PODCAST · education
Brett Trainor Unplugged
by Brett Trainor
Brett Trainor Unplugged is for Gen Xers who want to get one step closer to living the life they want—on their terms.After six years of building life beyond the default corporate playbook, thousands of conversations with Gen Xers, entrepreneurs, and experts, and features in Fortune, Fast Company, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Inc., Brett Trainor is still on the quest to build his ideal life—and he shares what he learns along the way.Part personal journal, part practical guide, and part curious conversation, this is a candid, lightly produced show about stripping away the noise, rejecting unnecessary grind, and seeing more of what is possible.Brett is a deconstructor, explorer, dot connector, and self-admitted high-functioning lazy person. Through solo episodes and unfiltered conversations with Gen Xers, founders, creators, and experts, he explores the decisions, habits, tools, tradeoffs, and ideas that can help you build a life you actually want to live.The conversations
Episodes
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Jim Barke: His First 2 Years Going Solo, Unfiltered & Honest
Almost every escapee story on this show starts with corporate going bad. This one doesn't. Jim Barke spent nearly twelve years at a company he genuinely liked, with what he calls the best team he's ever worked with, and six weeks of PTO. Nobody pushed him out. He wasn't burned out. He hired a...
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You Don't Need to Replace Your Salary. You Need to Fund Your Life- Here’s How
Join the Escapee Collective: A Free Community for Gen X Most people stay stuck in corporate because they think there are only two options: find another job, or start a business that eats five years of your life before it pays you. There's a lot of room between those. This one is about how you...
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Hana Kim: I Left 3 Months Before My Pension Vested
Hana Kim did almost everything you're not supposed to do. She spent seventeen years in corporate, all of it in insurance, and made VP. Then she took a bigger VP role that required moving her whole family from Southern California to Arizona during the pandemic. House to sell, house to buy, a dog,...
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Janet Tanguay: Spitballs, Sweater Vests, & 4 Days in Banking
Join my Substack: https://bretttrainor.substack.com/ Episode Overview: Janet Tanguay got spitballed by her own colleagues in a corporate training for going off script. She lasted four days in her next job. Now she helps people build the life they actually want, and she has the most practical...
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Ten Years of Planning. Then He Quit in a Day
Join Brett’s Substack: Letters from an Escapee: :https://bretttrainor.substack.com/ Hans Weygoldt had everything on paper. Good money, job security, the family business, the life that looks right from the outside. And he was empty. He spent ten years trying to leave. Every time he sat down to…
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Geoff Curtis: You're Not Burned Out, You're in Purgatory
I've had north of a hundred authors on this show. This one stuck with me differently, and it's because of one word: Purgatory. Geoff Curtis spent nearly thirty years building a career in healthcare communications. Title, expertise, platform, the whole thing. Then the company was acquired, his…
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Megan Collier: You Don't Need Followers to Get Paid (UGC)
Megan Collier's first appearance is still one of my most downloaded episodes, so she's back. Quick version if you missed it. UGC is user generated content. Brands pay you to make short videos, and instead of posting them yourself, they use the footage in their own ads. No followers required. No...
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Shelley McIntyre: Who Are You Without the Title?
Shelley McIntyre is back on the show, and her first appearance is still one of the most downloaded episodes I've done. She was a grief counselor before she was a coach, which is why she talks about layoffs differently than anyone else I know. We opened on the Oracle news, because the math on it…
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Myth Buster: Entrepreneurship Isn't for Everyone
Somebody commented on one of my TikToks. He'd started his own solo business a couple years back, it's working, he's happy. Then he said "but it's not for everyone." I'd been repeating that exact line for years and never once dug into it. So this episode is two things. Why people still say...
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The Expert's Privilege: Wes Wheless on Leaving Corporate and Going Solo
Wes Wheless got laid off twice inside a few years. COVID, then the tech downturn. He wasn't angry about the second one. He just didn't have the energy to go attach himself to somebody else's mission again and wait for it to get taken away. He didn't have a plan. He took a couple months, picked up...
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Gen X Has a Math Problem
This one's a step back to look at the big picture, because a lot of the Gen Xers I talk to are too busy living life to see it. Three things are colliding at once. Corporate is chaos. It's not your age, it's your expense. Somebody can do half your job for half the price, and that's who gets…
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9 Things I Learned in 6 Years Out of Corporate
Corporate quit on me just over six years ago. At the time I thought this was about one thing: replacing my income. Six years, 350 episodes, and a whole lot of experiments later, I've figured out it was never really about the money. This is the first solo episode under the new name, and I wanted…
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Brett Trainor Unplugged
Brett Trainor Unplugged is for Gen Xers who want to get one step closer to living the life they want—on their terms. After six years of building life beyond the default corporate playbook, thousands of conversations with Gen Xers, entrepreneurs, and experts, and features in Fortune, Fast Company,...
