Stuck In My Mind Podcast
Introduce yourself.
Hi my name is Wil Otero but I go by Wize. Born and raised in ENY Brooklyn and now reside in the beautiful Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. I was widowed at the age of 31 and suffered many major losses in the years that followed. I spent many years being self destructive and angry with God, spirit or whatever you might call it. I awoke one morning and realized I needed to seek help because I didn't wanna live like that anymore. I finally realized that I was angry with circumstances that I had no control over. When I finally started receiving the help I needed my life start t5o change for the better. In 2013 I met an amazing woman and got remarried, I also started my career as a table games dealer. In March of 2020 I was furloughed from my job and started Stuck In My Mind Podcast. Since starting my podcast I have recorded close to 300 podcast episodes.
“The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” -E.E. Cummings
Share an experience that has shaped who you are today.
In 2008 I lost my wife in a single car accident and the following year after 25 years of not knowing about my father my sister found me on Facebook and reunited us only to lose him that Fathers day weekend after we reconciled. The next few years were brutal because I lost an aunt and uncle that help mold me into the man I am today. I also lost 2 brothers, 1 to HIV and the other to a drug overdose. I've been able to turn my life around and find my passion Podcasting.
Tell us about your podcast audience.
My audience is loyal and has help me grow my podcast by sharing my content and being supportive of everything I do. A great story that will inspire them. Authentic content
What makes your podcast unique?
My podcast is about having some great conversations with everyday people and giving them a platform to share their story. Self development, entrepreneurship, mental health and various other subjects.
What does it take to move from survival mode to a life built around calm, clarity, connection, and purpose?
In this episode of Stuck In My Mind Podcast, Dan McPherson, founder and CEO of Leaders Must Lead, shares the difficult road behind the confident, calm, and purpose-driven person he is today. He opens up about growing up with anxiety, depression, an abusive alcoholic father, and experiences that taught him survival was something he had to fight for 02:05.
Dan also speaks candidly about surviving a suicide attempt at 16 and the unexpected kindness that helped save his life. A woman who didn’t know the depth of his struggle noticed he was having a difficult day, offered him a ride, and spent hours talking with him. Dan reflects on how ordinary moments can have extraordinary impact, especially when someone is struggling to reach out 04:56.
The conversation explores the difference between refusing to ask for help and not having the capacity to do so. Dan explains why reaching for someone in pain can matter more than we realize, and how empathy is often shaped by the struggles people have survived themselves 08:18.
Dan shares how his second suicide attempt forced him to question the identity he had built around insecurity, ego, money, achievement, and leadership. Instead of asking who others wanted him to be, he began asking, “Who do I want to be?” That question became the starting point for rebuilding his life 16:01.
Leadership is another central theme. Dan explains the difference between managing tasks and leading people, arguing that leadership is influence and that every person leads in some way, whether intentionally or not. For him, effective leadership is rooted in connection and movement, helping people feel seen, heard, understood, and part of meaningful progress 29:04.
Dan also breaks down his calm, clarity, and focus framework. He explains why ambitious people often skip calm, how stress can create tunnel vision, and why calm must come first before clear decision-making is possible 31:27. He shares practical exercises involving gratitude and daily growth, including writing down three new things to appreciate and recording one way to move forward each day 35:19.
Later, Dan reflects on surviving four heart attacks in one year, divorce, a global pandemic, and the loss of physical abilities he once took for granted. Those experiences changed his relationship with mortality, presence, empathy, and purpose. He explains how painful experiences can equip people to reach others they could never have helped before 45:57.
This episode is a powerful conversation about adversity, suicide prevention, personal growth, leadership, relationships, purpose, and the belief that dreams can become real through action. As Dan puts it, “People matter most and relationships are everything.”
Vinnie Potestivo, Editor-in-Chief of
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