THE ED MYLETT SHOW Episode: A Journey of Finding Your True Purpose Feat. Mike Posner Date: March 10, 2026

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal and transformative episode, Ed Mylett sits down with Grammy-nominated artist and adventurer Mike Posner. What begins as a discussion about external accomplishments—chart-topping songs, climbing Everest, walking across America—quickly becomes a profound exploration of inner change, emotional set points, overcoming depression, confronting one’s story, and discovering life’s true purpose. Both Ed and Mike vulnerably reflect on their own struggles with significance, worth, and joy, sharing practical wisdom, thought-provoking questions, and intimate spiritual insights. This conversation not only inspires but offers an actionable pathway for listeners longing to live with more intention, meaning, and connection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining Success: External vs. Internal Achievements

• Mike Posner’s Introduction (00:36 – 01:41)
  • Ed frames Mike as “the most interesting man in the world” for his wide-ranging achievements—from music hits to mountaineering.
  • Mike: “All those things that I've done, they've been amazing and I'm mostly proud of them… But my biggest accomplishment is I went from somebody whose emotional home base… was depressed, was negative… to somebody whose emotional set point now is joy, faith and love.” (01:41)
  • Ed: “That’s literally the best opening sentence of any guest out of 850.” (02:56)

Notable Quote

“You can change your emotional set point. And that's my greatest achievement. And I hope that we can put other people on the path… because it's possible. If my depraved rear end could do it, then anybody can.”
– Mike Posner (01:41)

2. The Catalyst for Real Change

• Mike’s Turning Point (03:20 – 10:54)
  • Despite external success, Mike experiences a persistent dissatisfaction and irritability—describing how even healthy routines and outward “perfection” didn’t bring internal peace.
  • Details a pivotal moment after receiving distressing rumors and recognizing his patterns of avoiding intimacy and living inauthentically.
  • Mike: “Life told me in that moment… Face the fear, or we’re going to give you louder warning signals. The pain is going to get worse until you wake up. So I had a choice, a crossroads… That was the turning point. And I have not looked back. I cured my own depression.” (10:54)

Notable Quote

“I was going to be a dude with six pack abs and millions of dollars at his mans alone, 60 years old… but inside I'm a lonely man.”
– Mike Posner (10:22)

3. The Power of Self-Story and Significance

• Discussion on Recognition vs. Love (11:27 – 15:58)

  • Ed shares a personal story about realizing that success and external validation don’t equate to true fulfillment.
  • Both discuss confusing significance with love, particularly prevalent in performers and high achievers.

• Mike on the Stages of Artist-Fan Relationship (15:58 – 20:35)

  • Describes “puppy love,” “disillusionment,” and “service”—the three stages performers go through, which can apply to anyone chasing external affirmation.
  • Mike: “Once I actually address… these pain points that maybe come from childhood… then I'm going to go back to my audience. I'm actually going to serve them. It's not about manipulating them anymore to get this hit of significance.” (19:56)

Notable Exchange

Ed: "I think most humans are figuring, well, if I get enough money… people look up to me, I'm going to feel different about me… it's human nature." (20:35)
Mike: “You get what you focus on… you get clear on, do you want to live? …What would make life really worth living.” (33:10 – 34:54)

4. Mike’s Four Key Self-Reflection Questions (22:31 – 34:54)

• 1. Do you want to live?
  • Inspired by “Crispy Cancer.” Most people never face this deeply and honestly.
• 2. Why do you want to live? (Your Why)
  • Cites Viktor Frankl: Purpose may be situational and must be revisited.
  • “Stop measuring life and saying life isn’t meeting my expectations and start asking, what does life expect of me?” (27:00)
• 3. What do you want?
  • Inspired by friend Elliot; after list-making on what he didn’t want, Elliot asks, “What do you want?”
  • “Not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.” (32:13)
• 4. What would really make life worth living?
  • The importance of focusing on desires, not just problems.
  • “Life is rigged in such a way where when you focus on what's wrong, you notice more of what's wrong… when you focus on what you want, you get more of that.” (33:10 – 34:54)

Memorable Moment

“If any of your listeners… your mind is like mine, it creates lists of things that happened in the past you didn't want… No wonder I was miserable. I sat there, I thought, what do I want? What a question.”
– Mike Posner (29:08)

5. Audit Your Life and Live with Intention

• Ed: “It's okay to audit your life and ask yourself these questions, because that's a life lived with intention. But one where you just live unconsciously… It's the same experience over and over… If you want a different experience, you've got to ask different questions.” (36:59)

6. You Are Not Your Thoughts

• Mindset & Meditation (37:55 – 42:55)
  • Mike: “This machine in our brains that's just saying thoughts… It’s not who you are… you are not your mind.”
  • Discusses his time at meditation retreats and the cyclical, often negative nature of thought patterns.
  • Touches on the overarching cultural bias towards rationality at the expense of deeper fulfillment.

