592 Dr Jamie Hardy

[00:00:00]

Success vs Health Costs

Jeffrey Feldberg: What happens when the very habits that help you become successful quietly begin working against you?

Dr. Jamie Hardy knows the tension personally. For more than two decades, she built her career as a pharmacist and healthcare leader, earning the credentials, responsibility, and respect that come along with being a high performer.

Yet behind the accomplishments was a very different reality: chronic stress, poor sleep, inconsistent energy, and eventually a health scare that took her from the office to the emergency room. She later learned she was pre-diabetic despite not fitting the stereotype she associated with the condition.

That wake-up call changed not only how Dr. Jamie approached her own health, but how she thought about leadership itself. Today, Dr. Jamie is known as The Lifestyle Pharmacist, an executive wellbeing strategist, speaker, consultant, and best-selling author. Through Innovative Wellness, she helps executives and [00:01:00] organizations rethink their relationship between health, sustainable performance, retention, and leadership capacity.

Her background combines a Doctor of Pharmacy, a master's degree in pharmacy leadership, nutrition training, clinical experience, and something that credentials alone cannot provide because she's lived through the consequences of pushing too far. Her work raises an uncomfortable question every ambitious founder should consider:

What if sacrificing your health for success ultimately makes you less capable of sustaining the success you worked so hard to create?

And before we start the episode, a quick word from our sponsor, Deep Wealth and the Deep Wealth Mastery Program. Here's Bill, a graduate, who says, the Deep Wealth Mastery Program has transformed the KPIs we're using to accelerate growth and profits.

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Welcome and Guest Intro

Jeffrey Feldberg: Deep Wealth Nation, welcome to another episode of the Deep Wealth Podcast. Deep Wealth Nation, let me ask you a rhetorical question. Would you like to take your success to the next level? And you're probably saying, "Yeah, Jeffrey, you didn't even have to ask. The answer is yes. What do I do? Where do I go?

Where do I start?" Well, You've come to the right place. You heard the official introduction. We have a very special guest in the house of Deep Wealth, someone who's making a huge difference out there for founders and people in general of their hidden wealth, which is our health. And our health [00:05:00] is our deep wealth.

You're gonna hear all about that today, but let me put a plug in that. Dr. Jamie, welcome to the Deep Wealth Podcast. So excited to have you with us. My goodness, you're an author, a thought leader. You're a mover and shaker. And in preparing for today, my goodness, you have quite the story. So what's your story?

What got you from where you were to where you are today?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Oh my goodness, Jeffrey, I'm so excited to be here and to share with you and the Deep Wealth nation. And I'm gonna tell you, it has been a journey. It has been a long and winding road, as you and your audience I'm sure can relate to. So I am Dr. Jamie Hardy. I'm a pharmacist by training, and I'm an executive wellbeing strategist by calling.

And most people know me as the lifestyle pharmacist, and that word lifestyle is very intentional. I talk a lot about wellbeing principles and how entrepreneurs, founders, senior leaders have to prioritize their health in their daily activities. But I wanna [00:06:00] fast-forward to how I got here and how that became the focus of my work, because you heard that I'm a pharmacist.

So okay, pharmacist, medications, now wellbeing. How did all this come to be?

And I'll tell you, it started surprisingly to me and I'll just tell you this too before I get into the nitty-gritty of the story. You're gonna notice something about me. When it comes to having conversations about wellbeing, particularly in professional corporate business spaces, I wanna be very clear.

I don't gatekeep information, and I don't hold back. So with me setting the stage, let me take you back to how it all started. 

Health Scare Wake Up

Dr. Jamie Hardy: So on the outside, I had everything that made me look like I was a very successful person. Going to school, choosing a profession, having the degrees and the certifications and the impressive title, [00:07:00] right?

Those outward signals or signs of success. But let me tell you, what started as an ordinary Tuesday when I was sitting in my office in the hospital that I was working at the time, my day was interrupted by what I felt like in my chest and based on my knowledge were symptoms or feelings of me having a heart attack at work, sitting at my desk.

That

Jeffrey Feldberg: My goodness

Dr. Jamie Hardy: And this is not what I expected my day to look like. It was not on my list of things to do, right?

Jeffrey Feldberg: Right

Dr. Jamie Hardy: The other part was that the team that I was helping to lead, their workspace was literally just a few feet outside of my door. And so I was dealing with these feelings that I was having in my body, but then my brain went to, "Oh, my gosh, what about my team?

What are they going to think? What are they going to say? What thoughts might be going [00:08:00] through their head when they see me having to be escorted potentially out of the department because I'm having a health emergency at work?" And I literally was escorted out of the department. I had a wonderful boss at the time, my director who I reported to.

