In this episode of The Business of Thinking, Richard Reid sits down with Loretta Breuning, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute, to explore the primal neurochemistry driving human behavior. Loretta reveals how "happy chemicals" like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin were designed for animal survival and how these ancient pathways still dictate our professional lives and personal success today.

Key Takeaways

Our brains are wired by early childhood experiences, creating neural "highways" that influence our adult reactions to competition and reward.

Understanding the mammal brain allows high achievers to move beyond surface-level motivation and master their emotional responses to workplace stress and social hierarchies.

Episode Highlights

Loretta discusses the reality of social hierarchies and why the drive for status is a natural biological impulse rather than a character flaw.

She breaks down the role of cortisol in decision-making, explaining how the brain decides when to "persist with a chase" or "cut losses" in a business context.

Finally, she provides a roadmap for retraining the brain through repetition to build new, healthier habits.

Timestamps

00:50 Loretta’s journey from professor to brain behavior expert

06:17 The four happy chemicals and survival behavior

12:42 Serotonin, social dominance, and workplace competition

19:49 Oxytocin and the evolutionary need for protection

31:29 Lion’s perspective: Using cortisol for better business decisions

35:11 Strategies for retraining childhood neural pathways

🔗 Connect with Loretta Breuning

Website: InnerMammalInstitute.org

Free 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart: https://InnerMammalInstitute.org/newsletter

LinkedIn: Loretta Breuning

Instagram: @inner.mammal.inst

Facebook: LorettaBreuningPhD

YouTube: @InnerMammalInstitute

⭐️ Connect and Subscribe

Thank you for joining us on The Business of Thinking podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and leave a rating! It helps us bring more insightful content on the psychology of high performance. Find more about Richard Reid’s work at www.richard-reid.com.

Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/