Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick - Dr. JC Doornick "The Dragon"

Latest Episodes:

Why Successful People Feel Like Frauds - E228 Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

Dr. JC Doornick has lived extreme success and extreme failure, and he still catches imposter syndrome showing up in his own head. In this episode he opens with a rapid round of “makes sense or not” questions that expose the beliefs quietly running your decisions. Then he breaks down why your brain can generate a feeling of inadequacy without producing a single piece of evidence, how negativity bias and social comparison feed it, and how the four step Interface Response System from his book helps you investigate the story instead of defending it. Along the way he hands you four words to tuck in your pocket like a hammer in a tool belt. Stay with me.

Follow Dr. JC Doornick and the Makes Sense Academy: ► Makes Sense Substack - https://drjcdoornick.substack.com ► Instagram: /drjcdoornick ► Substack: /drjcdoornick ► Facebook: /makessensepodcast ► YouTube: /drjcdoornick

MAKES SENSE PODCAST Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. This podcast explores topics that expand human consciousness and enhance performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it’s who you are that determines how well what you do works, and that perception is subjective and an acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change. Welcome to the uprising of the sleepwalking masses. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast.

SUBSCRIBE/RATE/REVIEW & SHARE our new podcast. FOLLOW Podcast: You will find a “Follow” button in the top right. This will enable the podcast software to alert you when a new episode launches each week. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/makes-sense-with-dr-jc-doornick/id1730954168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1WHfKWDDReMtrGFz4kkZs9?si=003780ca147c4aec

Podcast Affiliates Kwik Learning: Many people ask me where I get all these topics, which I’ve been covering for almost 15 years. I have learned to read nearly four times faster and retain information 10 times better with Kwik Learning. Learn how to learn and earn with Jim Kwik. Get his program at a special discount here: https://jimkwik.com/dragon

OUR SPONSORS Operly - Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps - Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly - https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95 Blue Blinds Bakery - Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients - https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

Timestamps 0:00 - 0:57: Cold open and show intro 0:57 - 2:35: Rapid round: four beliefs to test, and why confidence comes from action 2:35 - 4:02: Even Maya Angelou and Albert Einstein felt like frauds 4:02 - 6:25: Dr. JC’s own triggers: other people’s results, comparison, and age 6:25 - 8:09: The science of imposter syndrome: Clance and Imes, burnout, and why success does not end self doubt 8:09 - 10:06: Feeling like a fraud is not the same as being a fraud 10:06 - 13:35: The Interface Response System: perceive, pause, and process 13:35 - 17:40: Arthur Brooks, curiosity, and the four magic words “All I know is” 17:40 - 21:10: Gratitude, mental time travel, and step four: proceed 21:10 - 23:26: The takeaway and the closing four words 23:26 - 24:12: Sign off and outro

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Good Shift - Nature Doesn't Hurry - E227 Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

In this good shift episode, Dr. JC Doornick brings you the best of the Makes Sense Substack live in his Wednesday series. He begins with a line attributed to Lao Tzu: nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. From there he asks a simple, funny question: do trees worry? Drawing on his own healing journey while contending with cancer, he explores why the present moment may be the only place life actually happens. Then he takes on the hard part: what do we do with goals, hopes, and dreams, which all live in the future? You may find a different way to hold a dream without letting it hold you.

SUBSCRIBE/RATE/REVIEW & SHARE our new podcast. FOLLOW Podcast: You will find a “Follow” button in the top right. This will enable the podcast software to alert you when a new episode launches each week. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/makes-sense-with-dr-jc-doornick/id1730954168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1WHfKWDDReMtrGFz4kkZs9?si=003780ca147c4aec

OUR SPONSORS: Operly - Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps - Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly - https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95

Blue Blinds Bakery - Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients - https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Kotler - We Have Godlike Power and Stone Age Brains - E226 Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

Meet Steven Kotler, founder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective, a Distinguished Research Fellow at Florida Atlantic University, and co-author with Peter Diamandis of We Are as Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance. In this conversation, Steven breaks down what flow is, where it came from, and why it shows up in our best memories. He tells the story of the day a single surf session pulled him out of years of illness and a place of deep despair. I share my own stage 4 renal cell carcinoma diagnosis and what flow and gratitude mean to me right now. We also get into healing, group flow, and what information overload does to our attention. Then Steven gives one simple, specific practice you can start this week. Stay with me.

Content note: This episode includes a discussion of suicidal thoughts and serious illness. If you are struggling, please reach out to someone you trust or a local crisis line. In the US you can call or text 988. Outside the US, findahelpline.com lists services by country.

