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PODCAST

Beyond Success

Are you a high achiever who"s worked hard, found success, but still feels like something"s missing? Do you wonder what the point of it all is, and long for deeper meaning or love in your life? Welcome to "Beyond Success," the podcast for high achievers seeking fulfillment, happiness, and true purpose. I"m David Tian, Ph.D., Leadership Coach, Certified IFS Therapy Practitioner (Level 3), and a former university professor. I"m also a proud father and husband. I bring two decades of experience,

education self-improvement

All Episodes

25:01

#71: The Tragedy of Achievement: How Success...

Beyond Success ·

2026/01/16

A tragedy occurs when you reach a certain level of achievement: The mind starts to reorder itself for destruction instead of growth. Worst part? This happens so subtly that it goes completely unnoticed… until it's too late. As achievements accumulate, decision quality erodes. Feedback arrives later and later, so mistakes don't get corrected. They get built into systems and culture. By the time the error becomes clear, reversing it is costly or impossible. That's the bad news. The good news? There's

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25:37

#70: How Power Distorts What You Notice

Beyond Success ·

2026/01/09

There's a pattern that's so ingrained in the human psyche that Ancient Daoism noticed it long before psychology had language for cognition. It's a pattern that sneaks up on almost every high achiever who tastes enough success. And it subtly erodes your judgement and strangles your emotional intelligence without your realizing. Worst part? The more intelligent you are, the faster your mind crumbles your judgement. And while this pattern doesn't usually cause immediate failure, it can lead to

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26:04

#69: How Success Degrades Clarity & Judgment

Beyond Success ·

2026/01/02

When you're just starting out in your career, the feedback loop is crystal clear. There's a cause and effect to your actions that lead to instantaneous rewards or consequences. But the more success you achieve, the more muddled this signal becomes. And the more distorted your signal, the more stressed and burnt out you become… while your confidence and self-esteem slowly evaporate. Here's the worst part: A muddled signal is a sign from your internal environment that it needs a software update

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23:38

#68: Why Success Works, and You Still Feel Disconnected

Beyond Success ·

2025/12/26

All of us were fed a certain modern promise of success: Work hard, become competent, and success follows. And you know what? Despite its flaws, it mostly works. Effort compounds. Competence pays off. Success arrives. But then something strange happened. The questions that matter most don't go away. They get louder. Not questions about strategy or leverage. Questions about connection. Meaning. Why all of this still feels… flat. Here's the part no one warns achievers about: The modern promise of

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24:14

#67: What To Do When Achievement Stops Feeling...

Beyond Success ·

2025/12/19

If you base your entire identity around achievement, as many high achievers do, the consequences can turn fatal - internally. While building an identity around achievement can work in the short-term, you must eventually face the reality: A big part of your drive to achieve is deeply rooted in fear. This fear creates an internal friction that steals joy and presence from your life and gives you anxiety and disconnection and shame instead. But what if you could experience life without the constant

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24:42

#66: Why Goodness Is the Only Path to True Inner Power

Beyond Success ·

2025/12/12

Most high achievers aren't limited by a lack of talent or lack of opportunity. They're limited by the tension they carry inside their own nervous systems. This low-grade tension drains your energy and leads to burn out, it flattens your relationships and leads to heartbreak, it blurs your decision-making and leads to humiliation. So, where does this tension even come from? Your conscience. Each time you betray your values, your nervous system takes note and interprets it as internal chaos, which

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22:24

#65: The Inner Game of Leadership: 7 Phases to...

Beyond Success ·

2025/12/05

Most people who listen to this show don't think of themselves as "high achievers." They think of themselves as people who should be further ahead by now. They've lived with low-grade panic for so long, they don't notice it anymore. But that pressure isn't proof that you're failing. It's a signal: your Internal Operating System is overdue for an upgrade. In today's episode, I break down the 7 Phase Inner Leadership Blueprint. It shows you why your old patterns bleed into every part of your life… how

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27:55

#64: The Paradox of True Growth: Why Self-Acceptance...

Beyond Success ·

2025/11/28

Most people try to grow by adding more tactics. New habits. New hacks. New systems. But if you're like many professionals, you've already done all that. You've pushed. You've optimized. You've carried the weight. But at a certain point in your career, all that effort stops working. Not because you've failed — but because growth at the higher levels isn't tactical anymore. It's emotional. When you're at war with yourself, no system can save you. Every "should" becomes another shackle. Every push

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31:34

#63: Why Success Can't Heal Emotional Wounds (& What...

Beyond Success ·

2025/11/21

Some children grow up in war zones, sleeping in shelters, surrounded by danger. Others grow up in mansions with trust funds. Yet the research is clear: The first group often becomes more grounded, courageous, and emotionally stable… while the second group can grow into anxious, brittle adults who look successful but feel empty inside. The difference isn't money. It's presence. A loving, attuned caregiver gives a child the kind of presence their brain depends on — warm eyes, soothing tone, patient

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27:12

#62: Why Evil Seems To Win (And What To Do About It)

Beyond Success ·

2025/11/14

It's easy to look at some of the biggest villains in history (both real and fictional) and assume that they were evil incarnate. It's easy because it frees you from the burden that you could become just like them. But pure evil doesn't exist. In fact, so much of the evil you see in the world is just pain that's been unexamined and unhealed, and then unleashed on others. That's why history is riddled with the oppressed overcoming the oppressors and then doing the exact things the oppressors did to

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34:39

#61: Why Sexual Freedom Isn't Immorality — It's...

Beyond Success ·

2025/11/07

Most people say they support sexual freedom. But when a woman—or man—actually lives it… they turn on them. Judgment. Outrage. Moral panic. So here's the real question: "Can you be sexually free and morally good?" And if you can, why does it trigger so much shame in others? In this episode, I trace the ancient roots of sexual repression—from the kings and empires that hoarded mating opportunities, to the purity codes that disguised control as virtue. We'll explore how sexual shame became moralized,

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24:48

#60: The Truth About Connection: Why Success Feels...

Beyond Success ·

2025/10/31

Ambitious people fall into a trap: You've learned from a young age that achievement means love, and so, you chase achievement and other external markers of success only to realize the gnawing void is still there. Most think their childhood patterns will get dissolved by father time. But the truth is, these patterns adapt to your knowledge, and become masters of disguising themselves.Take, for example, the seductive idea of independence. For ambitious men, independence is really isolation in

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29:12

#59: Why Being Yourself Feels Unsafe (But Why It's...

Beyond Success ·

2025/10/24

Most people spend their lives performing. Pretending to be who they think they should be — polished, composed, and never too much. But underneath, they feel like frauds. Because the parts of themselves they’ve hidden — the anger, the neediness, the shame — are still alive, whispering, “If they really knew you, they’d leave.” That’s why being yourself feels unsafe. Every instinct screams that honesty will cost you love, success, and belonging. So you hide behind competence, humor, or charm. You keep

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26:59

#58: Why Authenticity Feels Risky & Why It's the Only...

Beyond Success ·

2025/10/17

There is a seductive and destructive lie many people fall into: Learn the best tricks and gimmicks and you can have complete control over your relationships - romantic and business. It’s so seductive because it promises control and success, but it’s even more destructive because it delivers fear instead of control and breeds insecurity instead of success. Worst part? These tricks and tactics work in the short-term, but they come with a mighty hidden cost: You slowly erode your self-confidence and

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26:50

#57: How Deep-Rooted Sexual Shame Cripples Connection...

Beyond Success ·

2025/10/10

In pickup artist culture, men see women’s natural defenses as tests and shields. Pass these “shit tests” and break through her “bitch shields,” and you win her love and affection. But women aren’t sitting around scheming elaborate tests or plotting shields. They're responding to lived experiences, not imagined battle plans. That’s why these pickup artist tricks, while they can work in the short-term, never result in lasting love and connection. They’re based on lies, drenched in sexual shame, and

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34:19

#56: The Moral Case for Ethical Seduction & Why It’s...

Beyond Success ·

2025/10/03

There are two strategies men deploy when they’re dating, but insecure. Either they try the “Nice Guy” approach or its opposite, the pickup artist approach. But even though these strategies are polar opposites, they suffer the same moral flaw of concealment. Whenever you put on a mask over yourself, you sever the possibility of authentic connection. The solution? Ethical seduction based on radical transparency. This way sounds harder because it is: It requires you to be honest with yourself and the

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26:24

#55: Stop Hiding: How to Turn Guilt Into Growth...

Beyond Success ·

2025/09/26

What do you do after you fall short of your values? If you’re like most of us, you deflect, you hide, and you collapse into toxic shame that severs your self-trust and self-respect. But there’s another way to deal with your failures that can actually improve your relationship with yourself and others. This other way? Acknowledging healthy guilt without falling into the seductive trap of toxic shame. It’s not as easy as letting yourself wallow in self-pity - but it’s worth it in the long-term.

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33:46

#54: Why Your Dark Side Isn't the Enemy—It's What Can...

Beyond Success ·

2025/09/19

Most people walk around fighting an invisible war inside themselves. On the outside, they play the part of the “good person.” But behind the mask lurk the emotions they’ve been told are unacceptable—envy, lust, anger, cruelty, shame. In families, in religions, in schools, the lesson was drilled in: don’t show that side of yourself. So those parts get buried. But buried parts don’t disappear. They fester. They leak out as addictions, compulsions, betrayals, and self-sabotage. And the harder you try

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33:32

#53: Breaking Free from Sexual Shame: The Hidden...

Beyond Success ·

2025/09/12

Most people, thanks to religious, cultural, or family baggage, carry around the unnecessary burden of toxic sexual shame. Sometimes this isn’t even your own shame, it’s been passed down through generations under the guise of virtue. Here’s the problem: Unchecked sexual shame seeps into your relationships, your leadership, and threatens your very fulfillment of life. Even if it was never yours to carry. That’s why it’s imperative to lift your burden of sexual shame. Not only will it keep your

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29:38

#52: Why Compassion is the Secret to Trust, Love, &...

Beyond Success ·

2025/09/05

There’s one ingredient missing from many high achievers’ lives that drains all the fulfillment from their success, turns small failures into a life-or-death scenario, and slowly poisons your relationships at home and at work. Worst part? Most high achievers have conditioned themselves into believing that this missing ingredient is a weakness to be snuffed out at each step. So, they trap themselves in a toxic cycle that keeps repeating no matter how many of the variables they try to change. The

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196 results

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