• Chris Dessi
  • Posts
  • The Quantum Shift Ep. 3— Daniel Barrett on Music, Mentorship, and Remembering

The Quantum Shift Ep. 3— Daniel Barrett on Music, Mentorship, and Remembering

From heroin addiction to recovery

Author

Chris Dessi
October 16, 2025

In partnership with

There’s something profoundly grounding about reconnecting with someone who shared your small-town beginnings—and discovering how far the road has carried them. My latest guest on The Quantum Shift Podcast, Daniel Barrett, is one of those people.

Dan and I both grew up in Mahopac, New York

—a place we once called “boring” and now recognize as quietly beautiful. In our conversation, that theme of re-seeing what was always there—beauty, meaning, purpose—threads through every story he tells.

Today, Dan is a Grammy-nominated producer, acclaimed musician, author, and mentor. His production of Ruthie Foster’s Healing Time earned a 2023 nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. But in true “Quantum Shift” fashion, the road there was anything but linear.

We talked about his early days learning guitar in the Mahopac band room, leaving the prestigious College of William & Mary to follow the call of music at Berklee, and eventually touring the country in a jam band—sleeping in vans, busking in subway stations, learning grit note by note.

Dan shared how failure, doubt, and what he calls “loving slap-in-the-face” mentors shaped him more than easy wins ever could. A professor at UMass Boston challenged him to “stop muddying the waters” and do what he said he’d do. Years later, his wife gave him a similar nudge: focus on what truly brings you alive—producing music.

That clarity led him to Austin, Texas, and to a career defined by depth, empathy, and flow. His sensitivity—once something to hide—became his superpower as a producer.

We also dove into his 2014 Hay House book The Remembering Process, co-written with Joe Vitale (The Secret).

It’s a creative method rooted in imagination and play—remembering future successes as if they’ve already happened. Incredibly, years before his Grammy nomination, Barrett wrote in that book about “remembering winning a Grammy.” This kind of blew my mind.

It’s one thing to believe in manifestation—it’s another to see it unfold!

In the episode, Dan and I laugh about our Mahopac roots, reflect on the mystical side of music, and explore how “remembering” isn’t about wishful thinking—it’s about removing resistance, clarifying intention, and letting inspiration do its work.

If you’ve ever doubted your own creative path—or needed proof that the universe rewards persistence with play—this episode will hit you straight in the heart.

Keep up the good work,

Chris

The Future of the Content Economy

beehiiv started with newsletters. Now, they’re reimagining the entire content economy.

On November 13, beehiiv’s biggest updates ever are dropping at the Winter Release Event.

For the people shaping the next generation of content, community, and media, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

Reply

or to participate.