Meet Dave Gieselman

 

We were lucky to catch up with Dave Gieselman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dave, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Honestly, I didn’t. I just stopped waiting for it to go away.

Here’s what I’ve learned: actual impostors don’t get impostor syndrome. They know they’re faking it. The rest of us are afraid we might be. Not because we’re frauds, but because we actually care. And what we’re really afraid of isn’t failure. It’s success. If I succeed and it was just luck, or timing, or a fluke, what happens when I can’t do it again? Now I’ve got something to lose. Now I’ve got people watching. And that’s when the fear kicks in: “They’re gonna find out I never belonged here.”

I get it; years of white-knuckling my way through kitchens, early sobriety, and building a business. Always pushing, always proving. And what finally shifted things wasn’t mindset tricks or fake-it-till-you-make-it nonsense, but learning how to regulate my body. To use breath, presence, and awareness to quiet the noise and act from truth, not fear.

Oddly enough, that’s how I found my purpose, actually realizing I wasn’t the only one stuck in that loop. Most people are carrying the same fear, and dying for someone to tell them they’re allowed to stop.

So now I do that. I help people stop waiting. I teach them how to stack their physiology behind their goals, rather than their psychology, and build the kind of confidence that’s earned through reps, through presence, through learning to move forward even when the fear’s still there.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Capacity is at the core of everything I do: I teach capacity.

The ability to stay grounded, focused, and clear when the pressure’s on and life gets loud.

I work with high performers: entrepreneurs, creatives, and leaders. People who are used to carrying a lot know how to push through, but no one ever taught them how to come down, how to recover, or how to regulate themselves in a way that builds resilience instead of just getting through the day.

That’s where I come in. And the way I teach capacity depends on the context.

Coaching: Individuals, Groups, and Teams

One-on-one coaching, group work, and team sessions where it’s all about helping people learn to work with their nervous system, rather than reacting to it. We use the tools of breathwork, awareness, state shifts, and practical tools to help you stop spinning out and start operating from clarity. And with teams, we focus on developing skills such as nervous system literacy, emotional regulation, and flow triggers, tools they can actually use under pressure.

Speaking: Keynotes, Workshops, Live Events

When I speak, my goal is to give people an experience of what’s possible when they feel grounded, present, and clear. So yes, there’s science. Yes, there’s strategy. But there’s also breathwork, presence, something they feel in their body, not surface-level hype. It’s real, it’s practical, and it sticks.

Breathwork: Public Sessions, Private Work, and Facilitator Training

Breathwork is at the heart of what I do. It’s the most direct access point I know for clarity, emotional regulation, and real transformation. I run weekly public sessions, private intensives for individuals and couples, and corporate experiences for teams and retreats.
Currently, I’m training a cohort of Limitless Flow Breathwork Facilitators, equipping them with the tools and structure to guide others through this work with depth, safety, and integrity.

Outside of that, I’ve got a few things I’m building that I’m excited to share.

We’re launching a breathwork app later this year to make these tools accessible to anyone, anywhere, so people can learn to shift their state whether they’ve got five minutes or fifty.

I also have a new podcast coming soon, called The Flow of Money, which explores the intersection of nervous system regulation, purpose, and personal finance. It will be particularly useful for individuals who have struggled with achieving success, overcoming challenging money stories, building self-worth, or feeling secure about being seen. I think a lot of folks are gonna resonate with that one.

Whether I’m working with a client, leading a session, speaking to a room, or recording a podcast, it all comes back to helping people build the capacity to hold more of what matters, without losing themselves in the process.

Because I’ve been on the other side of it, burned out, disconnected, and stuck in survival mode. I know what it takes to come back from that. Breathwork brought me home to myself. Now, I teach other people how to find that, too.

That’s the work. And I love it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three values that have shaped my journey most are exuberance, purpose, and speed.

Exuberance is fully engaging with life. It’s intensity, joy, messiness, chaos, and mystery. It’s knowing, deep down, that nothing lasts. Every relationship will end, one way or another; every window of opportunity closes, and we don’t get to keep anything.
It is the transient nature of all things that makes the moment sacred. It’s why I go all-in every time.
You either believe you live in an abundant universe that’s conspiring in your favor, or you don’t. And if you don’t, you’re not my client, not my collaborator, not my friend. I have zero room for scarcity in my life.
Bring your whole self. That’s the only way this works.

Purpose didn’t come to me fully formed. It showed up in pieces. Cooking. Sobriety. Breathwork. Flow science. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The things I was obsessed with turned out to be internal road signs. Following what lit me up brought me to the work I’m meant to do. Your passions are a breadcrumb trail to your purpose. Life is too short not to do what lights you up.

Speed is about staying in motion and not rushing, not grinding, but moving with intent. Most people lose time to hesitation, second-guessing, and trying to get it perfect, or know how it’s going to go before they start. That’s paralysis, not preparation.
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. The only wrong decision is not making one.
If you’re stuck, pick a direction. Trust yourself to adjust along the way. Clarity comes from action.

Exuberance. Purpose. Speed.
Do anything you want, just do it on purpose, and do it now.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The people who’ve helped me the most are the ones I’ve had the opportunity, and the good fortune, to teach, mentor, or coach. My first woman client, who triggered every insecurity I had (because I believed that the last thing in the world any woman needed was one more 40-something, bearded, tattooed, cis-gendered, white guy talking about how to “do it right”). People who intimidated me because they were far more knowledgeable about breath, physiology, or personal development, but weren’t putting the different pieces together the way I was, and they were curious.

Every single time I’ve been asked to teach something, it’s been something I was still learning myself, and that’s never lost on me. The process of teaching has been the fastest and most honest mirror I’ve ever found. Because you can’t fake embodiment, people feel it when it’s real, and when it’s not.

Teaching forces me to slow down, get honest, and make sure I actually understand what I’m talking about, not just intellectually, but in my body. I can’t stand in front of someone and talk about breathwork or resilience or regulation if I haven’t walked through the fire myself. So every question someone asks, every pattern they bring into the space, every moment of my own uncertainty pushes me to sharpen, to reflect, to evolve.

I’ve learned more from holding space for other people than I ever did in a training or a book. When someone trusts you enough to let you into their process, and you care enough to meet them where they are, you both grow.

I don’t see myself as the expert in the room. I see myself as the one who’s willing to go first, imperfectly. The one who’s willing to keep learning in public. And that posture, open, honest, curious, is what’s shaped me the most.

Every client, every group, every breathwork session has made me better. I owe so much of who I am to the people who’ve allowed me to teach them.

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Image Credits

Neil Napier

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