If you’ve been rocking with this newsletter since the beginning, please know that I appreciate you!

And if you’re new, the same goes for you!

This edition marks a new era after I’ve pivoted from from my previous niches to specialize in burnout prevention and neuroleadership.

I’ll still touch on aspects of neuroscience, peak performance, and flow…

But all in the name of helping you beat burnout.

Now let’s get straight to it!

What is Burnout?🤔

Burnout is identified by three symptoms: exhaustion, depression, and cynicism.

In 1981, Christina Maslach, leading researching on the topic, defined burnout as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment

It is the by-product of repeated and prolonged stress. Not the result of working long hours.

It isn't just about working too much—it's about working inefficiently, without engagement or recovery.

When I say “engagement”, I don’t mean the social media by getting comments on a post or the act of engaging or the state of being engaged; involvement.

In the context of burnout, engagement is one of the three levels of well-being pychologists found that humans can achieve on this planet:

1. Happiness - as in the hedonic approach to life, seeking moment-to-moment happiness.

2. Engagement - a high-flow lifestyle, or one where happiness is achieved not by the pursuit of pleasure but rather thought seeking out challenging tasks that have a high likelihood of producing flow.

3. Purpose - which blends the high-flow lifestyle of engagement with the desire to impact lives beyond our own.

My Personal Battle with Burnout 🤕

In 2024, I was promoted to become a District Manager for a sales/marketing company at the age of 23.

This was after passing six promotions in nine months after I started as a sales rep in April of 2023.

And this was after a stint of me being unhoused, sleeping out of my car and couch hopping.

As a district manager, I went on to build a 6 figure sales organization from scratch, in 18 months, after recruiting 150 sales reps onto my sales team. I moved from my hometown of Mobile, Al to Florence, Al to manage the tri-state district covering Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

This rapid ascent, while addressing my identity loss as a former student-athlete, led me to confront burnout and the pressures of high performance.

I stepped down from being a DM after the 18 months to pursue other endeavors. But the real and raw reason to why I stepped down was, I was burnout.

I ran a weekly 3-day 18 hour training seminar in 2024 as a DM. Then in 2025, my territory became part of a new division, under new leadership, and the company as a whole transitioned to running a 2-day 16 hour seminar format.

I ran all the group interviews and 1 on 1 interviews for new applicants.

I ran all the PCs (personal consultations) to improve new reps skills.

I ran all the weekly team meetings and coordinated the team night outs afterwards.

And took all the calls from reps, while they were in the field doing appointments, when they needed help closing deals or some encouragement.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, not mentioning all the personal and professional adversity that occurred.

This could’ve been a generational changing opportunity for me, but I failed.

I wasn’t a failure. But I failed to delegate, failed to seek engagement in my life, failed to align my values to the opportunity; which all lead to me burning out.

But it still ended up being a life changing opportunity that I’m forever grateful for.

What The Data Says 🔬

🔥A 2021 Gallup study found that 76% of employees experience burnout at least sometimes, with 28% feeling burned out “very often” or “always.”

Takeaway💡

This newsletter is your go-to source for burnout prevention strategies and neuroleadership insights—helping students, athletes, leaders, and organizations sustain high performance without crashing.

My mission is bold: to equip 1 billion individuals to prevent burnout, choose flow, and optimize their performance.

But at the core, if just one person can avoid the exhaustion and setbacks I once faced because of what I share in each edition—then I’m fulfilling my purpose.

Each week, I’ll take a deep dive into burnout—what causes it, how to prevent it, and the science behind peak performance.

The posting schedule will go like this:

• 1st week: STUDENTS

• 2nd week: ATHLETES

• 3rd week: LEADERS

• 4th week: ORGANIZATIONS

You'll get neuroscience-backed strategies alongside real-world examples of what happens when they’re applied—and the consequences when they’re ignored.

I’ll share stories from my personal journey, the sports world, the business world, and everyday life—experiences we can all relate to and learn from.

This Week’s Book Recommendation📖

To create an effective space, landscapers must design, build, and maintain that space. To create an effective life, we must design, build, and maintain that space too.

Discover Your Sweet Spot equips you to create the life you want. Using a landscaping metaphor and written in a conversational tone, author Scott Fay reveals seven proven steps that enabled him to achieve a unique blend of personal and professional success.

Last Words…

This road to focusing on burnout almost, ironically, burnt me out! 🤦🏾‍♂️🤣

I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support, feedback, insight, and wisdom of my wife.

And I have to thank my bro, Jeremiah Brown, for pouring into me and helping me make some major perspective shifts.

And now I hope I do the same for you in your life.

Excited to take this journey with you!

What has been your biggest burnout challenge? (Overworking, Lack of Engagement, Exhaustion, etc.) Hit the reply button or comment below.