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You Can Always Make More Money. You Can't Make More Time
You can always make more money. You can't make more time. This is the episode that ties the whole thing together: what a time rich life actually is, and why control of your time, not your income, is the key to the life you want. My first year out of corporate, I chased one thing: replace the...
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15 Ways I've Made Money Since Leaving Corporate
Making money outside corporate is easier than landing your next corporate job. After a thousand-plus conversations with people leaving corporate, the blocker is almost never skill or experience. It's that we overcomplicate it. This one is all mechanics. If you're 45+ and trying to make your first...
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What Pro Athletes Know That Corporate Won't Tell You
Pro athletes know their career has an expiration date. Corporate never tells you yours has one too. Here's the part nobody says out loud: when corporate moves on from you, it usually isn't because your talent slipped. You just got too expensive. Gen X is the first generation facing this without a...
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The Hardest Boss to Fire Is You (with Diana Alt)
"Work should feel good. Not a long, slow march to oblivion." That's Diana Alt, and it's the perfect line to open our first guest episode under The Time Rich Project. Diana is an executive and career coach who came out of tech. She works with people who are still in corporate and quietly wondering...
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Sunrise, Not Sunset: Life After 50 Isn't the Wind-Down
For six years I thought I was running from corporate. Turns out I was chasing the wrong thing. Welcome to The Time Rich Project. Same host, evolved mission, new name. This is the first episode under it, and I get into why the change and why it matters if corporate has stopped working for you....
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The REAL Connection System (How Solo Escapees Actually Build a Pipeline) w/Janice Porter
Janice Porter has been on LinkedIn since 2004, hosts the Relationships Rule podcast (368+ episodes), and has spent almost two decades teaching solo operators the part of business most of us got wrong in corporate: the relationship part. In this conversation, Janice walks Brett through her REAL...
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Your Age Is the Asset (UGC, AI, and the GenX Advantage) w/Megan Collier
Episode Description Megan Collier (@megan_ugc, 300K+ on TikTok) is back on The Corporate Escapee for a Round 2 conversation, and the market has shifted under our feet. UGC, user-generated content, is now a real path to $2K to $15K a month for people who've never been in front of a camera. And the...
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8 Service Offerings GenX Escapee Could Offer Tomorrow
Episode description: GenX is elite at overcomplicating making money. A Millennial gets a side hustle idea and is live by Sunday. A Gen Z is already filming the TikTok. A GenXer opens a Google Doc, then a spreadsheet, then researches LLC structure, then goes to bed. Brett admits he's been part of...
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No One Is Coming to Save You: The Mindset Shift That Works Whether You Escape or Stay
No one is coming to save you. Not your company. Not HR. Not the next reorg, promotion, or administration. That's not doom and gloom. That's actually the good news. Because once you accept it, you stop waiting. You stop hoping. And you start doing something about it. In this solo episode, Brett...
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What a Life First Future Actually Looks Like (& Why You Can't Build One You Can't See)
The Setup Six-plus years ago, when corporate quit on Brett, the goal was simple: make more money than corporate was paying him. That was it. Money, money, money. It took two years to realize money was never the real prize. What he was actually chasing was control. Freedom. The ability to design a...
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Stop Waiting for Permission. Nobody is Coming to Give It to You
This one is personal. Brett flies solo to deliver the one thing he wishes someone had told him when he was still inside corporate grinding it out and telling himself it was the responsible thing to do. You already have permission. Permission to want something different. Permission to design a…
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3 Surprising Ways GenXers Are Replacing Their Corporate Income
Most people leave corporate and immediately chase the familiar paths — consulting, coaching, fractional work. Those are valid. But they take time, runway, and a warm network. In this episode Brett breaks down three unexpected ways GenXers are generating real income right now, using skills they...
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When the Work Stops Lighting You Up: Leaving Corporate Before They Push You Out w/ Kristen Hamborg
Kristen Hamborg is six weeks out of a 25-year corporate interior design career — and she's never looked back. In this episode Kristen shares how burnout, a pandemic pivot, and a coaching certification she pursued on the side slowly shifted everything. Unlike most escapees who get pushed out…
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2 Kids Under Two, Full Time Job, & She Still Built It. No Excuses! w/ Danielle Burken
Danielle Burken escaped corporate in September 2023 — but her journey started six years before that. In this episode Danielle shares how she went from a full-time agency job with two kids under two, to building a six-figure solopreneur business in under 90 days by doing one thing most corporate...
