110: Why Pushing Harder Isn’t Working (And What to Do Instead) w/ Houston Bradley

Most leaders believe control is the key to success. It helps them push through pressure, survive adversity, and achieve results. But what happens when the very strategy that once saved you starts holding you back? 

In this episode of the No Limit Leadership Podcast, host Sean Patton sits down with executive coach Houston Bradley for a deeply personal and transformational conversation. Houston shares how a near-fatal brain injury at 17, years of high performance in Hollywood, and eventual recovery reshaped his understanding of leadership, identity, and control. 

Together, Sean and Houston unpack the difference between confidence and ego, when control is a useful tool—and when it becomes a dangerous identity. They explore why so many driven leaders know what they want to have but lack clarity around who they need to be to create it. 

This conversation challenges the grind mentality, exposes the hidden costs of unchecked control, and offers a new framework for leadership rooted in self-awareness, accountability, and transformation.  

⏱️ Episode Highlights & Timestamps 

• 00:00 – The hidden downside of control in leadership
• 01:00 – Introducing Houston Bradley and his unconventional path
• 02:30 – A near-fatal skateboarding accident and waking up in a coma
• 05:45 – Using control as a survival tool—and when it turns against you
• 08:20 – Faith, recovery, and the identity shift after trauma
• 10:20 – Ego, overachievement, and drifting from humility
• 12:20 – Ignoring warning signs and living without accountability
• 14:45 – Confidence vs. ego: how high performers get trapped
• 16:40 – Rock bottom, recovery, and choosing a new way of being
• 20:00 – When control becomes an identity instead of a tool
• 23:00 – Blind spots, accountability, and why self-reflection isn’t enough
• 26:00 – Vision vs. identity: why “doing more” doesn’t create change
• 28:00 – Why leaders know what they want—but not who they must become
• 30:45 – Coaching, transformation, and creating a future worth the work
• 36:00 – The power of having people who call you out and call you forward
• 39:00 – Final reflections on growth, leadership, and transformation

 👉 Houston Bradley
https://www.hbmetacoaching.com/

  IMDb Profile — Background on his creative work and credits:
👉 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5652382/

No Limit Leadership is the go-to podcast for growth-minded executives, middle managers, and team leaders who want more than surface-level leadership advice. Hosted by executive coach and former Special Forces commander Sean Patton, this show dives deep into modern leadership, self-leadership, and the real-world strategies that build high-performing teams. Whether you're focused on leadership development, building a coaching culture, improving leadership communication, or strengthening team accountability, each episode equips you with actionable insights to unlock leadership potential across your organization. From designing onboarding systems that retain talent to asking better questions that drive clarity and impact, No Limit Leadership helps you lead yourself first so you can lead others better. If you're ready to create a culture of ownership, resilience, and results, this leadership podcast is for you.

Transcript

Sean Patton (00:00)
Most leaders pride themselves on being in control. Control gets you through hard seasons, helps you survive pressure, push through adversity, and build success. But what if the very thing that once saved you is now holding you back? In today's episode, I sit down with executive coach Houston Bradley, whose life was shaped by a near fatal brain injury at 17, years of high performance in Hollywood, and ultimately a hard-earned transformation through recovery. We talk about the difference between confidence and ego, when control is a tool, and when it becomes an identity.

and why so many driven leaders have a clear vision of what they want to have, but almost no clarity on who they need to be. Ever felt like pushing harder isn't producing better results? This conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, growth, and transformation.

Sean Patton (00:58)
Welcome to the No Limit Leadership Podcast. am your host, Sean Patton. Today I'm joined by Houston Bradley. He's an executive coach with Novus Global, where he partners with leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives to expand their impact and build lives marked by excellence, curiosity, and intentionality. He draws from just a hugely diverse background, entertainment, business, athletics, and is really a blend of the creative insight and the strategic precision when it comes to his coaching business.

Before Novus Global, spent years in Hollywood as a talent agent at United Talent Agency, and then moved to independent producing of films with zero gravity management. He continues to be involved in film and creative space as he helps clients clarify their vision, confront limiting patterns, and translate insight into measurable action. Houston, thanks for being on today,

Houston Bradley (01:46)
Thanks for having me, Sean.

Sean Patton (01:47)
This is exciting. is exciting. Our, pre-call was one that I was like, felt like could have gone on, for hours. and with the different professional coaches at the high level that, uh, you know, we operate at and it's particularly with coaches at the Novus global firm. I feel like everyone has a very interesting background and like diverse background and in different areas. but yours in particular, because right you.

