Crux-Xcelerate pivots with key hire, fueling growth for local businesses through six-month sales curriculum
PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Kansas City, Mo. – In most organizations, sales and marketing cl...
Ethan Whitehill: Hi everyone. Welcome to our podcast To the Point. I’m Ethan Whitehill, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Crux, the “un‑agency.” We produce this monthly podcast to bring you thought‑provoking conversations that get to the crux of it, and help entrepreneurial brands fuel growth.
Our guest for Episode 37 is Dr. Melanie Dean. Melanie is a psychologist, researcher, author, and educator who helps people understand that their emotions are more powerful than they think—and so are they. Her book The Hidden Power of Emotions was released by Hay House in 2020 and received the Better Books for a Better World Nautilus Award as well as a Gold Non‑Fiction Book Award. Through her book, live workshops, keynotes, and online education, Melanie explains the science of emotions—how emotions are energy that can attract or repel experiences, people, and opportunities.
Melanie, it’s an honor to have you on the podcast. I’m going to dive in. In your book, you shared how the sale of your business led you to research the power of emotions. Can you briefly share the story of how you started and eventually sold your publishing business, and what motivated that decision?
Melanie Dean: Sure. I started my publishing business because I wanted to create materials for psychologists. I was newly out of school and thought, “Why aren’t there cliff notes for psychologists?” That idea became the basis of the business. I created condensed reviews of educational, diagnostic, and treatment material. Over 12 to 15 years the business grew significantly into educational pamphlets, patented assessment systems, books, and materials created with leading experts for pharmaceutical companies. It became a large, bustling business.
My kids were young, I was traveling constantly, and I felt I was missing their childhood. The business had good value, so I wanted someone else to take over the stress so I could enjoy more time with my kids. Every morning during my quiet time, I envisioned selling the business, even envisioning the minimum amount of money I wanted from the sale. I didn’t know I was using scientifically real practices by getting calm and paying attention to what resonated for me.
One idea came through clearly: I needed a partner to help grow the business for a couple more years before selling. I reached out to an organization that helps match business partners. The fourth or fifth person I interviewed intrigued me, though I initially dismissed the idea because he came from a billion‑dollar publishing business, and mine was only a few million. But he kept coming back, we kept talking, and eventually it became very clear that he was the right partner. We aligned on the same goal: partner, grow, then sell.
When I called to finalize things, he told me he couldn’t. His house had burned down the day before. But he said he would partner with me once repairs were done. After that, we worked well together for six months. But then he told me he needed more of my time to grow the business, not less. My intention had always been to work less so I could be with my kids.
I returned to my quiet time to understand what to do. The message was clear: stay the course. Hold onto the desire for more time with my kids. When we talked again, I told him I couldn’t work more. We agreed to stay open to a solution.
Within a couple of weeks, two offers came in asking if I would consider selling the business. That surprised both of us. Suddenly I had two potential buyers, and my partner—who had a strong M&A background—guided the process. Within a couple of months the business was sold, and the exact amount I had envisioned was in the bank.
Ethan Whitehill: Amazing.
Melanie Dean: It really was. And it made me wonder: was that luck, coincidence, or something scientifically real? I wanted to know whether the calm, quiet knowing I tuned into was actually grounded in science.
That led me into deep research. I’m very science‑oriented, so I began exploring what’s happening inside our bodies when we have a calm, clear desire—when we meditate or pray or focus our intentions. I wanted to know if there is scientific evidence that what we focus on comes to us. My research took me through molecular biology, particle physics, and ultimately quantum physics. It took about ten years of reading every relevant thread of science, and I came to the conclusion: yes, it’s scientifically real. We have emotional power that helps us attract what we want.
Ethan Whitehill: How did you go from psychology to quantum physics? What led you to connect those two fields?
Melanie Dean: It was a gradual path. One early moment was when I found a book on a beach in Hawaii called The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav. It’s filled with quantum physics experiments and concepts. I was fascinated—it opened my eyes to how energy works in the world in ways we can’t see. That happened about ten years before selling my business, so I already had an inkling that unseen energy was at play.
Ethan Whitehill: That sounds very entrepreneurial—being curious, open to new ideas, and willing to explore deeper. For skeptics, how would you explain the scientific reality of intuition and emotional manifestation?
Melanie Dean: Every emotion we have triggers the creation of a corresponding molecule in the body. These molecules have specific energetic structures—frequency, spin, amplitude—and they communicate inside the body at the molecular, particle, electromagnetic, biophotonic, and quantum levels.
