Slay The Gatekeeper — Episode Summary

Episode: Un-Gatekeeping the Secrets of Human Behavior

Host: Courtney Johnson
Guest: Zach Paul (hypnosis and behavior change expert)
Date: September 16, 2025

Main Theme

This episode is all about “un-gatekeeping” the hidden mechanisms behind human behavior and transformation. Host Courtney Johnson and guest Zach Paul dive deep into the cheat codes of mindset, marketing, personal branding, self-growth, programming, hypnosis, manipulation for good, the limitations of traditional therapy, and why the most successful people quietly use these tools.

Key Discussion Points and Cheat Codes

1. Manipulation and “Programming” Are Always Occurring

• [04:06 – 05:22]
• Zach reveals that we go in and out of “hypnosis” 7-9 times per day naturally: autopilot during driving, scrolling, waking up, etc.
• “Our brains literally go in and out of hypnosis seven to nine times a day, if not more... because we want to. Our brain wants to conserve energy. And thinking is super expensive.” — Zach [04:09]
• Both Courtney and Zach stress that “programming” is happening constantly, whether intentionally or passively.
• “As long as you're consuming, you're being programmed.” — Courtney [05:22]

2. You Are Who You Surround Yourself With (Digitally Too)

• [05:35 – 07:50]
• The “five people” rule isn't just physical — watching or following someone online “injects” parts of their worldview directly into you.
• “...watching a show or social media or a movie is kind of the equivalent of, like, taking a syringe of that person's beliefs and personality and injecting that into your own brain…” — Zach [05:35]
• Both hosts give practical tips on curating social feeds and media intake for positive “brainwashing.”
• “There is a way to change your feed... it could be a positive experience or, like, brainwash you positively 100%.” — Courtney [07:50]

3. Manipulation & Brainwashing Aren’t Always Bad

• [07:50 – 09:26]
• Zach reframes “manipulation” as “to handle skillfully,” giving the example of using high-level manipulation to help a friend leave an abusive relationship.
• “Manipulation just means to handle skillfully. Right. A doctor manipulates a scalpel to do life saving surgery…” — Zach [07:50]
• “It's never the tool. It's always the intent of the user.” — Zach [08:11]
• Zach shares about forcibly removing negative influences from his own social feeds for mental clarity.

4. Music, Language, and Social Groups Affect Mindset

• [09:26 – 11:22]
• Both discuss how negative music or friends reinforce unhelpful beliefs.
• “If you're wondering why you keep getting your heart broken...You're listening to Fudgeing, like Taylor Swift breakup songs all the time. Stop.” — Courtney [09:52]
• Zach shares the importance of distancing from toxic mindsets, both male and female.

5. Business Problems Are Practically Never About Business

• [11:22 – 15:33]
• Most “problems” are programming and limiting beliefs — not lack of information or technical skill.
• “It's not that you can't do it or, no, you don't know how to do it. It's that you've got some sort of programming in the way preventing you from doing it.” — Zach [12:49]
• The root programming is often about familiarity and safety, not actual desire or goals.

6. The Biggest Block Is Thinking 'I’m Special'

• [16:19 – 18:50]
• The “special snowflake” belief keeps people stuck more than any technical challenges.
• “The most dangerous belief that keeps people stuck is the belief of I'm special.” — Zach [16:19]
• Zach walks through denial, anger, sadness, and negotiation as emotional defenses against change.

7. Group Dynamics and Sales Psychology

• [19:16 – 21:03]
• Courtney links the ‘I’m different’ psychology to sales objections; people want to be exceptions.
• Both discuss the use of group identification and subtle suggestion in sales and hypnosis.

8. You Are Not Your Patterns

• [21:03 – 22:52]
• Zach introduces the idea of the “observer” within — you can step outside your patterns and rewrite your behaviors, starting with awareness.
• “You're not your patterns, you're not your behaviors, you're not your thoughts. None of it is you.” — Zach [22:08]

9. It Never Ends... and That's Good

• [23:19 – 23:34]
• Growth and peeling back layers is a lifelong process, not a destination.
• Both joke about spiritual “looping” and consciousness.

10. Traditional Therapy Keeps You Stuck (Controversial Take)

• [24:24 – 28:29]
• Zach details the origins of therapy, its business model roots, and why it's not designed for actual resolution but recurring business.
• “Traditional therapy was developed as a business model by Sigmund Freud... My therapy will require about 300 sessions to complete...” — Zach [24:29]
• Repeatedly talking about your issues reinforces them neurologically.
• “If you want to talk about your problems, go to a therapist. If you want to fix it, come to me. I'm a lot more expensive and a lot faster.” — Zach [26:48]
• Discussion of alternative modalities (EMDR, hypnosis) and somatic approaches.

11. Psychedelic Therapy for Veterans and Beyond

• [32:15 – 35:45]
• Psychedelics (ibogaine, bufo) have been transformative for severe PTSD and brain injuries—sometimes more than mainstream therapy or meds.
• “I went down to Mexico and did two of the world's most powerful psychedelics... and it was life changing in so many different ways.” — Zach [32:30]
• Cautions about chasing “the next insight” without integrating change.

