🔥 Episode Description:

What happens when the identity you've built your life around… no longer fits?

In this episode of Mission Driven You, Will sits down with Chris Eversley—former professional basketball player, tech consultant, coach, and founder of Next Play, a platform dedicated to helping others navigate transformation. Chris’s journey is anything but linear, and his story offers a powerful framework for what to do when life throws you a curveball—and your next step isn't clear.

From the moment a rare spinal condition ended his athletic career to launching his own solo business, Chris talks candidly about grief, growth, and what he calls “mirror moments”—those raw, unfiltered check-ins where we get honest about where we are and where we want to go. He also breaks down his 3T’s framework—Translate, Transition, and Triumph—as a practical map for moving forward with purpose.

If you're in the middle of a pivot, feeling unmoored by change, or simply wondering what’s next, this episode will speak to you.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• Why we often avoid honest self-reflection—and what happens when we stop
• How Chris's 3T’s framework (Translate, Transition, Triumph) supports sustainable change
• What it means to grieve a past version of yourself without shame
• The dangers of toxic positivity—and how to replace it with real emotional resilience
• How to shift from identity-driven achievement to purpose-driven living
• The role of solitude and structure in navigating reinvention

💬 Memorable Quotes:

“Your mirror doesn’t lie—whether you look into it is up to you.”

“I had to learn how to be successful off the court in a way that didn’t depend on applause.”

“Toxic positivity is like spraying Febreze on a dumpster fire. It might smell better—but it’s still burning.”

“The triumph comes when we stop running from the transition.”

🔗 Resources & Links:

• 🌐 Connect with Chris Eversley: https://chriseversley.com
• 📱 Follow Chris on Instagram: @chriseversley
• 💡 Explore Chris’s Framework: Next Play Coaching
• 🎧 Chris's Spotify Playlist for Transitions

🧭 Reflection Prompts:

• What’s a “mirror moment” you’ve been avoiding?
• Where are you clinging to a past identity that no longer fits?
• How might you “translate” your current experiences into something new?

📣 Subscribe & Share:

Love this conversation? Subscribe to Mission Driven You on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. And share it with someone who’s navigating the messy middle of change—they’ll thank you for it.

💡 Final Takeaway:

Change isn’t clean. But if you face your reflection and follow the thread, you’ll find the next version of you—waiting to be lived.

Mentioned in this episode:

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In this short but powerful advertisement, Thrive Remotely calls out to driven individuals who are tired of climbing ladders that lead nowhere and living lives that don't feel like their own. This ad sets the tone for a bold, values-aligned lifestyle shift and speaks directly to the heart of anyone craving purpose and autonomy. Key Themes - Purpose-Driven Living: Break away from corporate paths that don’t align with your deeper mission. - Remote Work with Meaning: Thrive Remotely offers a chance to do more than just work from anywhere — it’s about working on...

Episode Description:

You can’t lead well if you’re still running on outdated mental code. In this powerful solo episode of Mission Driven You, Will introduces the first layer of the Resilience Stack: the Mindset Reboot, or what he calls the code rewrite.

Most high-performing leaders are relying on internal scripts written during times of survival—scripts they’ve never questioned, but that are quietly sabotaging their clarity, capacity, and self-trust. This episode walks through how to identify those legacy beliefs, where they came from, and how to consciously replace them with a new, empowering internal operating system.

If your strategy looks great on paper but your soul is exhausted, this episode is your invitation to look beneath the surface—and begin again.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why outdated beliefs are like Y2K code—functional but fragile
• How unconscious stories create chronic burnout, control issues, and reactivity
• Common examples of “legacy code” running in high achievers
• The surprising cost of over-functioning, perfectionism, and people-pleasing
• Four coaching questions to surface hidden stories and rewire your mindset
• How to consciously write new internal scripts that support clarity and calm
• Why presence—not productivity—is your most valuable leadership asset

🔧 Code Rewrite Process (Step-by-Step):

Spot the Script

• Track when you’re over-functioning, reactive, or exhausted
• Ask: What belief is running this behavior?

