Relatable

Ever notice your brain can tolerate a messy car… but a messy inbox ruins your whole day? I used to think it was just me. My car could have water bottles rolling under the seat, a jacket tossed in the back, maybe a stray receipt or two — and my brain wouldn’t flinch. (plus watch the video...notice the bullet hole?) But give me 37 unread emails, and suddenly everything feels urgent. Tight chest. Spinning thoughts. A little internal voice whispering, “You’re behind.” Here’s the twist: neuroscience says the brain treats physical clutter and digital clutter completely differently. Physical clutter is static. Predictable. Your brain quickly adapts and tunes it out. Digital clutter? Every notification, unread badge, or flagged message is interpreted as a potential threat — a loose end that might affect your future. So the inbox gets priority… even when the car should. It’s not disorganization. It’s biology. If you want to build a brand people gravitate toward, learn how digital signals shape emotional states — and how to design for clarity, not chaos. Want to master that? Your NeuroGuide™ AI coach shows you how. Join the waitlist + get the free NeuroBrand™ Starter Kit. Link in comments.

Did you know your brain makes better decisions when you stop trying to be logical? That’s the part no one tells you. We were trained to believe logic leads. But neuroscience shows something different. The limbic system fires first — always. Emotion opens the decision pathway. Logic just comes in later to justify whatever your biology already chose. So when we say, “I’m thinking it over,” what we really mean is: “My brain is waiting for the emotional signal to say yes.” The irony? The harder you try to “think logically,” the more you suppress the very circuitry that creates clarity — the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In other words: Overthinking isn’t intelligence. It’s interference. If you want to build a brand people choose on you building a belief in them through emotion — not logic — learn to trigger the emotional circuitry their decisions depend on. And that’s exactly what your NeuroGuide™ AI coach helps you do. Join the waitlist and get the free NeuroBrand™ Starter Kit. Link in comments.

Did you know a University of Geneva study found that emotionally charged stories activate oxytocin pathways — even in Alzheimer’s patients who can’t remember their own families? I watched a video I still can’t shake. A daughter sits on a bench with her dad. She’s 21 weeks pregnant. He has dementia. And he doesn’t know who she is. But then a moment happens — one you won’t expect — and it changes everything. I leaned in, almost holding my breath, trying to understand why it hit so hard. She admits she’s scared. It’s just the two of them now, and his failing brain biology is rewriting their story. But here’s what dawned on me… Even when memory slips, stories still get in. They light up the hippocampus, amygdala, VTA, and reward circuit — the places where emotional memories survive. That’s why the right story pulls us closer… even when part of us wants to pull away. And it made me wonder: If a story can bring someone home… what could we bring back with the stories we choose to tell? A powerful story triggers oxytocin for trust…and dopamine for curiosity and “lean in.” It also reminds us to stay grateful for the minds we still have — and compassionate toward those losing theirs. It’s not them changing. It’s their biology. But here’s something we can do: Tell the stories you want them to remember. Share the stories they will remember. Our stories are our human superpower — how we connect, engage, and build belief. If you want to craft stories people feel — and never forget — join the NeuroGuide™ waitlist and get my free NeuroBrand™ Starter Kit.

Did you know the fastest way for any of us to lose trust in the brain is to make a claim the data can’t support? We’ve all gotten emails like this. I got one that opened with: “Something shifted in content and here’s what’s happening…” Then it jumped straight into big claims: Over the past week, three of my LinkedIn posts went viral. One passed 500,000 impressions… But here’s what our brains do when words don’t match reality: the conflict-monitoring network lights up and quietly whispers, “Something’s off.” And the real numbers? 8 posts → the top one at 22 impressions. The week prior → top one at 32. Zero reposts both weeks. When expectations break, trust breaks. And that derails the first steps of our decision path: Interrupt → Connection → Engagement → Belief → Trust → Bias. And let’s be honest—nothing “goes viral” on LinkedIn without reposts. They’re the accelerant. But virality isn’t what we’re really after. Belief is. When we deliver what we promise, we earn trust. When we deliver outcomes again and again, we build a bias of loyalty—where we become the only choice in their minds. That’s how market leaders are made. If we want that kind of trust—the kind people feel in their nervous system—we need to create content the brain is wired to believe. That’s exactly what NeuroBrand™ is built for. Neuroscience-powered. NeuroGuide™-coached. Our Adaptive Personal Intelligence™ designed to make us the trusted choice. If we’re ready to build belief, earn trust, and become unforgettable…grab the free NeuroBrand Starter Kit → link in comments.

