The David Leifeste Podcast

Never Live the Same Year Twice — with Julian Essolakina

David Leifeste — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Julian Essolakina was born in Togo, West Africa, moved to France as a young student, and now works out of Washington, DC — with a recent chapter in Tulsa, where he and David first met. He reads Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, and Camus for pleasure, moves between languages and continents the way most of us cross state lines, dresses like no one else in the room, and organizes his whole life around one rule: never live the same year twice.

In this conversation, David — psychotherapist and executive coach with 40 years and more than 100,000 conversations in practice — and Julian dig into juxtaposition as a master key to growth: how contrast between cultures, places, and people wakes the soul up, why being "comfortable being uncomfortable" is a superpower you can practice, what the hamster wheel quietly does to a soul, and why you should always leave room in your life for the magic that happens in the margins.

ABOUT DAVID
David Leifeste, M.S., L.P.C., is a psychotherapist and executive coach, and the author of The Possibility of You. The David Leifeste Podcast brings the book's message to life — honest conversations about the stories that keep us stuck, and the way back to your true self.

CONNECT & GO DEEPER
Join the OASIS community: https://www.skool.com/oasis
Podcast website: https://davidleifesteshow.com
David's website: https://davidleifeste.com
Get the book — The Possibility of You: https://www.amazon.com/Possibility-You-S-I-S-Unlocking-Purpose/dp/B0F31QK65X

What the Dead Teach Us About Living — Dr. Jarred Michalski, Forensic Pathologist

David Leifeste — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Dr. Jarred Michalski is a triple-board-certified forensic pathologist who investigates unexpected and unnatural deaths — and now works alongside Dr. Bennet Omalu, the physician Will Smith portrayed in "Concussion." He is also a gymnast, a juggler, and one of the most philosophically alive minds David has sat down with.

In this conversation, David — psychotherapist and executive coach with 40 years in practice — and Jarred go from the autopsy table to Albert Camus: why "autopsy" literally means to see for yourself, what daily proximity to death teaches about impermanence, why hope and regret may be the same trap, and how to build a life framework that is entirely your own.

Shot at 12, Living in a Car — How Dan Arthur Built an Extraordinary Life

David Leifeste — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:01:16 -0500

At ten years old, Dan Arthur was living in a tent at a campground, selling nightcrawlers and hand-poured sinkers to buy macaroni and cheese. At twelve, he was living in a 1966 Plymouth Fury with his dad — until the night someone broke in with a gun. Today he's an engineer, a geologist, the owner of multiple companies, and an expert called on around the world.

In this first conversation on The David Leifeste Show, David — a psychotherapist and executive coach with 40 years in practice — walks through how Dan's openness and relentless curiosity turned brutal circumstances into an extraordinary life: love, health, prosperity, and contentment.