The Underlayer: Fear, Clarity & Personal Growth for Mid-Life Professionals

Your nervous system is not broken. It's responding exactly the way it was trained. When email, Slack, social media, and nonstop entertainment flood your brain all day, your body reads "constant input" as "constant threat." A lot of us end up composed on the outside while feeling stuck, reactive, and exhausted on the inside, and we can't figure out why. In this episode...

In this episode of The Underlayer, David Young sits down with public speaking coach Amy Arbogast to get underneath one of the most common fears in professional life and figure out what's actually driving it. We explore a powerful question:   What if the WAY you've been thinking about public speaking is the very thing making it harder? Amy shares why reframing the goal from performance to...

The Power of Pressure: How One Coach's Ultimatum Created Incredible Urgency. A slamming locker room door. A coach's warning. Thirty-six words that turned a .500 team into a wrecking crew. This isn't a story about inspiration; it's about consequences. When a high school basketball coach threatened to cancel Christmas break and institute 6 a.m. practices unless his team showed up...

In this episode of The Underlayer , David Young sits down with business & leadership mentor Jodi Wilding to unpack the quiet ways high achievers play small: staying in safe roles, pleasing identities, and waiting for certainty that never comes. We explore a powerful question: What if the safest life is actually the riskiest? Jodi shares the turning points that pushed her toward alignment: loss...

Why do so many high achievers burn out? And even set goals they don't even want? In this episode of The Underlayer, David Young and Katarina Kiseli break down the psychology of high achievers, burnout, and goal-setting mistakes that lead to exhaustion rather than fulfillment. If you’ve ever felt: - Driven but drained - Successful but unsatisfied - Productive but misaligned - This conversation...

Maira has spent two decades translating complex ideas into clear frameworks for senior leaders and experts, but her real gift isn’t just strategy. It’s helping high achievers identify the red thread running through their lives and turn it into a premium, sustainable offer. In this episode, we go beneath the surface of the “ zone of genius .” The real Z.O.G. We unpack why so many smart, capable pro...

In this episode of The Underlayer , host David Young sits down with LinkedIn strategist and writer Allison Ditmer to explore the quiet pull for something more, and what happens when successful careers stop matching who we’re becoming. Allison shares her journey from behind-the-scenes corporate marketer to visible creator and business owner, unpacking the emotional signals that pushed her toward re...

Ever feel anger rise up and wonder, “Where did that come from?” Explore why anger isn’t the problem, and what it’s been trying to protect all along.  In this episode of The Underlayer , host David Young is joined by Carolyn Warsham for a deep, honest conversation about anger, emotional health, and personal growth, especially in midlife. Together, they unpack why anger is one of the most misunderst...

In this solo episode of The Underlayer , host David Young explores how childhood fear, especially around visibility and public speaking, quietly shapes our lives well into midlife. David shares personal stories from growing up as the quiet kid in the back of the classroom, including a painful public speaking experience at age 14 that influenced how he used (or avoided) his voice for decades. Throu...

Episode — The Real Story Beneath Your Relationships with Lisa De Nicola What if the relationships you’re struggling with aren’t the problem, but the old patterns running beneath them ? In this episode of The Underlayer , leadership and executive coach Lisa De Nicola takes us below the surface to uncover how childhood strategies shape the way we speak up at work, choose partners, maintain friendshi...

Episode 6: Learning That Actually Sticks — Why Your Brain Loves the Easy Stuff (and Why It Fails You) with Sheila B. Robinson What if the way you think you learn is the very thing keeping you from learning at all? In this episode of The Underlayer , I sit down with teaching and learning expert Sheila B. Robinson to unravel one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves: that feeling fluent equals knowi...

Bonus Episode — The Comedy Hidden Inside Everyday Life with David Young What if the funniest set you’ve ever heard was hiding inside ordinary life? In this special bonus episode of The Underlayer , I took on a dare to create 30 minutes of standup from nothing but real stories. TV dinners, botched Jeopardy guesses, stubborn tech, parenting misfires, and a dog whose tail might be issuing warnings in...

Episode 3: Human Design, Frequency, and the Decisions Your Body Already Knows with Lauren Ammon What if your best decisions aren’t made in your head? In this episode of The Underlayer , I sit down with Human Design coach and practitioner Lauren Ammon to explore a simple, liberating shift: your body already knows the truth, your mind is just louder. We go beneath the surface of Human Design to brea...

Episode 2 —  How Authentic Swag Builds Real Relationships And Standout Brands What if your branded merch could actually mean something? In this episode of The Underlayer , I sit down with Amanda Hoffman , CEO and co-founder of Go To Market , to uncover how authenticity and choice are reshaping the world of branded merchandise. We go beneath the surface of traditional marketing to explore why cheap...

Episode 1 – When Your Decisions Don’t Match Your Dreams Ever follow the “smart” path and end up miles from what you actually want? In this debut episode of The Underlayer , I unpack the real story behind my zigzag career. From dreaming of broadcasting to majoring in biology, selling pharmaceuticals, and climbing corporate ladders that never felt right. It’s about what happens when your goals look...

Join me, your host, David Young, as I outline the vision for this new Podcast, The Underlayer.  The Underlayer YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@the_under_layer The Underlayer Podcast Website: https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/ David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/