SHOW NOTES
About the Guest
Madison Malloy is a best-selling author, mindset coach, speaker, and podcast host of Next to Madison — a show about confidence, identity, and reinvention. She started her career as a mortgage bond trader on Wall Street, survived the 2008 financial crisis, ran her own company, performed stand-up comedy for 13 years (including with the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and ultimately followed her gut to Nashville, where she now creates content and coaches others on how to stop overcomplicating life and start living authentically. She is the author of Time to Light the F**k Up and can be found at madisonmalloy.com and @realmadisonmalloy on Instagram and TikTok.
Episode Summary
In this wildly entertaining and surprisingly deep conversation, Jen Aks sits down with mindset coach, comedian, and multi-pivot queen Madison Malloy for a conversation about what happens when you spend decades ignoring your gut — and what opens up when you finally stop. Madison traces her path from a 16-year-old who decided she’d be an investment banker, to a mortgage bond trader living through the 2008 crash, to stand-up comedian, to author, to Nashville transplant who finally — after 37 years — feels genuinely calm. Along the way: rock bottom, antidepressants, scarcity mindset, a nudist colony in Jamaica, the ‘reject’ technique, mortality as a mindset hack, and why your gut was always right. This episode is as funny as it is profound — and it will make you want to follow your gut immediately.
What You’ll Learn
• How Madison decided to go to Wall Street at age 16 — and how little it had to do with passion
• What the 2008 financial crisis looked like from the inside — and why it became Madison’s exit sign
• Why living in fight-or-flight felt completely normal — and how she didn’t realize it until she moved out of New York City six weeks before this recording
• How to know when your gut is right: build a track record and use the proof
• Why you can manifest what you don’t want just as easily as what you do — and how to stop
• The ‘reject’ technique: a simple mental tool to stop other people’s scarcity from imprinting on your subconscious
• How Madison hit rock bottom — including her lowest moment — and how gratitude started to change everything
• Why she went on a mild antidepressant, and why she’s not ashamed of it
• How 13 years of stand-up comedy and a nudist colony in Jamaica taught her not to judge and to stop taking herself so seriously
• Why thinking about mortality makes you braver, more honest, and less afraid of rejection
• The video game mindset: stop, reset, go through — and enjoy it while it lasts
Key Concepts Introduced
• The Gut Track Record — Madison’s method for building trust in her intuition: when the feeling came up and she was later proven right, she used that as evidence to start listening
• Manifesting What You Don’t Want — the warning that fear-based thinking and constant scarcity can pull unwanted outcomes toward you just as powerfully as desire-based thinking pulls good ones
• The Reject Technique — mentally saying ‘reject’ while listening to someone else’s negativity or scarcity so it doesn’t imprint on your subconscious
• The Video Game Mindset — treating life as a game: stop, reset, move forward; nothing is permanent, and the whole thing is shorter than you think
• Mortality as a Mindset Hack — keeping the reality of impermanence in conscious view as a way to dissolve rejection fears, increase vulnerability, and stop sweating the small stuff
• Bodyset vs. Mindset — Jen’s framework applied throughout: Madison listened to her body for decades without having a name for it; this episode names it
• Life Is Happening For Me — Madison’s operating philosophy: even difficulties are purposeful, and the universe delivers this or something better
Resources & People Mentioned
• Next to Madison Podcast — Madison’s show on confidence, identity, and reinvention; Jen Aks was a guest
• Time to Light the F**k Up — Madison’s first book on anxiety, depression, and learning to enjoy life
• madisonmalloy.com — Madison’s website
• @realmadisonmalloy — Instagram and TikTok
• The Secret — referenced as part of Madison’s early self-study
• The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy — referenced as part of Madison’s mindset rewiring
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — Madison performed with them during her comedy career
• Wall Street / Boiler Room — the movies that originally inspired Madison’s finance ambitions
Quotes From This Episode
“I had a very clear vision and nothing was gonna stop me. And I didn’t even know about visualization and manifestation back then. It was just something I naturally embodied.”