Once I sent her a message saying, "Hey, I think I'm feeling a little funny," and I told her what I was feeling. Before I could even hardly send, hit send on the message, she appeared at my office door, and she walked with me out of the department to the emergency room in the hospital that I worked at. So talk about a, a day at work that I was not prepared for.

And the reason, Jeffrey, why I say that I was worried about my team and what they might think or what they might say was I started feeling embarrassed in that moment that, okay, Jamie, it's your job to help lead the strategy for a team [00:09:00] of pharmacists who are helping to take care of patients and family members when they are experiencing one of the most vulnerable and challenging moments in their lives.

But who are you not taking care of? Yourself. Who are you not leading effectively? Yourself. And it was because I had been neglecting my health. And I'll just tell you, spoiler alert, fortunately my heart was fine. I was not having a heart attack. But I will tell you that experience shook me to my core, and it forced me to level up the way that I had been leading myself, and I had to make some changes.

I had to implement a system to properly fuel my body, so this is where that wellbeing piece naturally came from. I had the skills and I knew the things that worked, but I had to implement them consistently, so the way I was treating my body and my brain, even on my busiest days. How was I allowing my body to rest and recover?

I was [00:10:00] burning the candle at both ends. So using strategic rest as a way to enhance my performance and to be that performance multiplier. And I had to develop a system to reset my nervous system in real time, because in healthcare and in business and in high-stakes moments, we need ways that we can regulate our nervous systems.

And so that ordeal allowed me to step into the work that I do now with organizations, because I lived it myself. I know what depletion looks like. I know the corners that people are taking in their health because they are trying to make that deadline, or they are focusing on the launch or the deliverables, but neglecting self the whole time.

And so that's what led me to do the work that I do, and how I tie wellbeing to business and holistically approach treating the body and the brain as an [00:11:00] instrument or a tool for us to do our very best work here in this world and on this earth. And so I've developed strategies and programming and accelerators to help walk organizations through these actual steps to develop a culture of wellbeing that allows their best talent, their best leaders, to be sustained in their activity and not become depleted and maybe even walk out the door altogether.

So that's where I started and how I bring all of that experience, and lived experience, to the work and to the people who I am so fortunate to serve right now

Turning Pain Into Purpose

Jeffrey Feldberg: What a terrific story, and it's so refreshing that, okay, with my medical background, I'm also taking a business focus, combining the two and seeing where we can go. Let me ask you this before we start talking about what you're doing and your systems and how you've made a [00:12:00] difference. On your own journey, when you found yourself surprisingly, you thought everything was great and then it wasn't, when you started your own journey, looking back at that, was there one or two things that really made a difference for you?

So they moved the dial, not just on your health, but in all the other areas of your life. When you look back, anything come to mind for that, that you can share with us?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Yeah, absolutely. So things that come to mind are the fact that when I had this experience and then I started being transparent and sharing my story, first in smaller groups and then online, you know, in blogs and even on social media, so many people started responding, "Oh my gosh, something happened to me too.

I was going about my days, not the only one. Thank you so much for saying this, Dr. Jamie. Thank you for opening up the [00:13:00] conversation around this aspect." Because, s- people have told me that they thought that they just weren't cut out for entrepreneurship or they weren't cut out to lead at a high level because they were having these challenges to crop up in their mental health or their emotional health or even in their physical health.

And so by me being vulnerable and putting it out there, even with the white coat, the fancy title, going to the schools, getting the doctorate degree, none of that makes us immune to the consequences of what depletion will have, the effect that depletion chronically over time unsustained will have on our bodies.

And so that is the biggest thing that I came away from my experience with, was the fact that if I don't share this, if I don't make these tools and the things that I created when there wasn't a Dr. Jamie for me to ask, there wasn't a roadmap, there wasn't a, a framework for me. But now that I have [00:14:00] those things, I would be being a disservice not only to myself but really to humanity if I did not share these things.

It is a part of my calling. I went through that experience for a reason, and so God didn't give me this story and bring me through it for me to just sit on it and let shame or embarrassment because of what people might think or say prevent me from using this as an instrument to do good

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay. And so with that said, absolutely love that. And so with that said, for someone in Deep Wealth Nation, I'm thinking of I'm busy and I've got my plate full, but I'm feeling pretty good. Yeah, things could be better, but they could be a whole lot worse, and I just had my annual physical and I'm being a little bit facetious here.

No slight towards the doctors. They're doing the best that they can. I spent my seven minutes on my annual with a doctor and everything is good. What I'd love for you to share is [00:15:00] when you begin to work with clients, Dr. Jamie, particularly on the business front, when they internalize your systems and your strategies and they begin to implement this, how does life change?