One way to understand this outside the body is to think of wireless communication. Your computer searches for a frequency match; when it finds one, you get a connection. Our emotional energy works similarly. It seeks a match.
For example, if you desire a career change with more independence, more income, less travel, your emotion creates a wave pattern that corresponds with those desires. Calm, clear, caring emotions create smooth, predictable wave patterns that easily sync with similar energies. Anxious, angry, or worried emotions create jagged, chaotic waves that are harder to match.
Your power increases when you calm your system and envision what you want clearly. When a matching opportunity appears, you feel it—you get intuitive guidance.
Ethan Whitehill: Back to your analogy, it’s sending and receiving, right?
Melanie Dean: Exactly. You’re sending an energetic signal and receiving one back when it resonates. When I was looking for a partner to sell my business, I could sense when someone wasn’t a match. We’re always “sniffing” for the right match in a field of possibilities.
Ethan Whitehill: Some of what you describe sounds like positive thinking, but some of it is positive feeling. What’s the difference?
Melanie Dean: Thoughts and feelings are intertwined, but they operate differently. Thoughts fire neurons. They’re fleeting. Emotions create real energy. If you stay stuck in anxious or angry thoughts, you weaken your power to shape outcomes.
Your emotional power increases when you interrupt those reactive cycles and shift into calm clarity about what you truly want.
Ethan Whitehill: That brings us to something you talk about in your book: power zappers and power boosters. What are they?
Melanie Dean: Power zappers are patterns that drain your ability to attract what you want, like worry, fear, anxiety, and emotional autopilot.
Power boosters include:
Calm, caring emotional waves vibrate 10 times higher and are three times more powerful than anxious, chaotic waves.
Ethan Whitehill: What are some situations where it makes sense to use this approach? Long‑term goals? Daily decisions?
Melanie Dean: Start with long‑term goals so you can practice calming yourself and noticing your intuitive signals. Many people feel intuitive clarity in the heart or the gut. Research shows the heart picks up on signals faster than the brain, and the gut may be even faster.
In quiet time, even when I’m dealing with something difficult, I smile when I get that clear knowing. It’s comforting, even if the next step is hard.
You can train your intuition by asking simple yes/no questions you already know the answer to. Say statements as simple as “My name is Gertrude.” Or pick a different name if your name is Gertrude. Pay attention to what a “no” feels like in your body, and then what a “yes” feels like. Over time, you’ll recognize your internal signals.
Ethan Whitehill: Sounds like you’re training your body to be its own lie detector.
Melanie Dean: Yes, its your own resonance detector. When making decisions, the key is knowing which option matches your true desires. By understanding your “yes” and “no” feelings, it becomes very clear.
Ethan Whitehill: It reminds me of sayings like “go with your gut” or “follow your heart.”
Melanie Dean: Exactly. When those signals come from a calm, clear place.
Ethan Whitehill: Some people just seem lucky. Are some people naturally more in tune?
Melanie Dean: Some are, but everyone can cultivate it. For example, I naturally sense what’s happening inside me more easily than my husband, but he can learn it too.
Ethan Whitehill: For people intimidated by meditation, what are some accessible ways to start?
Melanie Dean: Take the pressure off. The goal is simply to quiet your body, then your mind. That could be music, a walk in nature, journaling, or just looking out the window at the trees. Start with three to five minutes a day.
Once you’ve calmed your body, the next step is to calm your mind. Your thoughts won’t disappear. They’ll always swirl. But you can give yourself space from them. Let your thoughts take a break, know you can come right back to them. And you must set devices aside. They make mental clarity almost impossible.
Ethan Whitehill: That makes sense. Entrepreneurs especially need energy management, not just time management.
Melanie Dean: Yes. This process helps you use your energy powerfully instead of working against yourself.
Ethan Whitehill: Alright, let’s switch gears to our mystery question. I have a 20‑sided die with 20 questions. It’s the biggest 20-sided die you’ll ever see. Give it a roll.
Melanie Dean: Okay! What number did it land on?
Ethan Whitehill: Looks like an 11. The question is: what’s the best place you’ve ever visited?
Melanie Dean: It’s not a physical place. I’ve had a few moments of what some call nirvana—states of deep inner peace. I also had a near‑death experience where I felt profound, indescribable love. Those experiences are the most powerful places I’ve ever been.
Ethan Whitehill: I had a feeling you’d go there. That’s incredible. Melanie, thank you so much for joining us. How can listeners connect with you and get your book?
Melanie Dean: Visit MelanieDean.com or DrMelanieDean.com. You’ll find free resources, my podcast, and links to purchase my book. My goal is to help people on their journey, and those resources are available to support that.
