Most people graduate high school thinking they're ready. They're not. Neither were we.
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out. Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out. This podcast exists because we both wish someone had handed us the roadmap earlier. Consider this ours.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
23 Oct 2026
Stop Sacrificing Your 20s
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
23 Oct 2026
How to Get Good at Sales From Zero
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
10 Oct 2026
How to Build Confidence When You Have None
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
2 Oct 2026
Is Ambition Making You Miserable?
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
25 Sept 2026
Why You Quit Everything You Start
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
20 Sept 2026
Social Skills, Networking, and How Opportunities Find You
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
20 Sept 2026
How to Get Out of a Rut and Build Habits That Stick
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
20 Sept 2026
How to Make Better Decisions You Won't Regret
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes
Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
3 Sept 2026
How to Find the Work You Were Born to Do
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes
Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
4 Jul 2026
How I Lost 150 Pounds and Rebuilt My Entire Life
Winning at Life is a podcast about everything school left out.
Luis Valdes and Severin Spagnola met in a middle school STEM program and have been figuring life out together ever since. Luis was 300 pounds before losing half his body weight and giving a TEDx talk about it. Severin studies aerospace engineering at San Jose State and is building Chipster, a startup automating computer chip verification.
Every episode takes one thing that actually moves the needle and breaks it down: finding the work you were born to do, making decisions you won't regret, climbing out of a rut, building habits that hold, and why the people you know shape nearly everything that happens to you.
The name comes from the Pareto principle. Roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of your results, so that 20% is where we spend our time.
We share the wins, the failures, and the parts we're still working out.
If an episode helps you, leave a rating or a review. It's the fastest way to get this in front of someone who needs it.
Watch full episodes on
YouTube: youtube.com/@WinningatLifePodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/winningatlifepodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@winningatlifepodcast
Luis: instagram.com/luis.m.valdes
Severin: instagram.com/severinspagnola
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