Selling From the Heart Podcast

Hosted by Larry Levine, Darrell Amy

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502

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Nov 2026

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Welcome to the Selling From the Heart podcast, your home for authentic, effective, and socially-integrated sales strategies to help you master the art of selling. Join your hosts Darrell Amy and Larry Levine along with some of the world's best sales thought leaders and practitioners as we explore ways to grow your sales.

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November 14, 2026Episode 3929 min

Outwork, Outcry Outreachgrow Mediocrity featuring Ryan Brancheau

Ryan Brancheau is a sales leader and author of Memoirs of a Mediocre Salesman: Stories, Mistakes, and Hard Truths from a Career That Actually Worked. Drawing from his experiences in sales and sales leadership, Ryan shares candid lessons about resilience, accountability, customer relationships, and the work required to rise above mediocrity. Ryan challenges the belief that successful salespeople are simply born with extraordinary talent. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes, embracing discomfort, and consistently improving. His approach to selling centers on genuine care, honest conversations, and a simple philosophy: leave people better than you found them. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of the Selling From the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Ryan Brancheau, author of Memoirs of a Mediocre Salesman, for a candid conversation about hard work, resilience, accountability, customer relationships, and the courage to learn from failure. Ryan challenges the idea that great salespeople are born with exceptional charisma or natural talent. Instead, he believes success comes from putting in the work, reflecting on mistakes, and genuinely caring about the people you serve. He explains why selling from the heart means leaving customers and team members better than you found them—and why how people feel after an interaction matters just as much as the solution you provide. The conversation also explores the responsibility of sales leadership. Ryan challenges organizations to stop making customer-facing decisions behind closed doors, prioritize honest internal communication, and build forecasts grounded in customer realities rather than wishful thinking. When leaders avoid difficult truths, the consequences can extend far beyond the sales department. Finally, Ryan explains why great sales conversations don't require perfect PowerPoint presentations. They require curiosity, genuine connection, and a clear understanding of the customer's challenges. Before presenting a solution, sales professionals must first discover what truly matters to the person across from them. KEY TAKEAWAYS Leave people better than you found them. Authentic selling and leadership are about building trust, creating confidence, and making customers and team members feel valued. Outwork and outcare your way beyond mediocrity. Success isn't reserved for people with natural talent. Consistent effort, genuine care, and a willingness to learn from mistakes drive professional growth. Build resilience around rejection. Every salesperson hears no. Use realistic expectations, pipeline metrics, and lessons from setbacks to maintain perspective and keep moving forward. Listen to customers before making decisions. Data and analysis have value, but they cannot replace honest conversations with the people your business serves. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Selling from the heart to me just means leaving people better than they were before. It was learned because I was willing to learn from my mistakes, put in the work, and not repeat the same mistakes. A no doesn't stop you, right? A no just deflects you and you keep on going. The great salespeople don't need great PowerPoints. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

