The Brain Vault: Where Science Meets Success

200 episodes. 31 countries. Hundreds of conversations with high-performing leaders, 200 episodes. 31 countries. Hundreds of conversations with high-performing leaders, executives, coaches, and entrepreneurs from around the globe. In this milestone episode of the Brain Vault Podcast, Larry Olsen sits down with his wife of 28 years and COO Diane Olsen to reflect on the journey, the biggest lessons learned, and the mindset shifts that create lasting transformation.

Together, they unpack what it really takes to move from autopilot to intentional leadership, why presence and curiosity outperform fear-based habits, and how to lead yourself and others with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.

If you’re ready to stop reacting and start leading at a higher level, this episode is for you.

 

About Larry

Larry Olsen is a Fortune 50/500 Executive Performance Advisor and creator of Performance Driven Neurology™, a methodology that combines neuroscience and cognitive psychology to help C-suite leaders think and perform at their highest level. A Two-Time Vistage Speaker of the Year, Larry has spent 40+ years working with leadership teams at Toyota, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Honda, American Airlines, State Farm, Lexus, Tropicana, and other global organizations. The Brain Vault Podcast reaches listeners across 31 countries.

 

About Diane

Diane Olsen is the COO of the organization and Larry's wife and business partner of 30 years. She has been involved with every Brain Vault Podcast episode since the beginning. This is the first time she has hosted the show.

 

🧠 ABOUT PERFORMANCE DRIVEN NEUROLOGY (PDN):

Performance Driven Neurology™ is Larry Olsen's methodology combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and high performers move from the 95% (thinking about what's on their mind) to the 5% (understanding HOW they think). With 40+ years of Fortune 50/500 experience, Larry transforms how people approach leadership, performance, and personal growth..

 

🔗 TAKE ACTION:

If something in this conversation moved you, the next step is the Brain Hacks Intensive. 14 days. 4 Brain Hacks. A simple, structured way to stop running on autopilot and start leading your life on purpose.

 

Brain Hacks Intensive: https://www.neuromindedcollective.com/brain-hacks-challenge

 

📱 CONNECT WITH LARRY OLSEN:

Website: https://www.larryolsen.com

Keynote: https:/www.larryolsen.com/keynote

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen

NeuroMinded Collective: https://www.neuromindedcollective.com

What if nothing in your leadership changes—not because you're not capable, but because you're still thinking like the person who created the problem? Anna Barnhill has spent 16+ years asking one question most leaders don't even realize they should be asking: why do high performers hit invisible ceilings? In this conversation, she introduces the concept that reshapes the entire leadership development conversation: your internal operating system.

EPISODE OVERVIEW:

In this episode, Larry Olsen sits down with Anna Barnhill, MCC—an ICF Master Certified Coach, CEO of AdvantEdge Leadership, Professional Fellow at Harvard Medical School's Institute of Coaching, and Learning Facilitator for MIT's Leadership & Innovation Program. Anna introduces the concept of the "leadership operating system" and explains why acquiring new skills isn't enough to break through invisible ceilings.

👤 ABOUT ANNA BARNHILL:

Anna Barnhill, MCC, is an ICF Master Certified Coach, CEO of AdvantEdge Leadership, Professional Fellow at the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and Learning Facilitator for MIT Professional Education's Leadership & Innovation Program. With 16+ years of experience supporting Fortune 500 executives across technology, financial services, healthcare, and government, she is also a Forbes Coaches Council member, Harvard Business Review Advisory Council member, and author of Leaderwired: The AI-Era Leadership Playbook for Transforming How You Think, Decide and Lead.

Connect with Anna:

Book: Leaderwired (Amazon)

Website: https://annabarnhill.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabarnhillmcc/

🧠 ABOUT PERFORMANCE DRIVEN NEUROLOGY (PDN):

Performance Driven Neurology™ is Larry Olsen's methodology combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and high performers move from the 95% (thinking about what's on their mind) to the 5% (understanding HOW they think). With 40+ years of Fortune 50/500 experience, Larry transforms how people approach leadership, performance, and personal growth..

🔗 TAKE ACTION:

Take the FREE 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r

Discover how your brain is wired?  https://tally.so/r/jaodj4

Download Your FREE 3-Step Morning Brain Activation Guide: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/3-steps-morning-guide

📱 CONNECT WITH LARRY OLSEN:

Website: https://www.larryolsen.com

Keynote: https:/www.larryolsen.com/keynote

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen

NeuroMinded Collective: https://www.neuromindedcollective.com

What if the key to your next level of leadership isn't another strategy — it's accessing a better state? In this episode of The BrainVault Podcast, Larry sits down with Grace Najean — transformational leadership strategist, former Tony Robbins master coach, and creator of the Soul Fluence Awakening — who has guided over 5,000 executives and high performers to lead with greater clarity, alignment, and power.

Grace breaks down her 3D-to-5D leadership framework — from reactive survival mode, through awareness, and into coherent leadership. This is where you respond instead of react, your thinking sharpens, and your decisions feel clean and fully aligned with who you are.

She also unpacks why slowing down is not doing less, and how reconnecting with your own identity is the foundation for leading others at your highest level.

If you're ready to lead with more energy, clarity, and intentional power — this is your episode.

👤 ABOUT GRACE NAJEAN:

Grace Najean is a Korean-French-Australian transformational leadership strategist and creator of the Soulfluence Method®. A former Platinum Tony Robbins Coach (2013–2020) with over 4,500 hours of coaching executives, founders, and high performers, Grace blends her unconventional journey—concert pianist in Korea, corporate strategy in Europe, and over a decade in personal development—into a coaching practice that aligns body, mind, and awareness. She leads the Soulfluence Retreat in Lombok, Indonesia, and is based in Perth, Western Australia.

