Your Gift is Designed to Sustain You: Why Most People Never Find

Welcome to a deep dive inspired by the Threads of Enlightenment podcast episode, “Your Gift is Designed to Sustain You: Why Most People Never Find It.” We’re exploring how self-discovery, overcoming challenges, and embracing your unique gifts can lead you to a life of balance, purpose, and real fulfillment.

In this episode, host Ken Primus sits down with Jeremy—an experienced coach, ex-CEO, and creative entrepreneur—to discuss the journey from living within society’s lines to breaking free and becoming the most authentic version of yourself. This is not just a story; it’s a guide packed with real insight, hard-won lessons, and the kind of wisdom you can take with you as you walk your own path.

Whether you’re feeling stuck in your job, searching for meaning, or simply looking for inspiration to kickstart your next chapter, this blog post will walk you through Jeremy’s journey and the principles he uses to help others—and himself—unlock their gifts.

Honoring the Journey: The Value of Time and Experience

Before anything else, Ken starts by showing deep respect for every guest’s journey and the time they share. Time, he says, is our most expensive asset—we all have the same twenty-four hours, and how we spend it shapes everything.

“Everyone has been offered 24 hours and Jeremy is about to spend some of it with us. And I want to acknowledge that and thank him for it. The other is the Journey.”

That mutual respect sets the tone for the kind of open, honest conversation that follows. Ken’s gratefulness honors not only Jeremy, but every listener whose time is precious.

Serving Others: Jeremy’s Mission

Jeremy isn’t about quick fixes or feel-good advice. His work is about helping people who feel out of sync—especially those struggling to find themselves in a world that moves fast and sometimes overlooks the deeply personal aspects of human experience.

What Does Jeremy Do?

• Helps people discover their values, mission, and goals

• Holds them accountable across personal, professional, spiritual, and physical life

• Guides them to balance their busy schedules so life isn’t just about work

For many, especially in Western cultures, “success” often means professional achievement. But Jeremy challenges that notion:

“We begin to lose many of the greatest years of our lives to work. And there’s so much more to us than that.”

Jeremy’s work centers on balance—making sure you don’t sacrifice yourself for a paycheck, and that your whole being gets the attention it deserves.

The Family Unit: Where Programming Begins

Ken and Jeremy then dig into childhood—the family unit is the first place we learn about relationships, beliefs, and identity. It’s also where many of our first programming habits take root.

Jeremy shares that he grew up in a structured, devout Mormon household with a disciplined father. Yet, with ADHD and a wild, creative mind, he felt out of sync:

• He didn’t connect with his family’s faith in the way expected

• Searched for “family” outside his biological home, trying to fit into different groups

Over time, Jeremy realized how much of his journey was about re-connecting—not just with family, but with himself. It wasn’t about finding the perfect group, but learning to appreciate people for who they are, and embracing authentic self-acceptance.

Lessons from Family and Return to Empathy

“It’s taken a lifetime for me to grow back into being truly authentically me, embracing family for each person that they are and stop trying to move through the world to seek a new family…”

That process teaches empathy, respect, and acceptance—tools we all need to flourish.

Education & Early Career: Seeking Answers

Many of us head into adulthood with questions, and Jeremy was no exception.

College Choices

• He studied psychology—like many, hoping to learn more about himself.

• Earned a bachelor’s in behavioral science, went on to work at the Social Security Administration.

• Quickly realized it wasn’t a fit; got a master’s in marriage and family therapy.

• Then, pursued an MBA to climb the corporate ladder.

But even with all this education, Jeremy felt something was missing. The knowledge didn’t answer deeper questions about wellness, peace, and meaning—especially for someone with a non-neurotypical brain.

The Awakening: Psychedelic Medicine

It wasn’t until Jeremy tried psychedelic medicine that things shifted dramatically. Suddenly, the book learning gave way to real self-understanding. He describes it as if every model about human wellness had to be relearned:

“It was almost like after my first experience with a sacred medicine, it was like I had to relearn every single thing that I thought that I knew about the wellness of a human being and about what is actually important…”

For Jeremy, this wasn’t just a trip—it was a doorway to higher consciousness and a new relationship with himself. It gave him value “no matter what it is that I do.”