November 7, 2026Episode 3831 min

Get Smarter or Get Left Behind featuring Richard Vickers

Richard Vickers is a leadership and communication speaker, author, and coach who helps organizations develop stronger leaders, improve communication, build trust, and create healthier workplace cultures. He is the author of Getting Smarter Every Day: Practical Lessons in Leadership, Communication, and Personal Growth, a book centered on intentional growth, accountability, and the small daily actions that shape who we become. Richard's leadership philosophy emphasizes treating people as "Human Beings, Not Human Doings" and recognizing that effective communication isn't defined by what we say, but by how our message is received. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of the Selling From the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Richard Vickers, author of Getting Smarter Every Day, for a conversation about continuous learning, leadership growth, buyer understanding, and staying relevant in an increasingly informed marketplace. Richard challenges sales professionals to put themselves in the buyer's seat. Authentic selling begins with understanding the emotions, experiences, and challenges influencing purchasing decisions—not simply delivering a polished presentation. As AI and digital tools make information more accessible, Richard explains why sellers must continually expand their knowledge and bring perspectives customers cannot easily discover on their own. The same responsibility applies to sales leaders: when leaders stop growing, they risk limiting the potential of the people they lead. The conversation also explores the power of daily learning habits, challenging assumptions, and communicating on the listener's terms. Richard explains how thoughtful questions and genuine curiosity can uncover problems, reveal opportunities, and create more meaningful conversations. KEY TAKEAWAYS Put yourself in the buyer's seat. Understand the emotions, challenges, and perspectives influencing customer decisions before offering solutions. Raise your ceiling to elevate your team. Leaders must continue developing themselves to create opportunities for the people they lead to grow. Get smarter every day. As AI gives buyers greater access to information, sellers must bring fresh insights and meaningful perspectives beyond what customers can research independently. Make learning a daily discipline. Reading, writing, reflecting, and challenging assumptions help you expand your knowledge and strengthen your professional capabilities. Communicate on the listener's terms. Effective communication requires curiosity, active listening, and adapting your message to the other person's experiences and expectations. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Selling from the heart to me is putting yourself in the seat of the buyer. Make sure you're continually raising your ceiling for the people that report to you. Quiet excellence is admirable, but invisible excellence is expensive. If you want the responses that no one's getting, you gotta ask the questions that no one's asking. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

October 31, 2026Episode 3734 min

Rewire Your Mind to Win featuring Dr. Bobby Low

Dr. Bobby Low is a mental performance doctor, author, speaker, coach, and Founder of MOTYV8, a platform dedicated to helping athletes, teams, and high performers develop the mental skills needed to thrive under pressure. A former NCAA All-American and professional pole vaulter, Dr. Bobby holds a Ph.D. in Sport & Performance Psychology. He works with athletes at Brigham Young University and elite performers across professional sports, helping them strengthen confidence, focus, resilience, and emotional control. He is also the author of Wiring Intelligence: From Reactive to Proactive, Eight Mindsets to Control Performance Under Pressure, which explores how intentional thinking and consistent mental training can transform performance. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of the Selling From the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Dr. Bobby Low, mental performance doctor and author of Wiring Intelligence, for a conversation about overcoming fear, building confidence, and rewiring the mental habits that influence sales performance. Drawing from his work with elite athletes and high performers, Dr. Bobby explains how repeated thoughts shape automatic responses to rejection, pressure, and uncertainty. He challenges sales professionals to recognize their inner dialogue and move from reactive thinking toward intentional, proactive mental habits. The conversation explores why fear often comes from imagined outcomes, how self-awareness helps interrupt negative thought patterns, and why learning is a more productive response to setbacks than self-criticism. Dr. Bobby introduces a practical reflection exercise: identify three things you did well and one thing to improve after each sales conversation. The takeaway is simple: confidence isn't just something you feel. It's something you can intentionally develop through the thoughts, language, and habits you practice every day. KEY TAKEAWAYS Authentic selling starts with belief. Believe in the value you provide and the difference your solution can make for customers. Train your mind to respond proactively. Recognize reactive thinking patterns and develop intentional habits that support confidence and resilience. Replace fear with learning. Approach rejection, setbacks, and difficult conversations with curiosity instead of allowing imagined outcomes to control your actions. Pay attention to your inner dialogue. Self-awareness and intentional language help you recognize unproductive thoughts and choose more constructive responses. Reflect on three wins and one improvement. Reinforce what worked after each sales conversation while identifying one specific opportunity to improve. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES The antidote to fear is learning. We get to be the architect or the narrator of whatever story we wanna create in our own life. Even if you absolutely tanked the call, write down what worked, what went well. Instead of saying, 'I'm anxious,' or, 'I'm nervous,' change the language to, 'I'm ready and I'm excited.' ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