Was it your professional skateboarder? Is that correct before?

Houston Bradley (02:13)
I the irony in that is, only. I had experience with skateboarding that had pretty dramatic results and was a life and death situation for me, but it was through amateur knuckleheading with buddies that I ended up cracking my head open in a coma for two weeks, not because I was...

Sean Patton (02:15)
Hahaha

⁓

Houston Bradley (02:34)
padded up with sponsorships and making a ton of money and a bunch of people knew me as a skateboarder. But yeah, my history with skateboarding, 17 years old, a brain injury, cracked the back of my head open against a curb, was in a coma for a couple of weeks. And that was my first experience with having to go deep and do intense work to recover, to transform, to, you

redeem something really ugly and make it something beautiful. And in that particular case, I was just a 17 year old kid who wanted to get back to living life. And I found myself in hospital bed very much unable to do that.

Sean Patton (03:11)
What was going through your mind? know you were obviously young in a different headspace right then, but what was that like to be doing something you love with your friends and involved and have this identity around it and then all of sudden you found yourself on hospital bed unable to do that or people telling you we're going to be able to do that?

Houston Bradley (03:31)
Right, so it's 2026, so we're going back to 2010. And when I came to, in the hospital, I was in Dallas, Texas, the accident had taken place in Austin, Texas, and my first thought was, you know, where am I, really? Like, what is going on? How could this be? And...

It was helpful in a weird way looking back that it was so real and tangible because there's no question like I am in a different place. Like what has happened to me, what they're saying, are my new limitations and where I am and what needs to happen next is I'm feeling it, I'm looking at it. So it wasn't hard to wrap my head around, no pun intended the situation because I was in the hospital.

Sean Patton (04:20)
Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (04:24)
I was not feeling good.

when you're in situations like that, I think they're pretty slow to revealing what all has happened and what all you are going through in this mountain that you're looking at that you need to climb. But in that moment, I guess, to answer your question, my identity became who do I need to become to overcome this?

Sean Patton (04:43)
What did you come up with?

Houston Bradley (04:45)
Tell me what I need to do and I will do it.

I will do whatever it takes to get out of here. in that case, I remember early on, I'd set my sights on what's it gonna take to get back to the first day of high school, like the first day of senior year of high school. That was really important to me. Like for whatever reason, I didn't wanna fall behind anymore. I think that.

there's likely unpacking to do there that I honestly never got around to doing until maybe later in life. But I just, I saw this as like, oh my gosh, like what if, what if I have to miss a year of school? What if I get behind all of my classmates? What if I'm in this hospital for way longer than I, you know, make up I need to? I was like, no, no, no, okay. So there's a world in which I could get back to my senior year of high school.

Like that's months down the road, but I could do it. Okay. Like that's my goal. That's what I'm moving forward into. What's it gonna take? No easy way out.

Sean Patton (05:46)
Mm hmm. So how was that, you know, experience? Because I actually come back to that. think there's interesting take there around like when we're in.

trying situations or stressful situations or like the, you know, that big moment, it is so powerful to like narrow that down to like, what's, what is that immediate thing I can see and I can fight toward. So it's not so such a big, amorphous get better into the world. What's that going to look like? You're like, I'm going to show up for day one of school. Like I'm zero in and during those high stress moments, feel like that, like such a, that is like such a powerful way to sort of get through and stay focused.

Houston Bradley (06:14)
Mm.

Sean Patton (06:21)
when you're facing a lot of adversity. mean, amazing you're able to do that at that age.

Houston Bradley (06:25)
I think there was a that be in control survival need came up and it was like anchoring into a survival need in a way that was resourceful, which was what could I control? Okay, they didn't totally shut me down on being in control of going back to school. They didn't get super specific and let me know about the details or what would make that a non starter. They just said it was possible. So now I'm gonna

hitch my wagon to that and I believe that I can be in control of getting to school and out of this hospital and on with the rest of my life. And to provide a little bit more context, you and I had spoken about it, but I cracked the back of my head open on a curb, brain hits against the front of my skull, have rolling seizures, go into the coma, I'm in the hospital for eight days. ⁓

Nobody knows what's gonna happen to me. They remove a big piece of my skull here to relieve pressure. And they don't know, is this kid gonna wake up? And if he wakes up, what's gonna happen? What's it gonna be like? I did wake up. I was not doing well. They put me back to sleep for another six days. And that's where I got transferred to the hospital in Dallas where I would continue my inpatient and outpatient therapy for the remainder of that summer, multiple months in there.

