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Succeeding In Life, Business & Marriage - Aubrey Marcus | Modern Wisdom Podcast 375

Aubrey Marcus is a podcaster, author and CEO. Aubrey just sold his company Onnit to Unilever for a huge undisclosed amount and he just got married after years of polyamory. How do you find fulfilment in life when all the pursuits which used to give you meaning are now completed? Expect to learn what it feels like to wake up with millions and millions of dollars in your bank account one day, the dangers of constantly desiring validation, how Aubrey would suggest someone get into psychedelic therapy, his opinion on polyamory as a newly married man and much more... Sponsors: Get over 37% discount on all products site-wide from MyProtein at http://bit.ly/modernwisdom (use code: MODERNWISDOM) Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Follow Aubrey on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/aubreymarcus Buy Own The Day - https://amzn.to/326Ijmq Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #psychedelics #polyamory #business - 00:00 Intro 01:28 Enjoying the Present 07:52 Selling Onnit 13:48 The Need for Validation 24:36 Developing Your Identity 33:59 Unfair Self-Judgment 44:14 Plant Medicine 49:52 Polyamory to Monogamy 1:10:48 Where to Find Aubrey - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Aubrey MarcusguestChris Williamsonhost
Sep 22, 20211h 12mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Aubrey Marcus On Purpose, Polyamory, Plant Medicine, And Self-Worth

  1. Aubrey Marcus reflects on succeeding in business, love, and personal growth while confronting a lifelong fear of “not doing enough,” even after selling Onnit and marrying his dream partner.
  2. He and Chris Williamson explore how chasing external validation—money, success, relationships—never resolves inner insecurity, and how shifting identity from persona to “life itself” is the deeper work.
  3. Marcus unpacks lessons from polyamory, jealousy, and intense plant medicine work, describing them as forging practices that prepared him for marriage and leadership in a chaotic world.
  4. They conclude by emphasizing radical honesty, learning to love yourself for who you are rather than what you do, and intentionally doing hard things to become the person your future family and mission need.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

External achievements never silence an internal belief of “not enough.”

Marcus describes how selling Onnit and gaining wealth intensified, rather than resolved, his pressure to do more, showing that inner fears cannot be permanently soothed by external wins.

Love yourself for who you are, not just what you do.

The pair highlight how many people crave unconditional love from others while only loving themselves conditionally based on recent performance, creating fragile self-worth that swings with every win or loss.

Radical honesty and clear communication are non‑negotiable in complex relationships.

In polyamory, any distortion or withholding of truth becomes explosive, forcing blisteringly honest communication—a skill Marcus sees as both brutal and profoundly formative.

Intentionally doing hard things forges the capacity to carry future responsibility.

Whether through non‑monogamy, cold plunges, demanding business crises, or plant medicine, Marcus argues that voluntarily entering difficult experiences prepares men to be anchors for families, teams, and communities.

Identity should be held lightly—your persona is a useful but limiting suit.

Marcus aims to be “life expressed through the Aubrey suit,” not trapped by being ‘Aubrey Marcus, founder of Onnit,’ recognizing that tightly clung identities create pressure, resistance, and suffering.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

I don’t want to go to the end of my life and say, ‘I did a lot of good stuff, but I never really enjoyed any of it.’

— Aubrey Marcus

You’re expecting other people to do something that you haven’t done. You’re like, ‘I wish they would just love me for who I am. Meanwhile, I’m gonna love myself for what I do.’

— Aubrey Marcus

There’s no satisfaction to this drive to do more and this fear that I’m not doing enough. I have to go inside; nobody can satisfy internal fears with external realities.

— Aubrey Marcus

Identity is useful, but it’s also a trap. I don’t like being the Aubrey that much—it’s a lot more fun for me to be life expressed through the Aubrey suit.

— Aubrey Marcus

We suffer until we get sick of suffering.

— Aubrey Marcus

Fear of inadequacy and the pressure to “do enough” despite successExternal validation vs. self-love for who you are vs. what you doBuilding, selling, and emotionally integrating the exit of OnnitPolyamory, jealousy, and how non‑monogamy forged emotional resilienceIdentity, ego, and becoming “life expressed” instead of a fixed personaPlant medicine (ayahuasca, ketamine, cannabis) as tools for transformationPreparing for marriage, leadership, and responsibility by doing hard things

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