The Unstuck High Performer Podcast - Hypnotherapy and Mindset Coaching for High-Performers

What if "it's cheaper to keep her" has far less to do with your marriage—and far more to do with what losing money would mean about you?
In this episode, I challenge the relationship between money, self-worth, and legacy—and ask you to stop calculating only what leaving might cost and finally confront what staying exactly as you are may already be costing you.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What "it's cheaper to keep her" may reveal beneath the financial calculation
Why losing wealth can feel like losing part of your identity
How successful men can unconsciously equate net worth with self-worth
The emotional, relational, and physical costs that never appear on a balance sheet
Why remaining married and remaining miserable aren't your only options
Why retirement can expose marital problems that busyness allowed you to avoid
How to take responsibility for your contribution to the distance in your marriage
The critical distinction between inheritance and legacy
You've spent decades protecting what you've earned. But if preserving your wealth requires sacrificing your peace, health, happiness, or closest relationships, it's worth asking what you're actually protecting. 
This episode isn't an argument for divorce—it's an invitation to stop avoiding the work, take ownership of what can still be repaired, and make what matters most matter now.
Listen to the full episode.
Time Stamps:
3:40: "It's cheaper to keep her"—what that joke may actually reveal about your relationship with money
6:43: You've calculated what divorce could cost—but have you calculated the cost of staying unhappy?
8:45: When money stops being a resource and becomes proof of your worth
12:58: Trapped between guilt and resentment? Why staying may not be the noble choice you think it is
14:42: "If I lose half of what I built, was all of that sacrifice for nothing?"
17:58: The difference between leaving an inheritance and leaving a legacy
21:54: "Are you going to divorce me?" The conversation that finally broke years of marital avoidance
I help founders and CEOs overcome the hidden psychological and emotional costs of success so they build a life that feels as successful as it looks.
Apply for Private 1:1 Coaching: If you're successful on paper but feel misaligned, overwhelmed, or stuck at your next level, private coaching may be the fastest path forward. Click here to apply to work with me.
Follow me on Instagram: @thepaulsalter
Watch on YouTube: @thepaulsalter
Join me in the M19 Mastermind: Click here to apply. Tell them Paul sent you.

What if the greatest threat to your continued success isn't failure—but becoming successful enough to believe you no longer need what got you here?
In this episode, I unpack the psychological trap that causes successful people to slowly abandon the fundamentals while their results remain strong—and why today's success may simply be yesterday's discipline disguising the consequences of today's shortcuts.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why success creates the illusion that you've graduated from the fundamentals
How recency bias causes you to misinterpret what's actually producing your results
How consistency creates a "runway" that allows you to occasionally get off track
Why that same runway can deceive you into believing your shortcuts are working
How momentum can become both a privilege and a liability
Why talented people can operate below their potential without immediately seeing consequences
How increasing responsibility creates increasingly legitimate excuses for abandoning your standards
Why a valid excuse doesn't eliminate the cost of your decision
Your success has earned you room to bend—but don't mistake that privilege for proof that your shortcuts are working. If you've started treating the habits, routines, or standards that built your success as optional, this episode will help you recognize the drift and return to the fundamentals before your runway runs out. 
Listen to the full episode.
Time Stamps:
0:00: Why your current success may actually be the greatest threat to your future success
7:08: The dangerous moment when success convinces you you've graduated from the fundamentals
11:14: Why today's results may have almost nothing to do with what you're doing today
13:22: He abandoned the routines that transformed his life—because success convinced him he didn't need them anymore
17:50: The harvest metaphor that exposes why your shortcuts can appear to be working
19:17: When momentum shifts from your greatest privilege to a dangerous liability
22:38: Why your most convincing excuses become more dangerous as you become more successful
I help founders and CEOs overcome the hidden psychological and emotional costs of success so they build a life that feels as successful as it looks.
Apply for Private 1:1 Coaching: If you're successful on paper but feel misaligned, overwhelmed, or stuck at your next level, private coaching may be the fastest path forward. Click here to apply to work with me.
Follow me on Instagram: @thepaulsalter
Watch on YouTube: @thepaulsalter
Join me in the M19 Mastermind: Click here to apply. Tell them Paul sent you.

