See show notes for this episode: S 02 | Ep 27 From Forbes 30 Under 30 to Salesforce Exit: Scott Britton’s Journey Inward.
Alex: All right. Welcome, Scott Britton: entrepreneur, author, and consciousness explorer. Scott exited his previous company, Troops, to Salesforce in 2022. During that journey, he began the process described in his book, Conscious Accomplishment, which explores how to do great things in life while achieving greater consciousness and self-awareness. Scott, welcome to the podcast.
Scott Britton: Alex, it’s great to be here, man.
Alex: I’m really delighted to chat because I think most entrepreneurs set out with the ambition to change the world for the better and have a real impact. However, they sometimes get caught up in fulfilling VC goals or chasing whatever success metrics are popular at the time. You’ve developed a framework that helps people be professionally impactful while living a much richer life as a human being.
I’d love to hear more about that. Historically, we’re used to people either going on a "guru quest" and exiting the world entirely, or becoming a superstar in the material world but ending up unfulfilled or hating their lives. I think you’re providing a "third way."
Scott Britton: Thanks, Alex. I’m excited to talk about this. I think it starts with a general awareness of what your actual problems are. For many of us, when asked what we want or what our problems are, we say things like, "My company hasn’t been successful enough," "I don't have a partner," "I don't have the house I want," or "I don't have the money I need." We point to something outside of ourselves as the reason we aren't happy with our lives.
The reality is that many entrepreneurs have the experience where they finally get that "thing" they thought was the answer, they feel good for a day, and then they return to the same internal state. You go through this cycle enough times to realize that what you actually want is to feel a certain way—joy, vitality, love, trust, or presence. That is an "inside job." It’s a matter of consciousness; it’s not about having the world perfectly organized around you.
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: That fundamental understanding is vital because it sets up the journey. If my problems are actually rooted in how I see the world and perceive my circumstances, how do I work on that while also doing everything else I have to do in life?
Traditionally, for those who recognize that fulfillment is an inside job and want to reach their highest potential as a soul, the path has been to go "all in"—go to India, the Himalayas, or become a spiritual teacher. There hasn’t been much of a "middle way." I was fortunate to meet a teacher who taught me that every single thing in your life, and the way you relate to it, is a mirror reflecting what is in your consciousness.
Alex: Scott, let's make this real for people. In your book, you cover great examples—from something as basic as a long coffee queue to avoiding writing checks or making payments due to financial fear. Let's look at some examples that serve as a "dojo" for our self-awareness journey.
Scott Britton: Let’s say you have 12 months of runway left in the bank. One CEO might look at that and think, "We only have a year left; I thought we’d be further along." Another CEO might look at the exact same number and think, "Wow, I have 12 months where I can pay my people. What a luxury!"
Or, consider firing an employee. One person knows they have to do it and avoids it like crazy. Another person knows they have to do it and thinks, "I’m grateful for this person’s contribution, and I’m excited for us both to move on so we can be better aligned." In both examples, the situation is the same, but the internal experience is different.
Alex: And by the way, we’re not placing a value judgment on the person. The CEO who is avoiding the conversation is likely a good human being who simply doesn't want to hurt someone else.
Scott Britton: Totally.
Alex: They aren’t coming from a place of meanness or anything like that. They’re procrastinating and delaying—likely creating problems for both that person and their organization—simply because they’re putting off the decision. They just aren't aware of the different approach they could take. Is that correct?
Scott Britton: Right. And I think it’s even more than that. When we have these responses to events, we aren’t usually choosing them. They are automatic. You don't consciously decide, "I’m going to procrastinate firing this person."
Alex: Yeah.
Scott Britton: It’s more like, "Oh God, this is going to be so hard. I hate this. I’m going to do something else." It’s an automatic response to the circumstance. As you can see from these contrasting examples, different people have different automatic responses.
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: What I came to learn is that a lot of my automatic responses weren't helpful.
Alex: So, if your automatic response was leading you toward the right correction or the right destination in the long term, maybe that’s okay. You were just "wired" the right way from the beginning, and God bless you for it! There are some people like that, which is awesome, but even the most successful people aren't like that in every area of their life.
Scott Britton: Exactly. For example, I used to hate looking at my credit card bill. I would put it off and pretend it didn't exist. That small habit wasn't useful, and it actually indicated a lot of underlying beliefs I didn't even know I had—like a scarcity mindset around money. I didn't want to see the money leaving my account.
When you start to realize this, you ask: "What is the source of all these automatic reactions? How do I work with them to show up more effortlessly and embody the traits I want to bring into the world?" Whether that's being a better leader, parent, friend, or son—ultimately, it’s about living your best life. To me, that is what the consciousness journey is all about.
So, back to the question of how we do both: you start to notice these automatic ways you relate to things. For me, it started with noticing my "triggers."
