Success on paper can hide a mountain of stress, as Andrew (Andy) Johns reveals in this episode how a seemingly perfect startup career left him barely holding it together, and what he learned about reclaiming resilience through nervous system mastery.

Why do so many entrepreneurs push themselves to the brink without realizing the cost? Andy, a Silicon Valley veteran, joins Alex Raymond to open up about the burnout that forced him to reevaluate everything and shares the tools that helped him recover. From the power of breathwork as the “remote control to your nervous system” to the impact of routines, sunlight, and even thermogenesis, he explores practical ways to protect your body and mind.

How can you create habits that prevent stress from becoming burnout? Andy’s insights offer simple yet transformative steps to help entrepreneurs build resilience, thrive under pressure, and take control of their well-being.

Quotes

• “When the body activates those superpowers because part of the nervous system perceives a threat, it floods the body with stress hormones, like adrenaline. These hormones are meant to be temporary, helping us respond to immediate danger before the body returns to a rest-and-digest mode. But the body wasn’t designed to sustain that heightened state of activation. Increasingly, research shows a direct link between sustained psychological stress and chronic illness, both mental and physical.” (13:12 | Andrew Johns)
• “It’s not just that we might be eating unhealthy food—we are. And it’s not just that we’re less physically active than we used to be—we are. It’s also that we’re living under constant psychological stress.” (14:43 | Andrew Johns)
• “We need to be wise in understanding the complicated and nuanced nature of the pros and cons of the environment we’ve crafted for ourselves.” (16:48 | Andrew Johns)
• “Okay, your career is in tech. You may be asking yourself, well, is this good for me in the long run? Maybe, maybe not. Everyone’s different. Certain people have different resilience characteristics. I know some folks where, myself included, are very, very sensitive to the environment around me. And so, I would absorb all of these psychological stressors and the moods of my employees around me. Other people I know, they’re not like this, but to the question of like, what do we do about it?” (17:04 | Andrew Johns)
• “You have the mechanisms built into you to feel calm and clear and in a state of peace. Your body has evolved those mechanisms, and you may just need to experiment to find your way back to those things. You don’t need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to search and discover the tools or the techniques or the experts. It’s the inherent wisdom of the vitality of the human body, and that’s really all we're encouraging. If you tap into its inherent vitality, your resilience will be remarkable.” (46:03 | Andrew Johns)

Links

Connect with Andrew Johns:

Website: https://cluesdotlife.substack.com/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

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