Connect with Grace:

Website: https://gracenajean.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracenajean/

Instagram: @gracenajean

YouTube: @GraceNajeanCoaching

🧠 ABOUT PERFORMANCE DRIVEN NEUROLOGY (PDN)™️:

Performance Driven Neurology™️ is Larry Olsen's methodology combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and high performers move from the 95% (thinking about what's on their mind) to the 5% (understanding HOW they think). With 40+ years of Fortune 500 experience, Larry transforms how people approach leadership, performance, and personal growth.

🔗 TAKE ACTION:

Take the FREE 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r

Discover how your brain is wired?  https://tally.so/r/jaodj4

Download Your FREE 3-Step Morning Brain Activation Guide: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/3-steps-morning-guide

📱 CONNECT WITH LARRY OLSEN:

Website: https://larryolsen.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen

Instagram: @larryolsenlive

Facebook: Larry Olsen

What if your best chapter isn't behind you — it's the one you finally have time to write?

 

Michael Fors spent decades in sales, knocked on thousands of doors, and heard more nos than most people ever will. Then he retired. And instead of slowing down, he did what most people only talk about — he acted on an idea he'd been sitting on for years, got a patent, and built something entirely new.

 

In this episode of The BrainVault Podcast, Michael and Larry explore what it actually takes to move from idea to action, why a lifetime of hearing "no" is the best preparation for building something that works, and how the people who create the richest experiences — at the table and in the boardroom — are the ones who know when to slow the pace down.

 

Visit liquidjazzexperience.com to learn more about Michael's work.

 

👤 ABOUT MICHAEL FORS:

Michael Fors is the inventor of the Liquid Jazz decanter, the first patented wine decanter designed to aerate wine through a gentle rocking motion, bringing out a bottle's full character in just four minutes. A lifelong salesman and 20+ year winemaker, Michael hosted Thursday wine night for decades, building community through shared experience. Based in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Michael pivoted from exclusively in-person sales to online and podcast marketing to share his invention with a wider audience. The Liquid Jazz Experience decanter is available at liquidjazzexperience.com.

 

Connect with Michael:

Website: liquidjazzexperience.com

Pricing: Regularly $149 | Podcast special: $99

Available for events, demonstrations, and partnerships

 

🧠 ABOUT PERFORMANCE DRIVEN NEUROLOGY (PDN)™️:

Performance Driven Neurology™️ is Larry Olsen's methodology combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and high performers move from the 95% (thinking about what's on their mind) to the 5% (understanding HOW they think). With 40+ years of Fortune 500 experience, Larry transforms how people approach leadership, performance, and personal growth.

 

🔗 TAKE ACTION:

Take the FREE 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r

Discover how your brain is wired?  https://tally.so/r/jaodj4

Download Your FREE 3-Step Morning Brain Activation Guide: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/3-steps-morning-guide

 

📱 CONNECT WITH LARRY OLSEN:

Website: https://larryolsen.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-r-olsen

Instagram: @larryolsenlive

Facebook: Larry Olsen

You hit every target. You show up for everyone. You're the person others rely on. But underneath the achievement, there's a quiet exhaustion you can't explain. What if the pattern draining your energy isn't a flaw, but a brilliant childhood survival strategy that's long past its expiration date?

 

EPISODE OVERVIEW:

In this episode, Larry Olsen sits down with Beatriz Victoria Albina, a UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and author of End Emotional Outsourcing: How to Overcome Your Codependent, Perfectionist, and People-Pleasing Habits. 

Beatriz coined the term 'emotional outsourcing' to describe the deeply conditioned habit of seeking safety, validation, and worth outside of ourselves. In this powerful conversation, she breaks down how codependency, perfectionism, and people pleasing are actually brilliant childhood survival strategies that become leadership liabilities. This is science-backed, body-based work that will change how you relate to yourself and others.

 

👤 ABOUT BEATRIZ VICTORIA ALBINA:

Beatriz (Béa) Victoria Albina, NP, MPH, SEP (she/her) is a UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Master Certified Somatic Life Coach, author of the bestselling "End Emotional Outsourcing: a Guide to Overcoming Codependent, Perfectionist and People Pleasing Habits" (Hachette Balance, 2025) and Breathwork Meditation Guide with a passion for helping humans socialized as women to reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems and rewire their minds, so they can break free from codependency, perfectionism and people pleasing and reclaim their joy.

She is the host of the Feminist Wellness Podcast, holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Béa grew up in the great state of Rhode Island. She has been working in health & wellness for over 20 years and lives with her wife, Billey Albina and their handsome all-black cat Wade Elizabeth.

Connect with Beatriz:

Website: beatrizalbina.com

Book: End Emotional Outsourcing (beatrizalbina.com/book)

Podcast: Feminist Wellness (available on all platforms)

Instagram: @beatrizvictoriaalbinanp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beatrizvictoriaalbinanp

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beavictoriaalbina

 

🧠 ABOUT PERFORMANCE DRIVEN NEUROLOGY (PDN):

Performance Driven Neurology is Larry Olsen's methodology combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and high performers move from the 95% (thinking about what's on their mind) to the 5% (understanding HOW they think). With 40+ years of Fortune 500 experience, Larry transforms how people approach leadership, performance, and personal growth.

 

🔗 TAKE ACTION:

Take the FREE 5% Leadership Assessment: https://tally.so/r/kde74r

Discover how your brain is wired?  https://tally.so/r/jaodj4

Download Your FREE 3-Step Morning Brain Activation Guide: https://larry-olsen.kit.com/3-steps-morning-guide

 

📱 CONNECT WITH LARRY OLSEN:

Website: https://larryolsen.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/larry-olsen

Instagram: @larryolsenpdncoach

Facebook: Larry Olsen - Performance Driven Neurology