How To Battle Podcast

Death is one of the few things every human being will experience, and somehow, it’s still one of the things we avoid talking about the most. I’ve thought about death differently at different points in my life. I’ve been close to it, witnessed it, feared it, and at times questioned what actually happens when this experience ends. In this conversation, Dan and I go deeper into death, fear, grief, co...

For a long time, I thought success meant achieving more. More goals. More accomplishments. More recognition. More proof that I was doing something meaningful with my life. But the more I’ve grown, the more I’ve started to question that definition. In this conversation, Dan and I explore what success actually means, why achieving everything you thought you wanted can still leave you feeling empty,...

What does it actually mean to be authentic? Is authenticity simply saying what you think, dressing however you want, following every impulse, and refusing to conform? Or is it possible that some of what we call our authentic self is actually pain, fear, conditioning, ego, survival mechanisms, and old wounds we’ve carried for so long that they now feel like us? In this episode: What authenticity ac...

What if evolution isn't only something that happens to a species over millions of years? What if it's happening inside you right now? In episode 97, Dan and Carlos explore one of the biggest questions we've taken on yet: Why do we evolve? Why is there something inside human beings that keeps reaching for more? More experience. More understanding. More growth. More expression. More life. And why is...

She became pregnant at 13. Had her daughter at 14. Entered foster care. Grew up surrounded by poverty, gangs, drugs and violence. And for years, Valaery Rose struggled with the belief that maybe this was simply the life she had been given. But eventually, she made a different decision: The cycle was going to end with her. In this episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Carlos sits down with Valaery...

Our family is the first place we learn what love feels like. But it's also the first place we learn fear, expectations, beliefs, rules, identity and what we're told life is supposed to look like. So how much of who we become is actually us, and how much was handed to us by the family we were born into? In Episode 95, I sit down with Dan to explore one of the most complicated forces in the human ex...

We say we love our partners. Our children. Our parents. Our friends. But what is love — really? And how much of what we call love was actually taught to us by our childhood, our wounds, our culture and the relationships we experienced growing up? In the this episode of How To Battle, Dan Olschwang and I explore one of the deepest questions I wish I could have asked my father: What is love, and wha...

Most of us spend our entire lives answering the question “Who am I?” with labels. Our name. Our job. Our past. Our accomplishments. Our failures. Our beliefs. The roles we play. But what if none of those things are actually who we are? In the second episode of Conversations I Wish I Had With My Father, I sit down with Dan Olschwang to explore one of the deepest questions I wish I could have asked...

Pain can break us. Numb us. Control us. But what if pain is also one of the forces that changes us? In the first episode of our new series Conversations I Wish I Had With My Father, I sit down with Dan Olschwang to explore one of the deepest questions I wish I could have asked my father: Why do we experience pain? This conversation goes far beyond physical pain. We talk about emotional suffering,...

Five years ago, I walked out of prison after serving 17 years. I had $200 in gate money. No real work history. No understanding of the world I was walking back into. And almost everything about my past seemed to tell employers one thing: Don’t take a chance on this guy. In this solo episode I wanted to take you back to those first days of freedom and explain how my life went from starting over wit...

For much of her childhood, Kym Chartrand wanted one thing: To be invisible. She grew up inside a volatile home, experienced sexual abuse by her stepfather, watched her mother struggle with alcohol, helped raise her younger brothers, and learned very early that speaking the truth could come with consequences. So she became quiet. She tried not to be noticed. She carried things a child should never...

He was literally born in prison. Before the age of 13, Devonric aka Coach DD, had already experienced severe poverty, physical and emotional abuse, homelessness, gang involvement, and a childhood that forced him to grow up far too quickly. But somewhere inside him was a belief: I will not become a product of my environment. In this episode, Carlos sits down with DD for an extraordinary conversatio...