Trace the Origin

• Whose voice are you hearing? Is it yours, or someone else’s?
• Recognize how family systems, past jobs, and cultural narratives shaped your inner code

Challenge the Logic

• Is this story still true? Is it helpful? What if the opposite were true?

Write New Code

• Examples:
• “I lead best when I am grounded.”
• “My presence is more valuable than my productivity.”
• “I don’t have to earn my right to rest.”

Reinforce the Rewrite

• Say it. Write it. Post it. Repeat it.
• Your nervous system needs repetition to trust the new story.

Quotes to Remember:

“What helped you survive at 25 will sabotage you at 45.”

“Your leadership isn’t failing because of bad strategy—it’s stuck because of bad code.”

“You cannot lead well if you are constantly trying to outrun your origin story.”

“Every new chapter starts with a rewritten line of code.”

Reflection Prompts:

• What do I believe about my worth when I’m not producing?
• Where did that belief come from?
• Who benefits when I keep believing it?
• What would shift if I didn’t?

🔗 Resources & Next Steps:

• Read the full series: drwillsamson.substack.com
• Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/willsamson
• Subscribe to Mission Driven You on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

💡 Final Takeaway:

“Real leadership transformation begins where most people never look: inside the story running within them.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Subscribe to Thrive Remotely

In this short but powerful advertisement, Thrive Remotely calls out to driven individuals who are tired of climbing ladders that lead nowhere and living...

Episode Description:

Great leaders don’t avoid discomfort—they learn to follow it.

In this episode of Mission Driven You, Will sits down with Arielle Lechner, an executive coach and startup strategist who works with high-growth founders and senior leaders to turn complexity into clarity. Arielle brings a rare blend of operational insight, emotional intelligence, and no-nonsense coaching to the art of building strong leadership and culture inside fast-moving companies.

Together, they unpack what it means to treat leadership like an experiment, why most leaders aren’t as clear as they think they are, and how to use discomfort as a directional signal instead of something to escape. Arielle also shares her "Lift and Thrust" model for understanding team dynamics, and what makes a founder not just successful—but coachable.

If you’re leading something big—or thinking about what’s next—this episode offers practical tools and deeper insight for becoming the kind of leader people trust, follow, and remember.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• Why leadership and culture-building are better approached as experiments, not formulas
• What the “Lift and Thrust” model can reveal about your team’s dynamics
• How to stop outsourcing culture to perks and start diagnosing the real forces at play
• Why discomfort is often a compass pointing to your next area of growth
• The difference between clarity and overexplanation—and why repetition is leadership
• What makes a founder coachable, and why it matters for long-term impact
• How to lead through high-stakes decisions (like fundraising or scaling) without losing your center

💬 Quotes to Remember:

“If you’re not repeating yourself like a broken record, you’re probably not being clear enough.”

“What’s being avoided is often what most needs attention.”

“Everything is an experiment. Leadership. Culture. Team building. You don’t need to get it right—you need to stay curious.”

“Discomfort is not danger. It’s data.”

✨ Reflection Questions:

• Where in your leadership are you performing clarity—but not actually being clear?
• What conversations are you avoiding that might unlock growth for you or your team?
• How could you reframe your next challenge as an experiment instead of a test?

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Arielle Lechner
• Website: ariellelechner.com
• LinkedIn: Arielle Lechner
• Connect with Will:
• Substack: drwillsamson.substack.com
• LinkedIn: Will Samson

💡 Final Takeaway:

“Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating space for the right questions—and staying present long enough to listen.”

Let me know if you'd like a condensed version for Apple/Spotify upload or a pull quote for social media!

Mentioned in this episode:

Subscribe to Thrive Remotely

In this short but powerful advertisement, Thrive Remotely calls out to driven individuals who are tired of climbing ladders that lead nowhere and living lives that don't feel like their own. This ad sets the tone for a bold, values-aligned lifestyle shift and speaks directly to the heart of anyone craving purpose and autonomy. Key Themes - Purpose-Driven Living: Break away from corporate paths that don’t align with your deeper mission.