Why Your Past Trauma Is Costing You Real Love | Pastor Michael Todd

Pastor Michael Todd joins Lewis Howes on The School of Greatness to discuss his new book, 'Damaged but Not Destroyed: From Trauma to Triumph,' diving deep into how unresolved past trauma sabotages relationships, success, and personal fulfillment. Todd shares his own journey—from emotional eating and insecurity rooted in childhood rejection at age 12, to becoming a high-achieving pastor and entrepreneur while carrying hidden wounds. He argues that people often use success as a shield against feeling unlovable, but this only perpetuates cycles of burnout, broken relationships, and emotional numbness. The key to lasting transformation, he emphasizes, is not perfection but healing: confronting trauma, embracing vulnerability, and building a life of authenticity, self-love, and purpose. He shares powerful insights on how healing isn’t a luxury but a necessity—comparable to an off-season in sports—and how decisions, when turned into discipline and then desire, can change destiny. Todd also reveals how he rebuilt his marriage and health by prioritizing inner work over external validation, and how his values shifted from seeking 'greatness' to embracing 'goodness' in alignment with purpose. His message is clear: you can’t give what you don’t have. True greatness comes not from external achievements, but from inner wholeness and service rooted in love.