Brent Freeman on The Alchemy of Joy: From Rock Bottom to a Life of Daily Joy

Brent Freeman had the marriage, the money, and the Instagram feed to prove he was crushing it — and one morning in 2018, standing at his window in San Francisco, he contemplated ending his life. In this episode, David Bach sits down with Brent, entrepreneur and author of The Alchemy of Joy, to talk about the sunset that changed everything and the framework he's used to help thousands of people go from burned out to genuinely joyful. They dig into why joy works like compound interest — small daily investments that build into a life well lived — and why so many of us defer our happiness for some elusive "one day." Brent breaks down the Reset Breath, a 60-second technique to calm your nervous system in any moment, the One Minute Window practice of Stop, See, Soften, and his ITT Framework: Invest in joy, Train your brain, Take bold action. It's a conversation about presence, hardship, and why change is possible at any age. Brent's new book, The Alchemy of Joy, is out September 15, 2026 – pre-order it now. Learn more about Brent Freeman and The Alchemy of Joy. Follow Brent on Instagram. Listen to more episodes of The David Bach Show. Follow David on Facebook, Instagram & X. Learn more about David Bach. Get The Automatic Millionaire here.