What if the way you're breathing is quietly making it harder to handle pressure, recover from stress, and perform at your best?
In this episode, I sit down with breathwork practitioner Kimberly Faith to explore how your breath affects your nervous system—and how learning to intentionally control it can become one of the simplest tools for regulating stress and anxiety without sacrificing your competitive edge.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The simple test that reveals whether you're breathing from your chest or diaphragm
How chronic shallow breathing can keep you in a heightened stress state
Why regulating your nervous system doesn't mean losing your competitive edge
How to use your breath to both calm yourself down and intentionally increase energy
Why breathwork can be useful when you struggle to put emotions into words
The beginner technique Kimberly recommends for activating a calmer state
Why surrender can be one of the hardest parts of breathwork for high achievers
How Kimberly recommends combining deeper journeys with shorter daily practice
You already breathe thousands of times every day. The question is whether your breath is working for you—or against you. If you want a practical introduction to using your breath to better navigate pressure, stress, and performance, listen to the full conversation.
Time Stamps:
00:25: The 30-second breathing test that reveals how much stress your body is carrying
4:20: What happens inside your body when you continually suppress stress and emotion to perform
7:21: Afraid calming down will cost you your edge? Kimberly explains why the opposite may happen
10:06: Why breathwork can help when you can't find the words for what you're feeling
12:07: The high achiever who tried breathwork—and cried "tears of a thousand years"
14:54: The simplest breathing technique to calm your nervous system in minutes
23:27: What actually happens during a 90-minute breathwork journey—and why high performers are using them
I help high performers get unstuck and out of their own way to unlock their potential. 
Apply for Private 1:1 Coaching: If you're successful on paper but feel misaligned, overwhelmed, or stuck at your next level, private coaching may be the fastest path forward. Click here to apply to work with me.
Follow me on Instagram: @thepaulsalter
Watch on YouTube: @thepaulsalter
Join me in the M19 Mastermind: Click here to apply. Tell them Paul sent you.
More About Kimberly Faith
Kimberly Faith helps high performers get out of their heads and back into their bodies. A speaker, author, and TEDx presenter, she has guided more than 1,500 people across 7 countries through breathwork experiences that cut straight to what is actually holding them back.
Her work is built on a simple idea: real change happens in the body, not the mind. By using somatic breathwork, she helps driven people release the pressure they carry, reconnect with themselves, and perform from a place of calm rather than force. No overthinking required, just breath, presence, and a way forward.
When she is not working with clients, you can find Kimberly out in the Colorado mountains with her dog Peanut, chasing adventures on the trails, on the water, and everywhere in between.
Learn more about Kimberly at her website here.
Connect with Kimberly on social media below:
Instagram (@adventuresofkimberlyfaith)
LinkedIn (@kimberlyfaithray)

