Mark: A neurologist recently pointed out that our brain processes information at about 120 bits per second. To put that in perspective, your phone's connection is about 5,000 times faster. We're essentially bringing a butter knife to a laser fight every single day. Michelle: Wow, that explains my brain at 3 PM on a Tuesday. A butter knife sounds generous. Some days it feels more like I’m trying to carve a statue with a wet noodle. It’s this constant feeling of being overwhelmed, of being one step behind the tidal wave of information. Mark: You’ve just perfectly described the modern condition. And that's the exact battleground that author and long-time entrepreneur Sandy Abrams tackles in her book, Breathe to Succeed. Michelle: Okay, "Breathe to Succeed." I'm intrigued, but also a little skeptical. Is this another book telling me to just "be more mindful" while my inbox explodes? Mark: That’s the brilliant part. What's fascinating is that Abrams isn't a guru from a monastery; she's an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience who developed these techniques on factory floors and in tense boardroom meetings. She even consults for the U.S. Air Force, which tells you this is about performance under extreme pressure, not just feeling zen. Michelle: The Air Force? Okay, that got my attention. That’s a world where focus isn't just about productivity; it's about survival. So if we're all walking into this daily laser fight so outmatched, what's her proposed solution? I'm guessing it's not 'get a faster brain'. Mark: It's something far more accessible. It’s about learning to use the one tool we all have, but almost completely ignore. The book is built on a simple, powerful premise: the most effective tool for success isn't a new app or a productivity hack, but something we do over 20,000 times a day, completely on autopilot.

Michelle: Breathing. You’re talking about breathing. It feels almost too simple, Mark. Like telling someone who's drowning to just 'try swimming.' Mark: I get the skepticism. But Abrams makes a compelling case that we’ve forgotten how to use it. She has this fantastic quote that opens the book: "Fear is excitement without breath." Michelle: That's a poetic line, I'll give her that. But is it real? Can you really 'breathe' your way out of genuine fear, like the terror of a huge presentation or the dread of seeing your biggest client's name pop up on your phone? Mark: Well, let’s get specific. Abrams tells this incredibly vivid story from her own life. Early in her business, she had to source fabrics from the chaotic, overwhelming fabric district in downtown Los Angeles. Imagine the noise, the haggling, the pressure. One day, it all became too much. She felt dizzy, her heart was pounding, she was sweating—a full-blown panic attack. Michelle: Oh, I know that feeling. The world starts to shrink, and your thoughts just spiral. What did she do? Mark: She stumbled into a small shop, sat down on a stool, and just… breathed. She forced herself to take three slow, deep breaths. She calls this her 3DB technique. And in that moment of stillness, something shifted. The panic didn't just subside; it was replaced by a wave of clarity. She realized she was stuck in this frustrating cycle of sourcing fabric from others. The breakthrough that came from those three breaths was: "I should be designing and printing my own fabrics." Michelle: Whoa. So the breath didn't just stop the negative spiral, it created the space for a massive, positive business pivot. That’s a huge distinction. It wasn't just about coping; it was about creating. Mark: Exactly. It’s a theme that runs through the whole book. This isn't about escaping the world; it's about engaging with it more effectively. She had a similar experience in her early yoga days with the final resting pose, Savasana. She used to see it as a waste of time and would sneak out of class early. Michelle: I can totally relate. The moment you're told to do nothing, your brain generates a to-do list a mile long. Mark: Right? But one day her teacher gently called her out on it. So she stayed. And as she lay there, feeling anxious, she took one single, conscious, deep breath. And she said it was like a lightning bolt. She felt this profound connection between her mind and body for the first time. She realized the stillness wasn't empty; it was where all the hard work of the yoga practice actually integrated. It was the whole point. Michelle: So the power isn't in the frantic action, but in the deliberate pause. That’s so counterintuitive to the "hustle culture" we're all steeped in. But is there any science to back this up, or is it purely anecdotal? Mark: Oh, the science is fascinating. Research from Northwestern University found that inhaling through your nose directly stimulates the brain's electrical signals in the amygdala, which is the emotional center, and the hippocampus, the memory center. Abrams puts it perfectly: your breath is literally a remote control for your brain. When you breathe through your mouth, that stimulation barely happens. Michelle: A remote control for your brain. I love that. So when I'm mindlessly scrolling and mouth-breathing, I've basically handed the remote to the algorithm. But if I take a conscious nasal breath, I'm taking back control. Mark: You're taking back control. You're interrupting the pattern. And that ability to interrupt the pattern is the foundation for everything else. It's the first step from being a victim of the digital chaos to becoming its master.

Mark: And that 'remote control' is exactly what the most visionary leaders are learning to use. They're moving from automatic to intentional, becoming what Abrams cleverly calls 'C.E.'Oms.' Michelle: C.E.'Om'... I like the pun. It's catchy. But what does that look like in practice? Are we talking about CEOs in yoga pants leading company-wide meditations before the quarterly earnings call? Mark: (laughs) It can be, but it's usually more subtle and more deeply integrated than that. It’s about infusing the entire business philosophy with mindfulness. The perfect example is Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He famously called himself a "reluctant businessman." Michelle: Right, the guy who wrote the book Let My People Go Surfing. His approach always seemed so radical. Mark: Exactly. His core philosophy, which he built a billion-dollar company on, was a Zen principle: "the more you know, the less you need." He didn't chase growth for growth's sake. He focused on making the best possible product, treated his employees like adults—famously telling them to go surfing when the waves were good—and built a culture of trust and autonomy. That's a C.E.'Om in action. It's not about a specific meditation room; it's about the intention behind every decision. Michelle: That's an amazing example, but let's be honest, Patagonia is a unicorn. Their customers are buying into that ethos. What about a more traditional, high-pressure, numbers-driven industry? Like… insurance? It's hard to imagine the "go surfing" policy flying there. Mark: Perfect question. And Abrams has the perfect case study: Mark Bertolini, the former CEO of Aetna. This is a Fortune 50 company. Bertolini had a near-fatal ski accident that left him with chronic, debilitating pain. He was on a cocktail of painkillers and his life was falling apart. Out of desperation, he turned to yoga and meditation. Michelle: And it worked for him personally. That's a powerful story. But how do you translate that personal revelation to a massive corporation? Mark: That's the C.E.'Om move. He didn't just keep it to himself. He wondered if these tools could help his employees, who were dealing with their own high levels of stress. So he commissioned a study with Duke University. He offered free yoga and mindfulness classes to Aetna's 49,000 employees. Michelle: What were the results? I'm picturing a lot of skeptical middle managers. Mark: The results were staggering. Participants saw a 28% reduction in their stress levels and a 20% improvement in sleep quality. But here's the number that made every other CEO's head turn: they also gained an average of 62 minutes of productivity per week. That's an extra month of work per employee, per year. Michelle: Sixty-two minutes a week? That is a hard, bottom-line number. You can't argue with that. Mark: You can't. Aetna calculated the return on investment was 11-to-1. Bertolini literally prescribed mindfulness for business success, and the company's stock price more than sextupled under his leadership. He even raised the company's minimum wage because he argued that financial stress was a major impediment to well-being and productivity. Michelle: Wow. That completely reframes the conversation. It addresses the big criticism I often hear about these kinds of books—that they put all the pressure on the individual to just 'breathe through' a toxic work environment. But here, the leader is using the principles to change the actual system. Mark: That's the ultimate expression of it. It starts with the individual owning their breath, but it can scale to transform an entire culture. It's about creating an environment where people can thrive, not just survive. And it doesn't always have to be top-down. The book highlights stories from Google and SAP where mindfulness programs started as grassroots efforts by passionate employees and grew into global initiatives because the results were undeniable. Michelle: So it's a toolkit that works at every level. From the individual trying to survive a panic attack in a fabric store, to a CEO trying to build a more resilient and productive workforce. It's about shifting from a reactive state to a responsive one. Mark: Precisely. You're no longer just a pinball getting knocked around by emails, notifications, and deadlines. You're the player, with your hand on the controls. And your breath is the joystick.

Mark: And that's the whole arc of the book. It starts with you, alone, recognizing the 'butter knife' problem we all face in this high-tech world. But it doesn't end with just individual coping. The real power, as these C.E.'Oms show, is in using that inner control to change the outer world, whether that's your own small business or a global corporation. Michelle: It’s about reclaiming a sense of agency. The book has this great quote, "When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace." It sounds so simple, but after hearing these stories, it lands with so much more weight. It's not about peace as in passivity, but peace as in a stable, powerful center from which you can operate. Mark: Exactly. It's the calm in the eye of the storm. And from that place of calm, you make better decisions, you're more creative, and you connect with people more authentically. Michelle: So for someone listening right now, who feels like they're constantly in that laser fight with a butter knife, what's the one thing they can do tomorrow? What's the first, most practical step to becoming the master of their own breath? Mark: It's deceptively simple, and this is where Abrams's genius lies. Don't try to start a 30-minute meditation practice. Don't download ten different apps. Just pick one recurring, stressful moment in your day. For many people, it's that moment of dread right before they open their email inbox for the first time. Michelle: Oh, I know that moment well. The pre-inbox cringe. Mark: The pre-inbox cringe! Right there, before you click, just practice the 3DB. Three deep, conscious breaths. In through the nose, out through the nose. Feel your belly expand. That's it. That's the start. You're creating a tiny buffer between the stimulus and your reaction. Michelle: I love that. It's manageable. It's not another overwhelming item on the to-do list. It’s a two-minute ritual. We'd love to hear from our listeners—what's the one moment in your day you're going to try this? Is it before a meeting, during your commute, or right after a difficult conversation? Let us know. It's fascinating to think about all these little moments of reclaimed peace. Mark: It is. A small hinge can swing a very big door. Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.