But the old messages—about success, identity, and fitting in—were hard to shake. Like many, he would work in corporate by day, dive deep into self-discovery at night.

Therapy: Its Limits and Real Lessons

Having studied marriage and family therapy, Jeremy saw firsthand the limitations of traditional approaches:

• Techniques are often “breathing exercises” or one-hour interventions for kids in crisis

• Real healing requires more than patches—it’s about environment, social groups, and removing toxic elements

He realized wellness is holistic:

“Wellness is your environment. It is the people around you. It is that whole. You are the top five people that you hang out with.”

Jeremy saw that tackling only surface-level issues didn’t bring true healing—either for clients or himself. The key was to curate your whole life: clean out what drags you down, and make room for what lifts you up.

Excavating Self: Digging Deeper

When Jeremy started digging into himself, beyond therapy and intellectual learning, he realized:

• Fear of death underpinned a lot of anxiety and control issues

• This fear created a need to “master” every detail—hyper-organization, obsessive structure

But after his awakening, he found a sense of peace. He saw that consciousness doesn’t end; there’s “something else” beyond the daily grind.

Embracing Your Own Brain

Everyone’s mind works differently. For Jeremy, it’s like a circus, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes uniquely creative. Accepting that—and not forcing himself into a mold—was a breakthrough.

“You have to figure out how your brain works. Everybody’s brain works a little bit differently.”

Breaking Free from Old Stories

We all carry stories about ourselves—often tales crafted from trauma or fear. Wiring ourselves to cope with past pain, we end up believing these stories are reality.

“As we are embarking on our journey of self development, we realize that, wait a minute. That story is not a reality… It’s just something I made up.”

Through his spiritual awakening, Jeremy saw that much of what limits us is just that—a story. When we visit these deeper realms (whether through meditation, psychedelics, or other means), we see our connection to everyone and everything.

The Real Consequences: Compassion and Empathy

One of Jeremy’s first tangible changes was how he related to himself and others. His self-talk softened:

• Shifted from harsh, demanding words to compassion and understanding

• Asked himself, “Would you let anyone talk to your child that way?”

He shares that the world today encourages extreme viewpoints. You either take sides or are seen as weak. This breeds division and closes us off to compassion.

The Lightness of Caring

“What does work is caring about yourself, caring about the people around you, irrespective of what they believe or what kind of bumper sticker they have on their car.”

With genuine empathy, things become lighter, less fearful, less judgmental.

The Lock-In Moment: Crisis as Catalyst

Jeremy’s true turning point came after betrayal—a coup in his CEO role left him out in the cold.

• He felt grief, rage, and hurt after being wronged by trusted colleagues

• Realized he needed deep healing, or that anger would control his life

Through further spiritual work—including a holotropic breathwork session led by a Native American shaman—he accessed a psychedelic state with no medicine. He describes flying with a flock of ravens:

• The ravens never left his side

• The vision gave him clarity: He needed to surround himself with people who support and lift him up

This became a symbol for protection, guidance, and the value of having a healthy, supportive environment.

“When you don’t feel like you have to be on the constant defense against people around you who would do you harm… that is where you are going to grow the most.”

The Call to Serve: Building a Process for Change

Becoming His Own First Client

Jeremy laid out his life honestly:

• Examined lessons learned versus lessons hoped for

• Integrated wounds and failures into a system that others could use

He saw that many pains came from trying to fit into the wrong spaces—be it jobs, friendships, or religions. The key was to align with what really worked for him.

“The pain that I’ve experienced has always been me attempting to occupy spaces that weren’t for me and forcing myself to occupy those spaces, whether it was a Kind of work, whether it was a kind of friendship, whether it was a…religion, trying to force myself into things that didn’t fit who I am.”

Betrayal as a Tool for Awakening

Ken and Jeremy discuss how betrayal—painful as it is—is often what propels people onto their real path. History is full of examples, from Jesus Christ to Joseph in the pit. Betrayal creates the break from comfort, forcing us to look inward and find answers.

