Friends with Benefits

From Proving People Wrong to Leading with Love with Morgan J Ingram

• Sam and Jason Yarborough • Season 3 • Episode 2

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Growth starts when you’re brave enough to ask yourself the hard questions.

This week, we’re sitting down with our friend and returning guest, Morgan J Ingram, but not to talk about sales. Morgan opens up about the deeper work he’s been doing over the past few years: redefining success, finding fulfillment beyond professional goals, and creating harmony across every area of life.

We dig into the story behind his “healing circle,” a self-reflection framework that challenged him to take an honest look at his health, relationships, spirituality, and mindset. Morgan shares how he moved from proving people wrong to leading with love, the accountability that comes from doing the work in community, and why self-honesty is the first step to real growth.


What you’ll learn:

  • How Morgan’s “healing circle” helped him identify blind spots and rebalance his life
  • Why fulfillment comes from self-love, not external validation
  • How leaders can bring holistic growth and honesty into their teams


Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:04) Morgan’s journey and insights

(04:11) The Healing Circle

(13:12) The importance of community

(16:35) Taking action and overcoming obstacles

(20:19) Self-love and continuous growth

(29:12) Personal reflection rituals

(30:42) Honesty and self-assessment

(32:57) Impact on leadership and community

(35:00) Encouraging holistic leadership

(38:04) The healing circle exercise

(40:03) Remote team dynamics

(46:01) Social media and personal growth


Connect with Morgan J Ingram: http://linkedin.com/in/morganjingramamp 

Check out Morgan’s Newsletter: https://www.theampsocial.com/commish 


Check out Arcadia: https://www.BeArcadia.com 

Connect with Sam Yarborough: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-yarborough/ 

Connect with Jason Yarborough: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yarby/ 


Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

https://www.shareyourgenius.com

[00:00:00] Morgan J Ingram: I decided to ask myself the hard questions and then be like, what are the hard answers here? It’s just deciding whether or not you’re going to accept that. And so I just accepted that there’s a lot of things that I need to work on, and then if I don’t work on these things, my life is going to look a lot different than what I want it to look like. So I can either deflect it or, alright, cool. This is going to be hard, but I’d rather do this now. You got to go through it, right? It’s not just going to happen for you.

[00:00:35] Jason Yarborough: Welcome to the Friends With Benefits podcast. A business podcast about revenue-generating partnerships, not a podcast about business time with friends. We are your co-hosting couple. I’m Jason.

[00:00:46] Sam Yarborough: And I’m Sam. Welcome to the show, friends.

[00:00:49] Jason Yarborough: Alright, we are back. We are podcasting. We’ve got our second episode of what, Season three here, and we’ve got a really great guest and it’s a fun one because it’s a repeat guest and a special guest from the summer. Who we got here?

[00:01:04] Sam Yarborough: Well, we have the one, the only Morgan—

[00:01:08] Jason Yarborough: J-J-J-J-J—

[00:01:09] Sam Yarborough: Ingram! But we have him back to talk about something that probably will take you by surprise. We talk about this a little bit in the episode, but this conversation came to be a few months back when Morgan and I were just having a catch up, and he told me about a retreat that he went on and kind of all the things he learned throughout that experience. And from that, I asked him to come speak at the Arcadia Leadership Experience, which was this summer.

[00:01:37] Jason Yarborough: Which he did a fantastic job at.

[00:01:39] Sam Yarborough: So we asked him to come, in his words, run it back on the pod. So I hope you enjoy this one today. Reach out to Morgan, let him know if you did. So without further ado—

[00:01:52] Jason Yarborough: Here we go. Well, welcome back, friends, to Season three of Friends with Benefits, and it feels so good to dust the microphone off a little bit. Put the podcast outfit on—black shirt today, olive pants. Have my beautiful co-host, roommate, coworker, wife here with me. Welcome back to the show, babe.

[00:02:18] Sam Yarborough: I’m so excited. I’ve missed this.

[00:02:20] Jason Yarborough: Yeah, it feels like old times. Speaking of old times, we’ve got a return guest this week.

[00:02:25] Sam Yarborough: I know, we’re kicking off Season three with a repeat.

[00:02:29] Jason Yarborough: Yeah, we actually got to hang out with this guest, who you all know already on the cover art, but we hung out with him in Montana this summer and had a heck of a great time.

[00:02:39] Sam Yarborough: As you know, we have the Morgan J Ingram here today.

[00:02:43] Jason Yarborough: Morgan J back—

[00:02:44] Sam Yarborough: For more. And if you listened to the last episode we did with Morgan, this one’s going to be very different.

[00:02:51] Jason Yarborough: Very different. I like the “Morgan J back for more.” Could that just be the title?

[00:02:56] Sam Yarborough: Maybe.

[00:02:56] Jason Yarborough: It just has a punch to it. What’s up, Morgan?

[00:02:59] Morgan J Ingram: What’s happening, y’all? Excited to be here.

[00:03:02] Sam Yarborough: So Morgan, I would say—and don’t let me put words in your mouth—but most people probably know you for sales leadership and your sales expertise on LinkedIn. Is that a fair statement?

[00:03:15] Morgan J Ingram: That’s a fair statement.

