About this episode
How to Follow What Makes You Feel Alive (Even If It Makes No Logical Sense)You’ve probably heard advice like “follow your passion” or “do what lights you up”—but how do you actually do that in practice as a founder? And how do you know when you’re following aliveness vs fear or performance?In this episode, Jesse and Dave dive into the deeper layers of what it means to follow your aliveness—the felt sense of energy, joy, and presence that can guide your most aligned decisions in work and life.✅ Are you bootstrapping? You need this:https://bootstrappedgiants.com/subscribe✅ Master the Inner Game of Entrepreneurship here:https://www.davekashen.com/newsletter-sign-up⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: What does “aliveness” actually mean? 01:30 – Jesse’s obsession with a new idea and Dave’s cliff-jumping retreat 04:00 – Defining aliveness as a physical, felt experience 06:00 – Are you living half-dead? The cost of ignoring your aliveness 08:00 – Jesse’s examples: business creation, childbirth, deep meditation 10:00 – Flow state, spiritual presence, and the power of “now” 13:00 – Connection, awe, and presence in small everyday moments 15:00 – Anti-patterns: what blocks aliveness in founders 17:00 – Jesse’s client story: heroing the team vs. enjoying the job 19:00 – Survival patterns vs authentic action 21:00 – Why we fear feelings more than outcomes 23:00 – Dave’s coaching distinction: “the right answer” vs. “what feels right” 25:00 – The trick of discerning fear from intuitive truth 27:00 – Why overthinking is a signal you’re disconnected from self 29:00 – Conscious Leadership’s 4 pillars of integrity (unfelt feelings, unkept agreements, etc.) 32:00 – How unspoken truths and misaligned agreements leak energy