Connect With Steven Kotler: Website: https://www.stevenkotler.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kotler.steven/ Flow Research Collective: https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/ Book, We Are As Gods (Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler): https://www.porchlightbooks.com/products/we-are-as-gods-peter-h-diamandis-9781668099544

MAKES SENSE PODCAST Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. This podcast explores topics that expand human consciousness and enhance performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it’s who you are that determines how well what you do works, and that perception is subjective and an acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change. Welcome to the uprising of the sleepwalking masses. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast.

Kwik Learning: Many people ask me where I get all these topics, which I’ve been covering for almost 15 years. I have learned to read nearly four times faster and retain information 10 times better with Kwik Learning. Learn how to learn and earn with Jim Kwik. Get his program at a special discount here: https://jimkwik.com/dragon

Timestamps

0:00 - 1:07: Cold Open and Welcome to Makes Sense
1:08 - 4:21: Gratitude as an Acute Intervention
4:22 - 8:43: What Flow Is and Where It Came From
8:44 - 13:57: What Flow Does: Performance, Burnout, and Why It Is Addictive
13:58 - 18:02: Flow Triggers, Group Flow, and Authenticity
18:03 - 21:19: First Flow Memories: Skiing and Magic
21:20 - 24:28: Three Years in Bed, Suicidal Thoughts, and One Wave
24:29 - 28:48: From Neurotheology to the Biology of Healing
28:49 - 33:20: Acceptance, Authenticity, and Healing
33:21 - 36:46: Mindset, JC’s Stage 4 Diagnosis, and Peter Diamandis’s Timeline
36:47 - 40:51: Staying Open and Curious, and the Shane McConkey Story
40:52 - 45:21: When Soft Skills Become Hard Skills: AI, Overload, and Burnout
45:22 - 50:23: Cooperation at Scale and Group Flow Technology
50:24 - 53:50: Where to Start: Books, Instagram, and Your Primary Flow Activity
53:51 - 56:00: Why Adults Stop Playing and the Four Hour Weekly Dose
56:01 - 57:22: Closing Thoughts and Outro

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For People Feeling Behind In Life - E225 Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

On this Makes Sense episode, Dr. JC Doornick takes on the quiet questions most of us avoid: Am I doing enough? Am I behind? Do I matter? Drawing on ideas explored by Alan Watts and on his own experience living with stage 4 cancer, he asks whether we have turned purpose, achievement and legacy into evidence we collect to prove our existence has value. He walks through how ordinary moments become extraordinary when you stop treating them as the space between you and something important. He also shows how to tell the difference between creating from expression and creating from deficiency. If you have ever felt behind, or wondered whether your life has to earn its meaning, do not go anywhere.

Follow Dr. JC Doornick and the Makes Sense Academy: ► Makes Sense Substack - https://drjcdoornick.substack.com ► Instagram: /drjcdoornick ► Substack: /drjcdoornick ► Facebook: /makessensepodcast ► YouTube: /drjcdoornick

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - 0:59: Cold open and show intro
1:00 - 3:35: The need to matter, feeling behind, and why we question things on Mondays
3:36 - 5:45: Collecting evidence that your life has value
5:46 - 8:26: The fear of insignificance: Alan Watts, a tree, and the shadow of consciousness
8:27 - 12:15: How stage 4 cancer reordered what matters, and the power of the present moment
12:16 - 14:55: Creating from love versus creating to prove your worth
14:56 - 17:57: Rethinking purpose, legacy, and what you are really chasing
17:58 - 21:23: Watching your consumption, making ambition fun again, and noticing your life already matters
21:24 - 22:10: Sign-off and call to action

Sources: Makes Sense Substack, Makes Sense Quotes on Goodreads, Mindvalley email on the Unfuckwithable book

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Good Shift - What Are You Waiting For? - E224 Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

In this Good Shift episode, Dr. JC Doornick, the Dragon, hears a David Guetta and OneRepublic song and finds it lands differently than ever before. Navigating cancer, he asks one question: what are you waiting for? He walks through the quiet assumption that there will always be time to call the friend, hold his wife longer, or follow the desire knocking at his door. He then connects it to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “fierce urgency of now.” This is not about hustling harder or living at full volume. It is about noticing what deserves your life while you are living it. Stay with me.