[00:03:16] Sam Yarborough: Okay. However, a few months ago—I don’t remember exactly when—but you and I had just a casual catch up, and our conversation took a very different direction. And on the spot, without even consulting my co-host, I was like, you have to come to Arcadia Leadership Experience and share this story with the people. So you did, and your talk actually resonated with so many people—not surprising to me—but we wanted to have you back because I think that many more people could benefit from hearing that story and what we talked about. So let’s just start at the beginning. You and I talked about a lot deeper dimensions than work and life, but can you just tell us about that season in your life and how you came to discover what you affectionately referred to as the circle or the healing circle?

[00:04:11] Morgan J Ingram: So taking it all the way back, most people know this—and I’m not going to go through the whole thing, you can go listen to a background podcast on my background—but in 2016, I started off as an SDR. When I was an SDR, I started creating content on LinkedIn and YouTube at the same time. Most people were not doing that then, so it was really just me and maybe two people creating content around sales development, outbound, and sales.

As I got more into it, I identified with my coach on this as well—something we’ve worked through. I had what we called a “legacy being” of proving everyone wrong, which that fuel and vehicle can get you to a certain place, but it won’t get you where you actually want to go.

From 2016 to 2021, my whole goal was “I have to prove everyone wrong.” People say that I can’t do this, so I’m going to prove them all wrong. Which again helps you get results, but there’s a lot of anger that comes with that, and you’re not really doing it out of love.

Fast forward five years. At the end of 2021, I had a book that I wrote all my goals in back in 2016, and I probably hit about 90% of those goals. They were all professional and material based. They weren’t personal or relationship-based. It was just accolades—“here’s what I want to hit.”

At the end of 2021, as I hit those goals, I remember having the most empty feeling ever. It was like a chasm, like a hole. I did all these things and there was no celebration, no parade, no one came to give me a high five. I don’t know, I just expected more.

When you text people “congrats” on iPhone, you get balloons and confetti. I expected that—and didn’t get it. So I was like, did I do this wrong? Why do I feel so empty about this? That’s when I decided to take a deeper journey on what my faith with Jesus Christ and God looked like. I took a deeper look at my relationships, and I remember at the beginning of 2022 being like, how can I go about this differently?

And how Sam and I connected on this level at the beginning of 2025 is—in 2024—I went on a mind retreat in December. That’s what elevated my whole thinking by doing a healing circle.

To give people context, the Healing Circle is comprised of six categories, each out of ten points, for a total of sixty. Those six are: health, fitness, money, spiritual or energy, career, mindset, and relationships.

When I did that, I found out my career was strong, finances were good—but my relationships were at a five, and my spiritual was at a five. Health was maybe a five or six. I realized I needed to take those more seriously, and I’ve continuously been working on that. Those numbers are higher now, which is good.

But that was my whole journey: instead of focusing on half the picture—the professional side—we have to focus on the holistic picture. At the end of the day, I don’t think any of us are going to be like, “Man, I can’t believe I got 200,000 LinkedIn followers.” I just don’t think that’s the conversation we’ll have at the end of the day. That’s the whole story.

[00:08:09] Jason Yarborough: One of the things that I think most about that is—and I’ve got a coach now and I’m working with him—the level of honesty you’ve got to reach to answer those questions on paper. You achieved all the goals. Most people would just go through those numbers or each of those pieces of the framework and be like, “Yeah, I’m killing it, I’m doing great.” But you said you felt empty after hitting them. What do you think led you to that point—to get honest, open, and vulnerable enough to answer those questions honestly, with a four or five or six instead of going, “Yeah, eight, killing it, nine, ten, I’m here”? How did you come to that point?

[00:08:53] Morgan J Ingram: I can’t reference the video—I don’t remember who said it—but it was an interview I watched toward the end of 2022. It was around this idea that most people will not grow or refuse to grow in life because they’re not willing to ask themselves the hard questions and give themselves hard answers back.

So that was it. I can ask hard questions, but then I can just make excuses and say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault,” or “I don’t have the right territory,” or “That’s just not me.” You can easily deflect.

I decided to ask myself the hard questions and then be like, “What are the hard answers here?” And if you really look yourself in the mirror or analyze it, we all know what the real answers are. It’s just deciding whether or not you’re going to accept that.

So I just accepted that there’s a lot of things I need to work on, and if I don’t, my life will look a lot different than I want it to. I can either deflect it and have a worse outcome in the future, or I can face it and deal with it now so I can grow and go through that period of metamorphosis—from caterpillar to butterfly. You’ve got to go through it, right? It’s not just going to happen for you. That’s another way I look at it.

[00:10:09] Jason Yarborough: I think that’s great. It makes me think about—I’m reading Jocko’s book Extreme Ownership right now, and I don’t know if he gets to that point in the book yet or not—but looking at it from that perspective of really taking extreme ownership of where you’re at in your life and asking those hard questions, really answering them with that level of ownership and saying, “Yeah, this is where I’m at.” Owning your crap and being in that place. I think you’re right, that’s very hard for a lot of people to do—especially high performers.

[00:10:36] Morgan J Ingram: A hundred percent. As a high performer, you’re already good at something, and it’s hard to reflect on the areas where you’re not. Like, “Oh, I’ve done all this work to be a high achiever at this thing, now I have to do more work? Why would I do that?”