October 24, 2026Episode 3629 min

The Courage to Stay or Leave featuring Jeff Davis

Jeff Davis is an award-winning author of four books, professional speaker, consultant, and mental health advocate specializing in authentic leadership, resilience, and workplace culture. A TEDx speaker and Forbes contributor, Jeff has delivered keynotes internationally and works with businesses, nonprofits, schools, and organizations to promote healthier workplaces and more authentic leadership. Known as "Mr. Mountaintop," Jeff brings a candid, thoughtful perspective shaped by his professional experiences, international travels, and conversations with influential leaders. He holds a master's degree from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and is the author of The Courage to Leave: Breaking Free from Toxic Workplaces. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling From the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome author and mental health advocate Jeff Davis for a conversation about authentic selling, toxic workplace cultures, mental health, leadership, and the courage to make difficult career decisions. Jeff explains that selling from the heart begins with genuine care, being fully present, and removing the performance layer that can turn meaningful conversations into transactions. He challenges sales professionals to consider whether they truly believe in what they sell and whether their organization's values align with their own. The conversation explores the warning signs of unhealthy workplace cultures, from manipulation and disrespect to chronic stress and burnout. Jeff emphasizes the importance of protecting mental well-being while recognizing that not every difficult workplace situation requires an immediate exit. KEY TAKEAWAYS Authentic selling starts with genuine presence. Remove the performance layer, care about the person across from you, and prioritize meaningful relationships over transactions. Alignment strengthens authenticity. Believing in your products, organization, and values makes it easier to build confidence and customer trust. Recognize toxic workplace behaviors. Manipulation, disrespect, unhealthy leadership, persistent stress, and burnout can signal deeper cultural problems. Protect your mental well-being. Professional achievement should not require sacrificing your health. Leaders must address unhealthy workplace dynamics before they escalate. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES You get rid of the performance layer, and you're in the moment. You have to truly believe in what you're selling. Staying at the company could be a very courageous decision. All leadership begins with self-leadership. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

October 17, 2026Episode 3531 min

Amateurs Wing It. Professionals Plan. featuring Darrin DeStasio

Darrin DeStasio is a sales leader, author, and Co-Founder of Horizon Five , with more than 25 years of experience helping enterprise organizations turn strategy into measurable business outcomes. As a Transformation Principal at Horizon Five, Darrin works with leaders across Finance, HR, and Supply Chain to bridge the gap between data strategy and execution. His approach brings together technology, governance, and people to drive meaningful, lasting transformation. Drawing on 27 years of experience with companies including Oracle, IBM, Demandware, and Alteryx, Darrin authored Sell the Hole, Not the Drill: What Top Sales Performers Do Differently. His philosophy challenges sales professionals to move beyond product features and focus on understanding customer needs, earning trust, and delivering outcomes that genuinely matter. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of the Selling From the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Darrin DeStasio, author of Sell the Hole, Not the Drill, to explore what top-performing sales professionals do differently. Darrin challenges salespeople to stop selling features and start solving problems. He explains why the best sales conversations begin with curiosity rather than persuasion, how to avoid the demo trap, and why understanding a customer's personal motivations is just as important as identifying their business challenges. The conversation also explores the habits behind consistent sales performance. From researching prospects and asking better questions to establishing mutually agreed-upon next steps, Darrin shares practical ways to make every customer interaction more meaningful. He also reveals how working backward from sales goals, understanding conversion rates, and building a disciplined activity plan helped him predict his own performance with remarkable accuracy. At the heart of the conversation is a powerful reminder: “Amateurs wing it. Professionals plan.” If you want to build stronger customer relationships, improve your sales execution, and become a trusted advisor instead of another product-focused salesperson, this episode offers a practical roadmap. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sell the outcome, not the product. Customers aren't buying features. They're looking for solutions to problems that matter to them. Lead with curiosity instead of persuasion. Ask thoughtful questions, listen without rushing, and uncover the real business and personal motivations behind a decision. Preparation is a competitive advantage. Research your prospects before every conversation so you can spend more time discovering what matters and less time asking questions you should already know the answers to. Avoid the demo trap. Show customers only the capabilities that directly connect to their challenges and desired outcomes. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES The goal is to solve somebody else's problem that matters to them. Care enough to ask better questions, listen long enough to uncover the real challenge, and only recommend something if it truly creates value to them, not to you. Amateurs wing it. Professionals plan. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

