This week, I sit down with James and Michael Gallagher—brothers from the Midwest who spent years on different career paths before choosing to create something together. James built a career in design, while Michael worked in recruiting. Their journeys eventually came together in this new chapter with Rituil, a brand and community devoted to the rituals that keep us grounded in daily life.

What I love about this conversation is the idea that creation is born out of stillness. For James and Michael, that stillness took shape in an unexpected way—when James called his brother to join him on a trip to Portugal, and Michael said yes. That “yes” became a doorway: an opportunity to rediscover themselves and each other, and the seed of what would become Rituil. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most important paths reveal themselves not through control, but through surrender and openness.

We talk about loosening our grip on our preconceived expectations for how life “should” unfold, and in return, what the concept of “vertical timing” can reveal to us. In their work as founders, James and Michael see themselves as stewards—listening, and building something co-created with their community. It’s a very different model than the one most of us grow up with around success and building—where we’re taught to plan, push, and control. Here, they offer another option: trust, presence, and allowing.

At its core, this is a conversation about how truth reveals itself when we stop forcing and start listening.

• What it's like to say yes to something unexpected (like a brother asking you to come to Portugal less than a week out) and where it can lead
• The concept of vertical timing vs. our linear expectations for our lives–and how it offers us a sense of grace and groundedness
• Rituals as simple, everyday anchors—gardening, cooking, and golfing barefoot
• Creation as something born out of stillness and alignment
• Acting as stewards: listening, surrendering, and letting the community shape what unfolds

Explore Rituil (& sign up for their newsletter!) → rituil.com

Follow Rituil on Instagram → @dailyrituil

Use code THETRUTHIS for 10% off your first order from Rituil

The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer

Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings Podcast

Instagram → @thetruthis_pod

YouTube → @thetruthis_pod

TikTok → @thetruthis_pod

Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner
Edited by Dan Croll
Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com
Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush
Advised by Natalie Tulloch

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Sarah Spoto, founder of Badii, a bathing culture brand inspired by her transformational experience living in Baden, Switzerland. After nearly a decade in corporate America, Sarah made the leap to create something of her own — a shift fueled by burnout, hard lessons about politics and bias, and a deep desire to center wellbeing, community, and the joy of everyday rituals.

What I’ve always admired about Sarah — even back in business school — is how rooted she seemed in her own lane, without bending to others’ definitions of success. She’s carried that through to Badii, a business built on nourishing relationship to self, to nature, and to one another. Along the way, she’s discovered principles that feel missing in the U.S.: ways of caring for ourselves that are inseparable from how we care for each other.

Our conversation moves between the realities of corporate life and the possibility of something different — one that asks us to stop perpetuating what isn’t working and instead return to what’s essential: health, connection, and a deeper sense of care.

We talk about:

• Making sense of people, systems, and where accountability fits
• How anger can lead to clarity — and why it’s worth paying attention to
• Wellness as an everyday ritual, not a luxury
• How experience deepens intuition and self-trust
• Relatable advice for navigating big career transitions

Learn more about Badii → badii.life

Sign up for the Badii newsletter → badii.life/subscribe

Listen to the Badii Talk podcast → Spotify | Apple

Follow Badii on Instagram → @badii.life

Follow The Truth Is on Instagram → @thetruthispod

Follow The Truth Is on TikTok → @thetruthispod

Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner

Edited by Dan Croll

Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com

Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush

Advised by Natalie Tulloch

In this first episode of the new season, I sit down with Katherine Naylor Pullman, Founder & CEO of Our Third Place. What began as a single dinner has grown into a global community of more than 1,600 members across 37 cities — proof that in a hyperconnected world, what we’re really craving is friendship and true togetherness. Built on the idea that when we come as we are, real bonds become possible, Katherine’s own path — from theater kid to accidental CEO — shows how vulnerability and truth can lead us toward deeper community and a more authentic way forward.

We talk about:

• How dinner as a ritual becomes a place to exhale and show up as you are
• The difference between surface-level connections and real friendships
• Letting every part of ourselves show up — not just the curated versions
• How getting honest with yourself (even through the occasional meltdown) clears the way for what’s next
• Redefining networking as energizing instead of transactional

Learn more about Our Third Place → www.o3p.com

*Use code TRUTHIS for one free month of membership at Our Third Place!

Follow Our Third Place on Instagram → @ourthirdplacehq

Connect with Katherine Naylor Pullman → @katherinenaylorpullman

Follow the podcast → @thetruthis_podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck

Directional Living by Megan Hellerer

Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner

Edited by Dan Croll

Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com

Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush

Advised by Natalie Tulloch