I think that’s a big reason high achievers neglect other areas of their lives. There’s a quote I actually don’t like—and this might upset some people—but it’s, “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”

I don’t like that quote because there are people who are really good at sales yet are not disciplined in their eating or fitness. So I don’t like that correlation because I don’t think it’s true for everybody. People can be high-performing and disciplined in one area but not in another.

I think a lot of people say, “Well, I’m high achieving in this area, I can do my thing and let everything else go by the wayside.” Instead of thinking it has to be perfection, it’s more about saying, “I need to grow in all areas. I may not be equally high achieving everywhere, but I’ll progress and be more holistic.”

That’s the way I look at it. It’s not about “how you do one thing is how you do everything.” It’s “how can I be holistic in growth so I can be the person I need to be.”

[00:12:04] Jason Yarborough: Absolutely.

[00:12:05] Sam Yarborough: And I think that’s why I love this conversation—because Arcadia literally means harmony. That means your whole person, Morgan J Ingram as an entire human—not just as a career individual, not as a brother or a boyfriend or a pickleball player.

[00:12:24] Jason Yarborough: Easy, easy now. Crossing the line with the pickleball comment!

[00:12:26] Sam Yarborough: Sorry! But just to reiterate for people—the six categories were health, finance, relationships, career, spirituality, and energy or mindset?

[00:12:48] Morgan J Ingram: Correct.

[00:12:49] Sam Yarborough: Okay. So you go through them and you rank yourself one to ten, ten being the highest, and then you have an overall picture of how you’re showing up to life. Based on that picture, you can see where to improve.

My question is: that can be really overwhelming for people.

[00:13:12] Morgan J Ingram: Yes, a hundred percent.

[00:13:15] Sam Yarborough: Okay, so you did this exercise—and now what? Did you just look at all the areas where you felt like you were falling short and go all in? Did you choose one? Talk to us about what happened.

[00:13:26] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, let me add to this. I would say—don’t do this exercise by yourself. When I did it, I was at a men’s retreat. There were eight other men in the room, and we all went through our numbers. You had to say, “I’m a four out of ten.”

[00:13:43] Sam Yarborough: So there was some accountability.

[00:13:45] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, you had to explain why you were there.

[00:13:48] Jason Yarborough: I like that.

[00:13:49] Morgan J Ingram: But that makes it less tough, because if it’s just you, the voices might get too loud and defeat you. That’s something you have to be aware of.

So if that’s the case, go do it with other people. Then you can realize, “Oh, you’re a four out of ten in that? Okay, I’m not alone.” If you’re alone, you feel like you’re the only one struggling.

It helped me a lot to do it with a group of men. If you’re a woman, do it with a group of women—it just makes it easier.

But with the group, it was easier to see, “Other people struggle with this. I’m not a loser.” And you also realize, “Hey, I’m high in other areas where I can help others elevate.” Someone might be an eight in relationships—so I can ask, “What are you doing?”

It allows you to level-set. You realize you’re not alone, and you can both help and be helped.

So my recommendation: do it with a group of people. That way, you can assess and understand what’s going on.

Also, we had a worksheet to plan out the habits and actions we’d take after. I remember being like, “Cool, I’m going to go…” I think I was like 19% body fat at the time.

I came back to Arizona, went to Lifetime, and found a trainer. I said, “I need help.” I’m happy to report I was fired up this week—I’m at 14.5% body fat right now.

[00:16:03] Sam Yarborough: Balloons and confetti!

[00:16:05] Morgan J Ingram: That’s balloons and confetti! I was fired up.

[00:16:08] Jason Yarborough: For those of you just listening, Morgan’s standing up flexing his abs right now. We won’t have a video of it, but I had to call it out.

[00:16:15] Morgan J Ingram: I was fired up. But the thing is—it’s just stuff like that. Once you identify the obstacle, it’s, “Alright, how do I fix that?” Then the right people and scenarios can come into your life. That was the thing—I acknowledged it and said, “Cool, now I’m going to solve it.”

[00:16:35] Jason Yarborough: How difficult was it to go take those actions? To start? I think I put up a post on LinkedIn the other day about the act of starting. Most people wait for the motivation or for the timing to feel right instead of just going and taking action.

This is a big one. You could have sat back, thought about it, let it sit for a while before acting. But you went back and took action. How hard was it for you to get started?

[00:17:05] Morgan J Ingram: Getting started—this is something I’ve learned about myself—it’s not as hard for me anymore because I’ve done difficult things before. For example, posting on LinkedIn for the first time was harder than going to the gym.

In this scenario though, getting started alone, not knowing where to begin, is harder. So now I know if I want to start something, I go to the source.

So, “I want to lose body fat.” Let me talk to someone who’s already done this. That makes it easier.

Or if I want to grow my faith, instead of looking it up, I call my dad. “Hey Dad, what do I do?”

People think getting started means going it alone—like a hike through the woods to figure yourself out. You don’t need to do all that. There’s somebody in your life you can call.

“Hey, I see you do really well at work,” or “You’ve got a great relationship,” or “You manage your finances well.” Ask, “What are you doing?”

