I went from
protecting websites
to protecting hearts
Kenny Stoddart · Founder, IronMind Advisors
27 years. Hundreds of millions in deals closed. 16 President's Club wins. Iron Man medals in Hawaii and Maui. And a drinking problem nobody saw coming. Including him. He rebuilt everything in 12 months. Then got cancer. Then kept going.
"Attack your recovery with the same mental toughness you use for Iron Man races. Do your thing, Kenny.. His friend's call that changed everything.
Why this, why now
The People Running Your Listeners' Companies Are Burning Out in Silence
Gallup's 2023 data: 44% of employees worldwide feel daily stress. Senior leaders report the highest emotional exhaustion of any group. The ones who look most in control are often the farthest gone.
Kenny isn't a researcher who studied this. He lived it for 27 years: boardrooms, global deals, President's Club dinners. And a private war with alcohol that nobody around him saw coming. He made it out. He knows exactly where the cracks start.
"Executive burnout is hitting right now. Too many high-performing people are running important companies and living two lives. The one everyone sees, and the one that's quietly falling apart."
Kenny StoddartYour listeners get a map before it becomes a crisis. You get an episode with a story nobody has heard told this honestly.
What the episode covers
Four Things Your Audience Walks Away With
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The nine-month danger zone most high achievers don't know about
Executives typically spend nine months between deciding they need help and actually getting it. Kenny names it, explains exactly why it traps high performers, and shows what shortens it.
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Why more discipline speeds up burnout and what actually works instead
Standard advice says: be more disciplined. Kenny argues that adding structure to an already overloaded system makes the crash worse and faster. He breaks down the real fix.
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What recovering loudly looks like in practice, and why it works better than silence
Kenny went public with addiction, cancer surgery, and rock bottom in real time. He explains why naming your struggle out loud is faster and more effective than keeping it private.
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The IronMind framework: four moves from chaos to clarity under any pressure
Identify the real problem. Recommit. Own it. Never look back. Kenny runs through each step using his own crises (rehab, Stage 2B cancer) as the live proof of concept.
Track record
The Results Behind the Story
No pitch decks. No pressure. Just a quick message.
What your audience actually hears
The Moments That Make It Shareable
"You are an Iron Man. Or am I?" The gap between that finish line and what was happening inside is the whole episode.
Kenny opens at the Iron Man finish line in Hawaii. Arms raised, the announcer's voice booming. then turns it. That gap between external peak and internal collapse is the episode's spine. Your audience recognises it immediately because most of them are living it right now.
He walks through the phone call from his best friend. No script, no plan. that became the turning point: "Do what you do in those Iron Man races. Do your thing, Kenny." A friend landing the perfect line without knowing it. Pure audio gold.
He covers the night he stood at his bathroom mirror, broken, and gave himself grace for the first time. The last drink he ever had was that same night.
He closes with the cancer diagnosis arriving the exact moment he launched his new company. the live test of everything he teaches. Your audience hears a man who is still in it. Still proving it works.
The honest objection
Not Yet Licensed. That's the Differentiator
Kenny is mid-way through his clinical mental health counselling degree. Every high achiever in your audience already dismissed professional help for years. What moves them is not letters after a name. It's someone who sat in the same room, felt the same shame, and came out the other side.
"I don't coach from the textbook. I coach from the trenches."
Ready to use
Episode Title Options
Maximum pull. Leads with the contradiction. Works for broad audiences and YouTube thumbnails.
Built around the exact rock-bottom moment. Strong for resilience, mental health, and leadership shows.
Challenges the standard high-performance playbook directly. Strong for business and entrepreneurship audiences.
Past appearances: Podcasts
Already Heard On
- Office Hours with David Meltzer
- Good to Be Alive: Overcoming Addiction and Cancer
- Good to Be Alive: Hidden Burnout Is Percolating
- BizBlend: Forging Mental Toughness, IronMind Principles for Founders
- FailCraft: From High-Functioning Addiction to Forging the IronMind
- Positive Talk Radio: Building Psychological Strength for Leaders
- The Ferocious Optimist: Upgrade Your Life
- Rock N Recovery: Guest Kenny Stoddart
Past appearances: Video
Watch the Episodes
Office Hours with David Meltzer
Grace in the Mirror: Keynote
CNBC Business Minute with Hillary Lane
NASDAQ
The Ferocious Optimist
Positive Talk Radio
Abstract Essay
Living to Be Alive
No friction
How Booking Works
Send a message on WhatsApp. Even just "interested" works. No essay needed.
Kenny replies within 24 hours. You'll know fast if the fit makes sense for your audience.
A quick call if you want one. Or agree on the angle and format by message.
Remote or in-person. Jacksonville, Florida. No riders. No demands.
Every week a high performer in your audience is a few steps closer to the edge Kenny came back from.
This episode gives them a map before it becomes a crisis.
Let's talk about your showNo pressure. Just a conversation.