• After betrayal, people tend to leap higher than before, accessing gifts and purpose they couldn’t reach while stuck in comfort

• The answers aren’t out there; they’re inside

Coaching Breakthroughs: Helping People Find Their Own Way

Jeremy’s work helps people step into their gifts—especially those scared to leave the security of corporate life.

Facing the Big Lie: Job Security

Many believe a stable job is safer than self-employment. In reality, Jeremy points out, true security comes from multiple income streams and believing in yourself.

• Corporate jobs can vanish overnight, leaving people lost and panicked

• Self-employment, while uncertain, offers flexibility and resilience

“When you have income streams coming from many different places, you’re actually more secure than when you have just one big income source that can go away just like that.”

Helping clients reframe their thinking—and take the leap towards their own businesses—is one of Jeremy’s biggest impacts.

Real Life, Real Change: A Client Story

Jeremy describes the difference between forward-looking coaching versus backward-focused therapy. His coaching:

• Helps people prepare for the future, not just process the past

• Encourages clients to reimagine what they’re capable of

• Supports people as they move from layoffs (or other crisis) to creating their own space

This is essential for Gen X (and many others) who find themselves shut out of jobs due to age or cost. After initial resistance, clients start seeing that their gifts are valuable—and they have the power to make their own way.

Unlearning and Relearning: Breaking Free from the System

Leaving behind the “system”—corporate, government, or social expectations—can be daunting. The program tells us we’ll lose all security. Jeremy (and Ken) call this the final hurdle—the biggest lie.

“It is one of the final destination that one will have to come to, to make the decision: do you want to believe that lie, or are you going to believe yourself and create the truth of you?”

Your gifts—what’s inside you—are designed to support you. Faith is what bridges the gap.

Lessons for Everyone

• Don’t let your identity be tied to a job title

• Discover and believe in your inner value

• Use your gifts to create new paths and meaning

The Moment of Truth: Speaking to the World

In a world full of division and chaos, Jeremy offers a powerful message:

“They want us to fight each other. They want us to find fault with one another, and they want us to doubt ourselves…this sense of belief that we can develop in ourselves, this fearlessness, this is what weakens all of that.”

Becoming your highest self—and letting go of fear and toxic narratives—connects you to your real mission. This is when you truly serve the world, not from compliance but from creativity and love.

Treating Yourself as a Project: Personalized Growth

Jeremy’s advice to everyone:

• Treat yourself like the most important project in your life

• Find good mentors, supportive relationships

• Health, nourishment, and spiritual growth matter as much as career

• Your life work should bring light and goodness—not just a paycheck

“You are a project that deserves personalized attention, a good mentor. People around you who build you up, who don’t tear you down, things in your body that make you more healthy, food that nourishes you, and a spirituality that feeds you and expands your mind and doesn’t control you.”

Final Words: Be Kind to Yourself

Ken sums up the conversation with a practical plea: Mind what you say to yourself. You are always listening, and you have the power to change your inner narrative.

Jeremy’s own journey—from searching for family, wrestling with neurodiversity, climbing the corporate ladder, to healing betrayal and building his own business—shows that life’s greatest assignment is becoming your true self.

Resources & Connection

Where to Find Jeremy

• Mindful Mutiny Podcast — Real stories and strategies for awakening

• Coaching programs — Personalized support for navigating your journey

• YouTube channel — Free wisdom, practical tools, and conversations

Connect with Threads of Enlightenment

• Facebook

• Instagram

Conclusion

The path isn’t always clear, and sometimes crisis or betrayal opens the right door. But your gifts are real—designed to sustain you, even if you haven’t found them yet. Believe in yourself, be kind to yourself, and don’t wait for permission to start living life your way.

Ready to get moving? Listen to Threads of Enlightenment, join Mindful Mutiny, and start digging into the project of yourself. The journey is waiting.

“Start talking to yourself and telling yourself I can do this, because you can.”

Stay enlightened, and start your journey today.