And that's where all this went down. That's where I learned I developed pneumonia. A bunch of other things are happening, but I learned how to walk again. I learned how to be comfortable with light and sound and all the things all over again. And it's crazy to think that the being control that I anchored into, the desire to get back to school so that I wouldn't

Sean Patton (07:47)
Mm.

Houston Bradley (08:02)
associate my experience with being left behind was powerful enough to motivate me through grueling rehab and rehabilitation of everything it meant to be Houston Bradley as a senior in high school.

Sean Patton (08:19)
Man, yeah, such ⁓ a form of experience. then, you know, moving forward, what was, you you, you, did that and then in your twenties and then moved into like the creative industry and artist management. So tell me more about that.

Houston Bradley (08:31)
Sure, the big takeaway for me on that first big inciting incident of my life was like that was when I first got introduced to faith in a meaningful personal way for myself. I think it's really easy when you're at least as it occurred to me totally surrendered to the situation and to

my fate, like here I am, like God, like have it all, I give this all to you, I need you, I can't do this on my own, and was reintroduced into school that senior year at a small private Baptist high school in Austin, Texas, because my cousins were going there. And everybody was like, okay, like if you wanna go to school so bad, you can go to this small one where your cousins are at, and it was an amazing place for me, and really kind of allowed me to thrive, and that's where I began this relationship with Jesus.

⁓ even though growing up in the South, you know, was a self-proclaimed Christian, all these different things, but it got personal for me then. And then into my 20s, I think that's when you, if you looked at my resume and checked out the highlight reel, I think that's when you start to see less of surrender and living from a place of rest and, you know, giving.

Sean Patton (09:22)
you ⁓

Houston Bradley (09:40)
God, what is God's and like letting him have the ultimate say and really trying to like regain that steering wheel of my life and saying like, I want to make this happen in my career. I want to have what I want when I want it. I want to do whatever it is that's gonna make me feel good and have fun and be cool and run with these people and that.

Sean Patton (09:48)
Mmm.

Houston Bradley (10:03)
sort of work hard, play hard mentality became the foundation, more or less, of my life and not faith and not gratitude and thankfulness and surrender for having been through such an extreme circumstance. And things immediately begin to get dicey.

Sean Patton (10:20)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (10:24)
for a lot of people and definitely for this person when you make that shift.

Sean Patton (10:29)
I think that's such a common way of being or way to view the world, especially I think when you're in your 20s or even early 30s, whenever when you're like young professional, it is just like get out and grind, but you're also kind of silly kids. You're also kind of like partying and you're doing it. You're just trying to kind of do all of that. you do, but for you, what I hear is that there was a key part of that or a component, which was

this separation from your faith, from letting go, from surrendering and you almost letting like ego take over of like, you're in charge of this life, you're gonna do it your way no matter what. And that's where you feel like you sort of like veered off the path.

Houston Bradley (11:14)
Absolutely, I think, nailed it.

Sean Patton (11:16)
So what happened with it?

Houston Bradley (11:19)
Yeah, so throughout my 20s, I guess it's important to add this piece of information. So I have the seizures when the skateboarding accident happens. And when you have seizures, as I understand it, you then are labeled epileptic moving forward or in some capacity, like you have epilepsy as the result of having seizures. Like maybe that's not true for everyone if you have one little seizure or a couple, whatever, but.

I know for me the doctor said, are epileptic, you're gonna be taking seizure medicine for the rest of your life. We know that you have a history of drinking in high school, that's gotta stop, it's over now. Because of, not only are you epileptic, but the damage that's happened to your brain. I didn't mention it, but when I went to the first day of high school, I was still missing that piece of my skull. So I wore a helmet.

to school, I wore helmet all the time until mid-November of that year where they brought my skull out from the freezer at Seton Hospital in Austin and reinstalled that piece. you know, there I am. And then the doc's like, you can't drink anymore. I'm like, drinking, partying, that ain't me anymore, no way. But,

Sean Patton (12:21)
⁓

Houston Bradley (12:31)
They, you you put the skull back in, you start to heal, you start to feel strong. It is easy, in my experience, to start to take credit for that and say like, I did that. That's on me. I did that work. Like, it wasn't God, it wasn't my parents, it wasn't those doctors, it was me. And, you know, so I'll admit, like, I still remember.

Sean Patton (12:31)
you

Houston Bradley (12:53)
cracking a beer midway through my senior year for the first time in the presence of my best friend who was there when I had my skateboarding accident and knew I wasn't supposed to do that.