What's the before and after? I really want Deep Wealth Nation to say, "Okay, yeah, I want some of that or I want some more of that. Let's go. Let's do what Dr. Jamie is saying that I should do." So what would be some of the typical differences that someone begins to see, not just on the personal side, but also on the business side because they're looking after their health?

Client Transformations

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Yeah, absolutely. And I love this question because the thing that people often don't give enough, thought to is that of course what is happening with you mentally, physically, emotionally, it affects you. It also affects everyone and everything adjacent to you, everything in proximity to you, whether that's your work, the team that you're helping to lead, your [00:16:00] friends, your family, things out in the community that you do.

So you being in your very best state of health matters not only for you personally, but for the impact that it even has on other people. And so some of the things that clients that I have had the privilege to work with have said to me in, in some of the follow-up and some of the analysis that we do at, in various increments or checkpoints throughout the process is, " Not only am I, feeling different and feeling better, my family has been commenting on how much more stable my mood is.

I'm not as moody. I'm more energized at the end of my work. I have something left in the tank to then sit down at the table and enjoy dinner. I'm not distracted. I'm not still multitasking or working. I'm being present with them." So the family aspect is enhanced. And then feedback has [00:17:00] been given from the team like, "Oh my gosh, you were in a funk or you were just in a slump it seems, and you seem such more, so much more energized and more creative in your thinking and the innovation is coming back into the conversations in the team meetings and, you know, your temper is not as short and we're able to come and collectively collaborate and, things are just, moving and flowing."

So on, that team dynamic standpoint, there are some enhancements. And then also because of the things that we do surrounding wellbeing like sleep and quality nutrition and strategic rest and creating routines and systems and processes and white space in the calendar, so we approach this through a, a myriad of ways.

It also enhances the quality of the work that my clients are saying that they are able [00:18:00] to produce. So they're even getting feedback from- senior leaders, from external stakeholders, clients. So the, positive impact is just so far reaching beyond just the way the person feels. And then the last thing, and this is just an anecdote, I don't, propose or put myself out there as some type of weight loss, expert.

We do some work around quality nutrition and, stress-fighting foods and brain-boosting foods and energy-stabilizing foods. That's the focus. But one of the unintended consequences or side effects of even that portion of the curriculum is that some people report losing a few pounds of weight. And physically and physiologically, that has a positive impact on blood pressure, on blood sugar, preventing complications for different chronic diseases.

So there's [00:19:00] that point. But then there's also this change in the confidence that sometimes people have, where they may have been a little heavier and kinda shrinking or hiding and not really putting themselves out there, being more visible, being more vocal, being more bold, taking up more space. So those are just a few of the examples that immediately come to mind as it relates to some of the transformations that I have seen clients walk through.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely love what you're sharing and can relate to that as well. 

Founder Patterns and Rest

Jeffrey Feldberg: So let's begin to talk about this, and this is one of my favorite questions in this kind of a setting. And you'd be right to say, Dr. Jane Jeffrey, it is so general what you're asking, and everyone is different." But that said, good old Pareto's law, the 80/20 principle, where 20% of my, let's say, customers are generating 80% of my profits.

And it may not be 80/20, it could [00:20:00] be 90/10, 5/95, whatever the case may be. But that said, when you're working particularly with founders and entrepreneurs and business owners, are you seeing the same patterns across them? Yeah, you know what, Jeffrey? This one pattern here or these three things over here for 80% of the founders, it is creating this issue or these few issues over here.

I call the issues really opportunities in disguise. What are you seeing? What can you share with Deep Wealth Nation?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: So a pattern that I definitely see, especially in the founder group, is this whole idea that founders put off taking care of themselves. I hear often this, "We're in our busy season. I'll take care of that after the next milestone, when the quarter closes, after the raise closes, when this deal closes." But just like in my life, the [00:21:00] chronic stress of just going about your day-to-day activities and the high-stakes decisions that have to be made as a founder, that can land right in the middle of a random Tuesday , in that back-to-back meeting schedule.

And so your brain and your body doesn't wait for the weekend, so you need tools that work in minutes in the middle of your workday. And so I'll give you my top two things that I like to always tell founders that they can do despite founder life and things being so busy

Protect your clearest hours of mental thinking.

So as founders, your brain is your most valuable asset. And so I like to recommend scheduling your hardest decisions or the most important decisions and the deepest work that has to be done that day for the times [00:22:00] in the day where you know that you are at your best. If you are not a morning person, all the neurons are not firing at 7:00 AM, then don't set that important meeting in the very top of your day.

Think about your natural body's rhythm. Think about the way that your brain works optimally, and structure your day or those deep work times in a way that aligns with when you will be at your best. So I like to always remind founders of that. And then the other thing is not believing that in order for you to be good at what you do and adding value, that you have to run yourself into the ground.

