Sustainable Success Show

Thinking Clearly Under Pressure: Finding Your Flow | Business Influencers - 258

Marvin Mikle · October 23, 2026

Life Coach · Leadership · Wellnessin

Interview with Marvin Mikle

Podcast: Sustainable Success Show

October 23, 2026 · 30 min

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Thinking Clearly Under Pressure: Finding Your Flow | Business Influencers - 258

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Key topicsBeyond Burnout: Stop Recovering Just to Perform the Same Way AgainWhat if burnout isn't simply something to recover from, but information about the way you've been living? Marvin challenges the familiar cycle of pushing to exhaustion, recovering and then returning to exactly the same behaviours. Instead, he explores what burnout can reveal about identity, alignment, energy and purpose - and why the better question may be not “How do I get back?” but “Do I actually want to go back?” Marvin didn't encounter burnout from the sidelines. After years of relentless performance across the military and corporate worlds, his own experience eventually forced him to reassess how he was operating. He even stepped away from coaching for a period rather than continuing to teach something he knew he needed to work through himself. Today, that lived experience informs his work with high performers facing the same tension between ambition, wellbeing and the pressure to keep going.Who Are You Becoming? The Question Achievement Can't AnswerLife gradually gives us identities - leader, parent, partner, executive, veteran, entrepreneur, high performer - but those roles don't necessarily tell us who we are. Marvin explores what happens when we're so focused on the next milestone that we never question the person we're becoming along the way, and why knowing yourself is essential to creating success that actually feels like your own. Marvin has reinvented himself across dramatically different worlds: from a challenging childhood in Chicago to Green Beret, MBA graduate, Wall Street professional, entrepreneur and coach. Those transitions forced him to confront the difference between what you do and who you are - a distinction he now helps others explore when their old identity no longer fits where they're going.Beneath the Noise: Who Are You When the World Stops Telling You Who to Be?From an early age, we're taught to build an identity around what we do: our career, achievements, relationships, responsibilities and the expectations other people place upon us. But what happens when those identities fall away - or when the life you've successfully built no longer feels aligned with the person you're becoming? Marvin explores the spiritual side of identity and why stillness can be essential to discovering what is genuinely yours beneath the noise. He shares what his own journey taught him about separating the roles we perform from the person underneath them, becoming grounded in your own truth, and recognising when achievement is coming from alignment versus fear, scarcity or the need for external validation. Marvin's perspective wasn't developed only through spiritual study or coaching. It emerged through a life spent moving between dramatically different identities and environments - from a turbulent childhood to becoming a Green Beret, serving on six deployments, transitioning into business and Wall Street, and eventually confronting burnout and profound personal change. For much of that journey, Marvin was exceptionally good at moving forward. His deeper transformation began when he learned to become still.View all topics →

About Marvin Mikle

Founder of Chaos Development | Human Potential, Consciousness & Personal Transformation

Green Beret Former U.S. Army Special Forces10+ years Army Special Forces service6 Special Forces deploymentsMBA MBA graduate, moved on to Wall Street

Marvin Mikle is the founder of Chaos Development, a personal development and human potential platform built around a powerful idea: our ability to grow, evolve and reach our full potential is shaped by how we understand ourselves and navigate the chaos of life.

At the heart of Marvin's work is the belief that becoming the best version of ourselves requires more than achieving goals or performing at a high level. It requires greater self-awareness, a deeper understanding of who we are, and the willingness to challenge the beliefs, conditioning and limitations that shape how we think, feel and live.

Through Chaos Development, Marvin explores the intersection of consciousness, spirituality, personal transformation and human performance. His work encourages people to look beyond the surface, question established perspectives, expand their awareness and develop the capacity to navigate life's challenges with greater clarity, intention and understanding.

His areas of interest and expertise span self-discovery, mindfulness, meditation, emotional intelligence, identity, limiting beliefs, mind-body connection, spiritual growth, energy, flow state, self-mastery and conscious leadership. He is particularly interested in how our perception of reality influences our experiences, how we respond to uncertainty and how we can move beyond simply reacting to life towards living with greater consciousness and purpose.

Marvin's perspective is informed by an unconventional journey across vastly different worlds.

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About this episode

How do high performers make sound decisions when pressure builds, responsibilities multiply, and burnout begins to take hold?

In this episode of Business Influencers, host Chris Salem sits down withMarvin Mikle, a former Green Beret with six deployments, an MBA graduate, former Wall Street professional, and founder of Chaos Development. Drawing from his military and business experiences, Marvin shares how he helps leaders, entrepreneurs, and other high performers navigate pressure, regain clarity, and build resilience.

The conversation explores why capable people can become overwhelmed by external demands, how burnout can develop gradually, and why understanding your identity and aligning your actions with your goals are essential to sustainable performance.

Marvin also discusses the importance of creating space before reacting, developing discipline through consistent daily habits, identifying what drains your energy, and focusing on what you can control. He explains how coaching can help individuals clarify their goals, uncover what's holding them back, and create a practical roadmap toward greater effectiveness and a state of flow.

Discover why lasting transformation takes consistent effort, how setbacks can become opportunities for growth, and why managing your internal world is a crucial part of leading others effectively.

🎧 Tune in to Business Influencers for an insightful conversation on leadership, resilience, personal growth, and performing at your best without losing sight of what matters most.

Guest: Marvin Mikle

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