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AI Doesn't Replace Escapees — It Supercharges Them
Corporate is using AI to eliminate jobs. Escapees get to use it to multiply themselves. In this solo episode Brett pulls back the curtain on exactly how he runs his entire business with AI — the tools, the use cases, and the honest truth about what it can and can’t do. He also covers the single...
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4 Real Paths to Replace Your Corporate Income (And Why Franchising Deserves a Second Look)
The 4 Real Paths to Replace Your Corporate Income Most corporate escapees think they only have two options: find another job or figure out how to start a business from scratch. But there are actually four legitimate paths to replacing your corporate income — and one of them is seriously…
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Laid Off 4 Times: What the Job Hunt Won't Teach You About Getting Back Up" (ft. Steve Jaffe)
750 layoffs a day. No, that's not a typo — and it's not slowing down. Brett sits down with Steve Jaffe, marketing veteran and author of The Layoff Journey: From Dismissal to Discovery, to talk about what most career books completely skip: the emotional and psychological toll of losing a job — and...
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I'm My Own Worst Enemy (And You Probably Are Too)
There's a Lit song that's been stuck in my head for weeks: "My Own Worst Enemy." And it's the perfect metaphor for my entire solo journey. I've blocked myself at every stage—consulting, fractional leadership, and now with The Escapee Collective. Not intentionally, but by doing what corporate...
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The Truth About Fractional: Rates, Retainers, and Getting Your First Client (John Arms)
Fractional work is exploding — and it’s still confusing for a lot of corporate escapees. In this Featured Speaker session inside the Escapee Collective, John Arms breaks down Fractional 101 in plain English: what fractional really is, who it’s for, how to get clients (spoiler: it’s not…
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Breaking Corporate Dependency: Why Going Solo Alone Keeps You Stuck w/Brett Trainor
Jon the Escapee Collective! What keeps 79% of corporate professionals stuck isn't lack of skills or opportunity—it's something deeper. In this solo episode, Brett shares the story of landing his first client, making good money, and then doing something that still makes him cringe: convincing that...
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Corporate Is Changing — 3 Trends Creating New Opportunities for Escapees in 2026
Corporate isn’t stabilizing—and that matters if your income still depends on it. In this solo episode, Brett breaks down three trends shaping the Escapee economy in 2026: a corporate metric that’s quietly driving layoffs, the rapid expansion of revenue streams outside corporate, and why small...
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Ashley Returns: Two Years Into the Escape — What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next
Ashley Evenson returns for her third appearance on The Corporate Escapee Podcast — and this time it’s a real update from the field. Two years into her escape, she breaks down what actually helped her land fractional work, what surprised her, and the biggest mistake most new escapees make once…
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Your Job Title Isn’t Your Identity: How to Tell a Bigger Story w/ Catherine Jelinek
Corporate gives you an easy identity: your title, your company, your lane. But once you start building something outside corporate—consulting, fractional, content, a book, a business—that identity disappears fast. And that’s where most people get stuck. In this episode, Brett sits down with...
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Special Episode: What Happens After Corporate Breaks (w/ John Arms)
Post Corporate Life with Brett Trainor & John Arms I recently had the chance to join John Arms on his podcast: Fractional Unfiltered Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0z9pQOOMZEVI4T2NvoOiqP?si=uJoycF4LRGyZQNB4MofrtQ John was kind enough to allow me to share this with my audience. Corporate…
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The Surprising Keys to Succeeding Outside of Corporate
Most people believe the ones who succeed after escaping corporate are the smartest, most experienced, or most credentialed. They’re not. In this solo episode, Brett breaks down a pattern he’s seen across hundreds—if not thousands—of conversations with corporate escapees: success outside corporate...
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Sequence Over Strategy: How Escapees Actually Find Their Path w/ Michelle Warner
Michelle Warner took the “escapee avoidance” route — she planned to do the traditional MBA-to-consulting path… then graduated straight into the Great Recession (the day Lehman fell). That curveball pushed her into entrepreneurship early: a founder-for-hire role turning a multi-billion-dollar...
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The Zillow of Franchising: A Smarter Way to Leave Corporate w/ Alex Smereczniak
If you’ve been thinking about leaving corporate but the risk feels too big, this episode gives you a smarter way to look at it. Brett sits down with Alex Smereczniak, a former EY consultant who left corporate early, built a high-growth business in the laundry space, and later launched Franzy—a...
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“What Am I Doing Here?” — How Tom Mirabella Escaped Corporate at 30
Tom Mirabella left corporate at 30 and never looked back. Seventeen years later, he’s built Wingman into a 25-person business by doing what corporate rarely rewards: solving problems fast, betting on relationships, and staying obsessively close to customers. In this conversation, Tom breaks down...