Stacking your calendar every minute of every hour for the entire day, building in some white space, building in some breathing time between meetings, not just stacking it back to back, [00:23:00] because we're talking about the brain here, your most valuable asset. You need time to think. You need time for your brain to process, and you need some time For your brain to collect itself and settle in and reset before you move from one important task and just barrel right on through to the next one.

So I talk a lot about, the brain and things that you can do to help your brain to be that asset and that partner that you need it to be. So not feeling like you have to just keep going, keep pumping, pumping. And then the other thing that I want to emphasize is that rest is not something that has to be earned when you are at the point of near collapse.

And I'm talking about not just if you go to bed at night, I'm talking about rest where your body and your brain are given those periods to actually just be. Time to be idle and do [00:24:00] nothing is okay as a founder. Because one of the things that I have seen in the work that I do is that when your brain is overloaded, when your body is just at this point of exhaustion, your best ideas, your best decision-making, that strategic, innovative thinking, that's not happening ideally in those scenarios.

So we have to create the climate, create the environment for our bodies and our brains to do what they are built to do, but we have to help them

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay, got that. 

Food as Fuel Basics

Jeffrey Feldberg: And so while you're talking about that and helping ourselves, there's a saying out there that food is not just food. Food is medicine. And for so many people, they think, "Yeah, sure, Jeffrey, I've heard that, but you know what? I'm busy. I eat whenever I can eat, and sometimes it's on the road.

I'll just grab something quick and easy so I can get on my way with it." I know this one [00:25:00] question can be not just an episode, an entire series. In fact, you've written a book, and although it's geared towards women, it could be just as easily towards men, The Busy Woman's 21-Day Guide to Clean Eating. So let's take a step back and very high level, pun intended, low-hanging fruit, what would be a few things I can do on the food as medicine side of things that's gonna have me feeling better, performing better in the business, and something that will make all the difference?

What would you want me to know?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: I could talk for hours about food. And food is definitely medicine. There's been a lot of emphasis around that phrase, and I can take it even a step further and even make it a little more simple. Food is actually fuel. Just like we, for those of us who don't have electric cars, I'm raising my hand, I don't [00:26:00] yet have an EV.

But for those of us who unfortunately are still having to put fuel in our cars, the same scenario exists for the way that you prepare your body. Your body needs fuel. Your brain needs fuel. So food is not something that you can just brush off and start your day without, navigate your day, just keep, pushing through, powering through, moving through the day, and you haven't taken time to properly fuel your body.

And so nutrition, especially healthy eating, can be intimidating for some, so I understand that. So I like to take the complexity out of it and just keep it very simple, and recommend to people that just eating foods in their most natural, whole form. So things that are not in a package, in a box, in a wrapper.

I know those things have [00:27:00] been commercially produced by corporations because they are marketed as being convenient. The thing about those highly processed foods are that they are really nutrient deficient. They are full of fillers and colors and additive, and the nutritional value that your body and your brain needs are not found in those things.

So thinking about simple ways that you can get in lean cuts of protein, where you can hydrate your body with more water, where you can eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Those are just some very practical, ways to think about how you can introduce, more healthy eating into your life. So take morning time, for example.

Someone has early morning meeting that they have to meet with a client, and not just grabbing coffee, but also grabbing something that has protein in it. Protein should be the [00:28:00] cornerstone of every meal and every snack that we eat. Protein helps us to feel fuller longer, and helping to keep our blood sugar levels stable, keeping our mood regulated, and also helping to, fuel our body.

So protein. Something as simple as, a couple of boiled eggs. Not starting any day without putting food in your body. And then- As the day progresses, not just working through lunch, not just, going to the vending machine and grabbing, what's convenient or if you work in an office space, and I hear this, and this is a part of the work that I do with organizations about, but the food offerings that are available.

What's in the environment? What makes it easy for people to reach and grab things that will help them navigate the day? Resisting the urge for those, donuts or those sugary snacks. Pairing whatever you eat in your mealtime and in your snacks with something that contains protein is super important.

Some people, for them, that's protein shakes or protein smoothies. But [00:29:00] keeping protein as a part of whatever you are having is one that's, super simple, and we don't have to overcomplicate it. But food is absolutely something that can't be what we just say, "Oh, I can do without." And then you look up and the day is gone.

And I have a funny story. I'm not just telling you all things that I read about or I heard about. I live this experience, too, and I'm the type of person when I get locked into something, I can keep going for hours, especially if it's a project or something that's allowing me to, really be creative and, do things a little differently.

There was a day when I unknowingly had worked, not gotten up from my desk literally for four hours, and I hadn't had breakfast, I hadn't had a snack, I hadn't had lunch. And I got onto a call with a potential client, and we had done a pre-call like a filler, let's see if this, if there's some [00:30:00] alignment.

