The Problem With...

Diren Kartal joins James Smith for an honest, often hilarious conversation about what running a small business actually does to you once the money is coming in but the freedom isn't. Diren is a personal trainer and Turkey's number one fitness coach with over 1.2 million followers, and despite bringing in hundreds of thousands a year he can't shake the feeling that none of it sticks. Together they unpick the tax trap that's bleeding British high-earners dry, the brutal "valley of death" stage of scaling, his secret ADHD diagnosis, and why the two of them keep eyeing the exits to Australia, Dubai and Turkey.

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Diren Kartal's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/DirenKartal

Diren Kartal On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/diren.kartal/

He explains:

◼️ Why he can earn hundreds of thousands a year and still not feel a penny of it

◼️ The HENRY trap, and why earning over 100k in the UK can quietly leave you worse off

◼️ The secret ADHD diagnosis and meds that finally turned the noise off and let him focus

◼️ Why the rich borrow against their assets instead of selling, and never pay the tax

◼️ Why short-form scrolling left him "depressed and disgusted" and long form is the real comeback

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Running A Small Business

01:25 Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing

01:52 HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet

03:21 The Cost Of Living In London Right Now

04:07 Every Tax Under The Sun

05:25 Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down

06:27 Business Rates Are The Real Killer

07:39 Going All-In And How Tough It's Been

07:56 Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction?

09:00 Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit

10:27 The Real Reason People Stopped Posting

11:58 Living It vs Looking Like You're Living

12:51 The Steven Bartlett Problem

14:19 Being Unapologetically Yourself

15:10 Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back

17:00 The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson

18:03 The Diren Kartal Experience

20:27 Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task

22:00 Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder

23:54 The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You

25:36 Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory

26:23 The Pressure Nobody Warns You About

27:45 You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail

28:28 Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back

29:25 Getting The Psych Test

30:25 Six Months On ADHD Meds

32:20 Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself

34:30 Is There A Real Return On The Meds?

35:35 Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One

36:53 The 150 Grand Website Regret

37:50 Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse

40:04 289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year

41:20 Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It

43:50 Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less

45:12 Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It

46:23 Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes?

47:04 Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains

49:05 Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense

51:32 How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them

53:16 Will He Stay In Australia?

53:43 How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax

55:01 The Stuff They Never Teach You In School

56:17 The Money Chat That Changed Everything

57:43 The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell

58:38 If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small

59:06 We're Both Hypocrites About Debt

01:00:17 Tripling The Money As An Investor

01:02:20 The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates

01:04:26 What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu

01:07:28 Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats

01:08:35 Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture

01:09:06 Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey

01:10:47 Should You Get Assessed For ADHD?

01:11:33 Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics

01:12:36 Raising A Son Without The Noise

01:13:23 Wrapping Up



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🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Chris Voss's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@NegotiationMastery⁩

Chris Voss On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thefbinegotiator/

Chris Voss joins James Smith for a masterclass on the psychology of negotiation, trust, and getting what you want without ever splitting the difference. A former FBI hostage negotiator and the bestselling author of Never Split the Difference, Voss breaks down why most people negotiate badly, how loss aversion quietly runs the room, and why the goal is never to win the moment but to build something that lasts.

He explains:

◼️ Why splitting the difference leaves everyone feeling cheated

◼️ How to catch a liar off guard and then get them to tell the truth

◼️ Why predictability, not charm, is what actually builds trust

◼️ The grocery store move that turns a stranger into an ally

◼️ Why walking away only works when you genuinely mean it

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Splitting the Difference

02:23 Why We Overreact to Loss

03:26 The Emotions You're Born With

03:59 Loss Aversion, Jiu Jitsu and the Submission

05:20 Catching Liars in Their Own Web

06:14 How a Polygraph Really Works

08:01 Shu Ha Ri and the Art of Mastery

10:34 Sending Students Into the Wild to Practice

11:15 The Three Commodities in Every Negotiation

12:36 The Broccoli Sprouts Masterclass

13:30 Priming and the Power of Pattern Interrupt

15:10 Why Using Someone's Name Defuses Violence

18:33 The Hardest Part Isn't Catching the Lie

20:25 Short Term Loss vs The Loss That Kills You

22:32 Why Entrepreneurs Make Weak Negotiators

23:18 How to Actually Ask Your Boss for a Raise

26:03 The Hidden Power of Deference

27:21 The Sales Tricks That Have Been Weaponised

29:49 Why Honest Sellers Win More Deals

31:33 Predictability Is Trust in Disguise

33:15 Inside the Black Swan Community

35:47 Buying a Car With Empathy Instead of Ego

37:19 Is Walking Away a Skill or a Bluff?