Getting started is easier when you call someone already doing well in that area. But that also means you’ve got to remove your ego to make that call.

That’s what it comes down to. Most people—and I’ve faced this too—are afraid to start because of ego. “I don’t want them to know I’m struggling.”

[00:18:49] Sam Yarborough: “They don’t need to know I’m a mess. They don’t need to know I don’t know the answers.”

[00:18:52] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly.

[00:18:52] Jason Yarborough: Especially high performers.

[00:18:54] Morgan J Ingram: Everyone, though. And that’s what you realize when you do the Healing Circle with others—everyone’s a mess. So it doesn’t really matter.

There’s something going on with every single person. Once I realized that, it made it easier for me to call or text somebody and say, “Okay, I’m struggling with this. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I know you’ve been through it. What do I do?”

It makes life easier. No one’s going to say on your deathbed, “Remember when you called me for help?” They’ll say, “I’m glad you did.”

[00:19:30] Sam Yarborough: The irony of that is that it comes full circle and helps with your relationship pillar. So I think it’s really interesting that we’re talking about personal development, but the theme you keep coming back to is that it’s not done on your own. Having a community and people around you that can guide and support is crucial for that.

So let’s talk about—you started off this conversation saying you had all these business goals, and you hit most of them. From the outside, you looked completely successful. Now you’ve talked about how you’ve transformed by working out, feeling much better, and feeling really accomplished by that goal. What do you think the difference was in hitting those two goals, and why do you feel more accomplished in one and not the other?

[00:20:19] Morgan J Ingram: That’s a good question.

[00:20:21] Jason Yarborough: That is a good question.

[00:20:22] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah. I don’t think it’s because both require discipline and due diligence. I think when it comes to health—and this is where I’m going—this is a really good question; it’s got me thinking. I think it’s because there’s more self-love in getting yourself healthy than in accomplishing a business goal.

[00:20:48] Sam Yarborough: Let me ask a further follow-up question because I think that’s spot on. Do you think you feel more fulfilled holistically because you’ve been paying attention to more than one area of your life?

[00:21:02] Morgan J Ingram: A hundred percent. In order to decrease the body fat, I stopped drinking in June. I realized I was plateauing. My trainer was like, “You’ve got to stop drinking.” And I was like, “What? I can’t go crazy! What do you mean?”

That was hard. The first month was not fun. But at this point, I don’t even know if I’d go back. That’s how I feel now. I feel better, I have more clarity, and I’m not saying I’m better than anyone. I’m not on that “I’m sober and superior” energy. I went to the University of Georgia—I’ve had my share.

But I personally feel clearer, lighter, and more at peace. So I’m always going to choose that.

Also, my coach and I have talked a lot about this. I didn’t realize how I was operating before. From 2016 to 2021, I was angry. Even though if you met me, you wouldn’t see it, internally I was fueled by anger. I was trying to prove everyone wrong.

[00:22:30] Jason Yarborough: Everybody wrong.

[00:22:31] Morgan J Ingram: Everyone. “You can’t do this, you can’t do that.” So I always had to create an enemy. But when you prove everyone wrong, you run out of enemies—so you start projecting that onto people who are actually supporting you. It gets really twisted.

Then you’re like, “Oh, I have to prove you wrong too.” But these people are actually trying to help you.

[00:22:55] Sam Yarborough: You were doing none of this for you, and everything else in spite. So the motives changed completely.

[00:23:02] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly. This had nothing to do with me. That’s why I felt that emptiness.

I didn’t understand that until literally this year—we had to unpack that. Now, everything I do comes from a completely different place. My coach and I talk about this concept: What would love do?

Love would take care of their body. Love would lean into a friendship or call their parents. Love would make time for a 30-minute catch-up even if it’s inconvenient.

But proving people wrong says, “I don’t have time for that, I’ve got a mission.” Your energy changes.

So now, the things I feel more accomplished by are rooted in love—self-love and love for others. Before, it was all anger, resentment, and ego. Now it’s peace and connection.

[00:24:15] Jason Yarborough: I think so much of it just comes back to self-love. We’ve mentioned that a ton on this podcast. One of the things that it made me think of is—I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

[00:24:29] Morgan J Ingram: Yes. Yeah, yeah.

[00:24:31] Jason Yarborough: So one of those top tiers is self-actualization. It’s about growing continuously, living authentically, using your unique gifts, and seeking meaning and purpose. It’s the process of becoming the fullest, truest version of yourself.

When you live in alignment with your highest potential, values, and capabilities, you start to see and feel things differently.

[00:25:00] Morgan J Ingram: A hundred percent.

[00:25:01] Jason Yarborough: Versus when you’re trying to prove somebody wrong—you’re not proving anything to yourself, you’re just proving something to everyone else. When you self-actualize and live according to your own capabilities, the only person you’re proving something to is yourself. It becomes me versus me—and that’s a completely different game.

[00:25:19] Morgan J Ingram: Completely different game. And I’ve realized for myself—and this applies to others too—we can all watch the same movie and take away completely different things.

Even now, if I rewatch movies I saw years ago, I notice something totally new because I’m a different person today. That’s just life. Perspective changes as we change.

