What It Cost
Stories of people who paid for who they became.
Nobody becomes strong by accident. Behind every person you’d call powerful is a stretch of life they’d rather not relive: the loss, the failure, the year everything broke. That’s what made them, and it’s the part they don’t usually tell. What It Cost is that part. Each episode, Dan Russell sits down with one person who came through something hard and came out more themselves, and asks what it took. Not the highlight reel. The price.
No episodes yet · The first conversations are being arranged
Where it stands today
No episodes have been released yet. The first conversations are being arranged now. When they are out, they will be listed here and wherever you listen to podcasts.
What you’ll hear
One person, one story.
Somewhere between forty minutes and an hour with someone who came through something hard: a leader, a founder, an athlete, a parent, someone who gave something up to become who they are. As long as the story needs, no longer.
The part before.
Who they were when it started, and what they thought they knew.
The crucible.
The loss, the failure, the year everything broke. What it actually felt like, not the version they tell at dinner.
What it cost.
The price they paid, what they gave up, and whether they’d pay it again.
What it made.
Who they are now, and what they can do that they couldn’t before.
What you won’t hear
A highlight reel.
The polished version is everywhere already. This is the part underneath it.
Names without consent.
No one in a guest’s story is named unless they’ve agreed. Guests leave out details that would identify someone in an uncomfortable way.
A formula to buy.
Nobody here is selling a method. Every guest paid a different price for a different thing.
Clinical advice.
These are conversations, not therapy or medical advice. If you or someone you know is in crisis in the U.S., call or text 988.
The host talking over the guest.
Dan asks and listens. His own story comes in only when it helps a guest open up.
Who it’s for
Anyone in the middle of their own hard stretch. Anyone who has given something up and isn’t sure yet what it bought. And anyone who wants to know what the people they admire actually went through.
Be a guest
If you came through something that changed you, and you’re willing to tell the part you don’t usually tell, write with a line or two about your story.
No man leads alone.
Request a founding spot
8 to 12 founding seats · By request · No cost to founders