Ilana
Appearances
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Give it to me now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Yes, for sure.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
That's so incredible, Naveen. And I think one of the beautiful quotes, I think, that I heard from you, and I might be butchering it a little bit, but it's something like, what are you willing to die for? Figure that out and live for that. And I think when you talk about obsession versus passion, can you talk about it? I feel like that is so powerful because you're living that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
That's exactly what you're doing. That's exactly the example that you gave. Passion.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
I think Richard Branson has a good quote that I love. The brave don't live forever, but the cowards don't live at all. I went through my own ups and downs. Every single entrepreneur will go through their ups and downs. And sometimes when it catches you at three in the morning and you can't breathe, It is hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
How many people are actually not able to go through these near-death experiences, right? And they give up. And I think that's the majority. So how do you, maybe you can even share an example of something that was really, really hard. And how did you get the power to get back up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
It's exactly what we see because people just stop taking action and then shockingly, they don't get the results, right? And we see it a lot, especially when there's fear or regret or rejection or something is taking them down.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
But what do you do in order to get back up when it's hard and say to yourself, I'm going to take that next step, even if it's scary, even if I don't know what's going to be the outcome, even if I may look like a fool, you still need to take that next step. What are some of the things that you tell yourself? Is it really just a focus? Is there something that helps you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Are there role models that help you? Talk to me a little bit about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
I think with social media and everything that we see, on someone else, it all looks easy. So we lose patience, right? We want everything yesterday. We're high achievers. We're driven. But the truth is, you're just going to have to take those small, imperfect steps every single day to get there. And a lot of these things are a decade long of overnight success, right? So how do you keep the patience?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
So you wanted to ask something, but I also want to talk a little bit about moonshot and the youth formula. Like, I don't know how you have time to write books. So that's a different story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
So beautiful, Naveen. Thank you. That means a lot. And it is a big passion. And you've been doing all these things to change millions of lives. So I would love to learn more how you started, what you've done. How do you come with these moonshot ideas? What do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Oh, I love that. And I think that thread is so important. We would hike when my kids were little. They're still teens, but we would hike for hours and we would just pick some random thing and we would make a whole story on it because we had a long time to drag. Right. So I absolutely love this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Imagination is something that now in the TikTok world, when everything is just coming your way, to be able to step back and actually use curiosity, use questions, use imagination, it's just so fundamental.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Maybe one last question. If you would go back in time to your younger self, what would be something that you would tell yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
And we actually brought a lot of the idea of experimentation from the startup world to the world of careers, because I think we never look at the career as an experiment. And I don't know why. Right. I mean, it just makes so much sense because not everybody's meant for entrepreneurship.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Exactly. I've been watching you, been a big fan. Just amazing to see the big, audacious ideas that you have and that you're not afraid to go after them, which I think is very, very inspiring for entrepreneurs to see and to realize that, yes, it's really more about taking those steps, taking constant action, not being afraid of failure because it is about the progress.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
So I really, really appreciate your coming and sharing all these incredible insights, Naveen.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Naveen Jain, a serial entrepreneur, a philanthropist, author of moonshots and the use formula.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
How do you come with these moonshot ideas?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
So what you're saying, the questions you're asking will actually decide what you are actually focusing on. And that determines... basically the levels of solutions that you're starting to look at. One of the things that we notice with a lot of entrepreneurs is even that is scary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
So even asking these moonshot questions, you don't necessarily want to hear the answers because you don't want to take something so big on yourself. So how do you work on the fear?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Naveen Jain: Turning Audacious Ideas Into Life-Changing Innovations | E66
Naveen Jain, a serial entrepreneur, a philanthropist. He's the author of Moonshots and the Use Formula, which we'll talk about. But Naveen, how the way you grew up shaped you and taught you everything that you know today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
That is absolutely incredible that you were able to recover, basically, and you learned. And I think you also had this beautiful gift at age 19 that instead of asking for something, you actually wanted to read and to learn and to grow, right? What was it? Remind me. Well,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Dr. John Demartini, human behavior specialist with over five decades of experience. If you look at YouTube, you can't even figure out how five decades even make any sense. But he is an international speaker, an author, an educator, the founder of Demartini Institute, in which he's teaching worldwide. reached millions in over 100 countries. And I'm really excited about this conversation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And you've wrote many books. I'm still recovering from finishing my first. But tell me for a second, John, entrepreneurship is really, really hard. I mean, it has its hard moments. You've been at it. Apparently, it's even more than 50 years now that I'm looking at your childhood, right? How do you maneuver through the challenges, through the hardships, through the fears?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Like, did it ever occur to you, darn it, I don't want this, I'm going to work somewhere? Or that wasn't even a thing? Like, your vision was so clear. Was that speaking in a million people? Like, where did entrepreneurship catch you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Whoa, that's incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