[00:25:54] Sam Yarborough: So let’s talk about recently. This comes up a lot, and I’m obsessed with the concept of ripples. You go through this—and this isn’t a destination, it’s ongoing. Actually, let me ask that first. How often are you revisiting this?

[00:26:17] Morgan J Ingram: Define “this.”

[00:26:18] Sam Yarborough: How often are you re-rating yourself on a scale of one to ten in all of these categories?

[00:26:24] Morgan J Ingram: So now I’m doing it every four to five months. A lot can happen in that time. I’ll probably do it again soon, and I’m going back to the retreat in December, so we’ll do it there too.

But I also do more frequent reflections—not just gratitude, but acknowledgment. Not just “I’m grateful for these things,” but “I acknowledge myself for doing these things.”

For example, “I acknowledge myself for getting a coach.” People celebrate the results of coaching, but they forget to celebrate the decision to get help in the first place.

Or I’ll say, “I acknowledge myself for taking a walk this morning.” Honestly, I didn’t want to walk. I stared at the door like, “I do not want to do this.” But I did it anyway.

[00:27:27] Jason Yarborough: I don’t want to get up in the mornings and work out—but you do it.

[00:27:29] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly. I didn’t want to go to the gym today. But I did it. And I acknowledge myself for that.

Anytime I lean into something—calling a friend, checking in with family—I acknowledge that too.

These are small things most people overlook, but they’re big. Most people are afraid to do them. So yes, I reflect on the one-to-ten, but I also reflect on what I’m doing differently now.

That’s how I remind myself of my growth. Once you do something you used to avoid, you realize it wasn’t as painful as you thought it would be.

[00:28:22] Sam Yarborough: I think what you just touched on is so important. Jason and I talk about that a lot. I was just having this conversation with a friend—how the goalpost is always moving. We forget to look backward, to have a moment of celebration, appreciation for what we did accomplish.

If we keep moving through that, “enough” is never enough—and burnout is always on the other side.

[00:28:52] Jason Yarborough: That’s how we end up feeling empty after we accomplish our goals. You don’t take the time to be proud of what you’ve done. That’s part of self-worth and self-love—saying, “I’m proud of who I am and who I’m becoming.” And if you don’t feel that way, then get truthful and go through these exercises you’re talking about.

[00:29:11] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly.

[00:29:12] Sam Yarborough: So every five to six months, do you have a ritual when you do this? Do you go through it with the same group of people? Do you do it on your own? What does that look like?

[00:29:27] Morgan J Ingram: It doesn’t take long for me to assess because I’m already reflecting regularly. When I go through it, it’s maybe an hour. I do it myself now. I’m okay being very honest with myself—though I wouldn’t recommend doing that at first.

If you’re not ready, silence can be brutal. It can be hard to face certain things.

Now I just turn on some music, light a candle, vibe out, and assess where I’m at. I look through it and ask, “How can I improve that?”

I try not to overthink the rankings. We usually know what we are out of ten. If you overthink it, you’re either inflating or deflating based on your current emotional state.

That’s why I also acknowledge myself—so I have a more accurate sense of where I actually stand.

[00:30:42] Jason Yarborough: One quick question within that, and something I’m thinking about, is going back to this point—it’s really hard to be honest with yourself. If you’re talking with someone one-on-one or you’re in a group setting, how do you encourage someone to honestly and truthfully be real with themselves to the point where they can answer these things accurately and not lie to themselves? What pointers would you give someone to be honest with themselves?

[00:31:06] Morgan J Ingram: Number one is asking yourself, are you comfortable in the lie that you’re living, or do you want to set yourself free?

[00:31:15] Jason Yarborough: That’s a good question.

[00:31:16] Morgan J Ingram: That’s just what you have to ask yourself. If you’re comfortable in the lie, then you have to accept that you’re comfortable in that lie—and that that’s the life you’re going to live. But if you want to be set free, then you can come to an acceptance of, “Okay, I want to be free,” and now the work can begin. Without that question, you’re not going to get far.

Then you also have to ask yourself a follow-up: if you’re okay with lying to yourself, who’s telling you that? Where is that coming from? Why do you have to lie to yourself? Who told you a story back in the day that made you feel like you’re not worth it? Or not worthy of loving yourself to the degree that you can?

I’m not a therapist, but I’ll tell you—those are the questions you’ve got to ask. Why do I feel comfortable lying to myself and not figuring this out? Why am I cool with that?

[00:32:08] Sam Yarborough: Who told you you’re not worth the effort? I mean, I think that’s pretty powerful. Okay, so I have so many questions—I’m trying to decide which one to ask next.

So I kind of started this ripples thread earlier. Let’s go back to that. Okay, you do this work for yourself. This is an ongoing journey; it’s never-ending. How have you noticed, if at all, this having ripples on those around you?

Where I’m really getting at with this question is—as a leader, whether that’s in the traditional sense at your job or as a leader in your home, community, or friend group—after doing this work, have you noticed it’s had ripples in your communities? Has it made you a better leader?

[00:32:57] Morgan J Ingram: A hundred percent. Everyone has different ways that they lead and impact others. One of the things I’ve identified is that I’m a catalyst.

