Reality-First Leadership: operators test advice and publish the receipts so you can ship what works.

Is Anything Real? is the Reality-First Leadership show featuring weekly guests - founders, operators, and creators - who optimize for proof over theater. Hosted by Adam W. Barney (author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full and founder of Scale Smarter), we unpack leadership, growth, community, and EnergyOS: what actually works, what’s waste, and how to scale without losing your soul.

Every episode delivers: a 60-sec Reality Check, a Proof Stack (inputs → actions → outcomes, numbers when possible), and one EnergyOS Move you can run this week.

Recent guests: 360ANGLE, Everything Bagel, Learn to Scale. New episodes Wednesdays @ 12 pm ET.

👉 Book a 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Listen to the Trailer

Latest Episodes

Always Be Testing: Real SEO/SEM Plays for 2026 | Ep. 43 w/ Peter Kalanda (3 Horizons Interactive)

“SEO isn’t dead...LLM search just rewards brands that ship the fundamentals and answer real questions.”If you feel like your ad dollars buy less every month, you’re no...

Reddit = Real: Zero-Click Wins & Comment Ads | Ep. 42 w/ Colin Belyea (Karmic)

Reddit is the trust engine of the internet. It’s where buyers validate big decisions - and where AI and search borrow real perspective. In this episode, Colin James Be...

Brand Soul > Super Bowl Shine | Exclusive Drop Ep. 41 w/ Steve Biegel (Dreamboat Group)

Award-winning strategist Steve Biegel shows why purpose outperforms spectacle - and how to use Think > Say > Do to win beyond Super Bowl weekend.This exclusive drop la...

Regulated Ads, Real Plays - What Still Works | Ep. 40 w/ Alexandra Prochshenko (Veloria)

Regulated categories aren’t impossible - just unforgiving.Founder Alexandra Prochshenko (Veloria) and I get brutally practical about what still works in paid media whe...

Founder-First VC: Equity, Access & Real Signals | Ep. 39 w/ Christina Quinn (SSC VP)

Founder-First VC: Equity, Access & Real SignalsGeneral Partner Christina Quinn (SSC Venture Partners) sits down with Adam W. Barney to move beyond the panel talk and i...

More Episodes »
Broadcast by