Key Highlights from Our Conversation:

The Survival Mode Trap

Daniel identified a pattern many entrepreneurs experience but few discuss openly: operating from a place of constant survival. "I think you come out of survival mode when you really start to work on yourself," he explains. "You start to actually be able to have clarity around how am I feeling, what is my intuition like, what's actually happening in my body." This state of perpetual reaction creates a fog where strategic decisions become impossible and hiring choices remain subpar. For Daniel, the shift from survival to clarity didn't come from business strategy but from internal work that allowed him to process emotions he'd previously ignored—particularly after his father's passing during the pandemic.

The Hiring Evolution

One of Daniel's most painful entrepreneurial lessons came from consistently hiring the wrong people. "I heard Steve Jobs say 'Hire A players, hire A players, hire A players' all the time. I was listening to podcasts and stuff, I'm like 'Oh, okay.' But I didn't really do that for a long time," Daniel admits. This pattern plagued multiple ventures and contributed to business failures. The shift came when his internal work created enough awareness to recognize how his own patterns were manifesting in his hiring choices. "I was still motivated by 'I want to do this, I want to create a business,' but I realized I really didn't like the work, and I kind of woke up every day dreading it."

The lesson wasn't just about hiring better people—it was recognizing how his own relationship with the business affected every aspect of operations. Only when Daniel began healing his relationship with himself could he create healthier relationships with team members and make wiser hiring decisions aligned with his true vision.

Monday Nature Rituals

Rather than jumping straight into the week's demands, Daniel created a practice that radically shifted his approach to business: "On Mondays I try to get in nature, so I go on a walk in the morning and I reflect on some things." This simple ritual creates space to consider "what are the most important things" rather than getting caught in immediate urgencies. This perspective shift allows him to identify "what is the most impactful thing over the next three months, six months, 12 months, maybe two years."

This practice exemplifies the marriage between intuition and structure that has become Daniel's approach. Rather than being driven by external expectations or reactive pressures, this contemplative time connects him to what actually matters. From this centered place, he creates a concise list of 4-6 high-priority items for the week, maintaining focus amid the inevitable influx of emails, team requests, and customer needs.

Intentional Team Transparency

Breaking from the traditional separation between personal and professional, Daniel has cultivated selective vulnerability with his team. "At times I will share some things, and we'll talk about 'Hey, I just did this plant medicine thing and this is what happened' or 'I went to this event and these are some things that came up.'" This openness creates psychological safety for team members to share their own growth journeys. Daniel observed how this authenticity ripples through the organization: "It helps them feel more comfortable also sharing their own stuff. One of my employees was sharing about some therapy stuff they're working on with their partner, which was really cool."

This approach doesn't mean oversharing with everyone—Daniel is intentional about what he shares and with whom. The result is a culture where personal growth is normalized and celebrated rather than hidden. "When people are doing that work, they are going to be happier, more productive, and more present in their work and their life."

The Manifestation Balance

Perhaps the most profound insight from our conversation was Daniel's perspective on manifestation—a concept often misunderstood in entrepreneurial circles. "There's something that talks about how there's kind of two things happening that we have to focus on. The inner work that we're doing should be reflecting the outer work," he explains. "The more inner abundance or growth or expansion that you have inside usually will reflect on your outer self—if you are actually making movement on the outside too."

Daniel cautions against the common trap where people focus exclusively on inner work without taking action: "That can be a little bit of a trap for some people where they're like 'Oh, I'm manifesting, I'm sitting here, I want to see this happen,' and then nothing happens because they're not actually taking action." Instead, he advocates for a dual approach: internal transformation paired with external movement. This balanced perspective has allowed his business to grow organically from the foundation of his own healing and clarity.

My Personal Reflections:

Daniel is a friend and fellow Mind-traveler, I have met him in Tenerife last year and he was one of the few men in my life where I felt I could immediately open up. He too shares a deep motivation to inner work and healing, which automatically translates into honesty and a non-toxic masculine energy, which really makes you feel “safe”. For this reason, I decided to invite him on the show, so he could share, without any taboo, what his journey has been and how clearly he’s seen the outcomes of his inner work in his business.

Ultimately, for any entrepreneur to keep in mind: our businesses are a direct manifestation of our visions. Hence, the clearer and purer our personal energies are, the clearer and faster we can ground our vision into reality. I hope this chat shows you an often untold version of how Founders can work towards success and peak performance. A work that has more to do with resolving your internal conflicts rather than external actions.