Raised in a Mormon family where his mother prophesied at his birth that he’d one day lead the church, Taylor Perkins spent decades trying to live up to that identity — as a missionary, a husband at 20, and a tech founder by 28 — until it all began to unravel. We follow his path through years of religious shame and addiction, a five-cup ayahuasca ceremony that shook the foundation of what he believed, and a period of financial collapse where DoorDash shifts became part of his rebuilding. That stretch, along with a series of synchronicities, ultimately led him out of an 11-year marriage. Underneath all of it is what we go straight at: the tendency to outsource authority — to a church, a guru, a chart, a card…anything that claims to tell you who you are. Taylor speaks to what it actually takes to stand on your own when the structures you leaned on fall away, why the ego isn’t something to crush, and why most expansion isn’t something you force. Your life is already trying to come through you. The work is to stop getting in the way.

(00:00) Reality as a Mirror

(00:36) Opening Conversation

(02:00) Show Start

(03:31) Growing Up Mormon

(13:51) Marriage and Addiction Cycle

(18:38) Startup Success to Rock Bottom

(22:21) Ayahuasca Awakening

(32:07) Seeking Gurus and Pedestals

(33:44) Portugal Surrender Experiment & Marriage Crossroads

(38:25) Spirituality Without Performance

(42:06) Astrology and Heart Darkness

(46:43) Cloud Atlas Synchronicity / Divorce & Confession

Ep 296 - Taylor Perkins | Out of Mormonism & Into the Mirror