And so then we got on the big call with the rest of the group, and the person that showed up in the pre-call and the person that showed up in the real meeting with the rest of the group were not the same person. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: Oh my goodness. Yeah

Dr. Jamie Hardy: I could feel that I, that something was off with me, and even the person who had invited me to the bigger meeting and who was, like, being, you know, the liaison and the champion, "Oh, this will be a good thing for our org," was kind of like... I could see their expression. We're on a, a virtual call, and I could see their facial expression. And after I got off, I had to ask myself, "Okay, I was different. What was different?" And I was like, "You didn't have anything to eat today so far." I was gonna have some lunch or a snack once I got off this very important call.

I had been prepping for the call.

But prepping for the day also involves how we fuel our bodies.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah. So said with that. And so very high [00:31:00] level, we're covering food. And again, I know that can be an entire not just episode, but series. There's so much out there and so on Deep Wealth Nation saying, "Yeah, I hear you, Dr. Jamie. I don't necessarily agree with what you're saying," or, "I don't eat that way," or whatever the case may be on that side.

Deep Wealth Nation, just keep an open mind and understand that, one, food is medicine, and as Dr. Jamie's saying, we need to fuel our body and get that going. 

Stress Science Explained

Jeffrey Feldberg: And let's talk about stress. Often overlooked. You have an entire course on that, and absolutely love what you're doing with that for the founders in terms of what they can do to deal with the stress and be able to really minimize that or get that out of the way.

The Stress Free Executive course. Love the title. It says it all. So what's going on with stress that we're probably not realizing that you want us to know?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Oh my gosh. So stress is another topic that we could talk for days [00:32:00] and hours about. And from a physiological standpoint, I want people to understand that stress, based on our biology, is designed to help us. And so stress can actually be beneficial in certain scenarios. So I like to tell people that stress is not the enemy, chronic unresolved stress is.

And so just, not to get too technical or too science-y, but I wanna just have a little quick science lesson to help 

Jeffrey Feldberg: Let's do it. Sure

Dr. Jamie Hardy: So when your brain detects a threat, let's say you're in danger, let's say you're out walking and you notice in the distance there is a black bear, right?

You're out on a hike. And so when your brain detects a threat, and so in the founder world, that could be a deadline, it could be a difficult investor, not a literal bear, a key team member resigning. There's [00:33:00] a part of the brain called the amygdala, and it sounds the alarm. The alarm starts going off.

And so your stress system, it then responds by releasing some hormones, the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. And so what that does by design to help you survive that stressful moment, that, scenario if you were walking and saw a bear, you have to be prepared to fight or flight. Are you gonna stay and fight, or are you gonna run and get the heck out of there?

And that's how our bodies are designed. We have brilliant biology. So your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure goes up, and your blood sugar rises so that you have the fuel that you need in that moment to fight or to run away. But the problem is that in founder world, in entrepreneurial world, that alarm can continue to go off, and the all clear is not given.

And so the next threat [00:34:00] arrives before the next one is fully resolved and clears out. So that stress system stays switched on, it stays turned on, and over time some things can happen The part of your brain that's responsible for that impulse control and strategic thinking and planning and your memory, all that gets pushed to the backseat because your survival brain is what's kicking in.

And then your sleep and your blood sugar and recovery, all of those things get disrupted, which puts you in this continuous loop or cycle. And so that is what happens when the stress is unresolved and it goes on chronically. That's where we get into trouble. And so the way this can manifest, 'cause people might be saying, "Okay.

You already said I'm a founder, so what is this gonna look like for me? How do I know if I'm having an issue with stress?" It can look like brain fog. So [00:35:00] mentally it can manifest, like having a shorter fuse not being able to make, decisions as quickly and as effectively, losing your spark that was your signature, creative indicator that, oh, that's the creative person on the team.

That spark fades. And physically it can show up in your body. So the muscle tension and muscle aches, headaches, stomach trouble, so it can disrupt your digestive system. Poor sleep even when you're exhausted, and it can also impact your immune system so that you're getting sick more often.

So those are some ways that stress can show up.

So if I was coming down your aisle, I want you to raise your hand and say, "Oh, Dr. Jamie is describing me." And these are not just things that I'm saying just, as a part of this conversation, ha, to be funny. No. There's actual data that the World Health Organization has published saying that people [00:36:00] that carry this chronic unrelieved stress, they are at a higher risk from complications to chronic illnesses, things like heart attacks and even strokes.

So there's real data and real science behind why this stress problem is really a problem and not something for us to just turn our head and turn a blind eye to or bury our heads in the sand and just wait for the busy season to resolve itself. All right?