Timestamps 0:00 - 0:52: Welcome to Good Shift 0:52 - 1:40: A Song That Lands Differently 1:40 - 2:21: Tomorrow Is Not in Your Pocket 2:21 - 2:54: The Fierce Urgency of Now 2:54 - 3:22: Noticing What Deserves Your Life 3:22 - 3:53: Patience Versus Postponement 3:53 - 4:14: Urgency That Feels Tender 4:14 - 4:48: Where to Catch Dr. JC Live and Sign-Off

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Jack Daly - The Plan He Wrote at 13 Still Runs His Life Today - E223 Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

My guest today is Jack Daly, a serial entrepreneur, sales leader, author, and endurance athlete. He built six companies into national firms, sold two of them to Wall Street firms, led sales organizations numbering in the thousands, and is a former US Army captain. He has also finished 15 Ironmans and run a marathon in all 50 states. What matters most is what life taught him along the way, including his own battle with cancer and the loss of his wife, Bonnie. Jack explains why a clear picture of your destination beats a mission statement on a wall, why the best salespeople stop selling, and how a goal written down at 13 still guides his week. We also go to the hard place: what he chose to do with the time he had left with Bonnie, and the permission she gave him to build a bigger life. Stay with me.

Connect With Jack Daly: Website: https://jackdalysales.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackdaly/ X: https://twitter.com/Ironmanjack Book: Jack Daly’s Life by Design (author page): https://advantagebooks.com/authors/jack-daly Instagram: not verified, no link included Facebook: not verified, no link included

OUR SPONSORS Operly: Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps. Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly. https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95 Blue Blinds Bakery: Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients. https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - 0:49: Cold open and show intro 0:50 - 1:50: Meet Jack Daly 1:51 - 6:08: What it is like to be Jack Daly: gratitude, potential, and planning to live to 125 6:09 - 8:37: The three fundamentals of building a company: vision, key people, winning culture 8:38 - 12:07: The 13-year-old caddy who asked successful golfers how they did it 12:08 - 14:23: Curiosity and the 168 hours everyone gets each week 14:24 - 16:56: The best sales lesson: be a listener and help people buy 16:57 - 20:59: Life by design vs. life by default: the four goals set at 13 and the yearly goal book 21:00 - 23:29: Choosing your people, the figure-it-out mindset, and learning to swim at 58 for Ironman 23:30 - 26:27: Nine months with Bonnie and her permission to live a bigger life 26:28 - 28:47: A year and a half of struggle, meeting Karen, and the host’s own conversation with his wife 28:48 - 34:09: The first baby step: from a 5K to 100 marathons 34:10 - 37:15: What drives Jack at 77: impact, contribution, and the bucket list 37:16 - 38:34: The paper napkin: “Paint your picture and all else will follow” 38:35 - 40:03: Where to find Jack, which book to start with, and a note from Simon Sinek 40:04 - 40:58: Dr. JC’s closing takeaways 40:59 - 41:32: Outro

Sources:

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What Cancer Taught Me About Time - E222 Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

Most of us are remarkably good at preparing to live and surprisingly bad at actually living. In this solo episode, Dr. JC Doornick shares what his cancer diagnosis has taught him about the illusion of tomorrow, why urgency is not the same as speed, and how much of our lives we put on layaway while waiting for something to change. Along the way he draws on Steve Jobs, Pema Chödrön, Randy Pausch, and a song that stopped him in his tracks, and he introduces “carency,” the currency of our care: the time, energy, and attention we spend every day. You will leave with a simple challenge for this week. Stay with me.

Timestamps 0:00 - 2:28: Cold Open and the Idea: Wait Less, Not Faster 2:28 - 5:36: The Song That Raised the Question and the Promissory Note of Tomorrow 5:36 - 8:23: Cancer Reminded Me I’m Alive Right Now 8:23 - 10:16: The Fierce Urgency of Now 10:16 - 13:47: Urgency Is Not Speed 13:47 - 17:53: How Much of Your Life Do You Spend Waiting 17:53 - 21:00: Procrastinating on Life and the Currency of Care 21:00 - 24:48: Randy Pausch, Choosing Your Response, and Living With Uncertainty 24:48 - 27:35: This Week’s Challenge and Why Living in the Now Is Attractive 27:35 - 29:57: Wait Less, Join the Academy, and Sign Off

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Good Shift - Your Personal Board of Directors: Ask the Giants a Better Question - E221 Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Good Shift, Dr. JC Doornick brings one of the best ideas from the Makes Sense Substack to the show: a personal board of directors made up of ten people whose lives, ideas, or courage inspired you. Not a boardroom with quarterly numbers, but framed pictures on your wall that you can consult at any fork in the road. Dr. JC shares the questions he imagines bringing to his own board, explains why the point is different lenses and not agreement, and walks you through a simple exercise you can start today. It ties directly into the Interface Response System. Stay with me.

Follow Dr. JC Doornick and the Makes Sense Academy:

► Makes Sense Substack - https://drjcdoornick.substack.com ► Instagram: /drjcdoornick ► Substack: /drjcdoornick ► Facebook: /makessensepodcast ► YouTube: /drjcdoornick

MAKES SENSE PODCAST

Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. This podcast explores topics that expand human consciousness and enhance performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it’s who you are that determines how well what you do works, and that perception is subjective and an acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change. Welcome to the uprising of the sleepwalking masses. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast.

SUBSCRIBE/RATE/REVIEW & SHARE our new podcast.

FOLLOW Podcast: You will find a “Follow” button in the top right. This will enable the podcast software to alert you when a new episode launches each week. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/makes-sense-with-dr-jc-doornick/id1730954168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1WHfKWDDReMtrGFz4kkZs9?si=003780ca147c4aec

Podcast Affiliates

OUR SPONSORS:

Operly - Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps - Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly - https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95

Blue Blinds Bakery - Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients - https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Evan Carmichael - Rejection to 4 Million Subscribers: The YouTube Growth Playbook - E220 Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

Evan Carmichael turned a year of near silence into one of the biggest YouTube channels for entrepreneurs on the internet, with millions of subscribers. He built and sold a biotech software company and raised venture capital before he ever pressed record. Today he trains thought leaders through his Brandlytics software and his Movement Makers program. In this conversation, we get into why he refuses to chase negativity for views, what it took to survive years of slow growth as a self-described introvert, and the difference between a hook and a pattern interrupt. We also cover the retention mistake that quietly kills great episodes, and how to borrow belief on the days when nothing is working. Stay with me.

Connect With Evan Carmichael: Website: https://believe.evancarmichael.com/homepage YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EvanCarmichael Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evancarmichael/ Book, Built to Serve: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637583400 Brandlytics: https://evancarmichael.com/brandlytics Movement Makers: https://believe.evancarmichael.com/contentstrategy

OUR SPONSORS: Operly: Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps. Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly. https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95

Blue Blinds Bakery: Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients. https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

Timestamps 0:00 - 1:02: Welcome and Show Open 1:02 - 3:49: A Day in the Life of Evan Carmichael and Staying Relevant 3:49 - 6:29: Why Negativity Wins Views and Why Evan Avoids It 6:29 - 10:30: Expecting to Suck, Slow Early Years, and Being an Introvert Who Wants to Serve 10:30 - 14:59: Big Why, Little Why, and the Three Comments 14:59 - 19:22: Hooks, Pattern Interrupts, and the Retention Curve 19:22 - 22:08: What New Creators Get Wrong 22:08 - 25:19: Borrowing Belief on the Days Nothing Works 25:19 - 27:12: The First 2% and Where to Connect With Evan 27:12 - 28:29: Brandlytics, Movement Makers, and Farewell 28:29 - 29:22: Closing Takeaway and Outro

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Why Do Hurt People Hurt People? - E219 Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Yesterday everything was fine. Today they’re cold, they’ve ghosted you, or you find out they’ve been talking about you to everyone but you. In this episode, Dr. JC Doornick takes on “hurt people hurt people” from a different angle: what if the pain isn’t being resolved but transferred, and what if the person on the receiving end has no idea a trial ever took place? He breaks down how perception hardens into a verdict, why certainty replaces curiosity, the difference between a boundary and a punishment, and how the Interface Response System (Perceive, Pause, Process, Proceed) gives reality a chance to enter the room. He also flips the script to what you do when you’re the one being accused. Stay with me.

Podcast Affiliates Kwik Learning: Many people ask me where I get all these topics, which I’ve been covering for almost 15 years. I have learned to read nearly four times faster and retain information 10 times better with Kwik Learning. Learn how to learn and earn with Jim Kwik. Get his program at a special discount here: https://jimkwik.com/dragon

OUR SPONSORS:

Operly - Take Back Control of Your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps - Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly - https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95
Blue Blinds Bakery - Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients - https://www.blueblindsbakery.com

Timestamps 0:00 - 1:06: Cold Open: Are You the Villain in Someone Else’s Story? 1:07 - 4:00: Welcome, the Sudden Cold Shoulder, and the Transfer of Pain 4:01 - 7:09: Taking Ownership and Why Accountability Needs Communication 7:10 - 11:00: Reality vs Perception: How Hurt Turns Into a Verdict 11:01 - 13:48: Looking for Evidence and the Hard Way to Deal With Pain 13:49 - 16:13: Retribution, Boundaries vs Punishment, and Certainty Replacing Curiosity 16:14 - 20:30: The Trial They Don’t Know About, Old Wounds, and the Cycle of Pain 20:31 - 23:51: The Interface Response System: Perceive, Pause, Process, Proceed 23:52 - 27:52: Intention vs Impact, Radical Responsibility, and This Week’s Challenge 27:53 - 29:41: Where to Go Next and Closing

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