“I never realized that I was living in fight-or-flight mode and constantly stressed until I moved out of New York City — which was just six weeks ago.”
“The gut was always right. Because what I expected happened. So I tell people: be very careful. You can manifest what you don’t want.”
“Your environment, your living situation, who you surround yourself with — if you’re not in the right environment, your goals are going to be impossible to reach.”
“We are so brainwashed and trained as if we are going to live forever. We don’t have mortality on the forefront of our minds — which changes the game.”
“I’ve got Greenwich, Connecticut face with trailer park taste.”
“If you’re gonna start a business based on how much money you’re gonna make, you’re probably gonna fail. Start it based on the service and the value you’re gonna bring.”
CHAPTER MARKERS
Note: Timestamps are estimated based on transcript pacing. Update with exact times from the final video.
00:00 Welcome & Intro
Jen introduces Madison Malloy — the woman who has pivoted from Wall Street to comedy to Nashville — and what this episode is really about: following your gut.
01:20 Introducing Madison Malloy
Best-selling author, mindset coach, comedian, podcast host — and someone who has made a lot of moves.
02:29 How Madison Decided to Go to Wall Street at 16
A wealthy family friend, a dad’s offhand comment, and a teenager who decided: I’m going to be an investment banker.
03:55 What She Noticed on the Floor
Face time culture, people aging rapidly, corporate ladder-climbing — and a trader who smashed his computer on the ground. Madison was thrilled.
04:42 Wall Street Was Everything She Saw in the Movies
The adrenaline, the locker room energy, the Boiler Room dream. Living it in real life.
05:27 The 2008 Financial Crisis — From the Inside
Madison was a mortgage bond trader when it all unraveled. Watching people lose everything became her exit sign.
06:30 God Said Here’s Your Exit — and She Jumped
Without due diligence, Madison left Wall Street to run a startup. The business didn’t make it — and she hit rock bottom.
07:26 What Was Your Body Telling You?
Jen rewinds to ask the real question: before all the pivots, what was happening inside? Madison describes tight chest, constant anxiety, shoulders that never unclenched.
08:35 Fight or Flight Was Her Normal
Madison didn’t know she was living in a chronic stress state. She thought that was just life. It wasn’t until six weeks ago — when she left New York — that she realized.
09:22 External Validation and the Danger of the 20s
The pressure to prove yourself, the craving for outside approval — and how that mindset calcifies until your inner voice finally gets loud enough.
10:31 New York City and the Cost of Surviving
Even with raises, you never feel ahead. The constant pressure to survive in the city kept Madison’s nervous system in overdrive — without her knowing it.
12:06 The Climb to Leaving New York
What finally pushed Madison out: politics, taxes, corruption, and a gut feeling that she’d had the best years there — and it was time.
13:51 Nashville: Three Days In, Stress Gone
Within three days of arriving, the stress just disappeared. Nothing changed in her workload. Everything changed in her body.
14:05 Environment Is Everything
If you’re not in the right environment, your goals are impossible to reach. Your living situation and who you surround yourself with matters as much as mindset.
14:30 How Do You Trust the Gut After Not Trusting It?
Jen asks the key question. Madison’s answer: because the gut was always right. You build a track record.
15:09 You Can Manifest What You Don’t Want
The warning shot: fear-based thinking pulls unwanted outcomes just as powerfully as desire pulls good ones. Be careful what you focus on.
16:00 Following the Gut to Nashville
The gut said go. No state tax, entertainment hub, new adventure. She followed it — and within days, felt the proof.
17:53 Are You Listening to Your Body Differently Now?
Jen asks what’s changed. Madison talks about being an empath, feeling other people’s anxiety, and learning to have the conversation instead of avoiding conflict.
20:26 How Can I Show Up Better for You?