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay. 

Signs of Hidden Stress

Jeffrey Feldberg: And so with that stress, you shared, "Hey, what's going on?" And this is what we can think about doing. For so many though, particularly founders, hard-charging type A, yeah, not me. What would be some telltale signs that there is underlying stress that may be showing up in even the most unexpected of ways?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Yeah. It could be the inability to go to sleep. You're completely exhausted. You get in the [00:37:00] bed, but your brain won't switch off, and you are there in the bed, you know, rehashing the whole day or even thinking about the whole day tomorrow in those hours in the bed when your body and brain need that restorative sleep.

So sleep interruptions. I mentioned digestive issues, and it can be on both ends of the spectrum. Some people can experience an overactive digestive system where they just can't stop going. Their GI tract just will not let them leave the bathroom. I don't wanna, you know, get too descriptive, but you all can use your founder imaginations.

And then the opposite could be that no matter how hard you try to go, nothing is moving. So it can disrupt your digestive system. And also, I've seen people saying, "Oh, I feel great. I feel fine." But because of the muscle tension that they are just accustomed to feeling and experiencing, I've seen people literally with their shoulders almost up to [00:38:00] their ears because their muscles are so contracted and their bodies are so tense from the stress that's in their bodies.

So those are just some, a few of the simple telltale signs. Sometimes I've had people say, "Oh my gosh, I don't know what's happening. I'm having these acne outbreaks." So it can manifest in your skin. Oh my gosh, it can manifest in your mood, your disposition. You know, Being a little more sharp with your tongue and your words in the way that you interact with people, and they're like, "What's wrong with him?

What's gotten into her today?" So even when you may not even feel that you are stressed because you are so accustomed to that being your baseline way of navigating and moving through life, those are some telltale signs where your body will try to say hey. I'm trying to get your attention." Or even people external to you may be able to give you some of that feedback if you yourself are just so accustomed [00:39:00] to operating in a high-stress state that is your baseline or your normal and that you haven't connected the dots between the connection.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay. 

Dr Jamie Partnership Model

Jeffrey Feldberg: So we've now covered some of the basics, Dr. Jamie, and thank you for your patience with me as I'm asking these newbie questions. Let's walk through your process, your system. So Dr. Jamie, heard you on the Deep Wealth Podcast, love what you're doing. I want to work with you. I want you to work with the team to take us from where we are to where we can get better performance, better thinking, better health, all those kinds of things.

So what does that look like, Dr. Jamie? How much time is required? And I know the preface is Jeffrey, it depends on where you are, but generally speaking, how long does it take? What am I doing? What should I expect?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Yeah. So I will say, Jeffrey, that the way that I'm working with people now is a little different. The work that you mentioned that I was doing with the Stress-Free Executive Experience, which was the course, [00:40:00] I'm no longer offering that. I will say, however, that the work that I did with individual executives, it created the foundation for the container that I now work in.

And so by working with executives individually in my origin of the business gave me the data points and the framework and the feedback to now re-envision it or repackage it as a six-month strategic partnership that I bring inside of organizations. And so the feedback that I was getting was, "Oh my gosh, Dr.

Jamie, the things that we have done in my nutrition, in my sleep environment, in the way that I'm developing, you know, my calendar, the white space that I'm building in, all those things that we have done as a part of my wellbeing, my coworkers have noticed a difference. And it would be so amazing if what you did for me..."

Because these women were seeking me out and working with [00:41:00] me in a coaching program external to their organization, so outside of work on their own time, on their own dime. But as a part of that process, I was getting feedback like, "Oh my gosh, there are other people in my organization that could really benefit from this, and not just women.

There are some men, too." And so that made me say okay. The organization is the place where these executives are showing up every day and doing their work, and this company or this entity is getting the benefit of the work that this individual is doing on their own. How can we bring the organization into this conversation?"

Because The environment that these leaders are working inside of contributes to the stress that they are experiencing, if they are being depleted, if their calendars are stacked, if, you know, there is no breathing room, white space in the calendar, if they are expected to always be on, not taking time away from work, [00:42:00] answering emails, even at the dinner table when they are trying to talk with their children and their significant other about, "How was your day?"

Trying to be present. If the organization is, a part of the dynamic that has shaped the depletion in these individuals, then you know what? The organization must have some skin in the game, too. Because it, serves no good purpose, sustainable purpose, if these individuals are doing this work on themselves but then returning to an environment every day, a culture every day, where the depletion is a part of the standard operating procedures.

And so that's how I got here now in the way that we have reimagined the work that we do. And so to start the process for anyone that might be listening, whether you have your own, company and your own team of leaders that you have been developing, your own team of employees, the way that we start the process on [00:43:00] seeing if the experiences that we offer are a good fit is to do a culture diagnostic, and I'll give you the link at the end for you to share with Deep Wealth Nation.