October 10, 2026Episode 3431 min

Communication. Connection. Consistency. featuring Dr. Stephanie Duguid

Dr. Stephanie Duguid is a Leadership Culture Strategist, keynote speaker, author, and founder of Do Good Leadership. With three decades of experience in education, leadership, and human performance, she helps organizations strengthen communication, build trust, and create healthier workplace cultures where people feel valued and empowered to thrive. Her work focuses on intentional leadership, emotional intelligence, and the power of relationships to shape organizational culture. Through practical strategies, Dr. Stephanie helps leaders reduce miscommunication, strengthen teams, and lead with greater clarity, authenticity, and purpose. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling from the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Dr. Stephanie Duguid to explore intentional communication, emotional intelligence, trust, and the habits that strengthen relationships. Dr. Stephanie defines selling from the heart as service rather than transaction. Instead of focusing on delivering a pitch or closing a deal, sales professionals should listen closely enough to understand what the customer truly needs—and be honest about whether they can help. She explains why genuine listening requires presence, curiosity, and the willingness to stop preparing your response while someone else is speaking. The conversation also explores how to respond rather than react when facing rejection, pressure, or difficult conversations. A pause, a breath, and greater awareness of tone and body language can change the direction of an interaction. Ultimately, Dr. Stephanie emphasizes three practices that strengthen relationships and workplace culture: communication, connection, and consistency. When people feel heard, valued, and safe to speak honestly, trust has room to grow. KEY TAKEAWAYS Listen to understand, not to respond. Genuine curiosity helps you understand what customers and colleagues actually need. Give people your full attention. Intentional presence means putting distractions aside and engaging with the person in front of you. Respond instead of reacting. Pause, breathe, and choose your words and body language deliberately when pressure rises. Consistency builds trust. People need to know they can count on how you communicate, especially during difficult moments. Communication shapes culture. Words, tone, body language, and assumptions all influence how people experience a relationship. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES We’ve got two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak. Culture really stems from the way that you communicate with one another. How do you communicate when you’re stressed? How do you communicate when you’re under pressure? I don’t listen to respond. I don’t listen to react. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

October 3, 2026Episode 3328 min

The Championship Performance Mindset featuring Kieran Read

Kieran Read is one of the most accomplished leaders in rugby history and the founder of Kieran Read Leadership. During his 15-year professional career, Kieran captained New Zealand’s legendary All Blacks 52 times, earned 127 international caps, won two Rugby World Cup championships, and was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2013. Today, Kieran helps leaders and organizations build high-performing teams through intentional leadership, trust, resilience, and accountability. Drawing from his experience leading one of the world’s most successful sports teams, he equips executives and teams with practical strategies to navigate pressure, strengthen culture, and achieve sustained excellence. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling from the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome former All Blacks captain Kieran Read for a conversation about preparation, performance, leadership, trust, accountability, and the mindset required to consistently perform at a high level. Drawing from his years competing at the highest level of professional rugby, Kieran explains why preparation creates the foundation for performance. Routines, habits, practice, and analysis help professionals prepare for pressure before the pressure arrives. But performance is only part of the cycle. Kieran emphasizes the importance of reflection—looking honestly at what worked, what didn't, and identifying the critical few improvements that can elevate the next performance. The conversation also explores the human side of high-performing teams. Talent alone isn't enough. Trust, genuine connection, communication, and care create an environment where people can challenge one another, give honest feedback, and hold each other accountable. Finally, Kieran shares how he learned to manage pressure in real time by controlling his self-talk, staying present, and repeatedly returning his attention to the next task. For sales professionals, the parallel is powerful: you can't control every buyer, outcome, or setback—but you can control how you prepare, how you respond, and what you do next. KEY TAKEAWAYS Preparation dictates performance. Consistent habits, routines, and practice give you the best opportunity to perform when pressure arrives. Prepare, perform, reflect, repeat. Use every performance as information to improve how you approach the next opportunity. Build connection before accountability. Trust and genuine care create the foundation for honest feedback and difficult conversations. Focus on the critical few. Identify the two or three improvements that will make the greatest difference instead of trying to fix everything at once. Stay present under pressure. Don't allow a previous mistake or future outcome to steal attention from the task directly in front of you. Control what you can control. Your preparation, thoughts, response, and next action remain yours even when the outcome doesn't. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Our preparation dictates what our performance is gonna be. You can't have a great performance without the preparation. Preparation is about habits, it's routines. Feedback's tough to take... but it's the key for us to grow and to get better. Prepare, then you perform, then you reflect. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

