Grit Meets Growth Podcast
137 episodes listed below
Growth talk with a hard mirror.
Grit Meets Growth turns everyday friction into practical reflection. Its two-speaker rhythm moves from body, work, marriage, gratitude, and responsibility toward concrete questions about how a person is actually showing up.
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Grit Meets Growth is a personal development show with the feel of two people thinking out loud until the useful truth finally shows itself. It is conversational first. The episodes do not rush toward neat formulas, even when they are organized around steps, signs, or questions. Instead, Chris and John return to the same concern from several angles: where is life out of alignment, and what would it look like to tell the truth about that before it hardens into resentment, burnout, or drift? Recent conversations start with ordinary pressure. A person feels off. Work is still getting done, the responsibilities are still being handled, but something underneath feels disconnected. The show treats that feeling as evidence worth examining, not as weakness. Body habits matter here because the hosts keep linking physical consistency to self-trust. Skipping the workout, skipping a meal, or running on fumes becomes part of a larger question about whether someone can count on themselves. Work gets the same treatment. Productivity is not automatically purpose, and checking boxes for other people can quietly become a life strategy. The relationship episodes bring the same directness home, especially around roles, partnership, feedback, and the danger of turning an episode into ammunition instead of reflection. Gratitude, consistency, community, and investment in oneself recur as practical tools rather than polished slogans. The show is strongest when it moves from a small lived example into a bigger challenge without losing the casual texture of the conversation. There is business language, but the center is human: spouses, kids, fitness, pressure, tables where hard things get said, and the daily question of how someone is showing up. It is motivational, but not glossy. Its rhythm is slower, warmer, and more repetitive than a quick-tip show, which gives the ideas room to sink in.
Made for: For entrepreneurs, parents, spouses, and self-improvement listeners who want practical reflection without a polished seminar feel. It especially fits people who are functioning on the outside but suspect something needs realignment underneath.
What sets it apart: The show stands out through its candid two-person rhythm: a point gets named, challenged, restated, and grounded in work, fitness, marriage, or family life. It treats growth as an honest audit rather than a performance.
Chris Cathers and John Gamades bring you Grit Meets Growth... The podcast where we explore the power of getting uncomfortable, making things happen, and creating a magnetic life. Are you ready?Chris Cathers is the co-founder and CEO of Octellient, an information security expert, advisor and coach, and a cancer survivor.John Gamades is a co-founder and partner at the marketing agency OrangeBall Creative and the author of the Depth Not Width blog. Both are proud husbands, dads, and leaders in all they do. Having experienced adversity, challenges, the pressure of being entrepreneurs, Grit Meets Growth is the authentic and...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Chris Cathers and John Gamades connect sustainable leadership to self-trust, disciplined action, candid conversation, and support from other people.
Grit Meets Growth turns leadership into a personal operating question: are Chris Cathers and John Gamades acting in line with what they value, or merely maintaining momentum?
A held door becomes a gut check about your purpose with Chris Cathers and John Gamades.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A blunt reset on self-trust, daily discipline, and what it takes to feel aligned again.
This episode treats self-trust as a practical test: when the body feels off, it can throw everything else off too. It keeps returning to the same question of whether someone can count on themselves, and it ties that idea to skipping workouts, skipping meals, and the gap between…
Checking boxes and carrying everything alone are treated as signs of misalignment.
Grit Meets Growth makes the case that checking boxes can become a form of drift, especially when the work starts serving other people or feels out of step with the person doing it.
A blunt reminder for men to stop numbing out and start showing up with purpose.
This episode is about the way a lot of men tie their worth to what they do and provide, instead of who they are. It stays grounded in ordinary strain, daily habits, and the habit of pushing pain down until it shows up somewhere worse.
Comfort looks cheap until its longer cost comes due.
The piece treats comfort as something that works in the moment and then quietly asks for payment later, and it keeps that point grounded in ordinary choices.
Purpose is framed through free acts of basic decency and the mutual effect of doing good.
This episode circles one clear idea until it sticks: small courtesies matter because they shape how people move through a day. Holding doors, smiling, saying hi, and waving are treated as simple acts of decency, and the episode links that everyday behavior to purpose by arguing…
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
Naval Ravikant on epistemology, startups, and crypto, from David Deutsch to Vitalik Buterin.
Alex Theuma interviews SaaS founders and investors on scaling to $10M-plus ARR.
Guy Raz traces founders' origin stories and fields live advice-line calls from entrepreneurs.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
Do I trust myself?
The hosts push back on box-checking and the feeling of living for other people.
This episode explores how gratitude and consistency can accelerate personal growth and help navigate life's challenges.
This episode explores how to rethink relationships, responsibilities, and roles at home, focusing on openness to feedback and personal growth.
This episode of the Grit Meets Growth podcast focuses on creating space for personal growth, self-reflection, and carrying life's heavyweights to achieve alignment and a magnetic life.
The hosts revisit a past episode about investing in yourself, discussing personal growth and leadership amidst busy lives.
The hosts discuss maturing in personal growth, shifting from how much effort to apply to where effort is best placed, targeting listeners who have already done foundational work.
The hosts discuss a reflective question about what deserves more of one's time and energy in the upcoming year, tying back to previous episodes.
The hosts discuss the concept of confidence and how to overcome self-doubt as you level up in life.
The hosts discuss their experiences in the Built for More brotherhood and the 75 Hard challenge, focusing on personal growth and getting uncomfortable.
The hosts open by asking why so many men, over the last 100 years or more, seem to tie their words to what they do and provide instead of who they are.
Two entrepreneurs discuss the importance of restarting after setbacks and overcoming mental barriers to achieve personal and professional growth.
The hosts discuss the concept of resilience as a lifeline when life hits hard, encouraging listeners to stand back up and keep going.
The hosts discuss the importance of removing the mask of pretense and embracing authenticity for personal growth.
The hosts discuss the importance of real-life community over algorithm-driven content, sharing personal challenges and insights on leadership and growth.
Grit Meets Growth keeps coming back to comfort, and to how expensive it gets when it runs the show.
Two hosts start with a simple challenge: be a nice human.
This episode explores how pursuing growth without a clear purpose can lead to meaningless movement and misalignment with personal values.
The hosts celebrate their 100th episode, reflecting on their journey and encouraging listeners to start their own ventures.
The hosts discuss the importance of building a network of the right people rather than just a large number of connections.
The hosts discuss the concept of new beginnings and the impact of shaving a beard on identity, tying it to personal growth and leadership.
The hosts discuss the importance of getting off the 'hamster wheel' to discover what truly lights you up, leading to personal and professional fulfillment.
Hosts discuss how embracing discomfort and challenges leads to personal and professional growth, with a focus on resilience and innovation.
This episode explores how adopting a growth mindset transforms challenges into opportunities and failures into lessons to foster personal growth and resilience.
Hosts discuss how leaders can build resilience and navigate uncertainty through grit and embracing discomfort.
This episode explores how reflecting on past challenges with gratitude can reveal inner strength and resilience to help grow through difficult situations.
The hosts discuss how stress comes from doing too little of what makes you feel alive, introducing the concept of grit and growth.
The hosts discuss the importance of curating a diverse and supportive inner circle for personal and professional growth.
The hosts discuss the importance of stepping off the 'interstate of life' to explore new experiences and personal growth, then introduce their upcoming trip to Laconia Bike Week.
The hosts discuss how people often limit themselves and the importance of having cheerleaders who see their potential, encouraging listeners to get out of their own way.
The hosts discuss the importance of dreaming big and believing in what's possible for personal and professional success.
This episode discusses the importance of avoiding being a carbon copy of others and instead using influences to develop your own authentic self.