But the way that the process begins is doing this quick 10-minute assessment, and what it does is that... And it's completely free, and it surfaces any of the patterns of depletion that might be present in the organization that might be lurking under the surface. And because this depletion over time is what erodes, the very essence of who these individuals are, and it, works against them showing up and doing their very best work.

And so starting with the Leadership Retention Index diagnostic is the first step, and so that's gonna surface those patterns in the organization to say, "Hey, is there something happening here? Is everything good?" And it actually will provide a score. And so from there, once we do the diagnostic, we can see what domain is the primary and [00:44:00] secondary driver of whatever the challenges are that this organization is having, and then we can determine which way will be the best way for us to work.

We do six-month strategic partnerships with organizations, and we can focus on whether retention is the main challenge. Things are so, There's so much depletion here. There's so much that the executives or the founders, the leaders are enduring here. Is retention, retaining our great talent the main challenge, or is developing the next pipeline of leaders so that our company can be sustainable, which is the greater challenge?

So we work in a six-month strategic framework or partnership with organizations. That's the two major ways that we work with people. And then the other way is that after people have gone through one of my solutions, there's often this, "Okay we don't want you to just, leave us." So now what?

People want to then move into the next phase. And so I am [00:45:00] also doing some work where I serve as a fractional chief wellbeing officer to stay and be that C-suite type of resource to continue to make sure that wellbeing is a fixed item in the strategy and in the operations of the organization. those are my processes of how people are working with me and my company as of 2026.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Deep Wealth Nation, as you've heard me before say, and I'm gonna say it again, when it comes time for your taxes, are you learning the tax code or are you going to a professional, otherwise known as a chartered accountant who's helping you prepare things and you're having other tax advisors surround you to do the right thing?

Why would it be any different for your health? Which again, health is our first wealth. And so what I really admire of what you shared, Dr. Jamie, is you're not alone. I've done this before with countless founders. Done it for myself, and now taking it to other founders. I'll save you time. I'll save you effort.

I'll get [00:46:00] you from here to there, whatever your goals are, a whole lot quicker. So something for you to think about, Deep Wealth Nation. And let me ask you this before we go into wrap up mode, Dr. Jamie. Is there either a question that you and I haven't covered or a theme or even some kind of a topic that you want to share with Deep Wealth Nation before I ask you one of my favorite questions in wrap up mode?

Morning Routine Blueprint

Dr. Jamie Hardy: So one thing I like to always share with founders especially is not reacting to your day. And what I mean by that is for you to be a part of the way that your day Starts so that it doesn't just get away from you and the day start happening to you without any direction and guidance or input from you.

And one of the things that I often remind founders is that the first 60 minutes of your day, the way you [00:47:00] start your day, those first 60 minutes set the neurological, going back to the brain, it sets the neurological tone. It sets the neurological tone for the day. And I don't want you reacting to the day.

I want you helping to be the director, the architect, the conductor of the day. And so what can that look like from a practical sense? Resisting the urge to grab your cellphone as soon as your eyes open.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay.

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Resist the urge. And I say that because when you pick up that cellphone, and I silenced mine and put it, on the edge of my desk so that it would not be alerting me, it would not be interrupting me, it would not be distracting me while we were having this conversation, because our phones can do that.

Other people's urgency, other people's emergencies, other people's challenges are on the other [00:48:00] side of this phone screen. And by not grabbing that phone when you first wake up is key. And I want you to take some moments, and we're talking about this first 60 minutes, for intentional movement. So moving your body, whether that's you sitting on the edge of the bed and just doing some stretches, or if you're a person that has an actual, fitness routine or fitness schedule, perhaps incorporating, you know, some type of short exercise or physical movement in that first hour. And I'm n- not saying get in your car and, drive to the gym and try to get in a workout.

It could be something as simple as sitting on the side of the bed and just doing some shoulder rolls and some neck rolls, or doing some type of, stretches. But incorporating some movement in those first 60 minutes. That phone is not being picked up. Doing some movement. And I like to also recommend having some time for just stillness and quiet.[00:49:00]

So if that's, a meditation practice, if that's just some deep breathing, if that's the time, if you're a person that's, very spiritually connected, if that's time for you to pray and talk to God or to the universe or to whatever higher power you understand is helping, you navigate life, having that time for stillness in that first hour of you waking up is also important.

And I promise you, by not picking up that phone, that's gonna give you time Because time takers are on the other side of this phone. So I want you to start your day focused on yourself and within that first hour of waking, having some time for movement and taking some time for stillness. And so that's what I mean by not letting the day just unravel and the day happen to you, but you can be then more mentally grounded to then navigate the day in an effective and productive way.