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: If a client didn't get back to me, I’d start to get really nervous. If a girl I liked turned me down, I’d get really depressed. If I got mad at an employee—all of those automatic responses are pointing to an aspect of my consciousness.
You can think of your consciousness as a database. It holds everything you’ve ever experienced, which then creates these patterned reactions—like an "if this happens, then do that" program.
Alex: So, it’s a mix of things—your backstory, your genetic predisposition, the overriding cultural narrative you've internalized, and your own comparison of how you fit into that world. It’s like an iceberg; most of it is under the surface, and you aren’t fully aware of it, but it’s basically pushing you toward avoidance or specific reactions.
Scott Britton: Exactly. It’s basically controlling you because it is the substrate—the layer that determines how you think and see things. Imagine two people looking at a massive wave in Hawaii. One guy thinks, "Wow, I can't wait to surf that!" The other thinks, "Holy cow, that’s scary as hell." They have different background layers creating their perceptions.
Working on the consciousness level is working on that background layer. For me, the most obvious place to start is with unhelpful reactions like stress, doubt, or getting upset.
Scott Britton: We can identify these patterns while we’re going about our lives—while running a company, leading a team, or being a parent. I found that there are certain practices and exercises you can use to take that initial experience—like, "Wow, I got really upset over this for no reason"—and use it to go into the subconscious database of experiences, culture, and beliefs. You identify the root cause and basically write a new story.
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: You change the information. And when you change the information at that level, it changes how you show up automatically. I used to think I was the master of my life—that I had everything under control.
Alex: And by the way, I’m going to give you a "brag sheet": Princeton, All-Star Ivy League athlete, 30 Under 30, a successful exit after three years. On paper, you were...
Scott Britton: On paper, I was killing it, man.
Alex: You were killing it! You could walk the walk and talk the talk for VCs; it was easy for you to raise money. You looked the part and knew exactly how to frame the story for others to see you as successful. But underneath, it was a different story.
Scott Britton: Right, it was a different story. You can be "killing it" by the standards of the external world but still have your life run by automatic patterns you don’t even know exist.
I’ll give you another example a lot of people relate to: I was a very productive, prolific accomplisher. When I started having health challenges and couldn’t work, I felt like absolute trash because I couldn’t get anything done. One day it just hit me: "Wow, I can only feel good about myself if I’m being productive."
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: I actually felt worthless if I wasn’t being productive. Now, that might be a "good" consciousness pattern for building a business...
Scott Britton: I’ll say, that pattern is effective for someone who wants to be constantly achieving. But I don't think it was a very useful automatic strategy for living a happy life.
Alex: Yeah.
Scott Britton: Ideally, you could stop working and say, "You know what? I’m sick, I don’t feel well right now, and I’m going to give myself the grace to move through this without beating myself up."
Alex: Right.
Scott Britton: But that wasn’t the "script" my internal system had. It was eye-opening and wild to realize that while I thought I was in control, there was actually this huge vault of subconscious patterns pulling the strings of my life—dictating how I perceived and reacted to everything.
Alex: So, what compelled the shift? In your early steps, you were doing some meditation as a way to cope with stress. I think a lot of high achievers have routines like that—they play sports, they meditate, they watch what they eat. Those are ways to cope with stress on the surface. But something made you go deeper. What is the pivotal point for people who might still be on the fence?
Scott Britton: I think there are two things I usually see. First: some type of breakdown—reaching a real low point.
Alex: Yeah.
Scott Britton: That could be realizing you’re depressed, losing a loved one, or going through a breakup. It’s a moment where you fundamentally realize that whatever you’re doing isn't working and you need to change.
Alex: Okay.
Scott Britton: The second thing is having a "peak experience" that opens your eyes to the fact that there is something bigger out there than you previously perceived. In my own experience, I had both. By the time I was 30, I had all these accolades and my life looked great on paper, but I realized I was way less happy than I was five years prior. And five years before that, I was happier still. My trend line showed that whatever I was doing simply wasn't making me feel good.
I also had my first altered state of consciousness through a psychedelic experience. That made me realize, "Whoa, there is more to reality than just the physical, material plane." Between that and raising a—
Alex: A Series A is not a peak life experience!
Scott Britton: Hey, you’ve gotta enjoy it, right? Raising a Series A is great; touching the divine is also great. You don’t have to choose just one or the other!
Alex: Fair enough.
Alex: One does not preclude the other. One of the things I found really amazing in your book is that this journey isn't a straight line. It's not as simple as having a peak experience or a crisis and being "smart enough" not to waste it. For me—and I think I’m somewhere on this journey myself—it’s more like two steps forward and one step back.