40:29 Relationships Are Ongoing Negotiations

42:17 Never Be So Sure You'd Miss Something Better

44:50 Cadence, Silence and Sounding Important

46:08 Using Humour to Disarm a Cold Room

48:25 Deactivating Fear Instead of Fighting It

50:10 Negotiation, Dating and the Renewals Process

52:11 Should You Ever Touch During a Negotiation?

53:13 Where to Start If You Want to Get Good

55:35 The 48 Hour Challenge That Will Change Your Day
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Sonny Webster joins James Smith for an honest conversation about what training, money and ambition actually look like once you hit your 30s. A British Olympic weightlifter who competed at Rio 2016, Sonny is now a fitness entrepreneur building global training platforms, and he doesn't hold back on the realities of optimisation culture, the TRT debate.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Sonny Webster's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@sonnywebsterGB

Sonny Webster On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb/

He explains:

◼️ Why training after 30 becomes a completely different ball game

◼️ How peptides and GLP-1s are quietly reshaping the fitness industry

◼️ What moving to Dubai really costs (and why money evaporates faster)

◼️ Why handing over money is the thing that actually makes people change

◼️ Where testosterone sits for the everyday athlete who'll never compete

Chapters:

00:00 The Testosterone Debate and Sonny's WADA Ban

00:57 Why Training After 30 Hits Like a Brick Wall

02:10 Olympic Lifting for Longevity, Not Platforms

04:15 Going Sober and the Death of the Wild Weekend

05:07 Peptides, TRT and the World of Optimisation

06:26 Why GLP-1s Make You Hate Alcohol

07:50 Grabbing the Low-Hanging Fruit First

08:32 Becoming a Slave to Your Wearables

12:24 How Dubai Changed Sonny's Physique

16:22 Tax-Free Living and the Money That Evaporates

18:45 Going Back to the UK and Embracing London

20:54 Why Your Friendship Circle Shrinks in Your 30s

23:31 Sonny's Goals: Minimal Effective Dose

26:27 Body, Business, Relationships, You Can't Have All Three

28:05 The Power of a Business Coach and Cutting the Noise

30:16 Why Paying for Something Makes You Actually Do It

31:00 Why Free Codes Create the Worst Clients

32:32 No Transformation Without the Pain

34:48 As Close to 50 as I Am to 23

35:34 Testosterone, the Enhanced Games and Masters Lifting

38:28 The Track Car Logic of TRT

40:34 The Double Standards of Optimisation

41:31 Are We the Peak Optimisation Generation?

43:34 Relationships, Freedom and Finding Hannah

44:56 Having Kids and Knowing When You've Got "Enough"

49:30 The Fair Points Podcast and Missed Opportunities

51:52 Taboo Topics and Creating a Safe Space

52:36 Building a Legacy in Dubai

56:14 Speed Cameras, Statham and Going Bald Gracefully

59:14 The Russian Banya Near-Death Experience

01:01:45 Scaling The Lifting Zone and the Clothing Brand

01:03:09 Wrapping Up
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Paul Mort joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation on work-life balance, building a business you don't want to escape, and why most people are chasing a version of freedom they haven't earned yet. A two-time Master Coach of the Year, bestselling author, and podcast host, Paul Mort makes the case that work-life balance isn't a time problem or a workload problem; it's a clarity problem, and you can't hit a target you can't see.

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📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Paul Mort's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@paulmortofficial

Paul Mort on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/paulmort/

He explains:

◼️ How boundaries — not balance — are what actually protect your life

◼️ Why a great hire is an investment, not a cost

◼️ What a "shitty job" teaches you that Gen Z has been sold out of

◼️ Why you should buy back time before you buy the Ferrari

Chapters:

00:00 The Real Problem With Work-Life Balance

03:10 You Haven't Earned Chapter 20 Freedom Yet

04:45 Boundaries Are How You Protect What Matters

06:26 Hire People Who Manage You, Not the Other Way Round

08:55 Bringing Other Humans Into the Business

09:45 Death By a Thousand Requests

12:27 A Ferrari or a Member of Staff?

13:45 Why a Great Hire Is an Investment, Not a Cost

14:30 Has Gen Z Been Sold a Pipe Dream?

15:07 Why James Only Hires People Who've Had a Shitty Job

16:50 The Hires That Went Wrong

17:32 Your Biggest Haters Are Former Fans

20:25 Chasing Clout and Why It's Never About You

21:13 When the Comments Feel Like the Whole World

22:39 Defending Your Friends but Not Yourself

25:49 Practising Gratitude as Success Gets Complicated

27:01 Your Values Shift — and That Becomes a Boundary

29:14 Lying to Yourself About Being Happy "Later"

30:09 Could You Actually Retire? And Would You?

32:38 The Curse of the Creator-Led Business

34:06 The Fear of Losing Relevancy

35:02 Paul's 18-Month Disappearance and Comeback

35:54 Doing Less of the Stuff You Hate

36:51 The 2014 Ad That Turned James Into a Marketer

38:17 Why the Old Marketing Still Works

39:35 What Gen Z Doesn't See About the Grind

41:56 Eating Shit: Empty Seminars and Worse

42:08 The Boot Camp Disaster Story

42:47 The Hidden Work-Life Balance of a 9-to-5

45:11 A Shrinking Runway With the Kids

45:31 Jealous of People Sinking Beers at the Airport

47:34 Shedding Your Old Skin

47:42 Four Years Booze-Free and Training at Lunchtime

49:14 The Eight Sleep Obsession

53:57 Japanese Toilets and Things You Don't Value Till You Try

55:25 Why a Nice Car Is Integral to How You Feel

58:54 Being Sensible With Money to Buy Back Freedom

58:43 Swapping Time for Money, Money for Time, Money for Money

59:14 The Retirement Gamble Nobody Talks About

01:00:41 Diminishing Returns and Setting Up Your Kids

01:02:56 Getting Kicked Out of School and the Job Centre Story

01:04:48 Raising Kids to Know What Hard Work Feels Like

01:06:02 How Do You Feel About Tax?

01:08:00 Is the UK a Good Place to Build a Business?

01:09:02 Strong Opinions From People Who've Never Done It

01:10:18 Brown Belt Humility and Getting Touched Up by Pros

01:11:33 Getting Outclassed by Your Own 15-Year-Old Son

01:12:34 Seasons of Training — and the Hypocrisy of It

01:13:11 Why "Work a Bit Less" Is Too Vague to Work

01:14:08 How Do You Grow a Business in 3.5 Days a Week?

01:15:03 Ask Better Questions, Set Clearer Goals

01:15:44 What Paul's Working On: The 90-Day Transformation Returns
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Tom Bilyeu joins James Smith to discuss how broken the modern economy really is. The host of Impact Theory and co-founder of Quest Nutrition argues that inflation is theft, that you cannot save your way to success anymore, and that elites are quietly funneling wealth from the working class.

He explains:

◼️ Why a balanced budget changes every policy argument

◼️ How property markets get fixed by deregulation, not taxes

◼️ Why men should be encouraged to go hard in the paint

◼️ How AI is shrinking headcount while multiplying output

◼️ Why paying down debt can quietly beat the stock market

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Tom Bilyeu's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu

Tom Bilyeu On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/

Chapters:

00:00 The Problem With Not Understanding The Economy

02:30 Inflation Theft and The Hidden Wealth Transfer

03:10 Australia's Capital Gains Tax Bombshell

05:03 The Negative Gearing Property Trap

08:01 Why The Stock Market Is Basically Gambling

11:19 Tom's Advice For An Ambitious 22-Year-Old

13:11 Why Society Now Hates Male Ambition

15:39 Women, The Patriarchy and Sexual Selection

17:48 Why People Demonise Billionaires

21:41 The American Buying Mentality vs The UK

23:14 What Actually Made America Great

26:42 Generational Amnesia and Forgotten Hardship

30:43 Living in Los Angeles and California

33:01 Can The Whole World Live The American Dream?

35:46 Japan, Assimilation and Shared Values

38:38 American Political Corruption as Entertainment

42:01 Human Nature, Greed and AI Government

45:00 Why AI Is The New Internet Moment

45:59 How AI Is Transforming Tom's Business

49:09 Video Games, VR and Escaping Reality

54:04 Addictive Personalities and Gaming

55:34 The Simple Financial Playbook

58:06 The Truth About Paying Down Your Debt

1:01:46 Should You Be Buying Bitcoin?
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