If you look up the definition of a catalyst, it’s a chemical reaction that adds or multiplies to whatever it interacts with—but it itself remains unaffected.

For me, I can have a conversation with someone, help them move toward change, but I don’t get pulled into their energy. I don’t absorb their negativity. I stay grounded.

I’ve realized there are actions I take that inspire other people to take action.

For example, when I got my latest body fat percentage, I shared a screenshot in my group chat. There’s a wedding I’m in this February, and I said, “Hey, I’m locking in. I’m going to 10% next.”

One of the guys immediately called me like, “I’m fired up! I’ve been slacking, but I saw this and I’m going to 10% with you.”

That’s what I mean—I’m a catalyst. I add energy that multiplies motivation in others. And because I share transparently—“Here’s where I was, here’s where I am”—people feel empowered to take their own next steps.

So that’s what I’m seeing across the board with my team, my community, the people I hang out with. It’s contagious.

[00:35:00] Jason Yarborough: I love that. I think about taking this message—how you presented it at Arcadia—and bringing it to leadership. How would you encourage a leader to take this and transform how they lead? Because what you’re going through might look different from someone else’s path. But how do you encourage leaders to take these concepts and approach leadership more holistically?

[00:35:32] Morgan J Ingram: I think the first step—and I mentioned this at the talk—is that everyone needs to do the Healing Circle. That’s the foundation. You can’t grow without that level of awareness.

When I was a manager, I never asked people how they were going to hit quota. That was never the question. I always asked, “What are your personal goals right now?”

I remember one of my reps said, “I’m trying to buy a couch.” She had just graduated college. I said, “Alright, how are you going to get the couch?” She said, “I don’t have the money for it.”

So I said, “Cool. Let’s map out a plan for you to book X number of meetings in the next couple of weeks so you can earn that commission and buy the couch.”

It sounds funny, but it worked. It gave her something tangible that mattered to her.

If you’re a leader of leaders, it’s probably bigger than a couch—maybe something deeper. But the point is the same: people need to be seen as humans first.

[00:36:25] Sam Yarborough: What’s your couch?

[00:36:26] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly. What’s your couch?

If I had a sales team today, I’d say, “Alright, everyone, this might sound woo-woo, but we’re doing a Healing Circle.”

Because I can’t lead you if I don’t know where you’re really at.

And I’d be transparent too. I wouldn’t sit there saying, “I’m all nines, you guys suck.” I’d share my own struggles.

Then we could all understand how to help each other move forward. I’d know Bobby is a five out of ten in health and wants to lose weight, so maybe I check in, send him my workouts, hold him accountable.

That’s what real leadership is—leading beyond the job, actually elevating the person.

But you can’t elevate someone’s soul if you don’t know what’s going on inside them.

So that’s the first step—do the Healing Circle together. Once you know where people stand, you can celebrate progress and build a culture that genuinely supports growth.

[00:38:04] Sam Yarborough: Okay, so here’s a question that comes to mind. Lots of people manage remote teams right now. Did you know the people that were in your men’s group prior to going, or were they strangers?

[00:38:18] Morgan J Ingram: I only knew two people out of eight.

[00:38:21] Sam Yarborough: Okay, and you were in person together. Was this the first thing you all did, or did you do something before that? Because that would’ve been crazy if you started with it.

[00:38:44] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, no way. We didn’t do that first—that would’ve been way too heavy. We did it on the second day, toward the end, after doing other exercises that built connection and trust.

If we’d started with that, I’d have been like, “I’m not sharing this with y’all.”

So I totally get your point. For a remote team, you’ve got to create some bonding first.

I’d say do something fun—like when my family went to Myrtle Beach and played at Tiger Woods’ putt-putt golf course. Have you been?

[00:39:29] Jason Yarborough: It looks sweet. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve seen pictures.

[00:39:30] Morgan J Ingram: It’s awesome—real greens, super legit. We had a great time. But my point is, do something like that.

If you’re doing an offsite, go have some fun, connect, laugh—and then bring in the Healing Circle the next day.

You can’t just drop people straight into vulnerability. You need trust first.

So yeah, do karaoke, mini golf, whatever. Then once everyone’s opened up, you can get into the deeper stuff.

[00:40:03] Sam Yarborough: I think this is kind of related—I’m just curious on this. I want two answers: I want 2023 Morgan’s answer and 2025 Morgan’s answer. What’s your feeling toward this statement: “Bring your whole self to work”?

[00:40:20] Morgan J Ingram: 2023 Morgan would’ve said: “Nobody needs to know anything personal about me, and honestly, nobody cares.”

I’d think, “Why talk about it? People want sales tips, not my feelings. When someone asks how I’m doing, they don’t really want to know. They just want to talk business.”

[00:40:39] Sam Yarborough: “I’m good.”

[00:40:39] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly—“I’m good.”

But 2025 Morgan? Totally different perspective.

I think society as a whole is exhausted—not just physically, but at a soul level.

It’s not about sleep or rest. It’s soul exhaustion from doing so much internal work, from trying to stay authentic in a noisy world.

So for me now, “bringing your whole self” means sharing the truth of what you’re learning, not just the polished version.

People don’t just need tactics—they need to see real stories, from real people, figuring it out.