12. Action vs. Knowledge — Real Change is Somatic

• [36:47 – 39:08]
• “Knowledge is power” is a myth. Implementation is the bottleneck; integrated, embodied skills are what count.
• “The difference between knowledge or here's an academic study on it versus can you do it... If you can't actually change somebody's brain in a matter of minutes, sorry, you're not doing it.” — Zach [38:15]

13. The "Elite" Secret: Hypnosis for High Performance

• [39:27 – 45:51]
• Mike Tyson, LeBron James, and other top performers regularly use hypnosis to gain an edge.
• “Hypnosis is a tool that's used by the elite, the 1%. It's that thing that gives you the slight edge...” — Zach [40:13]
• Why hypnosis gets bad PR: threat to status quo, mistaken for magic, media mockery.
• “It's the skill of the hypnotist... There's only two types of people [it doesn’t work on]: schizophrenics and people with IQs below 80.” — Zach [43:24]
• Hypnosis is simply skillful communication with your unconscious, not mind control.

14. Conspiracy Corner: Keeping the Masses in "Slave Mode"

• [45:55 – 48:00]
• Both speculate that societal myths about the difficulty of change are perpetuated to keep people constrained and obedient.
• “If people knew how easy it was to actually change their minds and actually get what they want and knew that you could have it now... that probably threatens the, the power structures.” — Zach [47:08]
• The hardest thing is accepting how easy change can be.

15. Gatekeeping in Work and Society

• [48:00 – 51:52]
• Courtney shares that even top tech founders keep information from employees to maintain control.
• Major institutions (schools, workplaces) are outlined as gatekeepers—limiting awareness, skills, and self-actualization.
• “I want to go after the public school system... designed to train people to just be completely obedient, completely subservient to authority.” — Zach [49:12]
• School trains out collaboration, experimentation, and creativity in favor of compliance.

16. Rewriting The Narrative for Kids & Money

• [53:18 – 54:50]
• Discussion of radical alternative schools (“Alpha School”) where entrepreneurship and real projects are the standard.
• Call out the myth that money is scarce and building wealth is hard — “Luck is engineered.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's never the tool. It's always the intent of the user.” — Zach [08:11]
• “As long as you're consuming, you're being programmed.” — Courtney [05:22]
• “The most dangerous belief that keeps people stuck is the belief of 'I'm special.'” — Zach [16:19]
• “Hypnosis is a tool that's used by the elite, the 1%. It's that thing that gives you the slight edge…” — Zach [40:13]
• “If people knew how easy it was to actually change their minds and actually get what they want… that threatens the power structures.” — Zach [47:08]
• “I want to go after the public school system... Bars on the windows. And this is a nice neighborhood.” — Zach [49:11]
• “Luck is engineered.” — Zach [56:57]
• “I created this podcast because there are gatekeepers...” — Courtney [48:00]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro / Manipulation in Marketing: [00:24 – 01:47]
• How Hypnosis Actually Works: [02:58 – 04:29]
• You Are Always Being Programmed: [05:22 – 06:55]
• Curating Your Inputs: [06:55 – 09:26]
• Social Circles and Mindset: [09:26 – 11:22]
• Business Problems = Mindset Problems: [11:22 – 15:33]
• Belief That “I’m Special” Is the Biggest Stuck Point: [16:19 – 18:50]
• Sales, Suggestion, and the Power of Grouping: [19:41 – 21:31]
• Awareness & True Change: [21:32 – 22:52]
• Reframing Therapy & Somatic Approaches: [24:24 – 29:39]
• Psychedelic Healing for Vets/Trauma: [32:15 – 35:45]
• Action Over Information: [36:47 – 39:08]
• Elite Hypnosis & Bad PR: [39:27 – 45:51]
• Conspiracies & Society’s Programming: [45:55 – 48:00]
• Gatekeepers in Corporate and School Systems: [48:00 – 54:50]
• Money Is Not Scarce / Engineering Luck: [54:50 – 57:24]

Tone

The conversation is frank, playful, sometimes irreverent and always focused on practical self-empowerment. Zach delivers plenty of “spicy” (his word) takes, cutting through conventional wisdom, while Courtney maintains a curious, open, and encouraging presence. The mood is equal parts actionable and subversive.

Resources & How to Connect

• Zach Paul’s Instagram: @iamzachpaul | LinkedIn: Zach David Paul
• For resources and free hypnosis audios, DM Zach mentioning this podcast.
• Zach’s behavior profiling/training: salesteam6.com

Closing

The episode is a call to awareness, action, and deprogramming — slaying internal and external “gatekeepers” that keep people from their potential. It’s full of insight, anecdotes, and practical tactics for anyone interested in using mindset, communication, and hypnosis to “level up” in life and business.

“All change starts with awareness.” — Zach [22:52]