Most of us don’t think about death.

Not really.

We think about promotions.College tuition.Quarterly numbers.The next vacation.The next deal.

But we don’t think about how it ends.

In this episode, Lon sits down with Dr. Josh Russell, an ER physician who moved into palliative care, and the conversation goes exactly where most people avoid going.

Death.

Not in a morbid way.In a clarifying way.

Josh has lived on both sides of medicine.In the ER, he fought to save lives.In palliative care, he helps people finish them.

And somewhere between those two callings, he realized something we all quietly know: If you don’t prepare for how you want to die, the system will decide for you.

This is not a conversation about fear.It’s about agency.

It’s about the difference between being kept alive… and living on purpose.

It’s about what happens when the default setting of medicine collides with the reality that everything that begins ends.

And it’s about why the conversations we avoid — with our spouses, our kids, our doctors — are often the most loving conversations we’ll ever have.

IN THIS EPISODE

->Why the “Denial of Death” is the default human setting

->What actually happens if you do nothing to prepare for the end of your life

->The quiet violence of aggressive medical intervention

->Why palliative care is not about giving up — but about choosing well

->The difference between hope and honesty

->What most families wish they had talked about sooner

->Why stopping “the insanity” can be the most compassionate act of all

THE REAL QUESTION

If something happens tomorrow… Would the people you love know what you want?

Or would they be forced to guess?

And if you’re honest — are you living today in a way that would let you finish well?

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth:

We prepare more carefully for retirement than we do for death. And one of those is guaranteed.

WHAT JOSH MAKES CLEAR

Death is not the enemy.

Avoidance is.

The goal is not to control the ending.The goal is to face it honestly enough that the time before it matters more.

When you stop pretending you’re immortal, something changes.

You start caring less about being right.Less about ego.Less about status.

You start caring more about people.About presence.About unfinished conversations.

About legacy.

WHAT’S NEXT?

You don’t need a terminal diagnosis to start thinking clearly.

Have the conversation. Write the directive. Tell the people you love what matters. And then live like it matters.

If this conversation stirred something in you — good. That’s the point.

You can find Dr. Josh Russell at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-russell-md/ thefocusedexam.com

And if you’re ready to stop drifting and start living intentionally, join us inside the Normal 40 community. You can find everything related to Normal 40 here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

There are moments that rearrange your priorities without asking permission.

They don’t feel profound when they arrive.

They feel urgent.

Final.

Unavoidable.

For Dave Sanderson, that moment came on January 15, 2009, when the words “Brace for impact” cut through the cabin of US Airways Flight 1549.

What followed was the Miracle on the Hudson. What came after was something far harder to navigate.

In this episode, Lon sits down with Dave for a deep, unhurried conversation that goes far beyond the crash itself. This is not a disaster story. It’s a story about identity, responsibility, regret, and the quiet decisions that shape the rest of your life long after the headlines fade.

Dave takes us back to second grade, to small-town values, to injuries that ended dreams, to mentors who saw something in him before he saw it in himself. He shares how a life built on achievement, travel, and significance slowly pulled him away from what mattered most—and how a single moment forced him to confront the cost of that drift.

The crash didn’t just threaten his life. It stripped away every illusion about what was important.

What followed was a choice:

Would this be something that happened to him…or something he would use for others?

Dave chose service.

And nothing has been the same since.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-->Every life has a “brace for impact” moment. Most just aren’t as visible.

-->Success can quietly pull you away from the people you’re doing it for.

-->You don’t get to choose what happens to you, but you always choose the response.

-->Your story becomes powerful when you stop protecting it and start sharing it.

-->What you’ve learned isn’t meant to die with you; pass it on.

WHAT’S NEXT

If this episode stayed with you longer than you expected, that’s not an accident.

You may not be in a plane that’s going down—but you might be ignoring the voice in your head that’s been warning you something needs to change.

You don’t have to wait for catastrophe to choose differently.

Learn more about Dave’s work, books, and speaking here: https://davesandersonspeaks.com

And as always, you can find everything related to Normal 40 here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Your life doesn’t change all at once.It changes the moment you decide what matters.

Most of us think we’re high performers because we get things done.

We solve problems. We chase answers. We check the boxes.

But what if the thing holding you back isn’t the hard stuff?What if it’s the easy stuff you keep avoiding?

In this episode, Adam and Lon kick off 2026 with a candid, unfiltered conversation about avoidance, self-sabotage, and the surprising anxiety that shows up when you’re avoiding what should be the most energizing part of your life.

Lon shares a personal realization he hasn’t talked about publicly before: how avoiding the easy things, not the hard ones, created anxiety and capped his growth, even while everything looked “successful” on the outside. And why finally naming that pattern changed everything.

This conversation isn’t about productivity.It’s about self-work.The kind you can’t delegate.The kind that’s embarrassing to admit.The kind that unlocks what’s next.

IN THIS EPISODE:

--Why avoiding the easy things is often more dangerous than avoiding the hard ones

--The two types of avoidance and how to tell which one is costing you

--How self-awareness without acceptance becomes self-sabotage

--Why elite performers struggle to ask for help even when they need it most

--The four-step path: awareness → acknowledgment → acceptance → permission

--How avoidance quietly becomes the ceiling on your life and work

--How Lon now measures progress not by success, but by anxiety reductionKEY TAKEAWAYS:

->Avoidance is a limiter. Wherever you avoid, that’s your ceiling.

->If something is giving you anxiety, it’s asking to be addressed, not ignored.

->Self-work is internal work. Lists won’t fix what you’re avoiding.

->You don’t get to be two people. The strength and the struggle come together.

->Asking for help isn’t weakness - it’s leadership.

WHAT’S NEXT:

If this episode stirred something in you, that’s not an accident.

You’re probably avoiding something you already know you need to face.A conversation.A decision.A truth about yourself.

You don’t have to do it alone.

If you want to go deeper:

1. Join the Insider — a community built on “never alone”

2. Book a free Ramble

3. Read The Trade

4. Subscribe to The Inevitable

You can find it all here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein

Follow Adam Eaton here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-eaton-21646a4/