And into my 20s, I started drinking more. you know, kind of that same thing. If I'm going to work seven to seven, if I'm going to be treated like crap for no money and I deserve Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I'm going to do that. And it just got worse and worse. I would have seizures. I went to hospitals all over the country.

ambulance, helicopter, kind of ran the gauntlet, put my friends and family through hell as a result of, you know, making selfish decisions and doing whatever it was that I wanted to do.

and choosing my own ego and my own selfishness over the expertise of doctors, the wise counsel of friends, the love of family, just asking me, please tell me you're not going to make the same mistake again. You continue to do this and the result will be the same or worse. But I chose to believe, no, I can figure it out. I can outsmart this.

Sean Patton (13:40)
Mm.

Houston Bradley (13:58)
And that was not the case.

Sean Patton (14:04)
Yeah, interesting the way that ego, like the play between ego and humility and I see this and I can relate to this in so many ways. I'm sure so many other people can, especially when we're younger and we are high achieving, we are accomplishing things, we are doing stuff and like, everyone's like, you can't do that. And then you do it. You're like, see, I'm good. I did that. You like you said, you know,

Houston Bradley (14:23)
Yeah.

Sean Patton (14:24)
So you start justifying to yourself like, look, I totally, could do, you told me this was hard. Look, I did this, who else did this? And so therefore that justifies all my other decisions and around. that balance between, I don't even know even a balance, is there, am I bringing it right to say it's a balance between humility and like, where does that balance between ego versus confidence come into play?

Houston Bradley (14:48)
Mm.

What comes up for me there is looking back on college. I graduated from college in 2015.

doing some quick math here, 2015.

28, 2019. Yeah, so graduate, so through college, four years in Los Angeles working in entertainment, work hard, play hard.

booze and drugs and whatever the bad decisions that I was making and the things I was participating in, like there was no humility involved. I don't know how I can be honest with you and say that in that time, humility was a core principle value of mine or was even involved in the equation.

Sean Patton (15:28)
Mm hmm. Wow. Yeah. you're I mean, yeah, so telling. I love that. I love that honesty and that vulnerability on like, hey, this that wasn't even that was even part of the worldview. Like I should seek humility. It wasn't even part of it.

Houston Bradley (15:43)
Yeah, and I...

Looking back, don't even know. I don't feel like I was avoiding it or dodging it or rejecting it. It was just I don't I don't know where it was.

I didn't have a ton of humility around me. I didn't have a ton of people around me. I think I had probably perfectly positioned myself to be surrounded by...

the types of people or the lack of certain types of people that would show me an accurate reflection of like who I was.

And that's interesting, like that I wasn't putting myself around people that were going to make the way that I was behaving and the person who I was choosing to be.

reveal itself to me as maybe less than what I was capable of and less than what God wanted for my life. And nonetheless, ultimately, it took some time for me to get to a place where the people around me said, this isn't gonna work anymore. So that was eight years ago in...

Sean Patton (16:25)
Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (16:44)
Eight years ago, I was back home in Austin, Texas, and one thing led to another, and I had a conversation with some family that said, you know, hey, we're pretty aware of the way that you're behaving and the way things are going, and we want to help you out. We want you to help yourself out. And went to treatment, went to a recovery center, excuse me, and began the journey towards a new version of myself.

Okay.

Sean Patton (17:16)
So, yeah, so getting with when you get you're good. Yeah. So man, we are what a powerful moment to have to hear that have know that there were people around you who were noticing and, maybe you were my right to say maybe intentionally or even subconsciously, like keeping them at arms distance. So they wouldn't wouldn't influence you.

Houston Bradley (17:33)
Bye. ⁓

Sean Patton (17:35)
or so you can continue the way you want it to live.

Houston Bradley (17:37)
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. I think...

It goes back to as well, the doctor saying, you know, you're not supposed to drink.

And I said, I think I might be good now. And I said, yeah, you got it. You I lied to doctors' faces. I lied to, I'm gonna try and get a piece of ice here.

Sean Patton (17:48)
Okay.

Houston Bradley (17:56)
Been battling being sick this weekend. Doing my best today I have in a few days. ⁓

Sean Patton (18:00)
Yeah,

you're

Houston Bradley (18:02)
And I would lie. Like I would say, I hear you, I understand it won't happen again. But it would.