We live in a world where everything is becoming unrelatable—AI this, 100-million-dollar fund that—and people are like, “Is any of this real?”

So I try to show up as myself. I’ll share what I feel people need to hear, where I’m hesitating, what I’m learning.

Because the real stuff—that’s what connects people.

[00:42:47] Jason Yarborough: Very much feel the same way. And I’ve noticed a big shift in your content. I mean, as the LinkedIn guy, your content’s always been about the sales and the tactics. Now it’s more about the man behind the tactics — the heart, the soul, the stuff like that. So how’s the response been to that from your audience and kind of the perception of what you’re sharing now versus all just tactics?

[00:43:11] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah. At first, I was very uncomfortable with it. I don’t know why — I did not like it. But I felt called and compelled to do it.

What I’ve learned is that most people on LinkedIn focus only on reactions and comments. I look way beyond that. Are people texting me? Calling me? DMing me?

And the answer is yes — a lot. People will text me like, “Whoa, that was deep. Tell me more.” Or they’ll call and say, “Wait, you did what? That’s crazy.” Or they’ll DM me saying, “I feel inspired to do that.”

Some even tell me, “I feel inspired to share what you’re sharing. I didn’t know we could do that.”

[00:44:00] Sam Yarborough: “I didn’t know that was allowed.”

[00:44:02] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly! Some people are like, “I didn’t know this was allowed.” And I’m like, “Yeah, you can do whatever you want.”

So that to me shows that people are craving authenticity. This is what people are looking for. It’s what’s actually impacting them.

And I’ll continue sharing that kind of stuff. Not every day, but when I feel compelled — when it’s right.

The response has been really strong. People DM me, Slack me, text me, saying things like, “This was exactly what I needed.” So I know it’s hitting.

[00:44:35] Jason Yarborough: Yeah, we get that a lot too. I feel like Sam and I’s content has changed a lot around the same principles — especially as we’ve dug more into the concept and principles of Arcadia.

And it is one of those things — I get tired of posting about tactics and how to do partnerships, how to build that, here’s a playbook.

The more we share the real stuff, the more sincere the feedback we get.

People are looking for this kind of information. Everyone’s going through the same stuff, the same crap, and they’re not quite sure how to get off the carousel.

They keep riding it, and then someone finally speaks up, shows a new path, a new way, a new thought — and it’s refreshing.

It’s almost healing to an extent, for where they are and what they’re dealing with.

[00:45:21] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, a hundred percent.

[00:45:22] Sam Yarborough: So Morgan, I saw a post the other day where somebody sold their business for $10 billion.

[00:45:27] Jason Yarborough: Oh God, you mentioned this.

[00:45:28] Sam Yarborough: Yeah, I want to just highlight this because I feel like this conversation can seem like, “Okay, yeah, we look at our lives and we’re improving, and everything is sunshine and rainbows.” And that’s not true.

You mentioned this specific example at Arcadia, where you can get stuck in the trap of everybody’s highlight reel, and you come back to one statement to help yourself through that. Can you talk about that?

[00:46:01] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah. So I think everyone can relate to this. I get really frustrated — I mean really frustrated — by social media.

Because I’ll think, “Man, I’m killing it,” and then someone posts, “Oh, I solved the world’s algorithmic problem and made a billion dollars in five days.”

And I’m like, “What?!”

Or someone’s like, “Here’s my $50 million funnel I built in 17 days,” and I’m sitting there like, “What am I doing wrong?”

Even though I know a lot of those people are exaggerating, it still gets you. You can’t help it. You’re like, “What’s going on here? Why am I not seeing that level of success?”

[00:46:41] Sam Yarborough: “Comment: success to solve all the world’s problems.”

[00:46:46] Morgan J Ingram: Exactly. It rubs me the wrong way.

And look — there are people I genuinely admire, and I’m happy for their wins. But you still find yourself comparing.

You start asking, “Should I change something? What am I missing?”

So the statement I tell myself is: I’m exactly where I need to be.

We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Even if that person did make a billion in five days, let’s go back to the Healing Circle. Maybe they’re a ten out of ten on money — but could they be a two out of ten on health? A one on relationships?

We don’t know.

So just because you see someone “killing it,” that doesn’t mean they’re fulfilled. Would you even want to model that person’s life?

[00:47:38] Morgan J Ingram (continued): Another thing I remind myself of: Where are the receipts?

If someone’s like, “Hey, I made a billion dollars in five days,” and there’s no proof — you can just let that go.

And even if it’s true — if you met that person in real life and they weren’t kind, or lacked integrity — would it matter?

My coach and I had a conversation about this that changed everything for me.

I said, “Hey, let’s just say I really wanted to push and make $750 million, a billion dollars. People tell me I’d have to compromise my character, do shady things to get there. Is there a way around that?”

And he said, “What if I told you you’d have to compromise yourself — would you do it?”

I said, “No.”

He said, “Then this conversation doesn’t even matter. It’s irrelevant. Because you’d never do that.”

And that clicked for me.

A lot of the things we feel envious or insecure about? We wouldn’t even want to be those people if we really knew what it took.

That’s why I deleted a lot of apps from my phone — to clear my headspace and focus on what actually matters.

