How to Turn Your Darkest Moment Into Your Greatest Strength
Dr. JC Doornick on Alter Egos, The Myth of Motivation, and Why Your Mess is Your Message
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
What if the worst day of your life was actually your greatest gift?
It’s a contrarian idea, but it’s the central theme of my latest conversation with Dr. Jc Doornick The Dragon.
JC went from being a cocky, successful chiropractor with a multi-million dollar practice in his grasp to sitting in a therapist’s chair, unwashed for 15 days, contemplating suicide.
But that rock bottom moment became his launchpad.
Today, he’s helped over 300,000 people transform their lives. His story is a masterclass in turning your mess into your message, a core tenet of what we explore here at Finding Peak.
Connect with Dr JC Doornick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjcdoornick/
Podcast: Makes Sense
Here are the key frameworks and takeaways from our conversation…
The Snap Moment: Rewiring Your RealityOS
JC’s transformation began with what he calls a “snap moment.”
In that therapy session, he finally connected his adult despair to a single traumatic event from his childhood: his parents’ divorce on his 11th birthday.
He’d buried it for decades, masking the pain with a cocky, overachieving persona.
This is a critical concept for leaders, especially those of us with ADHD. Our brains are wired to seek dopamine and avoid pain, often leading us to construct elaborate defense mechanisms.
We build a “RealityOS” based on faulty code from our past.
JC’s snap moment was a system reboot. He realized his entire operating system was a coping mechanism. By understanding the root cause, he could finally debug the system.
“It can change in an instant if you just make sense of things.” - Dr. JC Doornick
Actionable Insight:
Where in your life are you operating on faulty code?
What’s the “story” you tell yourself about your limitations?
True progress doesn’t come from adding more apps (skills, tactics); it comes from rewriting the core operating system.
The Three Lies of Success
JC argues that most people fail because they’re waiting for three things that will never come:
The “Right Time”: It doesn’t exist. It’s a myth we use to procrastinate.
Motivation: Feelings are fleeting. Relying on motivation is a recipe for inconsistency. Discipline is the engine; motivation is just a spark.
Belief in Yourself: You don’t need to believe you can do it. You just need to start doing it. Belief is a result of action, not a prerequisite.
This directly ties into the PEAK framework (Presence, Energy, Awareness, Kalibration).
Waiting for the “right time” or “motivation” is a failure of Execution. The framework isn’t about feeling ready; it’s about having a system that allows you to execute regardless of how you feel.
“How many days a year out of 365 do you wake up in the morning feeling motivated, believing in yourself and thinking it’s the right time? Me. It’s like maybe eight. If I’m lucky.”
Become a Finding Peak Insider
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The paid Finding Peak Substack is where we teach:
How to think before you publish
How to turn ideas into leverage
How to make content work for your business—not drain it
If you want 10x your business in 2026 by leveraging content, brand, and influence, become an Insider today.
This isn’t about becoming a creator.
It’s about becoming unavoidable.
Subscribe if influence matters.
Unleash Your Alter Ego
This was my favorite part of the conversation.
JC is a huge proponent of the Alter Ego effect, a concept popularized by Todd Herman.
When JC needs to perform, he doesn’t. “The Dragon” does.
This isn’t about being fake. It’s about accessing a version of yourself that already exists—the one that emerges when the stakes are highest. The version of you that would do anything to save your kids. The version that would fight for air if held underwater.
For leaders with ADHD, an alter ego can be a game-changer. It provides a psychological separation from the self-doubt, distraction, and emotional dysregulation that can derail us. It’s a tool to command focus and execute with precision.
Actionable Insight:
Who is the version of you that can’t fail?
Give that person a name. A uniform (for JC, it’s his glasses). A mission. When it’s time to execute, let them take the controls.
Want Your Audience to Feel This Instead of Reading It?
This is why Ryan gets hired to keynote.
He doesn’t talk about content.
He shows leaders how influence → authority → leverage → opportunity.
Audiences walk away understanding:
Why attention is leverage
Why content is a leadership system
Why publishing is no longer optional
…and exactly how modern leaders leverage their personal brand into a massive opportunity.
If your team needs clarity—not motivation—Ryan Hanley delivers it.
📩 Inquire about keynotes, leadership offsites, and executive sessions.
Action Over Everything
JC’s story is a powerful testament to the fact that your past does not have to be your prison.
Your darkest moments, your deepest traumas, your “mess”—that is the raw material for your greatest strength.
But insight without action is just entertainment.
“Remember that learning is nothing more than a distraction in the absence of action.”
Don’t just consume this. Use it. Find the faulty code in your RealityOS. Ditch the lie of motivation. And give your alter ego a name.
This is the way.
Hanley
This show is part of the Unplugged Studios Network — the infrastructure layer for serious creators who want to turn their podcast into a business.
👉 Learn more at: https://unpluggedstudios.fm