I refuse to acknowledge, to receive, to be humble enough potentially to admit that I was different than my fellows. That I had this brain situation, that I had epilepsy, that I had been through this experience and I shouldn't behave like this because

My circumstances are different.

My ego said, they're wrong, do what you want. Why can't you? It's not worth it to listen to them. Like whatever it was saying said or gave me the line of thinking of like, I'm gonna do whatever I want anyway.

and not being able to accept that I had a different set of rules that I needed to play by to stay out of the hospital, to be of integrity, to honor my experiences and honor who I got the opportunity to be as a result of that skateboarding accident, ultimately got me to a place where people were like, not only

Do we not trust you and want to invite you to go get some help, but we're gonna do all but pack your bags for you. You're gonna get this help, because you won't go seek it for yourself.

Sean Patton (19:22)
Hmm. You know, it's coming up from you and I hear this whole story Houston is that you brought up before about in the acute scenario of you, you know, being 17 and being in the hospital bed that clinging to this need to be in control was of service to accomplishing what you want to do accomplish like in the acute state, like in this one scenario, but then the proclivity or decision to cling to this need to

prove everyone else wrong and be in control over time as a way of being chronically ultimately leads to negative consequences in so many facets of your life. One is, is that true? that resonate? And then I'm sure that this same model applies to so many people. like, how do we know when it's it's grind time, I'm going to be in control and like get over this, this thing and

When does that go negative for us and start to create unintended consequences by clinging to this survival?

Houston Bradley (20:22)
Definitely at LANDS, yeah, I think that the survival need of being in control was helpful to me when I was in the hospital recovering. It became unhelpful to me, unresourceful to me when I was using it to...

hold onto or reclaim an identity of this party going happy go lucky young guy that liked to party with his buddies.

in the face of realities from experts who said you shouldn't indulge in those behaviors ever again.

And what comes up for me there is like, who is holding you accountable? Where are your checks and balances? Like who's there to help you reveal the blind spot and say, hey, hey, like, you know, maybe it was helpful to get you through the recovery of your brain injury, but maybe now are you trying to control this?

thing where they tell you you're not supposed to behave that way, but you do it anyway. And like, are you seeing what's what's happening? Like, are you you noticing that? I'm curious, like those types of questions, a lack of accountability and advocacy can be really detrimental to people that have

maybe a temptation to rely on, you know, sneaky survival needs to navigate their life more than others.

Sean Patton (21:42)
Yeah. And what I've seen too is funny. was, I had a call with a client today and we were discussing how this sort of need to be in control or another language use in Novus Global a lot is rower versus sailor and how this need to be a rower, this identity of a rower or being controlled. I'm going to do it all.

Houston Bradley (21:58)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Patton (22:04)
To your point too, in the short term, in the right circumstances, when it's aimed at the right thing, it's the right tool, could be resourceful. And some people push through their whole career lives and they have a certain level of success, kind like you did. You were partying, but you're also professionally successful. you're justifying that as a way of being. But what they're missing, to your point, without the reflection of anyone else, is all of those blind spots of, well, what's in the wake of that?

What's in the wake? What else is happening in your life or to other people around you or to your relationships or to you as a person? What else is happening as a result of you clinging to this need to constantly row in his case, or this need to constantly be in control and without someone in your life to intentionally kind of you forward on that, it's nearly impossible. mean, spots are called blind spots for reason.

Houston Bradley (22:50)
Yeah, and I was recently rereading the Meta Performance book, Jason's book, and it was talking about how blind spots limit our vision. It creates, it's like a filter, it creates only like a certain version of the future that you think that is capable and impossible for you. And when you yourself or someone helps you,

unveil a blind spot and now you're aware of it like what can be available to you then.

Sean Patton (23:17)
Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (23:18)
Like, hey, what if you didn't drink

like a high performer and didn't cling to this identity of someone who does this no matter what? Like, what if they're like, what's underneath that? Why are you holding on to that? Would you be willing to try on something else for a day and see how that feels? And then as a result of that, could your vision of the future

Sean Patton (23:34)
Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (23:44)
look different and be so much more thrilling and exciting that you want to anchor into that and who do I need to become so I can have that now that I can see it. couldn't even see it before.

Sean Patton (23:56)
It's funny you bringing this full circle for me right now, because as we talked about your unique transformational experience.

to getting sober and rediscovering this new version of you. I even took notes as you were talking is this, I don't know if it's lack of vision or if it's just narrow vision, right? When you were younger or going through this of who were you trying to become or what were you trying to create? And it seemed like it was either just a complete lack of that, maybe just like in the moment do what I do where I want to feel like right now, or it was a very narrow version of that based on

your need to feel in control. Do you find that to be true?