But yeah, that phrase — I’m exactly where I need to be — it grounds me every time.

[00:49:28] Jason Yarborough: It makes me think — you mentioned earlier, you may not want to be the people you see.

I have to imagine that 2016 to 2021 Morgan J — everyone on the surface thought you were killing it, hitting goals, doing great.

But I assume no one knew on the inside that you felt empty.

[00:49:45] Morgan J Ingram: No, probably not. I didn’t say anything about it.

[00:49:49] Jason Yarborough: And that’s just it — you can’t always judge someone by what you see. That’s the danger and damage of social media.

But I think when people are brave enough to be vulnerable and share what they’re really going through, it changes the game.

That’s why people latch onto that kind of content. It’s honest, it’s real. Things aren’t always rainbows and sunshine — sometimes we’re going through real stuff, and this is how we deal with it.

Leaders need to hear that.

We talked a lot at Arcadia about having a place to safely and bravely invest in yourself. Because leaders rarely have that space — to share struggles, to be real.

I’m grateful to see you out there sharing this kind of content.

[00:50:49] Sam Yarborough: For sure. Yeah, and I think the reason why I love the Healing Circle so much is because it puts a line in the sand. It gives you something to say, “This is a picture of my life.”

Jason and I are as connected as two humans could be — we live in the same house, run the same business, raise the same kids — but our answers would probably be different.

And that’s a good thing. It’s a healthy exercise to have your own roadmap.

It doesn’t matter if someone else has $10 billion — that’s not on my roadmap.

Having something to come back to — to say, “Good for them, but here’s my lane” — is so important.

Because we can get pulled in so many directions by what society tells us is success, that we lose perspective on what actually matters as humans.

[00:51:43] Jason Yarborough: I think we spend too much time being envious of what other people have — wanting to be someone else.

I’ve been guilty of that my whole life.

One of the things that’s helped me flip that mindset is learning to celebrate what other people have accomplished instead of comparing.

When I celebrate others out loud, that envy starts to fade.

The more I cheer people on, the less I want to be like them — and the more inspired I am by what’s possible.

It’s a mindset shift.

[00:52:33] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, exactly. Celebrate it, because now your brain reframes it as possibility instead of competition.

You don’t come from a negative place — you come from inspiration.

Like, “That’s awesome. It’s possible. And if it’s possible for them, it’s possible for me.”

That gives you hope and courage instead of resentment.

That’s the reframe you have to practice.

[00:53:04] Jason Yarborough: Yeah, I love it. I love it. Well, we’re going to bring this to a close here — we’ve all got hard stops. We’re adults, running businesses, with responsibilities, which sucks sometimes.

But since we’re talking about ratings — relationships, health, family, finance, spirituality, all that — I’m going to put you on the board here and ask you to rate something that’s not in your Healing Circle. You ready?

[00:53:27] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, tell me.

[00:53:28] Jason Yarborough: Very serious question. In pickleball, the highest rating you can achieve is what — 5.0? 5.5?

[00:53:37] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, it’s like a 5.5.

[00:53:38] Jason Yarborough: Alright, so I need to know where honest, vulnerable Morgan J Ingram ranks himself. Beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert?

Is it a one to two, two to three, where are we at? We need an update we can track next time you come back.

[00:53:53] Morgan J Ingram: I laughed because I knew this was going to be your question. I knew it.

So here’s the thing — I haven’t gotten my DUPR rating yet, so I don’t officially know.

But if I had to guess, I’d say I’m at that entry-to-intermediate stage.

I can hang with entry-level intermediates now.

If you’ve been playing for four or five years — or if you played tennis before — you’ll probably still get me.

But I feel like I’ve crossed that threshold from beginner to intermediate just recently.

I’m starting to react differently, making intuitive plays, not overthinking.

So yeah, beginner-to-intermediate feels right.

I’ve also made some adjustments to my serve lately, so I’m feeling good about it.

But I remind myself — I’ve never played a paddle sport before. So this is all learning and growth. I’m just excited to improve every day.

[00:55:12] Sam Yarborough: Small celebrations.

[00:55:13] Jason Yarborough: Love the journey. I’ve been playing every Wednesday morning, so I’m ready for you next time we’re together.

[00:55:17] Morgan J Ingram: I’m locked in now.

[00:55:19] Jason Yarborough: We’ll bring the PartnerStack pickleball paddles for us. When we played, I had just picked it up — and you were barefoot — so the odds were against you.

[00:55:27] Sam Yarborough: Odds against you. Alright, Morgan, thank you for joining us. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to share your message. Thank you for being the person you are in the world.

So people should still follow you on LinkedIn? Is that where we go to get the good good?

[00:55:45] Morgan J Ingram: Yeah, follow me on LinkedIn. My newsletter’s called The Commish — I go way deeper there, talk about my journey in detail. And we’re going to start putting out more YouTube videos too, so I can have more long-form space to unpack these things.

[00:55:59] Sam Yarborough: Awesome. We’ll link them below. Thank you for being a friend — we’re rooting for you. And to our listeners, thanks for being here. It’s so fun to be back. We’ll see you next time.

[00:56:11] Jason Yarborough: See y’all.