Living Real in a Shallow World: Dr. Camille Preston on Resilience, Self-Love, and Leadership through Crisis
The Relentless Pursuit of Winning Podcast
Release Date: 11/04/2025
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When you give yourself the space to fully process and be present with all of it, every breakdown has the potential for a breakthrough.â
⥠TL;DR
Dr. Camille Prestonâbusiness psychologist, author of Living Real, and founder of AIM Leadershipâjoins Rick Meekins to unpack what it means to lead and live authentically in the midst of compounded crises. From grief and burnout to self-love and leadership, Camille challenges the illusion of success and explores how embracing intensity, presence, and vulnerability can transform both leaders and organizations.
đ Show Notes
We live in a world that celebrates busy. Hustle harder. Stay on. Move faster. But when the plates youâve been spinning all come crashing downâwhen your companyâs growing and your parentâs sick, or your next promotion coincides with your kid needing you more than everâwhat then?
Thatâs where Dr. Camille Preston lives and leads.
In this episode of The Relentless Pursuit of Winning, Camille and I dive deep into what she calls living realâthe art of showing up fully, especially when life feels impossibly complex. She shares her personal crucible: five deaths in five months that forced her to stop, feel, and rebuild from the inside out. That season taught her that every breakdown hides the seed of a breakthrough if weâre willing to slow down and metabolize the grief instead of boxing it up for later.
Camille unpacks her concept of shallowingâthe modern epidemic of emotional avoidance and curated highlight reelsâand contrasts it with reeling, the return to depth, connection, and presence. We talk about loneliness as a health crisis, leadership as an act of love, and how dysregulated leaders create dysregulated organizations.
The conversation hits hard on the cost of chronic stress. Founders are great at crisis modeâitâs what built their companiesâbut few realize that constant activation erodes creativity, culture, and clarity. Camille offers a radical yet practical antidote: pause, breathe, feel, connect. Send a âlove bomb.â Step into the sun. Shake off what youâre carrying. Her examplesâfrom Navy SEALs using neurogenic tremoring to executives reclaiming early-morning solitudeâillustrate that presence isnât luxury; itâs leadership infrastructure.
We also confront self-loveâwhy itâs not indulgence but the cornerstone of effective leadership. When leaders truly love themselves, they unlock capacity to love their teams, families, and missions without burnout or resentment. Camilleâs own journey from self-criticism to acceptanceâlearning to embrace her intensity rather than apologize for itâunderscores the message: your wholeness is your competitive advantage.
Whether youâre a founder facing compounded crises, an executive trying to hold it all together, or just someone tired of pretending everythingâs fine, this episode is your permission to live real.
â Key Takeaways
⢠Compounded crises are invitations to grow, not proof of failure.
⢠Shallowing disconnects us; reeling restores depth, presence, and empathy.
⢠Dysregulated leaders create dysregulated organizationsâself-care is strategy.
⢠Intensity, when embraced, becomes intimacy; authenticity breeds connection.
⢠Self-love amplifies leadership impactâitâs the renewable fuel of resilience.
⢠Micro-shifts matter: sunlight, breathwork, or a âlove bombâ can reset the system.
đ§ Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Living Real
02:53 Navigating Compounded Crises
06:29 The Illusions of Success
10:19 The Importance of Self-Care
14:57 Shallowing vs. Reeling in Relationships
19:42 The Power of Connection and Love Bombs
23:21 Shifting from Success to Authenticity
25:29 Navigating Transitions: The Role of a Relationship Doula
29:08 Embracing Intensity: From Self-Criticism to Self-Acceptance
31:34 Purpose and Alignment: Discovering What Drives Us
34:57 The Journey to Self-Love: Overcoming Self-Criticism
39:53 Practicing Self-Love: Mindfulness and Body Awareness
44:42 Living Real: Insights from the New Book
đ Giveaway
Dr. Camille Preston is giving away a signed copy of Living Real: Reclaiming Depth in a Shallow World plus early-beta access to AIM Leadershipâs upcoming mobile app for conscious leadership.
To enter:
1. Follow @DrCamillePreston and @AIMLeadership on LinkedIn.
2. Comment âIâm ready to live realâ on her latest post about the RPOW episode.
The first 10 participants will receive the book and app invite.