Houston Bradley (24:33)
Hmm. It's such a good question. And I, I can get so curious looking back, you know, I've been sober now for eight years. And the reason why I have taken to coaching and love this work and love Novus Global Meta Performance Coaching specifically is that it's all transformational and it's all like the power that we get to equip our clients with.

and the lenses through which we get to work with other humans with feels very similar to me than what I experienced at a rock bottom in a treatment center. So what we get to do is share our tools and work with people on reinventing and transforming their worlds without necessarily some dark grueling

Sean Patton (25:08)
Mm.

Houston Bradley (25:20)
embarrassing, shameful, whatever it might be rock bottom. It's like, hey, we're on a call today. Let's create a picture of the future that is worth the pain of transformation that inspires so much passion, you would suffer for it. And it's almost like reverse engineering what happened to me where I had to hit rock bottom so that I could finally see a picture of the future that was worth doing whatever it took to get to.

And my intuitive fence was small. My first 30 days in treatment, my vision was get out of here. Honestly, it was. then through committing and doing the work, it expanded a bit. It was like, what if I stayed for outpatient? What more could I get? What more could I learn? And what more growth could I experience through an extra 30 days

Sean Patton (25:53)
Yeah. Yeah.

you you

Houston Bradley (26:08)
living in a house down the street? And then the intuitive fence is expandable. That's what's amazing about it.

so that by the end of that 60 days, I'm like, who could I be of service to? What might I accomplish and what might I inspire? Who could I impact by

taking this new version of myself out into the world, back into my friend groups, into new communities?

Sean Patton (26:34)
.

Houston Bradley (26:36)
That was not something that I was thinking about. And to your question...

When I was going through those years of living so selfishly, I think I had a vision for what I wanted to have, but not who I wanted to be.

what I wanted to have would create who I was. That's, I think, the story that I had told myself. And I think that for better or worse, I think a lot of people ascribe to that way of thinking.

Sean Patton (27:02)
Yeah, exactly. So what I'm hearing you saying, this is so common, right? Is that this do you have B versus B, do you have framework that comes up so often? Well, not so often. It comes up with our clients so often. I don't think it comes up in the general world very often. And so that's what I'm hearing you say is you have this sort of way of thinking, which was I need to do these things so I can create and have this future. And then I get to be

happy, fulfilled, know, successful, whatever you're trying to, you're mentioning. that through hitting rock, it took you hitting rock bottom to kind of bring into who do I need to be to the present and get to using in B do have where we look at the have of what we're trying to create. And then who do need to be now and let that inform our strategy. and I'm curious because

One, that's such a powerful framework. Two, it's one I've only recently been exposed to and it's been transformational for me. But it seems like you were able to, in some way, shape or form, come to that conclusion by putting yourself in sort of rock bottom and then came to this realization of it really does need to start with who I'm becoming.

Houston Bradley (28:08)
So if I got in, I've been in the coaching space for...

less than a year.

I've been sober for over eight years, but it was immediately when I was introduced to the work of Novus Global through the Meta Performance Institute that I saw the powerful parallels in the work that I was introduced to at my treatment center and the work that I was being introduced to through the Meta Performance Institute.

Sean Patton (28:29)
you

Mm. you

Houston Bradley (28:37)
That was just my experience. I think that the AA and the 12 step program is incredibly beautiful program and could be

applied to almost an endless amount of things because it's that powerful. And I think that the modalities and the tools that Nova Scobel uses are extremely powerful and are meant for

different outcomes potentially than someone who is seeking sobriety. But hey, if your vision was, in 12 months I want to

Sean Patton (29:12)
you

Houston Bradley (29:13)
be sober, right now I'm not.

creates a pretty powerful vision reality gap that you could step into and use our work to potentially get there.

Sean Patton (29:21)
So can you describe how you view this and how when you work with maybe new clients that aren't exposed to that, because most people listening aren't, you know, we're kind of like talking shop here a bit behind the curtain using some of these words. How would you, how does that, how does this present to you when you start working with a client that you identify that maybe there needs to be a reworking of this way of being and this being you have and

And how do you begin that process?