September 26, 2026Episode 3231 min

Process Builds Trust featuring Simon Severino

Simon Severino is the Founder and CEO of Strategy Sprints, where he helps B2B founders and business leaders accelerate sales, increase profitability, and build companies that can scale without burning out their teams. Over the past two decades, Simon has helped clients generate more than $2 billion in additional revenue by simplifying strategy and focusing on disciplined execution. He is the creator of the Strategy Sprints® Method and author of Strategy Sprints: 12 Ways to Accelerate Growth for an Agile Business . Simon is also a TEDx speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of the Strategy Sprints Podcast . His work focuses on helping leaders simplify complexity, strengthen sales processes, and create sustainable growth by concentrating on the actions that generate the greatest impact. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling From the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Simon Severino for a conversation about preparation, process, trust, simplification, and selling in the age of AI. Simon defines selling as helping another person make progress. But helping someone make progress requires more than good intentions. Sales professionals need to understand the buyer's world, prepare deeply, and bring a process that can confidently guide the conversation forward. Without preparation, sellers can become reactive, overly focused on closing, and more concerned with their own pipeline than the customer's progress. The conversation also explores why trust may become the key differentiator in the age of AI. Technology can increasingly support research, strategy, and analysis, but buyers still need trusted people who can help them execute, navigate resistance, and make meaningful change. Simon also warns sales organizations against using AI to accelerate processes they have never clearly defined. Before automating, teams should document how they prospect, follow up, close, onboard, activate, upsell, and serve customers. Otherwise, as Simon puts it, “the AI will only scale chaos.” Finally, Simon challenges sales professionals to simplify their offers and rethink high-volume outreach. Instead of sending hundreds of generic messages, focus on fewer prospects, understand what is relevant to them, and create communication that is thoughtful, distinctive, and human. The message is simple: prepare better, simplify the process, build trust, and use technology to strengthen—not replace—the human side of selling. KEY TAKEAWAYS Selling means helping people make progress. Keep the buyer’s desired outcome at the center of every conversation. Preparation and process build trust. Understanding the buyer’s world and following a clear process helps you guide the conversation with confidence and relevance. Trust will differentiate you in the age of AI. Technology can support research, strategy, and analysis, but buyers still need trusted people who can help them execute and create change. Don’t use AI to scale chaos. Simplify and document what already works before trying to automate or accelerate your sales process. Simplify what you sell. Focus on the central problem you solve and communicate one clear outcome instead of overwhelming buyers with products, features, and options. Send fewer, better messages. Replace generic volume with deeper preparation, relevance, personality, and communication that demonstrates you understand the person you’re trying to reach. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Trust will be the key differentiator in the age of AI. If you stick to one process, you are more in service actually, in the service of the other person making progress. What you want is AI. What you need is writing down the process first. Instead of sending 200 things, let’s send 20 this week, but let’s go deeper. Send less messages, but make them more interesting, make them stand out, make them about who you are and what you can do for them. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