And then after you do those two things for yourself, then if you [00:50:00] wanna grab the phone, then fine. I know you're a founder and, and you have things that you need to check on. But I want you to deposit some things into your bank first before you start allowing the day and other people to start making withdrawals

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Deep Wealth Nation, I gotta tell you, putting myself under the microscope, within the first 30 minutes of waking up, sometimes a little bit longer, sometimes a little bit less, when possible, I'm outside, I'm doing a quick 15, 20-minute walk. I'm looking at the sunrise. If it's a miserable day outside I'm just walking around wherever I could be.

It could be in my home or if I'm traveling, in a hotel, getting that movement. It's so important. And as I walk, I'm either praying to myself or I'm doing a walking meditation because you're so right. When we wake up, our brain is still in a hypnosis kind of mode. So in other words, whatever we're listening to [00:51:00] gets, boom, right back to the subconscious a whole lot easier.

So do we want the news and all that negativity or something positive that's gonna keep us centered? I absolutely love that advice. 

Back to Future Wisdom

Jeffrey Feldberg: And speaking of advice, we're gonna take that now and go into wrap up mode. It's a tradition here, Dr. Jamie on Deep Wealth Podcast. I have the privilege, the honor of asking each guest the same question.

It's a fun question. Let me set that up for you

Dr. Jamie Hardy: okay, Okay. I'm on, on the edge of my seat like, "Oh gosh."

Jeffrey Feldberg: we go. When you think of the movie Back to the Future, you have that magical DeLorean car that will take you to any point in time. So imagine now it's tomorrow morning. You look outside your window, and Dr. Jamie, here's the fun part. Not only is the DeLorean car curbside, the door is open, it's waiting for you to hop on in, which you do.

You're now gonna go to any point in time, Dr. Jamie, as a young child, a teenager, whatever point in time it would be. What are you telling your younger self in terms of life lessons or life wisdom, or, "Hey, Dr. Jamie, do this, but don't do that"? What would it [00:52:00] sound like?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Oh my gosh. If I could hop in that DeLorean and go back and talk to my younger self, I would tell my younger self, "Girl, it is all going to work out. I'm not gonna tell you how, but I'm just gonna let you know that it is all going to work out and work out for your good."

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that. It's like, "Hey, relax. It's, everything's okay. It's all gonna work out, and it's gonna work out for the good." It doesn't get any better than that. 

How to Connect Online

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Dr. Jamie, someone in Deep Wealth Nation, they'd like to reach out, have a conversation with you, better yet, even work with you and the team, where's the best place online to reach you?

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Yes. I would say the very first place to go to connect with me and to connect with that resource that I mentioned is to go to leadershipretentionindex.com. That's that free culture diagnostic that I alluded to earlier, and I'll make sure that you can drop the link in the show [00:53:00] notes, but leadershipretentionindex.com to grab that.

And then for those who want to connect with me on social media, I'm very active on LinkedIn and on Instagram, so you can find me in both of those places @drjamiehardy, and it's spelled just like my name, D-R-J-A-M-I-E H-A-R-D-Y

Jeffrey Feldberg: Perfect. And Deep Wealth Nation, I got some wonderful news for you. It doesn't get any easier. Go to the show notes. It's all there. It's a point and click. Dr. Jamie, it's official. Congratulations. This is a wrap. As we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe.

Thank you so much

Dr. Jamie Hardy: Thank you

Subscribe and Final Thanks

Jeffrey Feldberg: So there you have it, Deep Wealth Nation. 

What did you think? 

So with all that said and as we wrap it up, I have another question for you.

Actually, it's more of a personal favor. 

Did you find this episode helpful? 

Have you found other episodes of the Deep Wealth Podcast empowering and a game changer for your journey? 

And if you said yes, and I really hope you did, I have a small but [00:54:00] really meaningful way that you can actually help us out and keep these episodes coming to you.

Are you ready for it? 

The dramatic pause. I'll just wait a moment. Drumroll, please. Subscribe. Please subscribe to the Deep Wealth podcast on your favorite podcast channel. When you subscribe to the Deep Wealth Podcast, you're saving yourself time. Every episode automatically comes to you, and I want you to know that we meticulously craft Every one of our episodes to have impactful strategies, stories, expert insights that are designed to help you grow your profits, increase the value of your business, and yes, even optimize your post exit life and your life right now, whatever you want that to look like.

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So all that said. Thank you so much for listening. And remember your wealth isn't just about the money in the bank. It's about the depth of your journey and the impact that you're creating. So let's continue this journey together. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening to this episode.

And as we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. 

Thank you so much. 

God bless.