Habits and Hustle

The problem was never that you didn't know what to do. It's that you keep letting the version of you who doesn't feel like doing it cast the deciding vote.

That's the trap. We make decisions based on how we feel before the thing, instead of how we'll feel after it. 

And before anything hard, the feeling is always the same: tired, unmotivated, full of reasons to wait. If that's the voice you're listening to, of course you're stuck restarting. You've handed the mic to the wrong version of yourself.

We try to fix this with more discipline, more motivation, or another reset on Monday. None of it works for long, because none of it changes the question you're asking yourself in the moment that actually matters.

In this episode of Habits & Hustle, I break down the one question that changed how I show up for the gym, the hard conversations, and everything I'd rather put off. No system. No reset. Just a different way to decide.

You don't need more motivation. You need to stop letting the wrong version of you decide. 

Let's dive in!

What's Discussed:


(01:16) The one shift in focus that changes how you make every hard decision.


(02:06) Why chasing happiness directly is the reason you never feel it.


(03:08) The backwards way we wait for motivation to show up.


(04:08) What the gym actually proves about every other thing you avoid.


(04:52) The pattern hiding inside one-night stands, tequila, and skipped workouts.


(07:41) Why the conversations you're putting off are costing you more than having them.


(08:55) The reason rumination makes you suffer twice and how to stop the loop.


(09:56) The feeling that should actually drive your decisions (and the one that shouldn't).

Thank you to my sponsors!Kion: Visit getkion.com/habits for 20% off.

AirDoctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code HUSTLE to get up to $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, plus a 3-year warranty (an $84 value) FREE!

AX3®: Visit www.AX3.life to get a 20% discount on your first order with promo code HUSTLE at checkout.

Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

Find more from Jen: 

Website: https://jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: https://jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: https://jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

I live by one rule that has shaped almost every good thing in my career: do the thing first and ask for forgiveness later. Not permission. Forgiveness. The people who wait for the right connection, the right introduction, the right moment, usually end up watching someone bolder walk past them into the room they were trying to get into.

That is exactly why I wanted to sit down with James Dumoulin.

James is the 23-year-old founder of School of Hard Knocks, the media brand you have almost certainly seen on your feed even if you never clocked the name. He is the guy who walks up to strangers in G-Wagons and Rolexes and asks them how much money they make. That one move, repeated enough times, turned into 48 billionaire interviews, 22 million followers, and an 8-figure business before most people his age have figured out what they want to do after college.

In this episode, James breaks down how he actually built the empire, the business decisions that saved it, why he turned down hundreds of thousands in easy sponsorship money, and the one question he asks every wealthy person he meets. He also gets into what he thinks his own generation is getting wrong, why the gatekeepers are the reason most people never land the meeting, how he cold-emailed Mark Cuban and got a yes in three seconds, and the moment going viral almost cost him everything.

If you have ever hesitated to make the ask, send the email, or walk up to the person, this conversation will change how you think about what is actually possible.

What's Discussed:


(02:15) How James went from working at Chick-fil-A to building School of Hard Knocks.


(08:20) How he got Mark Cuban as his first big interview through a cold email.


(11:05) The only metric on social media that actually matters. 


(14:30) What makes the first three to five seconds of a video work & why the hook is everything.


(18:45) Why going viral once is not a business and how the platforms can take it all away overnight.


(21:20) The moment School of Hard Knocks went from $30k a month to under $5k in a single day.


(24:10) Why Facebook pays more than Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube combined.


(26:30) The sponsorships James turned down to protect the brand. 


(31:15) How he built multiple businesses on top of the content. 


(36:00) What it is actually like behind the scenes trying to interview Tom Cruise.


(40:20) Why the most successful people are the easiest to reach and the gatekeepers are the real bottleneck.


(46:10) What James thinks his own generation is getting completely wrong about work and life.


(52:30) The one piece of advice from a Goodyear executive that James has lived by ever since.


(58:15) The mindset shift that separates billionaires from everyone else.


(1:04:40) Why he still edits every single video himself even with 70 employees.


(1:10:25) How to build a personal brand if you are starting in your 40s or 50s and not fluent in digital.


(1:15:50) What is next for The School of Hard Knocks and the new channels James is building.

Thank you to my sponsors!Kion: Visit getkion.com/habits for 20% off.

AirDoctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code HUSTLE to get up to $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, plus a 3-year warranty (an $84 value) FREE!

AX3®: Visit www.AX3.life to get a 20% discount on your first order with promo code HUSTLE at checkout.

Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

Find more from Jen Cohen: 

Website: www.jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: www.jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Find more from James Dumoulin:

James’s Instagram: @realjamesdumoulin

School of Hard Knocks Instagram: @theschoolofhardknockz

School of Hard Knocks YouTube: @theschoolofhardknocks

School of Mentors YouTube: @jointheschoolofmentors

School of Mentors Community: https://www.skool.com/schoolofmentors

School of Content Consulting: https://www.skool.com/schoolofcontent

Are you having a hard time connecting with your kid to know what they’re up to? 

By the age of 10, kids may start to have short answers like “fine” and speak less to us parents because their brains develop and start navigating more independence over parental guidance.

As parents, we want to make sure what is happening with our kids and it can be frustrating to get them to share more which sometimes leads to yelling. 

Kids are sensitive to our emotions as parents and they would rather distance themselves and become more mute when met with frustration and stress. 