What if that video’s advice — “ask questions, find the pain, sell to it” — is the exact thing our brain is wired to reject? We’ve all seen a video like this — the one where someone confidently shares the sales advice someone once taught them: Ask great questions. Dig for the pain. Sell to the pain point.” They’re not wrong for sharing it. They’re just passing down the same playbook many of us were given. But here’s the part most of us were never told: That playbook ignores what’s happening inside a buyer’s brain. And think about this for a second… When someone suddenly starts asking us a series of probing questions… How does it make us feel? More open — or more guarded? Exactly. Our buyers feel the same. When we probe for pain, we activate threat circuits — the amygdala, ACC, and insula. The Croc Brain hears: They’re trying to use what hurts me to sell me something. That doesn’t build trust. It flips on the B.S. filter. Once that filter lights up, the nervous system shifts into protection. Our limbic system tightens. Our prefrontal cortex — where belief and “yes” live — never fully comes online. So instead of curiosity, we create distance. Here’s the better way — for us and for them. Don’t poke the wound. Reduce the threat. Then elevate their status. When people feel their status is protected or expanding, serotonin rises — giving them the confidence to imagine the outcome. Then we guide with: Safety → Shared Story → Future Possibility Safety lowers the Croc Brain filter. Shared story triggers a limbic emotional buying response. Future possibility releases dopamine —anticipation. That’s how we create a buying mood… and the beginnings of belief. And when we create belief, we create conversion. Belief isn’t built by pressure. It’s built through emotional stories where people see themselves — and feel the promise of the same outcome. Tomorrow morning, when we grab our coffee, let’s ask ourselves: “Are we doing what we were taught…or what the brain actually trusts?” If we’re ready to build a brand people believe in — not ignore… Join the Waitlist for NeuroGuide™ the world’s first adaptive AI coach to help you build your NeuroBrand™ — so you can create belief, trust, and bias at scale. A bias that lives in their brain…where you become their choice — and you become the market leader. Plus: Get our free NeuroGuide™ Brand Starter Kit and start building the brand people say “yes” to before we ever ask.

Did you ever hear a song that didn’t just play in your ears…but reopened your life? That’s what happened when I heard “The Town” by Macklemore yesterday. It wasn’t just music. It was memory. Every line pulled me back into the places that made me… me. From Beacon to Everett. From Pike Place to the Space Needle. From Capitol Hill to Rainier Valley. From long ferry rides to Whidbey Island. Each neighborhood a chapter. Each street a sentence. Each moment a small piece of my origin story I didn’t realize I’d been carrying. “The Town” reminded me that our lives are built from thousands of ordinary scenes that become extraordinary in hindsight. If you’ve ever lived in Seattle, you get it. You feel it. The smell of rain on pavement. Late nights driving I-5. The skyline glowing like it’s alive. The coffee you smell as you walk by Pike Place Market. The quiet pride of knowing this place shaped you. Seattle isn’t just where I lived. It’s my story. My grounding. My town. And sometimes, all it takes is one song to bring it all back. VC: Macklemore "The Town" P.S. I have a story about Macklemore I'll share sometime...

Have you ever noticed that your parents mellowed out as they got older — becoming gentler, kinder, and more patient? It turns out that shift isn’t just wisdom or life experience. It’s biology. Scientists have found that aging actually changes how our brain works. The part that helps us stay calm and think things through connects more deeply with the emotional centers. So we react less, understand more, and see people with softer eyes. Life experience also builds “emotional memory.” When someone is hurting or celebrating, we can relate because we’ve lived our own versions of those moments. Even our chemistry changes. Oxytocin — the bonding chemical — often increases with age, making us more warm and generous. And the part of the brain that reacts to threats slows down. So as your parents get older, remember this: One day you’ll wish for one more conversation… one more hug… one more simple “take care.” While they’re still here, remind them they’re your heroes, your home, and your greatest blessing. Show your empathy and care the same way they’re showing you now. These are the emotional memories you’ll carry long after they’re gone.

