics, leadership habits, and emotional self-regulation, they unpack the difference between what actually happens and the meaning we assign to it.

This episode weaves together:

• how slowing down changes conversations
• why assumptions create unnecessary inner conflict
• the power of separating fact from interpretation
• and what it looks like to stay curious instead of defensive

They also connect these ideas to music, attention, and the brain’s default mode, drawing inspiration from How to Be a Human Being by Glass Animals and setting up a deeper dive into focus and awareness in the weeks ahead.

This isn’t about fixing patterns or stopping them. It’s about naming them.

Because when you learn their names, you gain just enough space to choose differently.

And sometimes, that space changes everything.

Recorded on the final night of a family vacation in Ko Olina, Hawaii, this transmission is a little different.

No studio. No vinyl. Just a walk along the water and an honest conversation about pacing, recovery, and how we actually sustain a full life.

Brad and Monnica reflect on the idea of aid stations - those intentional pauses that make endurance possible. In racing, in work, in marriage, and in life. They talk about rest that actually restores, why meaningful work can lower stress more than disengagement, and how seasons of intensity require equally intentional recovery.

There’s laughter, a few detours, a hi/lo from the week, and a quiet realization: you don’t accidentally get renewed - you plan for it.

If you’re heading into a demanding season, or coming out of one, this episode is a reminder that stopping isn’t quitting. Sometimes it’s the strategy.

Mahalo for listening.

🎙 Season Two · Transmission One | The Reset Year

What if this year isn’t about fixing everything?

What if it’s about slowing down long enough to notice what’s actually here?

In this Season Two opener of The Manuel Transmission, Brad and Monnica Manuel begin a new chapter — one rooted in awareness, not optimization. After a season of becoming, this conversation invites listeners into something quieter and more foundational: the pause before the push.

We talk about why so many resets fail, how urgency sneaks into even our best intentions, and why awareness is often the most countercultural move a leader, partner, or human can make.

This isn’t a goal-setting episode.
It’s a reset of how we relate to goals, change, and ourselves.

In this transmission, we explore:
• Why “fixing” is often a reflex, not a strategy
• What awareness creates that willpower never can
• The difference between starting over and starting present
• How leadership, marriage, and growth all begin the same way — with noticing
• Why this season is about patterns before performance

Season Two Theme: Awareness
Before identity. Before repair. Before change.

If you’re entering a new year, a new season, or a moment of transition — this conversation is an invitation to slow down and begin again differently.

🎧 The Manuel Transmission
Real conversations at the intersection of marriage, leadership, and culture.
Recorded weekly. Pressed like vinyl. No fixing required.

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This week, we drop the needle on A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, a record that somehow holds melancholy and hope in the same breath. We talk about why this album still works nearly 60 years later, how it became an unexpected cultural touchstone, and why it feels like the perfect soundtrack for a season that’s both tender and chaotic.

From putting up a Christmas tree in a house we don’t actually live in, to reflecting on early years of grit, financial fear, and raising kids without a safety net, this episode wanders through the real terrain of December: unfinished houses, tired bodies, therapy sessions, art taped to the fridge, and the quiet work of interrupting old patterns.

We talk about:

• Why A Charlie Brown Christmas feels timeless
• Vince Guaraldi, creative humility, and accidental legacy
• Family chaos, holiday pressure, and choose-your-own-adventure Decembers
• Sleep, endurance, and the cost of always “pushing through”
• Therapy, nervous system regulation, and learning how to interrupt old circuits
• Finding warmth and meaning without forcing cheer

This isn’t a holiday episode about doing more.
It’s about noticing what’s already here — the light and the heavy, side by side — and letting the season meet you where you are.

Pour a cup of coffee. Put a record on.
You’re welcome to sit with us for a while.