Houston Bradley (29:44)
For me as a coach, it starts with believing that the person on the other side of the Zoom call or the other participant in the conversation has everything that they need inside them to create the future that they want. That it will require transformation and reinvention and reinvention and reinvention.

but there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to have the future that is most thrilling and exciting and outside of their wildest dreams currently. So when I'm working with a client, I'm stepping into the relationship in this sacred coaching capsule that we begin creating upon our first conversation over text, email, whatever it is, and just knowing

this person's potential is limitless. And I absolutely believe that they don't need rock bottom. They just need a willingness to create a future that is thrilling enough to be worth the investment into coaching over. And that can mean the financial investment of working with a coach, but really what I mean is the

Sean Patton (30:49)
.

Houston Bradley (30:54)
the resource required to begin doing that work, to becoming someone of integrity, to making powerful commitments, keeping them, growing for them, renegotiating them, and beginning the process of doing that.

Sean Patton (31:07)
Hmm. When you say the resources already inside of you believe the resource already inside of that client, that person, there's already greatness inside you. just need to, ⁓ you just need to be some transformation. These, these blind spots, like it so often when I start these conversations, I talk with someone, maybe in this space, they sort of, I get some resistance to that, right?

They're like, no, you have some secret knowledge that you're going to tell me about and I'm going to do what you say. And then I'm going to get these different results because if it was already inside me, I'd already be doing. That's a mindset that most people have. Like, what are you talking about? It's a research. That's why I'm hiring you. And they don't quite see it that way. If you have that objection or someone brings that viewpoint to you, what would be your response?

Houston Bradley (31:48)
Mm.

My response initially, hopefully, would be of curiosity. know, ⁓ interesting. Like that's an interesting notice that that's a story you have over this relationship, over your life, over why you might not have what you want already. You know, tell me more about that. I think that for each person, there's probably more to be revealed about that particular occurrence to them.

Sean Patton (32:07)
Hmm.

Houston Bradley (32:13)
And by just being curious and wanting to learn more, like what does that mean to Sean? What does that mean to Ted? What does that mean to Lily? Like whatever it is, just learning more, I could probably get further and be more resourceful to them. But ultimately, one question that comes up for me is like, if that was true,

Why don't you have the vision yet then? How could you be getting in your own way? Like what challenges are you facing? And then through those conversations, we might unearth some new limiting beliefs or some new untested theories that we need to work through maybe in order to get closer to the vision because

Sean Patton (32:33)
Mm-hmm. .

Houston Bradley (32:53)
the reality of that conversation in the way you described to me is the vision has yet to be created.

Sean Patton (33:00)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (33:00)
So let's get

curious as to maybe why that has been.

Sean Patton (33:04)
You know what came up for me when we talking there was the

What I think, what I see a lot of people do, and I will say I, I'm guilty of this too. Like we're all, we're all being human here of leaving vision sort of like vague and aspirational and non-committal. like, if I, you know, it's like, no, I have this, like I'm going to have this thing and we're going to do this stuff. Like it's good. It's going to happen. I'm not, but I'm not, there's no commitment to it. And I get to like, I get to unattach myself from it now and not put myself on the hook.

Houston Bradley (33:18)
Mm-hmm.

So good,

Sean Patton (33:32)
to this vision out in the future. And then we're just kind of walking through life with just like, yeah, this thing just, it's going to happen out there, but we never, and I see that as what you brought up was, sounds to me like the method for asking the questions to call that out, right? For that person to realize like, am I really doing the things? I being the way that I need to be to accomplish that? Or am I leaving this?

vague intentionally as a way to avoid account.

Houston Bradley (34:01)
I think that's amazing. And to go back to your question, like I have yet to enter into a coaching client relationship where someone has come to me with an extremely specific, measurable, tangible vision who then asks me that question. You know, well, why don't I have it already?

Like I want the building, this square footage, I want it opened on this date in this part of town, I want this person as my partner, I want their salary to be this, I want to have six employees under me, I want our mission statement to be this, I want our company values to be these. And I know that's exactly the vision. It's thrilling as heck to me. But I'm so far away from reaching it.

I haven't had a conversation like that. Most of my conversations in my experience are more like what you were saying. Well hey, I wanna have this new company around February and I don't wanna be working in this job that I'm in anymore.

Sean Patton (34:54)
Mm hmm. you

Houston Bradley (34:56)
And it's like, okay, like, let's get really specific

about that. And like, what would be true in 12 months that isn't true now demonstratively, so that, you know, this would be the best year of your life? Who would you need to become so that that comes to be hyperlinking to your original question? I truly believe that every single

Sean Patton (35:11)
Mm hmm.

Houston Bradley (35:19)
human being out there has what they need inside of them to take the action necessary to bring their vision to life.

