Progress Mode with Brendon Burchard

Episode 4: No One Knows

Date: October 27, 2025
Host: Brendon Burchard

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal episode, Brendon Burchard explores the invisible struggles people face even as they pursue bold dreams and visible success. Using his own journey—marked by professional milestones, a hidden health crisis, burnout, and profound loss—Brendon dives into the challenge of maintaining "progress mode" when no one fully sees your pain or understands your journey. The episode is a heartfelt reflection on resilience, congruence, reaching out for help, and reigniting aliveness, even (and especially) when it fades.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Invisible Struggle and the Challenge of Progress Mode

• [00:00] Brendon opens by noting that no one truly knows the pain or challenges you’re facing, leading to feelings of isolation amidst high personal expectations.
  • "No one knows the pain that you are going through. They don't know how hurt you are, how sad you are, how challenged you are." (Brendon, 00:01)
• Even when things seem to be going well externally, internal struggles can sap your motivation and "aliveness," causing doubt about continuing on your chosen path.

2. Rediscovering Aliveness Through Change

• Brendon relates how sometimes progress requires shaking up routines—at work, in relationships, in parenting—to bring back passion and vitality.
  • "Sometimes progress means you need to change how you do things so you feel it again." (Brendon, 06:20)
• The ability to generate energy and excitement—even when it feels absent—is a crucial skill.

3. Success and the Onset of Burnout

• Brendon revisits career highs (book launches, packed seminars, high-ticket coaching) and the immense output required to sustain them.
  • He describes pouring himself into eight 4-5 day seminars per year, single-handedly running every aspect: "I was the only trainer. I didn't hire other trainers...it was just me by myself. In other words, I was a moron. You know, I was pushing so hard. But why would I do that? I loved it." (Brendon, 14:34)
• The shift: Formerly energizing events suddenly became draining. He recounts walking offstage after massive keynotes feeling depleted rather than inspired.

4. The Hidden Crisis: Losing Motivation and Health

• Brendon finds himself in a dream home, writing a neuroscience-based book ("The Charge") about maximizing aliveness, but feeling hollow, fatigued, and out of alignment with his message.
  • "How do you write a motivational book when you don't feel motivated? How do you write a book about dopamine when you feel like there's none?" (Brendon, 19:35)
• He grapples with incongruence—feeling disconnected from what he's teaching and noticing his confidence and integrity slipping.

5. Pressure, Expectations, and Self-Doubt

• As publishers pressure him to write another marketing book for a multimillion-dollar deal, Brendon faces a pivotal moment, ultimately insisting on following his passion for performance psychology.
  • "You want to do it for you, but boy, there’s added points if you can prove somebody wrong." (Brendon, 24:48)
• There's an exploration of the isolation that comes from carrying others’ expectations and the self-doubt when one’s own passion fades.

6. Realization: Cognitive Decline and Brain Health

• Alarming signs: Brendon discovers months of incoherent, disjointed writing—a symptom of an underlying issue. His extensive reading leads him to realize language problems can signal brain injury.
• A chance reconnection with Dr. Daniel Amen, a renowned brain health expert who had attended Brendon’s events, leads to a diagnosis.
  • "He ended up ending the call. He says, well, where are you? I said, I'm up in the woods. He says, well, are you near an airport? ... I want to scan your brain as soon as possible. Your brain might be swelling." (Brendon, 52:08)
• Diagnosis: Post-concussive syndrome and traumatic brain injury from a past ATV accident, which took two years of rigorous healing to recover from.

7. The Power of Reaching Out and Support Networks

• Brendon encourages listeners to reach out for help—whether to a doctor, friend, or loved one—when struggling in the dark.
  • “If you’re struggling and you don’t know why, just something is up, I want you to call somebody... Sometimes progress is getting social support, not a solution.” (Brendon, 55:27)
• He credits his wife Denise and a supportive community for sustaining him through his recovery.

