Support The Grateful Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2302168/support
You’ve been taught your whole life that joy comes after success.
Get the job → feel proud.
Hit six figures → feel fulfilled.
Hit the goal → finally feel enough.
But what if that formula is broken?
In this solo episode, 18-year-old podcast host Jack Wagoner breaks down the real reason so many people feel lost, disconnected, and burnt out—even when they’re doing everything “right.”
You’ll learn:
• Why your entire reward system is rigged against your joy
• How to stop outsourcing your peace to a future version of yourself
• The surprising Buddhist insight that will change how you think about time
• Why ambition without gratitude guarantees emptiness
• How to wake up excited—even if nothing changes externally
This episode will reprogram the way you think about success, happiness, and identity. If you’re stuck in the cycle of chasing and still don’t feel “there,” this is the conversation you need.
Chapters:
00:00 Embracing Gratitude and Joy
03:20 The Journey is the Goal
08:03 Living in the Present Moment
10:08 Finding Your Unique Path
13:25 The Balance of Gratitude and Ambition
📺 Listen on your favorite platform:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b
Subscribe for more deep conversations with thinkers, seekers, and soulful creators. 🙏
⸻
🧠 More from Jack:
Newsletter (Magic, Meaning & Momentum): https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/aa6b0945-43aa-43c8-b320-0fde6998f852?email=%7B%7Bemail%7D%7D
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/
1:1 Coaching & Dream-Chasing Guidance: jackcwagoner@gmail.com
💬 If you found this conversation meaningful, send it to a friend and leave a review. It really helps more people find this kind of soul-nourishing content.
⸻
🎙️ About Jack:
I’m an 18-year-old high school student with a big dream: to show the world that you can be grateful and ambitious at the same time. Through The Grateful Podcast, I explore what it means to live a meaningful life—one deep conversation at a time.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.