Madison’s favorite phrase — and how it applies not just to relationships but to business, even when she doesn’t realize it.
22:08 Service First — The Business Philosophy
If you start a business to make money, you’ll probably fail. Start it to add value. Take yourself out of the equation.
23:13 Where Do You Feel Your Service in Your Body?
Jen asks the bodyset question. Madison lands on her heart — and the philosophy that the more you give without expecting, the more returns.
24:01 Life Is Happening For Me
No more scarcity thinking, no more wondering if you’ll get cut out. What’s meant for you will be for you — and something better is always possible.
25:16 We Live Like We’re Going to Live Forever
The society-wide blind spot: not having mortality in conscious view leads to fear of rejection, withholding love, and stressing about things that don’t matter.
26:30 The Video Game Mindset
Stop, reset, go through. Nothing is forever. We come in alone and go out alone. So why not play?
27:21 How Did the Shift Happen — Rock Bottom
Madison opens up about her lowest moment: deeply depressed, thinking she didn’t want to be alive, and the thought that woke her up.
28:30 Stepping Into Gratitude
The moment Madison stopped looking at what she didn’t have and saw what she did. That was the turning point.
29:34 Antidepressants — And Why She’s Not Ashamed
Sometimes the body just doesn’t produce the right chemicals. Getting help is self-love. The antidepressant helped her get clear — then she did the work.
30:20 The Secret, Joseph Murphy, and Tracking Your Thoughts
The books that helped her understand manifestation — and why most people can’t apply them because they’re just listening, not changing their identity.
31:05 The Reject Technique
A mental tool for blocking other people’s scarcity: while listening out of respect, quietly say reject, reject, reject so it doesn’t imprint on your subconscious.
31:20 Bodyset Moment — Jen’s Version
Jen links the ‘reject’ technique to her bodyset practice: hand on heart, hand on belly, close your eyes, return to what’s true.
31:36 Time to Light the F**k Up — The Book
Stop overcomplicating life. Pull the corn cob out. We’re living in a matrix trying to accumulate stuff we can’t take with us.
33:17 Wait — You Did Comedy Too?
Thirteen years of stand-up. Performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And how making people laugh was always her truest self.
34:06 The Hairbrush Mic and a Thousand Crazy Stories
Born funny, magnetically attracted to insane situations, and the perfect energy to attract wild stories — which leads to one in particular.
35:30 The Nudist Colony in Jamaica
Madison gets trapped at a nudist swingers resort on spring break at 20 years old. It’s everything. A water slide, a pendulum, and a life lesson about not judging others.
38:30 What Comedy Taught Her About Humanity
From Wall Street — where everyone performed for external reasons — to comedy, where she saw people in all their raw realness. What a breath of humanity.
39:27 Full Circle: The Body Set Free in Nashville
Jen wraps Madison’s whole arc: listened to her body, sometimes got hurt, always learned, pivoted, and finally landed somewhere that feels like home.
40:47 How It Feels Now
Entertainment doors reopening, a clear state of mind, and a city that feels like LA with less attitude. Take the risk. Your life will be absolutely magical.
42:06 The Bodyset Invitation
Jen names what’s been running through the whole episode: bodyset. Madison has been listening to her body’s intelligence all along — she just didn’t have the word for it.
42:58 Where to Find Madison
@realmadisonmalloy on Instagram and TikTok, Next to Madison podcast, madisonmalloy.com, and Time to Light the F**k Up.
43:55 Greenwich Face, Trailer Park Taste
The perfect sign-off from Madison Malloy.
CONNECT WITH MADISON
• Instagram & TikTok: @realmadisonmalloy
• Podcast: Next to Madison — available wherever you listen to podcasts
• Website: madisonmalloy.com
• Book: Time to Light the F**k Up — available on her website and Amazon
If this episode made you laugh and think — probably at the same time — share it with someone who needs a reminder that life is shorter than we think, the gut is usually right, and it’s okay to follow it.