September 19, 2026Episode 3132 min

How Ethical Drift Can Cost You Everything in Sales featuring Rashmi Airan

Rashmi Airan is a globally recognized keynote speaker, transformation expert, and former attorney whose story of resilience, accountability, and reinvention has inspired leaders and organizations around the world. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Rashmi built a successful career as an attorney, Wall Street investment banker, entrepreneur, and business leader before a series of decisions resulted in a federal prison sentence. Today, Rashmi uses that experience to help leaders navigate pressure, uncertainty, and ethical challenges with greater clarity and integrity. Through her Rise Through It™ framework, she helps individuals and teams strengthen resilience, self-awareness, trust, and values-driven leadership. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling from the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome Rashmi Airan for a powerful conversation about ethical drift, achievement, pressure, and the decisions sales professionals make when the stakes are high. Rashmi shares how her identity became tied to achievement and how financial uncertainty and the pressure to succeed influenced decisions that eventually changed the course of her life. She explains how fear can disguise itself as ambition, urgency, creativity, or aggressive problem-solving—making it easier to rationalize decisions that no longer align with our values. Rashmi introduces her Clarity Loop, four questions designed to create space between pressure and action: What am I feeling? What story am I telling myself? What matters most? What choice can I own later? Ultimately, this episode challenges sales professionals to pursue performance without sacrificing alignment, integrity, or the ability to look back and own the decisions they made. KEY TAKEAWAYS Integrity rarely collapses—it drifts. Small compromises can gradually move us away from our values. Pressure can disguise fear as ambition. What looks like urgency or aggressive problem-solving may be driven by something deeper. Create space between pressure and action. A brief pause can change the trajectory of a high-stakes decision. Use the Clarity Loop. Ask: What am I feeling? What story am I telling myself? What matters most? What choice can I own later? Move from performance to alignment. Results matter, but they shouldn't determine which values you're willing to compromise. Practice moral humility. Recognize that anyone can drift under the right circumstances. Make disagreement safe. Healthy cultures need people who are willing and able to challenge decisions without fear of punishment. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES We all have an inner voice. We all have a moral compass. We need people to disagree with us. If we’re acting out of alignment with who we are or what we believe, that’s where the bad decisions happen. Integrity rarely collapses, it drifts. What choice can I own later? ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily

September 12, 2026Episode 3033 min

Your Biggest Competition Is You featuring Collin Henderson

Collin Henderson is a mental performance coach, speaker, author, and founder of Master Your Mindset, where he helps leaders, sales professionals, athletes, and organizations unlock peak performance by mastering the inner game. Drawing from his experience as a Division I athlete, top-performing medical sales professional, and national sales trainer, Collin focuses on mindset, leadership, culture, and sales psychology. A seven-time author and host of the Master Your Mindset podcast, his training has been used by organizations including Nike, Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon, Zillow, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through his coaching, speaking, and writing, Collin helps people strengthen confidence, resilience, self-awareness, and the mental habits required for sustainable high performance. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode of Selling from the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome mental performance coach Collin Henderson to explore the psychology behind sales performance and why mastering your inner game is essential to sustainable success. Collin begins with a simple philosophy: “Never sell, serve.” He challenges sales professionals to move from an “I-centered” mindset to a “we-centered” approach focused on curiosity, value, and helping customers succeed. The conversation explores how limiting beliefs, self-image, confidence, resilience, and self-talk influence performance long before sales techniques are put into action. Collin also introduces The Oz Method, connecting the brain to belief and curiosity, the heart to emotional connection, the lion to courage and vulnerability, and the yellow brick road to the habits and systems that make success repeatable. Ultimately, Collin challenges sales professionals to examine the stories they repeatedly tell themselves. Your strategy matters. Your skills matter. Your market matters. But your biggest competition may still be you. KEY TAKEAWAYS Never sell—serve. Shift from an “I-centered” mindset to creating meaningful value for the customer. Psychology precedes strategy. Sales techniques are only as effective as the beliefs driving the person using them. You never outperform your beliefs. Assumptions about yourself, buyers, the market, or the economy can quietly limit your performance. Self-awareness creates change. You cannot challenge a limiting belief until you're willing to recognize it. Master The Oz Method. Combine belief and curiosity, emotional connection, courage and vulnerability, and disciplined processes. Train your self-talk. The way you narrate wins, losses, rejection, and opportunity directly influences confident action. Stop blaming external competition. Before looking at the market, examine the beliefs influencing how you're showing up. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Psychology precedes strategy every single time. You never outperform your own beliefs. Our limits begin where our vision ends. Self-talk is the number one driver of confident action. The brain doesn't care what is true or false. The brain cares about what is repeated ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast ! Nominate a visionary CEO at https://culturefromtheheart.com/Home Get Larry's New Book: Selling Food from the Heart, https://a.co/d/07dzlMx8 Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheart/ Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/daily