Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing)
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing)

Ben Nemtin: Stop Waiting for Motivation and Start Checking Off Your Bucket List Today | Mental Health | YAPClassic

September 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2006, four Canadian teenagers with no money and no connections drove off in a secondhand RV with a list of 100 things they wanted to do before dying. Their plan was a two-week road trip. Instead, it became a decade-long mission, an MTV series, and a New York Times bestselling book. The buried life, as they called it, was the gap between the dreams people carry and the daily routines that bury them. Ben Nemtin, one of the four founders, argues that the biggest barrier between you and your bucket list is not resources or talent, but fear, silence, and the belief that you must wait for motivation to arrive.

Where Depression Becomes a Gift

Nemtin’s journey started in collapse, not confidence. On a rugby scholarship and training for the under-19 national team, he began obsessing over a missed kick from a high school championship game. The pressure compounded into sleeplessness, then anxiety, then depression so severe he could not leave the house. “I never experienced anything like this where all of a sudden I was crippled by this anxiety and depression,” he says. He dropped out of school.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:47) **Introduction: Ben Nemtin's Bucket List Mission** - Hala introduces Ben, whose 100-item bucket list and mission to help strangers led to the MTV show *The Buried Life* and a career as a speaker.
  • 2 (01:43) **Upbringing: How a Clown Father Shaped an Adventurous Spirit** - Ben explains that his father, a theatrical clown, and his mother, a musician, taught him that there are no rules for how to live.
  • 3 (04:51) **College Depression: The Pressure That Crippled Him** - Ben describes his first major depression, triggered by intense pressure to succeed in school and rugby, and how he internalized it until he couldn't function.
  • 4 (07:20) **The Pivot: Surrounding Yourself with Inspiring People** - Ben credits a single conscious decision—to only surround himself with people who inspire him—as the catalyst that changed his life.
  • 5 (10:54) **Managing Depression Today: Awareness, Habits, and Talking** - Ben admits he still gets depressed, but he now catches it before a crisis by knowing his body's signals and maintaining a support network.
  • 6 (15:17) **Sleep as the Foundation of Mental Health** - Ben argues that sleep is not just a pillar of wellness but the base on which all other pillars rest.
  • 7 (16:54) **The Origin of The Buried Life: From Poem to Road Trip** - Ben recounts how a poem assigned in a college English class sparked the idea for a documentary about buried dreams.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Ben Nemtin’s mental health unraveled under the pressure to succeed in school and rugby, until anxiety and depression left him unable to function. His recovery started with one choice: surround himself with people who inspired him. That mindset shift led Ben and three friends to create The Buried Life, a mission to pursue 100 bucket-list dreams while helping strangers achieve theirs. Along the way, he discovered how purpose, accountability, and action can move us through fear. In this episode, Ben shares the keys at the intersection of entrepreneurship, mental health, and personal fulfillment: how to uncover buried goals, pursue what truly matters, and build a life with fewer regrets. 

In this episode, Hala and Ben will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:45) How Travel Shaped Ben’s Life Philosophy

(04:45) Anxiety, Depression, and Performance Pressure 

(18:05) Origin of The Buried Life and Bucket List Concept

(28:16) Why Chasing Dreams Isn't Selfish

(35:39) Helping Strangers Changed the Mission

(48:14) The Wildest Dreams Still on Ben’s List

(49:25) Write Your Goals, Live Without Regret

Ben Nemtin is the co-founder of The Buried Life movement and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? He is also the author of The Bucket List Journal and starred in MTV’s hit reality series The Buried Life. Ben has been ranked among the world’s top motivational speakers by Global Gurus and has delivered keynotes for organizations including Amazon, Microsoft, FedEx, and Verizon. 

Sponsored By:

Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/profiting

Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting.

Northwest Registered Agent - Get a complete business identity with Northwest. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/YAPFree and start using free resources to build something amazing. 

Mindstone - Master practical AI skills without the complexity with Mindstone’s AI Competency Programme. Head to experience.mindstone.com/yap and get 10% off. 

AT&T Business - Stay connected with reliable, secure internet built for entrepreneurs. Switch to AT&T Business at business.att.com. 

HoneyLove - Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shapewear on the market. Save 20% off Honeylove by going to honeylove.com/PROFITING! #honeylovepod

Freshbooks - Manage all your busine

Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing)

More from this podcast

Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing) →