This week, Blake and Jamie invite listeners into a real-time Top Plate coaching call with 3% community member Dustin Duvall. In this session, Dustin brings his honest history about stress, being a good husband, overwhelm, and the pressure to carry everything at once.
Together they unpack what a Top Plate actually is—the one thing in your life that requires the most attention—and how naming it can radically shift the way you show up for your family, your work, and yourself.
This is a practical and deeply human episode about burnout, boundaries, internal narratives, and the courage it takes to ask for help. If you’re feeling stretched thin or unsure how to keep all the plates spinning, this conversation offers clarity, hope, and next steps.
Takeaways
Your “Top Plate” is the area of life demanding the most attention—and naming it brings relief.
Burnout isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s your body telling the truth.
You can’t lead others well if you’re constantly abandoning yourself.
Most overwhelm comes from unspoken expectations and silent pressure.
Compassion and honesty are more effective motivators than shame.
You don’t need to fix everything at once; you need to take the next right step.
Chapters
(00:00) Welcome & What a Top Plate Coaching Call Is
(03:40) Dustin’s Story & Current Stress Points
(07:15) Identifying the Real Top Plate
(11:50) Why Overwhelm Feels Like Failure
(15:00) The Emotional Cost of Carrying Everything
(18:30) When Performance Becomes Your Identity
(22:00) Listening to Your Body’s “Alarm System”
(26:40) Blake’s Coaching: Finding the Pressure Valve
(30:10) What Happens When You Name the Real Issue
(34:20) Dustin’s Breakthrough: Permission to Slow Down
(38:00) Boundaries, Leadership, and Family Health
(42:00) Choosing What Matters Most Right Now
(46:00) The First Next Step
(49:30) Final Coaching Reflections
Keywords
Top Plate, coaching, emotional health, burnout, overwhelm, stress, leadership, boundaries, self-awareness, nervous system, family, identity, masculinity, spiritual formation, Three Percent