8. Aliveness, Congruence, and Progress Mode Practices

• Brendon asserts the importance of living in congruence with your values and passions, resisting social pressure, and making health a top priority.
  • “If you want to feel alive, make choices that are right for you. ... Live in congruence with the best of who you are.” (Brendon, 79:22)
• He breaks down the five baseline human drives (control, competence, congruence, caring, connection) and five forward-moving drives (change, challenge, creative expression, contribution, consciousness) from his book "The Charge."
• Strong recommendation: "If you’ve never chosen a year in your life to get as healthy as you’ve ever been in your life, make that this year." (Brendon, 68:30)
• Even small steps matter when progress feels impossible: "Sometimes the moment in your life, you can't do much, but you can always do something. That's progress mode." (Brendon, 95:01)

9. Loss and Further Resilience

• Brendon shares the story of losing his father—his hero and mentor—during this same difficult period, compounding pain but deepening his resolve.
  • “Sometimes no one knows what you’re going through. I remember being on stage, motivating thousands...and then I got to go up to the hotel room and call my dad as he’s going through a second round of chemo.” (Brendon, 101:15)
• He emphasizes being proactive in healing and refusing to slip into victimhood or passivity.

10. Closing—The Call to “Charge Once Again”

• Brendon reads the opening passage from "The Charge," painting a vivid, motivating picture of the journey to a truly lived, "charged" life:
  • “The Charged Life, the truly lived life is not a routine existence in some quaint, picturesque village of perfection, safety and certainty. No, the life living is out there in the wooded wilds of the unknown, on the craggy battlefields that test our wits and wills…” (Brendon, 105:20)
• Final encouragement: Don’t slip into victim mode—every day is a chance to choose progress mode.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Sometimes progress means you need to change how you do things so you feel it again.” (06:20)
• “How do you write a motivational book when you don’t feel motivated?” (19:35)
• “You want to do it for you, but boy, there’s added points if you can prove somebody wrong.” (24:48)
• “If you’re struggling and you don’t know why, just something is up, I want you to call somebody... Sometimes progress is getting social support, not a solution.” (55:27)
• “If you want to feel alive, make choices that are right for you. ... Live in congruence with the best of who you are.” (79:22)
• “If you’ve never chosen a year in your life to get as healthy as you’ve ever been in your life, make that this year.” (68:30)
• “Sometimes no one knows what you’re going through.” (101:15)
• "Sometimes the moment in your life, you can’t do much, but you can always do something. That’s progress mode." (95:01)
• “The Charged Life, the truly lived life is not a routine existence... it is out there in the wooded wilds of the unknown, on the craggy battlefields that test our wits and wills…” (105:20)

Timestamps by Segment

• [00:00 – 04:00] — The hidden pain of progress mode
• [06:00 – 13:00] — Aliveness, novelty, and needing to pivot routines
• [13:00 – 21:00] — Career highs, burnout, and the emptiness behind the scenes
• [21:00 – 34:00] — Publisher pressures, striving for congruence, and honoring your authentic path
• [35:00 – 52:00] — Deep fatigue, health decline, and the crisis of incongruence
• [52:00 – 58:00] — Reaching out to Dr. Amen, getting help, and the critical diagnosis
• [58:00 – 68:00] — Recovery, faith in healing, and progress through health
• [68:00 – 80:00] — The gospel of making health your top progress goal
• [80:00 – 101:00] — Connection, the power of caring, and living the principles of "The Charge"
• [101:00 – end] — Loss of his father, enduring resilience, and the evocative closing reading

Final Takeaways

• Everyone faces invisible battles—even those who seem most successful.
• Aliveness and motivation can wane, but can also be reignited by reaching out, recommitting to health, and living in congruence with your values and passions.
• Support, self-awareness, and a bias toward small steps forward (“progress mode”) are essential for weathering rough chapters.
• The most charged, meaningful life isn’t safe or routine—it’s found in the continual quest toward your own path, through risk, learning, and authentic connection.
• If you’re struggling, call someone today. You don’t have to go through it alone.

For more insight, personal essays, and resources: ProgressMode.com
To access Brendon’s books and join his community, visit the links in the episode description.