Running Toward Success — or Away From Yourself?

Hard work can look identical from the outside while coming from radically different places within. Marvin explores the uncomfortable possibility that achievement can sometimes become avoidance - and how to recognise whether ambition is being fuelled by purpose and alignment or fear, old wounds, scarcity and the need to prove yourself.


For years, Marvin's drive helped him succeed in environments most people would find extraordinarily demanding. Only later did he recognise that some of his relentless forward motion was connected to experiences he had never stopped long enough to process. That realization changed his understanding of ambition: it's not enough to know what you're chasing; you also need to understand what's chasing you.

About Marvin Mikle

Marvin Mikle, podcast guest

High Performance & Resilience Coach | Founder of Chaos Development

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 a former U.S. Army Green Beret, performance coach and founder of Chaos Development whose life and career have been shaped by one question: How do you perform at a high level without losing yourself in the process?

Growing up amid instability in Chicago, Marvin learned to operate in chaos early. He went on to spend more than a decade in Army Special Forces, completing six deployments before being medically retired. He later earned his MBA and transitioned to Wall Street - moving from one intense, high-performance environment into another.

A period of profound personal loss, combined with his own experience of burnout, eventually forced Marvin to confront something achievement had allowed him to avoid: being exceptionally good at pushing forward doesn't always mean you should.

That experience helped shape Chaos Development, his coaching practice for capable, driven people navigating pressure, uncertainty, burnout and major transitions. His work helps people step out of the noise, see what is actually happening and make clearer decisions without losing the ambition and drive that got them there.

Drawing on lessons from Special Forces, business, coaching and his own lived experience, Marvin brings a distinctive perspective to conversations about high performance, burnout, resilience, identity, flow, spirituality and personal development.

View profile →

Book Marvin Mikle for your show

Request an interview →