In this episode of Habits & Hustle, I share some communication strategies that I learned from the communication experts and behavioral psychologists I met from this podcast and how it worked for me and my sons.  

It is so possible to have fun and engaging conversations with your kids without them feeling dismissed or ignored and you pulling your hair out of frustration. Let’s dive in!

What's Discussed:


(01:30) The first rule: what active listening actually looks like and why it matters.


(02:12) Why being physically present isn't the same as being mentally present.


(03:16) The environments where kids open up the most and why.


(04:16) Why "how was school?" gets you nowhere and what to ask instead.


(05:00) How sharing your own stories builds a connection with your kids.


(05:28) Why baby talk sets kids back and talking to them like mini adults works better.


(08:04) Why dedicated one-on-one time makes kids feel special.


(08:31) How staying patient and calm gets better results than losing your temper.


(10:05) Why kids are intuitive and can sense when something is real versus not.


(10:27) What respecting your child's boundaries actually looks like.


(11:13) Why forcing kids to hug or kiss people teaches them the wrong lesson.

Thank you to my sponsors!Kion: Visit getkion.com/habits for 20% off.

AirDoctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code HUSTLE to get up to $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, plus a 3-year warranty (an $84

value) FREE!

AX3®: Visit www.AX3.life to get a 20% discount on your first order with promo code HUSTLE at checkout.

Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

Find more from Jen: 

Website: https://jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: https://jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: https://jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Most women are told that wanting more makes them selfish. It’s like fitting on a societal construct of a “woman” as a mother, parent, and wife is the only destiny that awaits every female. Sarah Shahi spent years believing that too until she got the role of Billie.

Playing the lead in Netflix's global hit Sex/Life didn't just make Sarah famous. It cracked her open into seeing what’s on the other side of choosing herself through Billie. Her story is one of the profound embodiments of an authentic woman who took courage to come home to herself and finally be free from societal mold imposed on women.  

In this episode of Habits and Hustle, Sarah shares where it all started, how she suddenly got into acting, and the journey of being an actress for almost two decades only to break through when she’s about to give up. 

She shares all the wisdom she learned from pain, what it really means to be a recovering people pleaser, how she rebuilt herself after a very public divorce and breakup, and the philosophy she has quietly built that most people never get to hear.

This is not another celebrity interview. This is a masterclass in courage to be a woman.

What's Discussed:


(8:58) The moment she knew she wanted to make a change in her life. 


(14:03) How the Sex/Life audition actually went and what really happened in that room.


(26:23) How playing Billie gave her the courage to question everything in her own life.


(26:47) What real courage looks like & the wisdom behind it. 


(40:28) What divorce during COVID taught her about love, loss and starting over. 


(41:46) Her birth as a writer through her Glamour article. 


(46:14) How she developed thick skin living her life in public. 


(57:17) Why she dances until she smiles and the science behind why it works. 


(59:17) The exact mindset shift she used to survive her most public breakup. 


(1:01:38) The teachers and thinkers who shaped how she processes pain.


(1:03:19) Why she calls her divorce her PhD in pain and why she does not see it as a failure. 


(1:06:58) What a year of being single for the first time in 23 years taught her about herself. 


(1:09:14) Her production company School for Women and what she is building next.


(1:21:31) Her full beauty, hormone and wellness routine including what is actually behind that skin.

Thank you to my sponsors!Kion: Visit getkion.com/habits for 20% off.

AirDoctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code HUSTLE to get up to $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, plus a 3-year warranty (an $84

value) FREE!

AX3®: Visit www.AX3.life to get a 20% discount on your first order with promo code HUSTLE at checkout.

Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

Find more from Jen: 

Website: https://jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: https://jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: https://jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Find more from Sarah Shahi:  

Instagram: @sarahshahi  

Book: https://www.lifeislifey.com/

So much can go unnoticed, unappreciated and unacknowledged when we lack the tools to say what we truly mean. Isn’t it ironic how we can talk with others but may never feel heard or truly listen? 

In every word left unsaid, every sentence misunderstood, or a conversation flow left unmatched, we are not only losing a chance to connect but also opportunities to grow deeper into knowing others better. 

In this episode of Habits & Hustle, I break down the most common habits that silently kill connection and the strategies we can practice in our future conversations to be heard the way we hope and understand others better.

Because in conversations, what matters is your presence and the openness to connect more which can be transformative for you and everyone you talk to.

Let’s dive in!

What's Discussed:

(00:00) Why poor communication quietly ruins outcomes more than you think.

(03:25) The biggest listening mistake most people make (and don’t realize).

(05:40) How to actually show you’re listening without saying much.

(08:15) Why most conversations feel disconnected—and how to fix it instantly.

(12:05) The problem with “flowery” communication and why it confuses people.

(14:10) How to simplify your message so anyone can understand it.

(16:00) Why tailoring your tone to your audience changes everything.

(18:30) How body language can make or break communication.

(20:10) The hidden power of nonverbal cues in building connection.

(22:05) Why mirroring body language makes people trust you faster.

(27:10) How making people feel heard transforms every interaction.

(28:30) Simple habits that dramatically improve communication.

Thank you to our sponsors:

AX3®: Visit www.AX3.life to get a 20% discount on your first order with promo code HUSTLE at checkout.

Air Doctor: Head to www.AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code HUSTLE to get UP TO $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee plus a 3-year warranty, an $84 value FREE!

Find more from Jen: 

Website: https://jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: https://jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: https://jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements