The Choose Yourself Channel

Everybody wants to break generational patterns but not everybody is willing to admit they’re still a part of them.

In this episode, we sit down with Amrita, founder of Body by Mia and a powerful self-chooser from the CYC, who shares her journey of growing up between cultures, battling identity, body image, and expectations—and ultimately choosing herself.

From being told who she had to be… to realizing she didn’t even know who she was… this conversation dives into what it really takes to break free from conditioning, face your triggers, and build a life ali...

Some people wait for the perfect moment… others start building with whatever they have.

In this episode, we sit down with Angel, owner of Benton Brew Coffee House, a creator, entrepreneur, and visionary who turned a 20-year dream into a real space for connection, creativity, and community.

This conversation dives into what it actually looks like to choose yourself while still working a 9–5, balancing responsibilities, and investing into your vision daily. From selling magazines as a kid to creating studios, coffee lounges, and creative spaces, Angel shows that success isn’t about one big moment.. it’s a...

Some people go through trauma and stay stuck… others go through it and build something from it.

In this episode, we sit down with Tree Kadayso - a powerful self-chooser, mother, and leader in the CYC who shares how her story of childhood trauma, abuse, and environmental challenges didn’t define her… it refined her.

This conversation goes deep into what it really looks like to face your triggers, change your environment, and build a foundation strong enough to carry not just you but your family forward. From navigating generational patterns to raising kids with awaren...

Choosing yourself through trauma, triggers, and transformation

Nobody signs up for trauma… not you, not me, not your baby mama. But we all go through something. The real question is what are you doing with it?

In this preview, we talk about how pain can either keep you stuck or push you into your next level. From childhood abuse to self-abuse (yeah… hitting snooze, sugar overload, late-night cravings .. we see you), this episode calls out the habits that keep us in the same loop because it’s not just what happened to you… it’s what you k...

In this episode, we sit down with Joe Cubero (aka The Professional Ex) - author, creator, and relationship strategist who breaks down why so many people stay stuck in the same relationship cycles.

This isn’t about blaming your ex… This is about becoming the version of you that stops creating them.

We unpack the patterns, the ignored red flags, the lowered standards, and the identity you carry into every relationship whether you realize it or not.

You don’t attract what you want. You attract what you tolerate.

🔥 What We Cover

In this preview, we break down a real problem in modern dating: overconsumption.

Too many options, too much scrolling, too much stimulation and not enough self-awareness, discipline, or intention.

This preview dives into why Choose Yourself is the foundation of dating because your relationships will always reflect the choices you’re making in your own life.

We talk about how this generation has made dating a game of consumption… instead of a process of growth, alignment, and identity.

You build it by becoming someone worth connecting with not chasing appearance or temp...

When you keep donating your energy to everything else… eventually your body files a complaint.

Most people don’t intentionally sacrifice their health .. they slowly donate it like spare change. A little sleep skipped here, a meal rushed there, workouts postponed, stress normalized… until the body finally says enough.

In this episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, we sit down with Energy Ashley : educator, coach, parent, and one of the very first members of the Choose Yourself Community. Her journey began with a powerful trigger point: burnout, chronic pain, inflammation, and a moment where she litera...

In this preview episode, we break down a powerful truth most people overlook: choosing yourself was never meant to be a solo sport. We’ve been conditioned to think independence means isolation, but the reality is that humans are designed for systems, connection, and accountability. Even the body operates this way: your brain has hemispheres, your heart has chambers, and your body runs on interconnected systems. Life works the same way. big (6)

This short preview dives into the philosophy behind the Choose Yourself process: recognizing your trigger points, evaluating your environment, building strong foundations, investing in yourself, an...

In this episode, we sit down with Waren English for a real, unfiltered conversation about health, discipline, and building a foundation when life doesn’t give you ideal conditions. From immigrating from the Caribbean and living with his family in a single bedroom in New York, to navigating injury, career pivots, and uncertainty, Waren shares how action became the bridge between confusion and confidence.

Grow with Waren : CLICK HERE

We talk about why so many people will clock in early for a boss they barely like, but won’t clock 20 minutes for the body they’re stu...

This preview episode opens in real time: hunger, pressure, stress, and the temptation to cope instead of stay disciplined. It sets the tone for a conversation about choosing yourself when life doesn’t slow down for you. You don’t wait for perfect conditions to choose yourself... you choose yourself inside the chaos.

We introduce Waren English through a moment that captures the heart of the episode: realizing what’s possible simply by being around someone who trains, thinks, and lives differently. From immigrating with his family into a small New York City apartment to navigating injury, uncert...

In this episode Big Dream Hakeem engages in a vibrant conversation with Jeannette also known as @Mis.FitVegan. They explore the transformative power of choosing a raw vegan lifestyle, discussing how it can lead to improved health and emotional well-being. Jeannette shares her personal journey from struggling with depression and weight issues to embracing a raw food diet, which she credits for her vitality and youthful appearance. The discussion touches on the importance of self-acceptance, spirituality, and the impact of food choices on overall health, emphasizing that the journey to wellness is deeply personal and varies for everyone.

In this preview episode leading to the conversation with Jeanette aka Ms. FitVegan we open with a raw truth: we live in a world where food lasts longer than relationships, obesity is at an all-time high, attention spans are shrinking, and people are confused why their bodies feel inflamed, tired, and disconnected. What we eat has become fast, fake, and cheap and it’s quietly shaping our gut, our energy, and our identity. This episode isn’t about perfection or extremes... it’s about awareness, balance, and understanding what food is actually teaching the body. CLICK HERE TO CONNECT WITH M...

This episode of the Choose Yourself Channel explores what it really means to choose yourself when motivation alone isn’t enough. Dr. Dan Gubler shares how science has been part of his life for generations — from growing up in his grandfather’s lab to witnessing his grandfather’s battle with cancer, a moment that shaped his lifelong mission to use chemistry to transform health. What began as a career in synthesizing pharmaceutical drugs turned into a defining realization: many of the same effects could be achieved through molecules found in plants, without the harsh side effects. That realizat...

Season one showed us something powerful: choosing yourself isn’t a personality trait, it’s a process. Different guests, different stories, different “meat suits,” but the same pattern every single time TEFIC: triggers, environment, foundation, investment, and contribution. We didn’t just talk about success; we talked about survival, alignment, integrity, and what it actually took to get there. Most people weren’t broken — they were just unprepared — and when motivation faded, they fell to the level of their preparation.

This Season 2 preview sets the tone for what’s next. Choosing yourself is still the mission, but now we’re going de...

This conversation with Nate O'brien centers on a simple truth: preparation matters more than motivation when pressure shows up. We talk about why so many people want the glow-up without the groundwork, praying for growth but panicking when adversity arrives because the work wasn’t done beforehand. Nate speaks from lived experience - not theory - sharing what it looks like when life applies real pressure through loss, responsibility, and uncertainty, and why foundation, not talent or hype, determines what holds.

Throughout the episode, we move through the Choose Yourself process in real time. Triggers are named, es...

Most people want the glow up without the groundwork. They pray for growth, but panic when pressure shows up because the work wasn’t done before adversity arrived. This preview sets the tone for a conversation that isn’t about motivation - it’s about preparation and what actually determines how you survive when the storm hits.

In this preview, Nate speaks from experience, not theory. We touch on losing money, losing employees, losing relationships, and losing yourself, and why foundation — not talent, not vibes — decides the outcome. The conversation moves through triggers, environment, foundation, investment, and contributi...

Some people don’t change because they’re inspired. They change because the old version of them can’t survive anymore.

In this episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, I sit down with Chris Spruill - founder of Start Over Fitness - whose transformation didn’t begin with discipline or fitness. It began when he was hit by a truck. Chris describes that moment as the death of the version of him that was living in darkness. “I was dark and now I’m light. I was dead and now I’m alive. It was the death of the flesh...

Some people don’t change until the old version of them dies

💪🏾In this preview episode, I set the tone for my conversation with Chris, founder of Start Over Fitness, a trainer, a spiritual thinker, and someone who didn’t wake up one day and decide to change.. life forced it. Chris was literally hit by a truck, and according to him, that version of him didn’t survive. What followed wasn’t just recovery, it was a rebirth. We talk about what happens when pain stops being something you run from and starts becoming the thing that redirects...

Healing before dating, nervous system regulation, and choosing alignment over chemistry — a conversation with Chelsko Nellie

🌱 Chelsko’s story didn’t start with coaching or clarity, it started with repetition. Back-to-back abusive relationships forced her to confront a hard truth: she wasn’t unlucky, she was unhealed. Instead of blaming partners, she turned inward and asked why her nervous system kept choosing the same dynamics in different bodies. That question became the doorway to solitude, self-honesty, and the deep work that would later shape her mission.

🌍 Through seasons of stepping away from dating, cutting off external valid...

💫If chaos feels exciting and peace feels boring, that’s not chemistry, it’s conditioning.

💓In this preview episode, I open the door to a conversation with Chelsko Nellie that challenges the way most people think about attraction, healing, and relationships. We talk about how trauma bonds light up dopamine and cortisol at the same time, why your nervous system keeps pulling you toward what feels familiar even when it hurts, and how repeating the same pattern with different people isn’t bad luck.. it’s unhealed wiring. When you haven’t regulated your system, you don’t choose partners...

What happens when strength isn’t enough and survival demands something deeper?

In this episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, I sit down with Cordero Stewart - personal trainer, entrepreneur, and living proof that resilience isn’t built in comfort. After facing a serious health crisis that forced him to slow down, strip back identity, and rebuild from the inside out, Cordero shares what most people never train for: who you become when performance is taken away.

We talk about the moment the body sends a signal you can’t ignore, how isolation reveals whether your c...

In this preview, we introduce Cordero’s story at a high level multiple surgeries back-to-back, not feeling like himself, and moments where the body was weak but faith, family, and mindset carried the weight. This isn’t the full breakdown yet. It’s a window into what happens when everything familiar is stripped away and the only thing left is who’s standing with you and what you’ve built internally.

The next full episode goes deeper into resiliency, perseverance, and how having family in your corner can become the difference between giving up and getting through. It’s about...

Money exposes mindset faster than motivation.

In this episode on the Choose Yourself Channel, I sit down with Mrs. Cashflow to talk about what really happens when expectations collapse, plans fall apart, and life forces you to grow up : financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

This isn’t a “get rich quick” conversation. It’s a get honest quick one.

We talk about:

Everybody wants the bag… until it’s time to build the discipline to keep it.

In this 10-minute preview, I sit down with Mrs. Cash Flows to crack open the real conversation most people avoid: Why money problems aren’t just financial.. they’re emotional, habitual, and environmental.

We touch on:

This preview sets the tone for a p...

In this episode, Big Dream Hakeem sits down with Kasia - clinic owner, keynote speaker, breathwork specialist, heart-coherence Jedi, and living proof that your nervous system can glow up too.

We dive straight into the wisdom of the heart, the honesty of the breath, and the beautiful chaos of becoming the person your past self was scared to meet.

Kasia doesn’t just talk healing.. she lived through comparison, control, a concussion that scrambled her brain like weekend brunch, heartbreak, losing her best friend, and still found a way to turn her nervous system from “hams...

🎧 PREVIEW — Kasia on Heart Coherence & Healing the Reactive Self

This 10-minute previews set the stage for one of the deepest, funniest, and most emotionally intelligent conversations we’ve had all year. Hakeem breaks down what’s coming in the full episode with Kasia : a woman who built two businesses before 25, survived dark nights of the soul, healed her nervous system, and now teaches heart coherence like it’s an Olympic sport.

Get ready for:

On today’s episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, we sit down with the ageless OG himself - Greg Peck - the man who went from partying with the stars to training them, coaching them, and staying shredded longer than most people keep a New Year’s resolution. First time I met Greg, he asked me to spot him on 100-pound dumbbells and I had to check his birth certificate because the boy looks my age. This episode is about discipline, redemption, and the kind of self-honesty that punches you in the throat before it sets you free.

Gr...

Abs don’t expire, they just change careers. 😂

In this preview, I sit down with my guy Greg Pec- Bronx-bred, record-label VP, celebrity trainer, and transformation coach - to prove that discipline doesn’t have a retirement age and purpose doesn’t have an expiration date. We talk about surviving the streets, navigating racism in the music industry, getting fired and “propelled” into your calling, and why your sword (character) only gets sharp in the fire, not in your feelings. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re being pushed by fear or propelled by purpose, this convo is your mir...

On this episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, Hakeem sits down with Clarq : (artist, producer, writer, creator) and walking proof that your lowest chapter can become the foundation of your rise. She was raised by a 16-year-old mother, grew up in chaos, and faced the type of trauma most people never talk about: instability, financial struggle, physical and sexual abuse, fear, anxiety, depression, and the loss of her creative spark.

Adulthood brought its own storm of overmedication, addiction, isolation, self-doubt .. until one day she realized:

“Nothing outside of me is fixing what’s inside of me.”...

This 10–15 minute preview is your warm-up lap before the full conversation with Clarq drops and trust me, it’s a mix of comedy, chaos, raw truth, and those “damn… he’s talking about me” moments.

Hakeem opens the episode in full Choose Yourself Channel fashion - loud, laughing, and roasting everything from your bad angles to your bad habits. He cracks jokes about rock bottom, skin care, fake dopamine, and the way we all try to selfie our way out of suffering. It’s hilarious… but it’s also the truth: you can’t filter your way out of your foundati...

Hakeem and Ashley dive deep into modern relationships through the lens of the TEFIC Process ( Triggers, Environment, Foundation, Investment & Contribution ) and how your internal world shapes every connection you enter.

This episode is raw, funny, and uncomfortably honest. You’ll laugh, rethink your patterns, and question every “situation” you ever justified.

Ashley specializes in helping people build healthy internal relationships ; the kind that keep you grounded, calm, emotionally aware, and able to love without abandoning yourself. Together, they break down:

💥 The Self-Relationship Blueprint

Why your relationship with yourself decides who you attract...

This quick 10-minute solo episode sets the stage for the full conversation with Ashley Maland. Hakeem breaks down the real relationship work: loving yourself before you expect anyone else to survive you.

Topics include:

🔥 This is your warm-up for the full episode with Ashley - where the conversation gets deeper, funnier, and way more uncomfortable (in a good way).

Tap in to the nex...

🔖 This episode is the final evolution. The moment where you stop performing for the world and start creating from the person you actually are not the persona you’ve been programmed to play.

Most people are building a character for society but real contribution comes when you build a character for your soul. That’s the whole point of this pillar: Create & Contribute From an Overflow.

💥 If you don’t choose who you’re becoming… your past will choose for you.

In this raw and hilarious finale of the TEFIC process, Hakeem breaks down how your id...

In this episode, Big Dream Hakeem breaks down Pillar 4 of the Choose Yourself Process (TEFIC)

Pillar 4 : Invest in Yourself Intentionally a.k.a. the art of putting your time, energy, and money where your future mouth is.

We get into the uncomfortable truth: Most people don’t have a financial problem, they have a focus problem. They’re broke in discipline long before they’re broke in dollars.

Hakeem breaks it all down with comedy, science, and a little holy side-eye:

💥 Time Investment: You can’t say you want a new life when y...

In this episode, Big Dream Hakeem breaks down the unsexy secret to success ...your foundation! Everybody wants breakthrough but nobody wants bedtimes. You can’t pray for peace if your schedule looks like chaos. This is the realest construction zone on the internet- where we rebuild consistency, identity, and accountability brick by brick.

💥 The Six Pillars of the Foundation:

Summary

In this episode, Big Dream Hakeem gets real about the environments we marinate in : the foods, the feeds, the frequencies, and the fools. Most people don’t need a juice cleanse, they need a people cleanse.

We’re talking about mindful consumption (from your gut to your group chat) and why detoxing from dysfunction is the real flex. Hakeem breaks down how your gut isn’t just digesting food, it’s digesting your feelings, your habits, and sometimes your ex’s drama.

Self-Choice Layer : that sacred pause between your emotions and your next dumb...

If you don’t face your triggers, you’ll just keep reenrolling in the same emotional class with a new teacher and a better outfit.

In this episode, I break down Pillar 1 of the Choose Yourself Process:

Recognize Your Trigger Points - the foundation of every glow-up that actually lasts. I use pieces of my own story to show how unhealed triggers turn into repeated breaking points… until you finally learn the lesson.

You’ll walk away with the 3P Reflection Method and other practical ways to calm your ego before it starts its usua...

You can’t turn your pain into power if you keep sprinting from the source. Life keeps replaying the same lessons until you pass the test and this episode is your study guide.

In this 10-minute talk, I open up about my story, the dark days, the losses, the lessons and how facing what broke you is the only way to rebuild what’s real.

We’ll also touch on The Choose Yourself Process and list the five pillars that changed everything… but we’re saving the deep dive for the next five episodes.

This one...

Every glow-up starts with a breakdown you didn’t schedule. This 6-minute intro isn’t polishe.. it’s personal. Raw, real, and slightly unhinged (like all good beginnings).

Welcome to The Choose Yourself Channel : where self-accountability meets stand-up comedy, and personal growth finally stops pretending to be perfect. 🐬

In this 6-minute kickoff, Hakeem Bourne McFarlane keeps it honest, hilarious, and human. He breaks down what choosing yourself really means, why accountability hurts (but heals), and how losing yourself is the first step to finding peace, purpose, and discipline.

Real talk. No filters. Just truth, la...