Todd Herman: How to Become the Hero Inside You

Change Your Brain Every Day

Dr Daniel Amen

Braintrauma, Healthtips, Sleep, Obesity, Anxiety, Braininjury, Depression, Ptsd, Mentalhealth, Mood, Brainhealth, Health & Fitness, Energy, Disease, Addiction, Mental Health, Healthadvice, Adhd, Memory, Focus

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the key to becoming your best self… is already inside you—waiting to be activated? In this inspiring episode, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen talk with performance coach and bestselling author Todd Herman about the proven mental strategies used by Olympic athletes, Super Bowl champions, and top executives to crush self-doubt and perform at the highest level. Drawing on decades of coaching experience and insights from his bestselling book The Alter Ego Effect, Todd shares how stepping into a powerful identity—like Kobe Bryant’s “Black Mamba” or Beyoncé’s “Sasha Fierce”—can help you overcome fear, unlock confidence, and tap into your hidden strengths. Whether you’re chasing a big goal or trying to heal from past pain, this episode will show you how to bridge the gap between who you are and who you need to be.

00:00 Intro

00:45 Sponsor

02:11 The Alter Ego Effect

04:37 Origin Story

09:09 Olympic Redemption

12:30 Creating an Alter Ego

17:57 Death of a Persona

22:17 The 5 Steps to Create an Alter Ego

26:12 Positive vs Negative Motivation

31:05 Defining the Conditions

41:57 The Uniform

45:30 Todd’s Work

54:38 Sponsor

55:52 Wrap Up

For more on Todd's work:

https://alteregoeffect.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Joseph Campbell, who wrote Power of Myth, and he created the hero's journey model.
0:04.5	He was my source for my second alter ego when I started my business.
0:10.7	He has a very famous quote that most people repost about follow your bliss.
0:16.8	Follow your bliss is not the full quote.
0:18.7	Your actual quote is follow your blisters because in your blisters, you'll find your bliss.
0:23.2	Oh, I like that.
0:24.6	Wow.
0:25.3	So follow your pain because in your pain, you'll find your recovery.
0:33.0	Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse.
0:38.3	Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day.
0:47.3	Are you excited to optimize your brain and help the brains of those you love?
0:53.3	Do you want to prevent or treat memory problems,
0:58.0	anxiety or depression? Do you want to be happier? That's why I created Amen University
1:05.0	to take what I've learned over the last 45 years and help you have a better brain, a better mind, and a better body.
1:15.1	You can take courses like our 30-day happiness challenge, which was shown in research to
1:22.1	increase happiness by 32% in just 30 days, or memory rescue, or overcoming anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief,
1:34.3	or healing ADD at home in 30 days and much more. We also have professional courses and courses for kids, including Brain Thrive by 25, which was found
1:48.1	in independent research to decrease depression and improve self-esteem. And as a special offer,
1:56.5	just for our listeners, you can save 20% on your next course. Visit amenuniversity.com and use the code
2:07.7	podcast 20. Today we have someone on the show whose work has changed the lives of Olympic athletes,
2:17.3	Super Bowl champions, and top CEOs, and mine.
2:22.3	And it can change yours, too.
	...

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