Why willpower alone fails

In this episode, Ian sits down with John Assaraf, entrepreneur, behavioral neuroscience educator, and founder of NeuroGym, for a conversation about the invisible forces that shape performance — long after planning, analysis, and good intentions are in place.

John shares his personal journey from a turbulent upbringing to building multiple multimillion-dollar businesses, and the pivotal moment at age 19 that reframed how he thought about success, identity, and commitment. From there, the discussion moves into the neuroscience behind habits, automatic behavior, fear, and why people often snap back to familiar results — even when they know what to do.

This is not a trading tactics episode. It’s a conversation about execution, follow-through, and the human side of performance — in trading, business, health, and life. About the guest:

John Assaraf is a serial entrepreneur who has built multiple multimillion-dollar companies, including helping scale a real estate organization to over $4 billion in annual sales and co-founding a technology company that later went public on the NASDAQ. He is the founder and CEO of NeuroGym, where he focuses on applying neuroscience to performance, habits, and behavior change. John is also the author of several New York Times bestselling books, translated into dozens of languages, and has been featured in films such as The Secret, where many people were first introduced to his work.

Links + Resources:

 Free eBook: The Power of Visualization

 Sponsor of Chat With Traders Podcast:

 Trade The Pool:  http://www.tradethepool.com

Time Stamps:

Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads.

00:00   Intro and Background

11:16   Mindset Shift: Interested vs. Committed

11:46   Behavioral Neuroscience and Goal Achievement

16:17   Conscious vs. Subconscious Mind

17:12   Creating Permanent Behavioral Changes

21:22   Emotional Regulation and Decision Making

25:30   Overcoming Self-Sabotage

35:20   AddressingFear in Decision Making

42:37   Inner Size: Exercising the Mind

44:27   Self-Sabotage and Financial Set Points

48:21   The Science of Goal Setting

50:17   Visualizing and Embodying Goals

54:40   How to reach John

Trading Disclaimer:

Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice.

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