335 - Are You on Autopilot? Find Your Life’s Purpose By Doing THIS | Joe Gagnon
Release Date: 09/24/2025
Switch4Good
In this very special episode, Alexandra Paul returns to the podcast for a powerful, and at times difficult, conversation. For those of you new here, you may know her from Baywatch or some of the iconic films she’s appeared in. Longtime listeners already know her for her decades of activism, often stepping into spaces most people would never consider. Recently, she made headlines after being arrested during an animal rights operation at a breeding facility in Wisconsin, where activists entered the property and removed dogs being used for research, bringing the issue into the national...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
"The rates of fractures are highest in the high milk drinking countries, basically North America, Scandinavia, Denmark, and they're lowest in countries that actually don't consume milk at all." Today, we’re joined by one of the most influential and widely cited figures in nutrition science. Dr. Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has published over 2,000 papers across four decades. His work includes some of the largest and most rigorous studies on diet and chronic disease ever conducted. He is the author of several books,...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
Dr. Michael Klaper returns to the Switch4Good podcast for a conversation that redefines what medicine can achieve when food is placed at the center of care. A physician, educator, and longtime leader in nutrition science, Dr. Klaper has advised NASA on dietary planning for space missions, appeared in documentaries including Cowspiracy, The End of Meat, and What the Health, and authored several foundational books on plant-based health. His latest work, Moving Medicine Forward: What More Doctors Should Know About Nutrition–and How It Can Save Your Life, challenges clinicians and patients alike...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
"After struggling with health issues for decades and years of doctors and misdiagnoses, I was finally diagnosed with progressive MS and lupus and the only thing that had happened to me was removing dairy. We started working with plant-based doctors, lifestyle medicine doctors, and working with plant-based and vegan chefs. We created a menu of healthy kid friendly meals. Once you know better, you cannot pretend you don't." What if school could shape not just smarter students, but a more compassionate world? Today, we’re joined by Michele Fasnacht, founder of Solid Rock Community School in...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
“Fiber is the new protein. Don’t count your protein grams - count your fiber grams. And if you do that, and you’re getting adequate calories, you’re going to be fine.” What if aging didn’t have to mean slowing down, losing strength, or watching your best years slip into the past? What if the mind and body were capable of far more resilience and longevity than we’ve been led to believe? In this episode, two powerhouse voices in human performance challenge the idea that physical and cognitive decline are inevitable. Dr. Sharon McDowell-Larsen, physiologist, coach, and plant-based...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
“People have such a negative connotation around cardio. At the end of the day, you can have the flattest stomach, the nicest glutes, and the best biceps in the world but if your heart gives out, you still die. You can have a great body and still die. You need a strong heart to actually enjoy a high quality of life.“ If you’ve ever started a fitness plan with motivation, only to burn out, fall off, and start over again, you’re not alone. In this episode, Maxime Sigouin returns to break down why most fitness approaches fail and what actually works for building a strong, lean, resilient...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
“You’re bombarded with all these messages. Try to think of the one that means the most to you. Is it your kid’s health? Is it your health? Is it the environment? Is it nutrition? What resonates with you, and helps you make a shift you feel good about?“ The Dietary Guidelines for Americans shape how a nation eats, but the science, politics, and industry forces behind them are rarely discussed. In this can’t-miss episode, renowned nutrition scientist Dr. Christopher Gardner, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and lead researcher of the Netflix Twin Experiment, pulls back the...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in our oceans, our soil, and even inside the human body. For years, the narrative has been bleak. This is unavoidable. But what if that isn’t the whole story? In this episode, we sit down with Max Pennington, a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who decided to take on one of the most overlooked sources of microplastic pollution: our laundry. What started as an experiment in a fraternity basement grew into a patented filtration technology that captures more than 90% of microplastics from washing machine wastewater. Max...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
“ The sun is not our enemy. It never has been. Most popular sunscreens, they will compromise your skin and actually lead to skin cancer. If we're lathering on or ingesting toxic chemicals, we're going to be compromised.” Today, we’re joined by Cheryl Mothes, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist with nearly 30 years dedicated to studying healing with whole foods, helping people of all ages improve well-being and reduce disease risk through diet and lifestyle changes. She’s a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, holds a certification from Penn Foster, and was the co-founder...
info_outlineSwitch4Good
”I would rather have a shorter life with cigarettes than a longer life without. Well, that's addictive thinking. You see the dominance of the addictive brain cells in that line of reasoning. That's not frontal lobe dominance. That's the addicted brain cells. And that's why addictions are lethal.” No matter what your relationship to food is, we all live in a world manipulated by an addiction business model. We’re constantly confronted with ads for foods that have been designed to make us want more, and it began when the tobacco industry started buying up brands like Nabisco and...
info_outline“Human potential really is infinite. Along the way, we created a whole bunch of concepts in fear-based thinking that got in the way of us turning the fire on that everyone of us has inside us. But sadly, if all we do is we sit on the couch and watch Netflix, you don’t unlock it. You’ve got to do something. You are not here to live the life everyone’s telling you to live. The world wants you to be who you are. I don’t think that what we should be doing is taking input from the world. We should build ourselves first. It’s never too late. It doesn’t matter if you start when you’re 57, you’re 29, whatever age it is.” -Joe Gagnon
What if the limits you believe in are just illusions? In this episode, Joe Gagnon — CEO, high-performance coach, ultra-endurance athlete, and author of Living Intentionally — challenges us to rethink what’s possible when we trade autopilot for intentional living. From Ironman races to ultramarathons to six marathons on six continents in six days, Joe’s jaw-dropping yet deeply human story is proof that growth lives at the edge of discomfort. He joins us to share how curiosity, courage, and grit can help anyone uncover their “why,” move through fear, and step into their full potential.
What we discuss in this episode:
-
Joe’s path to living with intention
-
Awakening from dormancy: discovering your “why” and purpose
-
Why taking the first step matters more than waiting for the perfect path
-
The role of curiosity in a purposeful life
-
Embracing discomfort: how to move through it instead of avoiding it
-
The surprising benefits of breathwork
-
How to tell the difference between a meaningful risk and recklessness
-
Joe’s reflections on ego and the work of overcoming self
-
One of the scariest moments he faced, and the lessons it carried
-
His take on trauma, victimhood, and resilience
Resources:
-
Joe’s book: Living Intentionally: How intentionality enables success, fulfillment, and growth
-
Instagram: Joe Gagnon (@thehighperformancelife)
-
YouTube: Joe Gagnon - YouTube
Click the link below to support the FISCAL Act
https://switch4good.org/fiscal-act/
Share the website and get your resources here
Send us a voice message and ask a question. We want to hear from you!
Dairy-Free Swaps Guide: Easy Anti-Inflammatory Meals, Recipes, and Tips
https://switch4good.org/dairy-free-swaps-guide
SUPPORT SWITCH4GOOD
https://switch4good.org/support-us/
★☆★ JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP ★☆★
https://www.facebook.com/groups/podcastchat
★☆★ SWITCH4GOOD WEBSITE ★☆★
★☆★ ONLINE STORE ★☆★
https://shop.switch4good.org/shop/
★☆★ FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM ★☆★
https://www.instagram.com/Switch4Good/
★☆★ LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ★☆★
https://www.facebook.com/Switch4Good/
★☆★ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ★☆★
https://twitter.com/Switch4GoodOrg
★☆★ AMAZON STORE ★☆★
https://www.amazon.com/shop/switch4good
★☆★ DOWNLOAD THE ABILLION APP ★☆★