Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset

Chad Willardson, founder of Pacific Capital, six-time author, father of five, and wealth advisor managing over $1.5 billion, joins The Determined Society for a powerful conversation on faith, family, money, leadership, risk, and building real wealth without losing what matters most.

In this episode, Shawn and Chad discuss the moment Chad walked away from Merrill Lynch with no safety net, no clients to take with him, and everyone telling him he was making a mistake. Chad opens up about building Pacific Capital from the ground up, choosing family over hustle culture, walking away from millions of dollars when it did not align with his values, and why success means nothing if it costs you your marriage, your kids, your health, or your peace.

This conversation is about wealth, principles, patience, leadership, vision, and the determination to build a life that is successful from the inside out. The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who
refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore
the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless
pursuit of a life built on your own terms.

 

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this
episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and
leave a review. It helps more than you know.

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Michael Franzese, former Colombo crime family captain, author, speaker, husband, father, and one of the only men to publicly walk away from the mob life and live to tell the story, joins The Determined Society for a powerful conversation on family, loyalty, faith, accountability, forgiveness, and redemption.

In this episode, Shawn French and Michael discuss the moment his father was sentenced to 50 years in prison, why Michael left the path to becoming a doctor, what it meant to enter the Colombo family, the blood oath, the gasoline tax scheme, trials, prison, and the decision to walk away from the life publicly. Michael also opens up about the contract placed on his life, his complicated relationship with his father, reconciling with his brother, refusing to cooperate, and how faith helped him rebuild a life rooted in family, purpose, and second chances. The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who
refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore
the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless
pursuit of a life built on your own terms.

 

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this
episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and
leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Bedros Keuilian, entrepreneur, author, speaker, founder of Fit Body Boot Camp, and creator of The Project, joins The Determined Society for a raw conversation on success, trauma, anxiety, healing, leadership, fatherhood, and becoming a better man. Bedros opens up about coming to America as an immigrant child, growing up on welfare and food stamps, being bullied, learning to reframe adversity, and building a massive fitness franchise from a place of drive and survival.

In this episode, Shawn French and Bedros discuss the anxiety attack that forced him to face what success could not fix, the therapy work that helped him heal old wounds, the weight men carry in silence, why action alleviates anxiety, how trauma can create self-sabotage, and what it means to take the armor off at home. This conversation goes beyond business and into the deeper work of leadership, authenticity, family, masculinity, resilience, and becoming built for the winter. The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who
refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore
the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless
pursuit of a life built on your own terms.

 

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this
episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and
leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Trevor Bauer, 2020 Cy Young Award winner and former Los Angeles Dodger, joins The Determined Society for a raw conversation on baseball, pressure, public judgment, media narratives, and refusing to quit. Trevor opens up about his early obsession with the game, his engineering mindset, his rise from UCLA to the Major Leagues, winning the Cy Young, signing a historic Dodgers contract, and the moment his career changed.

In this episode, Shawn French and Trevor discuss the controversy that pushed him out of MLB, the suspension and release that followed, his decision to keep competing in Japan, Mexico, and independent baseball, and the mindset that has kept him standing when most people would have walked away. This conversation is about resilience, reputation, competitiveness, and what it really means to keep going when the world expects you to stop. The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who
refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore
the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless
pursuit of a life built on your own terms.

 

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this
episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and
leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Phil Daru, world-class performance coach, former Mixed Martial Artist, and trainer to elite athletes like Dustin Poirier, Amanda Nunes, and Colby Covington, joins The Determined Society for a powerful conversation on discipline, faith, purpose, adversity, and what it really means to become unkillable in life.

In this episode, Phil opens up about his early life in Broward County, training martial arts from a young age, playing Division I football, losing both parents within months, becoming a father, and being forced to pivot after a neurologist told him one more hit could change his future. He shares how that moment led him from fighting to coaching, and how routine, repetition, faith, and service became the foundation of his work with fighters, Olympians, Special Forces operators, CEOs, and high performers. This conversation is about more than training. It is about finding your purpose, staying prepared, and building the mind, body, and spirit to keep moving forward when life hits back. The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who
refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore
the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless
pursuit of a life built on your own terms.

 

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this
episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and
leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.