Sean Patton (35:25)
All of this transformative work we've just talked about that happened in your life that we're talking about doing the clients, I think is, is really just highlighting. Again, whether it's a coach at Novus global or whether it's a mentor appear like whatever, like, you know, we obviously both are coaches for a reason. I've seen the transformative work that we do at Novus global, but I just think back of like.

How difficult to near impossible is that type of clarity, reflection, revealing blind spots, seeing your mistakes, seeing what's happening in the wake, seeing when you're cleaning, how, I mean, almost you'd have to have monk-like, you know, sort of self-awareness to sit down and like do that type of reflection and then come up with the plan to do it and see it. So I think it's just calling to me, what really hit me through all this was just like the...

power of not just having a clear vision and way of being, but if you're trying to, you know, I like to use the term unlock your greatness. It's, you know, better performance. say, you know, see what you're capable of. Like what, if you're really chasing that.

Who, building that team, you mentioned before, not having the people around you, who around you is gonna be there to call you out and call you forward to help you achieve vision? Because clinging to that need to be in control, like you mentioned before, and thinking you're gonna do it all on your own, own ego, is in my mind either one, not gonna work, or two, have disastrous consequences that you're not seeing.

Houston Bradley (36:50)
I'm hearing the importance of a team and to have people around you who care, who are invested, who want to see you succeed in whatever way that means to you and it lands for me. know, think looking back on my whole life, playing sports, being a participant in communities, like I had coaches.

accountability partners, people who advocated for me, that was friends and family, know, actual coaches on sports teams all along the way. And then at some point, it's almost like in the culture, we get to a place where like, yeah, but now, now we don't have coaches anymore. Now maybe somebody has a personal trainer.

Sean Patton (37:29)
Mm-hmm.

Houston Bradley (37:29)
And like sometimes there's stigma attached to that. And like, just, I don't get it anymore. But once upon a time I, you know, was living in a world where like a coach was an unnecessary piece of life because I wasn't playing basketball anymore because my parents were more like colleagues than bosses anymore.

but now, you know, I,

My first coach I ever worked with was so powerful and I'm so grateful to her, to Rosie, because after experiencing that, I had a shift inside of me that was like I could never, you know, at this point, willingly choose to not have a coach. Like I need one of these. And I want to be able to serve people in the way that she served me.

Sean Patton (38:10)
Hey.

Dude, that's so beautiful. And I mean, that's kind of the challenge that I, in some of my keynotes or when I work with people, I'm even a little more maybe aggressive than the party line on this. to me, it's like, you know, like you mentioned, you would never say, I want to be the best I could possibly be in basketball and not be like the first call is the higher curve. would never like that's, that would be like an insane thing to do. Right? Like that would make any sense.

And it's like, so if you have the same level of commitment to become the greatest version of yourself, become the greatest partner, the greatest parent, the greatest community member, the greatest leader, if you're really committed to that and then don't have a coach or someone coach like in to help, help you achieve that, like, are you really committed? Like that's just like, literally bringing up the people it's like, to me, to me, comes down to, ⁓

a reverence for like the experience of life in the time I have and wanting to maximize my experience of it and my positive impact on others. And it would be hard to do in my mind at least, right? But you and I are kind of had this experience, like objectively look at that and be like, so the right call here is don't need a coach. You know, under that paradigm, like that doesn't, maybe to others that haven't experienced it, that would be the case.

Houston Bradley (39:26)
Thank

Sean Patton (39:32)
⁓ man, you said, has been awesome. I really appreciate you coming on and being vulnerable and sharing your story. And even though we prefer this, it's like unique background. think that your way of being your thought process and your genuine experience getting through those trials in life are going to resonate with a lot of people in their own.

Houston Bradley (39:49)
I really appreciate it. Yeah, it's fun to get in the time machine and go back to eight years ago and to 16 years ago and then see how those still resonate and influence me day to day. I have a wife and a baby and...

make movies and coach humans and life has gotten really big and beautiful but you know events like that really do inform who you are and then getting to have the opportunity to share openly about them even though reality looks a lot different today than it did those two times it's a blessing.

Sean Patton (40:23)
Well, exactly. And this is a conversation on transformation. What a powerful story of transformation and what you're capable of.

Houston Bradley (40:29)
Thanks man, I appreciate your platform and getting to know you more and more every time we chat.

Sean Patton (40:34)
Absolutely, bro. Thanks for coming on, man. This has been great.

Houston Bradley (40:36)
it.