What if you're not actually afraid to slow down—you're afraid of what you'll be forced to confront when you do?
In this episode, I explore how work can become a socially rewarded form of emotional avoidance, allowing you to outrun problems in your marriage, relationships, health, and yourself—and why waiting until retirement to face them may be one of the most costly mistakes you make.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why fear of retirement may have little to do with boredom or losing your edge
How work can function as a socially acceptable form of emotional anesthesia
Why slowing down doesn't create your problems—it makes them harder to ignore
How decades of busyness can quietly turn a marriage into a partnership of logistics
Why providing for your children isn't the same as being known by them
How work can help you override exhaustion and other warning signs
The identity crisis that can emerge when you lose your title, calendar, and scoreboard
How to distinguish loving your work from psychologically needing it
Why vacations, weekends, and quiet evenings can offer a preview of retirement
The "retire before you retire" exercise for discovering what your busyness is managing for you
You don't need to become less ambitious. But you do need to know whether your ambition is helping you build a life you love—or helping you avoid one. Listen to the full episode and start doing the work beneath the work now, while there's still time to make what matters most matter now.
Time Stamps:
3:46: The client who could've retired years ago—but was terrified of what would be waiting for him
6:49: When work stops being ambition and quietly becomes emotional anesthesia
9:46: The terrifying identity question hiding underneath "I could never retire"
13:02: What happens when decades of marriage become little more than managing logistics
18:37: Your kids may appreciate everything you provided—and still grieve what your success cost them
22:26: Five uncomfortable questions that reveal whether you love your work or psychologically need it
28:05: The one-day experiment that reveals exactly what your busyness has been protecting you from
I help founders and CEOs overcome the hidden psychological and emotional costs of success so they build a life that feels as successful as it looks.
Apply for Private 1:1 Coaching: If you're successful on paper but feel misaligned, overwhelmed, or stuck at your next level, private coaching may be the fastest path forward. Click here to apply to work with me.
Follow me on Instagram: @thepaulsalter
Watch on YouTube: @thepaulsalter
Join me in the M19 Mastermind: Click here to apply. Tell them Paul sent you.

What happens when your business is growing faster than ever—but you're increasingly concerned about what that growth could cost you?
In this episode, I sit down with top-producing real estate leader Michael Thornton to explore how he's built a thriving business while protecting his marriage, time with his five children, health, and faith—and why his biggest challenge now isn't achieving more success, but making sure he doesn't lose himself in the process.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why Michael left a stable corporate career despite having three young children
How he survived nearly running out of money during his first year in real estate
Why the people around you sometimes need to believe in you when you can't
The boundaries Michael uses to protect his family from the demands of real estate
Why his first strategic hire was designed around being present for nights and weekends
How he recognizes his personal warning signs of burnout
How Michael thinks about growth without falling into the "grind at all costs" mentality
Why growing 40% didn't make him any happier
How he defines success so that business, marriage, family, and personal well-being grow together
Michael's business is having its best year ever—but the question he's wrestling with isn't how to grow faster. It's how to make sure growth doesn't cost him the life he's building it all for. If you've ever wondered how to pursue more without sacrificing what matters most, listen to the full conversation.
Time Stamps:
5:30: Why he willingly walked away from a great salary with three kids at home
12:27: The unconventional hire that allowed Michael to grow without sacrificing his family
15:47: His business is having its best year ever—so why isn't he any happier?
20:10: The burnout warning sign that tells Michael it's time to stop pushing
27:43: Why relentless growth can cost you the very things you were working for
29:28: He bet on himself, burned through his savings, and was nearly forced to admit he'd failed
36:55: His business grew 40%—and triggered a completely different fear about success
I help high performers get unstuck and out of their own way to unlock their potential. 
Apply for Private 1:1 Coaching: If you're successful on paper but feel misaligned, overwhelmed, or stuck at your next level, private coaching may be the fastest path forward. Click here to apply to work with me.
Follow me on Instagram: @thepaulsalter
Watch on YouTube: @thepaulsalter
Join me in the M19 Mastermind: Click here to apply. Tell them Paul sent you.
More About Michael Thornton
Michael Thornton is the Team Lead of The Thornton Team at Keller Williams Premiere Properties, the #1 Real Estate Team in Wheaton, Illinois for 2024, as recognized by RealTrends Verified. Ranked #1 in both transaction count and sales volume for the city of Wheaton, and among the Top 1% of REALTORS® nationwide, Michael and his team continue to set the standard for exceptional service and performance in DuPage County real estate.
With more than $200 million in lifetime sales and over 400 families served, The Thornton Team consistently averages $30 million in annual volume and 60+ homes sold per year. Their success earned them national recognition by RealTrends Verified, with Michael's team ranking #3,454 nationally, #104 in Illinois by volume, and #160 in the state by sides—solidifying their position as one of the most productive real estate teams in the Midwest.
Learn more about Michael at his website here.
Connect with Michael on social media below:
Instagram (@michaelthornton1)
LinkedIn (@michael-thornton) 
YouTube (@michaelthornton)