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From $40K in Debt to $20K Months: The No-BS Path to Profit + Freedom w/Pia Silva
What if scaling your business didn’t require hiring, hustling harder, or stacking endless clients? In this episode, Brett sits down with Pia Silva (No BS Mastery) to break down a simple model for building a highly profitable solo (or two-person) business — built around intensives, clear…
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Why Most Corporate Escapees Fail (And How to Avoid It)
Why do so many people leave corporate… only to end up going back? In this solo episode, Brett breaks down the two core reasons most corporate escapees fail—and more importantly, how to avoid them. Failure here doesn’t mean experimenting and choosing corporate again. It means wanting out, trying…
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Why Podcasting Might Be the Smartest Side Door Out of Corporate w/Mark Hayward
What if podcasting wasn’t just content—but a bridge out of corporate? In this episode, Brett sits down with Mark Hayward, former PwC and KPMG consultant turned podcast host and podcast guesting entrepreneur, to break down his escape from corporate—and how podcasting quietly became one of his most...
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You Don’t Need to Quit to Escape: Build Your Exit on the Side w/ Sam Lee
If you know corporate isn’t for you but you can’t see a clean exit, this episode is your roadmap. Brett sits down with Sam Lee (Indie Collective) to break down how experienced professionals can build a “portfolio career” — consulting, coaching, fractional work, and productized services — without...
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New Year-> New You: 7 Steps to Take Back Control From Corporate
Get the New Escapee Starter Kit Here If you know corporate is broken—but you’re not ready to quit—this episode is for you. In this year-end solo episode, Brett walks through 7 practical steps to help you rethink your relationship with work, assess how happy you actually are, and explore whether...
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Keep It Small. Keep It All. (Live Workshop on Escapee Taxes + Business Setup)
This episode is a live mini-workshop recorded with members of the Escapee Collective (and released here because it was too useful to keep inside the community). My guest Diane Kennedy (CPA) breaks down what most new escapees get wrong about taxes and business structure — and why the real first...
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Your Corporate Escape Plan: Insurance Policy, Not Leap of Faith
If you know corporate is broken but jumping straight into solopreneur life feels like too big a leap, this episode is for you. Brett breaks down how to treat your “escape plan” like an insurance policy—not a dramatic leap off a cliff. You don’t have to quit your job tomorrow. But you do owe it to...
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Own the Room: How to Communicate So You’re Heard, Seen & Respected w/ Jake Stahl
If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “Why didn’t that land?” Or if you’ve ever felt invisible in corporate… Or if you’re building a life outside of corporate and wondering why some conversations connect and others fall flat… This episode will hit you hard. Today, Brett welcomes back...
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Corporate Quit on Her — She Built a Business Faster Than She Could Job Hunt w/ Clair Sullivan
What happens when corporate stress gets so bad you literally can’t swallow solid food? That’s where Claire Sullivan found herself. On December 1st, 2023, corporate quit on her — and she took what most people would call the riskiest step possible: She built a business… the same day. Filed an LLC...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Brett Trainor Unplugged is for Gen Xers who want to get one step closer to living the life they want—on their terms.After six years of building life beyond the default corporate playbook, thousands of conversations with Gen Xers, entrepreneurs, and experts, and features in Fortune, Fast Company, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Inc., Brett Trainor is still on the quest to build his ideal life—and he shares what he learns along the way.Part personal journal, part practical guide, and part curious conversation, this is a candid, lightly produced show about stripping away the noise, rejecting unnecessary grind, and seeing more of what is possible.Brett is a deconstructor, explorer, dot connector, and self-admitted high-functioning lazy person. Through solo episodes and unfiltered conversations with Gen Xers, founders, creators, and experts, he explores the decisions, habits, tools, tradeoffs, and ideas that can help you build a life you actually want to live.The conversations
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Brett Trainor
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Brett Trainor Unplugged have?
Brett Trainor Unplugged currently has 352 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Brett Trainor Unplugged about?
Brett Trainor Unplugged is for Gen Xers who want to get one step closer to living the life they want—on their terms.After six years of building life beyond the default corporate playbook, thousands of conversations with Gen Xers, entrepreneurs, and experts, and features in Fortune, Fast Company,...
How often does Brett Trainor Unplugged release new episodes?
Brett Trainor Unplugged publishes regularly with 352 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Brett Trainor Unplugged?
You can listen to Brett Trainor Unplugged on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Brett Trainor Unplugged?
Brett Trainor Unplugged is created and hosted by Brett Trainor.
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