When Success Starts Suffocating You feat. Jonathan Maddock

Learn how to protect your mental health while building a high-growth business. Success can be one of the most dangerous things that happens to an entrepreneur. As your business grows, so do the responsibilities, the pressure, the expectations, and the weight of carrying everyone who depends on you. Too often, founders convince themselves the answer is simply to work harder—until the stress, anxiety, burnout, or depression become impossible to ignore. In this deeply personal episode, Charles Gaudet sits down with entrepreneur and author **Jonathan Maddock** to discuss one of the least talked about challenges in entrepreneurship: mental health. Jonathan openly shares his journey after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, how that diagnosis helped him better understand both his greatest strengths and biggest risks as a leader, and why addressing mental health ultimately made him a stronger entrepreneur, husband, and father. Charles also shares his own experience navigating grief, emotional suppression, and seeking professional help after losing his father. Together, they explore why vulnerability isn't weakness, why emotional regulation is a leadership skill, and how taking care of yourself may be the highest ROI investment you can make in your business. **KEY TAKEAWAYS:** - Entrepreneurs experience significantly higher rates of mental health challenges than the general population, making proactive self-care a leadership necessity. - Working harder is often the wrong response to stress because sacrificing sleep, exercise, nutrition, and recovery compounds the problem instead of solving it. - Mental health conditions can also amplify entrepreneurial strengths, but only when they're properly understood and managed. - Emotional regulation—not emotional suppression—is one of the most valuable skills founders can develop. - Breathwork, mindfulness, exercise, and intentional recovery help shift your brain out of reactive mode so you can make better decisions under pressure. - Creating psychological safety within your company starts with leaders who model healthy vulnerability while maintaining confidence and stability. - Your family often experiences the consequences of entrepreneurial stress long before you recognize it yourself. - Building a successful business should never come at the expense of your health, relationships, or ability to enjoy the success you've created. **CONNECT WITH JONATHAN MADDOCK:** Website: fortivianstrata.com/suffocatedbysuccess LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanmaddock/ Growing a business can be hard, but it shouldn't be a struggle. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode of top-level growth strategies! F**ollow Charles Gaudet and Predictable Profits on Social Media:** Facebook: facebook.com/PredictableProfits Instagram: instagram.com/predictableprofits X: x.com/charlesgaudet LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlesgaudet **Visit Charles Gaudet's Websites:** www.PredictableProfits.com www.predictableprofits.com/community https://start.predictableprofits.com/community