There are days when it feels like two steps back. Usually, it’s when I screw up something with my family and fall into old patterns. There might not be a major "crisis," but you start seeing the signs: "Hey, I screwed up my relationship with my wife here, and I’m doing the same thing with my kids." Or, "I did something similar in a meeting the other day where I talked too much and didn’t create space for others." Then I realize, "Oh man, that is a juicy area to start digging into." It’s not that I didn’t know I could be doing better; it just feels like you’re unraveling a very long string.
Alex: What have you seen for yourself and for others embarking on this journey? Is it a case of "I've seen the light and that's it," or is it something else?
Scott Britton: It’s exactly what you’re describing, dude. It is non-linear. It’s up and down. Maybe there are people out there like Eckhart Tolle, who supposedly just woke up on a park bench enlightened after some intense suffering, but for most of us, it’s more like our journeys.
I still constantly have things come up where I think, "Dammit, I thought I was over this! I thought I handled this." But it’s just the way you relate to it; you’re simply reaching deeper layers.
Scott Britton: My personal belief is that there is an orchestrating intelligence in this reality that intentionally organizes these circumstances for you. It helps you experience these moments so you can become aware of those deeper layers. Otherwise, there would be no way for you to understand what is next in your personal growth curriculum.
Alex: So, life is one big lesson.
Scott Britton: I think so. I’ve heard people say "Earth is a school." I believe people should choose beliefs that work for them and feel true. What I’ve found is that when people believe life is random, it’s very easy to fall into victimhood when bad things happen. Whether it’s a health challenge or something like the sudden death of my father—life happens.
If you believe it’s just bad luck, you start wondering, "Why did this happen to me and not my friend?" or "Why now?" It’s a recipe for victimhood. However, living with the belief that my experience on Earth is a school for my soul to grow and evolve is much more empowering. It allows me to say, "Okay, this is what’s next on the journey."
Alex: We often read that in relationships, we are drawn to people who are almost designed to "tickle" our sensitive parts—to help us fix and repair whatever has happened in the past. It’s interesting that there’s a parallel there with attachment theory. Then, when you become a parent, you start remembering things you did as a kid that weren't effective, and you begin working through your own parenting issues.
I have a theory that the startup journey is similar. You are attracted to being a founder or choosing certain professional paths because they are meant to challenge you in areas where you aren't comfortable. For example, I knew that very few people in business school actually want to do sales, even though they say you should. I deliberately went into sales even though I was uncomfortable because I knew that to grow, I needed to face the fear of rejection and being ignored.
Alex: What’s your take on this? Are we attracting these professional and personal challenges on purpose? And if so, how do we deal with that?
Scott Britton: I don’t claim to have the definitive answer, but I can share how I relate to it. My personal belief is that we essentially choose what we want to experience before we even begin this life. Our soul says, "I want to grow in this particular way—I want to become more loving, or prove to myself that I can do something hard."
We choose a life incarnation that allows for that growth. As we move through life, we are maneuvering within that template. We attract things that help us grow. However, I don't think that means everything that is hard or scary must be faced just because "that's the law." It's more that my higher self wanted to experience a specific mission, and to fulfill that intention, I have to face specific challenges that are scary for me.
Everyone has different intentions. Your intention might be contribution-oriented, where you are here to serve humanity in a specific way. For me, I believe part of my contribution is helping business people with consciousness work.
Alex: God.
Scott Britton: Someone else's mission might simply be to learn how to love themselves or how to be a good father. Some of those journeys can be incredibly difficult. That’s just how I relate to it and what resonates with me.
Alex: One way of thinking about this—if I bring it all together—is that there’s a journey we can take where we agree on the goal. If we look at the world as a "two-by-two" matrix, you can bring great things into the world while staying aware and joyful. It’s a progressively positive process.
It sounds like you are combining the "achievement and accomplishment" ethos—the current zeitgeist of our world—with the eternal, essential human pursuit of happiness. I don’t mean happiness in material terms, but in the sense of truly enjoying life. These two dimensions haven't always been linked; historically, we needed to accomplish things and gain status just to survive. Your work seems to be finding the connection between these two things that don’t traditionally go together.
Scott Britton: I think that’s exactly right. I believe this is where humanity is heading. The next phase for many of us is moving out of the polarity of "one or the other" and into an integration. Yes, we want to enjoy our experience and create beautiful things, but we also want to become whole and understand who we are and what reality is.
You’re right—those things have typically been divorced. Historically, we’ve pursued material reality in an attempt to feel good. Instead, we should work on fundamental well-being through consciousness and awareness. Ironically, that awareness actually makes us more capable of navigating material reality.
Alex: Beautiful. Scott, that is a mic drop. For those who want to learn how to do this, stay tuned for the second part of this podcast. We’ll meet again to go through specific examples of how you’ve done this yourself and discuss the playbook you’ve developed to help others achieve it. Scott, thank you.
Scott Britton: Sounds amazing. Thanks for having me, Alex. This was epic.
Alex: Thank you. It was a lot of fun.