Did you know a single sentence from a stranger can activate the same neural circuits as losing someone we love? There’s a reason certain comments stop us in our tracks. Earlier today, in the middle of my workday, I turned on YouTube to play some of my favorite songs. Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun came on. What I didn’t expect was what happened next. I opened the comments… and there he was. Thomas White. A stranger I’ve never met. Yet his words hit me in the center of my chest. He wrote: “Chipotle in 2011 played this song often. One of my fave coworkers loved this song. The first time he spoke to me was about this song. The last time I saw him, he was leaving work just as this song played. He passed in a car accident only 15 minutes later. So this song reminds me of him. Once, it played again years later when I went to eat there. I just knew that was him saying hi to me.” I sat there, staring at the screen… feeling something I didn’t expect. Why does a stranger’s story hit us so hard? Why do we suddenly pause… feel our throat tighten… and sense a memory we’ve never lived? Here’s the brain-biology behind it — and it’s beautiful. When we read a loss-tinged story like this: Our mirror neuron system activates. The brain simulates his goodbye as if it were ours. Our hippocampus retrieves our own memories of people we’ve lost. Even if those moments were years ago, the emotional trace resurfaces instantly. The limbic system releases oxytocin. The “bonding neurochemical.” It’s the brain saying: This matters. This is human. Pay attention. The vagus nerve activates. That warm, chest-pull sensation? That’s your heart-brain connection tuning into meaning. And the amygdala drops its guard. Vulnerability makes us feel safe with the storyteller — even if we’ve never met them. This is what I call shared neural resonance. Strangers become familiar. Stories become bridges. Music becomes memory. And suddenly, a YouTube comment becomes a moment you carry with you. Sometimes, we’re not reacting to their story at all — we’re reacting to the echo of our own. Walking on a Dream hit differently today. Not because of the song…but because a stranger let me feel something deeply human again. VC: Musicinthesecretgarden IG

Princeton research shows your brain doesn’t pay attention continuously. It pays attention in two primal pulses — one to react, one to understand. It’s why certain moments hit you emotionally before you can explain why. You can see this ancient rhythm in real time when you watch videos like this one. A man gets destroyed in a motorcycle jump. A woman loses her face on a slide. A teenage boy has a bad day with a sliding garage door. Some people cringe. Others laugh. But nobody looks away. Why? Because your brain is running its built-in two-pulse attention cycle: Pulse 1: react — the shock moment that activates your survival circuits. Pulse 2: understand — the “lock in” moment where your brain leans closer, asking: What happens next? Are they okay? How does this end? This two-pulse rhythm is why mishap videos spread…and why attention-synchronized branding works. Brands that align with these primal micro-cycles don’t beg for attention — they own it. If you want to build this same attention rhythm into your Neuro Brand — get on the waitlist and grab the free Neuro Guide.

The True Neuro-Brand Pivot Behind YouTube Why Origin Stories Matter in Your Neuro Brand: Origin stories aren’t nostalgia — they’re neuroscience. They release oxytocin (trust), dopamine (anticipation), and lower resistance. In a world full of AI noise, your origin story is what makes people believe in you. Most people know the myth: “YouTube started as a dating site.” Not true. The real origin began with frustration. After Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl incident, co-founder Jawed Karim tried to find the clip online… and couldn’t. No upload tools. No universal viewer. No shared hub. That pain sparked the insight: “Why isn’t there one place where anyone can upload any video instantly?” Users ignored the dating premise. They just wanted to share life. So the founders stripped everything down to: Upload Watch Share Then came the breakthrough: embeds. This single feature created a network effect. Every blog, forum, and MySpace page became a distribution channel. The more people embedded videos, the faster YouTube grew. Friction disappeared. Belief took over. A category was born. Trust doesn't start with a tactic. It starts with truth. Create your origin story the way the nervous system says yes. [link in comments]