What happens when you finally achieve the success you spent your entire life chasing and still feel empty? In this episode of the How To Battle Podcast , Carlos sits down with Alejandro Zavala for a raw conversation about prison, addiction, fatherhood, financial success, healing, filmmaking, purpose, and the ability to completely reinvent your life. Alejandro grew up in Central California surround...

What if some of the most painful moments of your life are actually doorways into something deeper? In this episode Carlos and Shirin explore presence, suffering, success, inner peace, and a powerful idea inspired by a recent intimate conversation with spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. The discussion begins with a provocative idea: people who experience profound loss may sometimes gain access to a l...

What if giving to others could change your life just as much as it changes theirs? In this episode of Carlos Unfiltered, Carlos and Shirin explore the true power of generosity, what it means to give from the heart, how intention changes the impact of what we offer, and why some of life’s greatest returns cannot be measured in money, recognition, or immediate results. They examine the difference be...

At only 10 years old, Martha Trujillo entered a gang, began using crystal meth, experienced foster care, and searched for safety in the one place that seemed to accept her, the streets. But Martha’s story did not end there. In this powerful episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Martha shares how childhood abuse, housing instability, family trauma, foster care, addiction, and gang involvement shape...

Healing isn't about pretending the past never happened. It's about releasing the pain that's still controlling your life. In this episode of Carlos Unfiltered, Carlos and Shirin explore what healing actually means, why so many people stay trapped by childhood wounds, trauma, resentment, anxiety, and fear, and how true freedom begins when you're willing to confront what you've been avoiding. Carlos...

Most men are never taught what it truly means to become a strong, grounded, respected man. In this episode of Carlos Unfiltered, Carlos shares the powerful lessons behind his book Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men—written from the perspective of someone who spent 17 years in prison, rebuilt his life from nothing, and discovered timeless principles that apply to every man, regardless of his pa...

Most relationships don't end because of one big argument, they slowly break down because conflict is handled the wrong way. In this episode of Carlos Unfiltered, Carlos and Shirin explore what it really takes to resolve conflict in healthy relationships. They share personal stories about their own struggles with anger, communication, emotional healing, and learning to move from ego-driven reaction...

Can someone truly build a healthy relationship after years in prison, trauma, or emotional hardship? In this deeply personal episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Carlos and Shirin explore what it really takes to build a thriving relationship when two people come from completely different worlds. Carlos shares what it was like leaving prison after 17 years and navigating love, communication, trust...

What if the people in your life are showing you something about yourself? In this thought-provoking episode Carlos and Shirin explore the concept of the "Three Mirrors of Human Relationships" and how our relationships, friendships, triggers, and attractions may reveal deeper truths about who we are. Together, they discuss why we attract certain people, how unresolved wounds continue to show up in...

Some men break under pressure. Brandon Baker got forged by it. At 18, Brandon was sentenced to 75-to-life. He spent 25 years behind bars — and walked out employed, enrolled in college, published, and on a mission. In this episode, we go deep on what it really takes to survive maximum security prison at 18, why hope sometimes has to die before it can grow, and how Brandon is now training counselors...

Can love heal trauma? In this deeply personal episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Carlos opens up about the reality of loving someone after childhood abandonment, gang life, prison, violence, and years spent in solitary confinement. He shares how trauma affected his ability to trust, why isolation became his comfort zone, and what it actually takes to build a healthy relationship after a lifetim...

Have you ever experienced a coincidence so strange it felt like the universe was trying to tell you something? In this episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Carlos explores the idea of "magic"—not the kind found in movies, but the extraordinary moments that happen when belief, energy, resilience, gratitude, and intention come together. From lessons learned through entrepreneurship and prison, to f...

Most people think they understand prison… They don’t. In this episode of the How To Battle Podcast, Carlos shares the raw, unfiltered truth about life behind prison walls—what Hollywood gets wrong, the violence that actually happens, and the unexpected lessons that changed his life forever. From surviving brutal environments to witnessing acts of kindness in the darkest places, Carlos breaks down...