Alignment First Podcast Podcast By Mycal Anders EMGM MS CSCS cover art

Alignment First Podcast

Alignment First Podcast

By: Mycal Anders EMGM MS CSCS
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Mycal Anders has spent decades watching talented leaders optimize the wrong things. The hustle is there. The strategy looks good. But something’s off. This podcast is about finding it. Each week Mycal sits down with leaders, founders, and guests who are figuring out what aligned work actually looks like, and talking about it honestly. Alignment first. Progress always.Mycal Anders, EMGM, MS, CSCS Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Dr. Pat Boulogne: Which Brain Is Doing the Talking?
    Apr 14 2026

    What if your leadership ceiling isn’t a strategy problem…but a health and self-awareness problem?

    In this episode of Alignment First, I sit down with Dr. Pat Boulogne — chiropractor, acupuncturist, entrepreneur, and executive mentor — for one of the most wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had on the show.

    From selling lemonade at four years old to building and exiting a high-volume chiropractic practice, to mentoring executives on judgment and sustainable performance, Dr. Pat embodies integration.

    Dr. Pat breaks down her three-brain model (reptile, mammalian, and conscious) and how most leaders are unknowingly operating from reactive survival patterns instead of conscious leadership.

    If you want durable performance physically, mentally, financially, you must upgrade the quality of your internal dialogue and the inputs you tolerate.

    We also unpack:

    • Functional medicine vs. sick care

    • Why early symptoms are data, not inconveniences

    • The gut-brain connection and its impact on decision-making

    • Boundaries, burnout, and knowing when to sell at your peak

    • Why alignment isn’t optional for high performers

    And it all comes back to alignment.


    Key Takeaways

    1. “You’re not what you eat. You’re what you can absorb.”

    2. Most people don’t resist health — they resist knowing.

    3. Insurance covers sick care. You are responsible for health care.

    4. Your reptile brain agrees with your circumstances — your conscious brain must interrupt the pattern.

    5. Durable performance comes from fewer interventions and higher-quality judgment.


    Quotes

    • “Executives are paid for their judgment. Health is the same.”

    • “If you say you’re sick, your reptile brain will prove you right.”

    • “Denial keeps you comfortable — until the bill comes due.”

    • “I’m a very good doctor. I’m looking for a very good patient.”


    Connect with Dr. Pat

    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drpatboulogne/
    Website: healthteamnetwork.com
    Facebook & Instagram: Ask Dr. Pat

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    Stay Connected & Take Action

    ✅ Clarity | Coaching | Consistency | Community → NextLevelHQ.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ✅ Ready to be the Fittest Leader Possible? → NextLevelHQ.co/blog

    ✅ Subscribe to Alignment First → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/coachderz/


    Partners & Sponsors

    @ThorneHealth → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thorne.com/u/progressalways

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@StrongCoffee → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠strongcoffeecompany.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Code: NEXTLEVEL15

    #AlignmentFirst #Leadership #ExecutiveHealth #FunctionalMedicine #Mindset #DurablePerformance #HighPerformance #Ownership #Alignment #Podcast


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    48 mins
  • Dr. Ruth N Faucette: Perfection is Ruining Your Connection
    Apr 7 2026

    Dr. Ruth N. Faucette, PhD is a relationship-driven psychotherapist and executive leadership consultant who built her foundation in medical academia at Virginia Tech and went on to train physicians in holistic care and leadership development. In this episode of Alignment First, we unpack the Four Ps quietly sabotaging high performers: perfection, proving, pleasing, and performing.

    If you’re a driven leader who gets results but feels the strain underneath the surface, this conversation will hit. We explore why authenticity is more than a buzzword, how vulnerability builds trust instead of weakness, and why chasing perfection disconnects you from your team.

    Dr. Ruth shares how relationships before agenda is her current growth edge and how sustainable leadership requires alignment across biological, psychological, social, and spiritual domains.

    This episode is a recalibration for founders, executives, and high achievers who are ready to stop auditioning and start leading.


    Key Takeaways:
    1. Perfection blocks connection and erodes trust
    2. Proving creates division and keeps leaders stuck in “me” instead of “we”
    3. Pleasing breeds resentment and weakens standards
    4. Performing without authenticity leads to burnout
    5. Sustainable leadership starts with self-awareness and courageous feedback


    Notable Quotes:
    • “Relationships before agenda.”
    • “Authenticity is the most powerful approach you can take as a leader.”
    • “You’re not leading. You’re auditioning.”
    • “Pleasing feels kind, but it often avoids courage.”
    • “Alignment comes before sustainable performance.”


    Connect with Dr. Ruth:
    • Website: https://https://www.legendaryleadershipbydrruthfaucette.com/
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ruth-n-faucette-phd-010a475a/

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    Stay Connected & Take Action

    ✅ Clarity | Coaching | Consistency | Community → NextLevelHQ.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ✅ Ready to be the Fittest Leader Possible? → NextLevelHQ.co/blog

    ✅ Subscribe to Alignment First → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/coachderz/


    Partners & Sponsors

    @ThorneHealth → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thorne.com/u/progressalways

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@StrongCoffee → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠strongcoffeecompany.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Code: NEXTLEVEL15


    Alignment First. Progress Always.


    #AlignmentFirst #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #AuthenticLeadership #HighPerformance #NextLevel #PersonalGrowth #FounderLife #LeadershipMindset #ProgressAlways

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Logan Gelbrich: Find Yourself at the Edge of Your Capacity
    Mar 31 2026

    Most leaders don’t have an information problem.

    They have an adaptation problem.

    In this episode of Alignment First, I sit down with Logan Gelbrich — founder of Deuce Gym, creator of the Hold The Standard Summit, and author of Going Right — to unpack the difference between technical challenges and adaptive ones… and why that distinction changes everything about how you build teams, culture, and capacity.

    We get into group dynamics, leadership containers, the shadow side of “doing hard things,” and why most organizations are stuck having conversations they refuse to name.

    If you lead people — or want to — this is required listening.


    Key Takeaways:

    • Not all problems are technical — many require personal and organizational adaptation.

    • High-performing cultures reduce the gap between what’s said publicly and what’s only thought privately.

    • Fitness (and most tactics) are free — value is created through coaching and development.

    • Growth requires confronting the shadow side of your strengths.

    • Leaders must build containers of trust and willingness to unlock real performance.

      Quotes:

    • “You don’t need a better technique. You need to become a different person.”

    • “Most leaders don’t lack information. They lack adaptation.”

    • “Fitness is free. Coaching is not.”

    • “If you can’t say the hard thing out loud, you don’t have a performance problem. You have a container problem.”

    • “Is it still mental toughness if another hard workout is easier than having a hard conversation?”

    Connect with Logan:

    Website: https://holdthestandard.com
    Gym: https://deucegym.com
    Instagram: @functionalcoach
    Podcast: Hold The Standard Podcast

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    Stay Connected & Take Action

    ✅ Clarity | Coaching | Consistency | Community → NextLevelHQ.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ✅ Ready to be the Fittest Leader Possible? → NextLevelHQ.co/blog

    ✅ Subscribe to Alignment First → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/coachderz/


    Partners & Sponsors

    @ThorneHealth → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thorne.com/u/progressalways

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@StrongCoffee → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠strongcoffeecompany.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Code: NEXTLEVEL15


    Alignment First. Progress Always.


    #LeadershipDevelopment #AdaptiveLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #FittestLeader #AlignmentFirst #LoganGelbrich #HighPerformance #StrengthAndConditioning #ExecutiveCoaching #IntegrityCourageOwnership

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    1 hr and 9 mins
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