Notable Quote

“If you ever take two hours and just watch the thoughts you have, you'll be amazed… The mind is just always saying stuff all day long, and most of it is very repetitive.”
– Mike Posner (40:51)

7. Challenge, Growth, and the Evolution of Goals

• Purposeful Challenge as Expansion (45:28 – 48:43)
  • Setting challenges that force inner growth (“version of me setting this goal cannot do this… I have to become someone I’m not now”).
  • Mike: “The number one challenge… I want to be humble today… I'm building a family… The juice of my life is now… putting others before myself doesn't come naturally to me… that’s where my growth is now.” (45:28 – 48:43)

Notable Moment

“God gave me all those blessings, and then he gave me the pain with it so I could teach from not having read it in a book, but from having lived it.”
– Mike Posner (48:43)

8. The Most Important Relationship: Spirituality & God

• Mike’s Spiritual Journey (53:32 – 58:58)
  • Grew up secular Jewish; first spiritual awakening through friend Big Sean and key books (“The Alchemist,” “Ask and It Is Given”).
  • Spiritual understanding has evolved, particularly in the last year (“wild experiences with Jesus moving in my life”).
  • Mike: "My security does not come from my bank account, my spouse, or my parents. It comes from my ability to connect to all that is. Which I call God." (55:58)
  • On guidance and living spiritually: “The more we can realize… my life actually doesn't belong to me… just listen to that thing as it guides you… I feel like I’m on a magical journey.” (57:44 – 58:58)

Notable Quote

“You can only get that security from one place. And that's God. I think that's what we're all searching for.”
– Mike Posner (56:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ed Mylett (02:56):
  “I think that's literally the best opening sentence of any guest out of 850…”
• Mike Posner (01:41):
  "You can change your emotional set point… If my depraved rear end could do it, then anybody can."
• Mike Posner (10:22):
  “That's where my life was headed… alone, 60 years old and people knock on the door, mike, how you doing?... but inside I'm a lonely man.”
• Elliot (via Mike) (32:13):
  “Not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.”
• Mike Posner (56:58):
  “You can only get that security from one place. And that's God. I think that's what we're all searching for.”
• Mike Posner (58:58):
  “I just try to follow what it says. And here we are, bro.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:36 – 01:41 – Mike’s achievements and self-introduction
• 01:41 – 02:56 – The power of changing your emotional set point
• 03:20 – 10:54 – The dark night: External “perfection” and internal emptiness; pivotal Tony Robbins intervention
• 11:27 – 15:58 – The story we tell ourselves; confusing significance with love
• 15:58 – 20:35 – The path from chasing recognition to service
• 22:31 – 34:54 – The four questions for life transformation
• 36:59 – 38:11 – Living with intention and the power of question-based self-evaluation
• 37:55 – 42:55 – You are not your thoughts: Mind as a repetitive, not-fully-trustworthy narrator
• 45:28 – 48:43 – How Mike’s challenges have evolved; learning that growth is now about family and selflessness
• 53:32 – 58:58 – Evolution of faith and the foundation of all security in God
• 60:13 – Mike’s new song “I Went Back to Ibiza”: Turning a song about emptiness into a song of transformation

Tone & Language

The tone throughout is raw, sincere, uplifting, and conversational. Humor and humility are woven through the stories—self-deprecating, gentle, real. Both Ed and Mike speak as men who have strived, struggled, and grown, and who are now eager to “report back” and help others on the journey.

Final Thoughts & Action Steps

• Mike’s four questions form a roadmap for listeners striving for greater fulfillment:

  1. Do I want to live?
  2. Why do I want to live?
  3. What do I want?
  4. What would really make life worth living?

• Address your story and notice what you're chasing—does it come from old programming or real desire?

• Audit your life regularly; live intentionally, not just through familiar patterns.

• Remember you are not your mind—don’t let crippling self-talk or habitual negativity define you.

• Challenge yourself purposefully, but recognize that your true expansion may come from vulnerability and building authentic relationships.

• Spiritual connection—however you define it—is the only true source of security and peace.

Closing Words

Ed: “This was extraordinary. And put this one in a time capsule. I'm really grateful for you, bro.” (62:48)
Mike: "Really grateful for you, too. God bless you.” (63:03)

For listeners in search of meaning, courage, peace, or a renewed sense of self, this episode is a must-hear (and re-hear) masterclass in transformation.