How special is that? Oh, my God. What a beautiful closing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
You will too, listeners, because we are sharing an amazing passion of elevating people. So John, I'm so excited to have you on the show. And I want to take you back in time, rewind, and take me to John, the child that is struggling with learning disabilities, with dyslexia. Take me there for a second. How did you grow up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. One of the beautiful things that you talk about is also how you're a master delegator.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Like you're able to somehow get people to do everything else and you just go and do what you're incredible at, which is the reason why you can change a lot more lives. So can you talk to us a little bit about that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
That's what's so hard about entrepreneurship. That's so hard. You put all the hats, you have all the hats, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Wow, that makes a lot of sense, by the way. It's interesting, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
There's a lot. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
We should bring you to do a show on that. That is interesting.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And do that thing that you hate.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Thank God for my team that loves whatever spreadsheets and all the things that I hate. Like I just...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
I need that for my husband. George Clooney is not bad at all.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Oh, and I love to travel. And you travel, you put me to shame. And I think that I'm a pretty good traveler. And by the way, I think you also delegate driving. Is that so?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
How the heck do you do that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Oh, that's a good one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
But now the beautiful thing is that you took that and that became your fuel to find the thing that makes people just go supersonic, right? Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And that to me is so, so, so important, John, because I obviously lived whatever society thought, right? Society thought that I should be an engineer. So I was an engineer and I would write code and I would be excited about cloud and data centers and whatever crap I was supposed to be excited about. But that was how society has you wired, right? And it takes...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
almost like this massive momentum to move yourself and to dare to say, you know what? That doesn't actually inspire me. I want to do something different and I don't care what it looks like, but that is the scariest thing that I don't care. It's really scary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Me too, especially the cooking is so not me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
But that's why I wanted your story, because your story is so inspiring, John. But I will go there for a second, because one of the things that you'll see is, I mean, sometimes fear is real. Like, I don't know how to pay the salaries. I don't know. It's a crappy year. How do you maneuver through these challenges and keep sane?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Where are your parents at this point? I would be so devastated. And I know that you eventually have a really good relationship with your mom. There's some beautiful stories there. But what happened at that moment? What did they do? I mean, they probably freaked out.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Eventually, it's about solving a real problem, right? And it could be a $1 problem for a million people, or it could be a million-dollar problem for one person. But it needs to be a real problem or somewhere in between, right? But at the end of the day, it needs to be a real problem. But I will say, like, if you still went to whatever, 2000, 2008, I don't know, there were some downtimes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Even if you have an incredible market fit and you have an incredible business model and you have amazing clients from time to time, it's going to be... But it's scary. What do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
That's so surreal. That's so crazy. That's amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
The reason somebody like this calls you is because from very early on, like before I even knew about what a personal brand is, you knew that you need to grow your personal brand. And that to me is really inspiring. Like, yes, you also do good, right? And you create amazing change. And you know how to really cultivate that personal brand for yourself and write the books and go speaking.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And what triggered you to understand that this is the future? At least for me, a techie, you know, I didn't even realize until I woke up and said, oh, my God, I'm a nobody. What made you create that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Whoa.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
But let me ask you for a second, John, because one of the things that we run into a lot in Leap Academy is that people, even though they give a lot of value, even though they mean really well, they don't know how to charge their worth. So the minute somebody calls them to speak or to do something, sure, I'll do it for free. Of course, of course, of course, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And there's this confusion between being nice and and charging your worth. And to some extent, people will treat you the way you're perceived to be treated. So if you're always coming for free, you're just going to be the person that is always brought to free. But then you won't be able to do more than two a year because, you know.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
So how do you maneuver to be able to charge your worth, basically, and live up to that? Did it take something specific from you? Was it just a muscle that you built?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
I need my kids to listen to that because they want allowance. I need them to pay the bills to be here. But John, why do you think the instincts for them to teach you that, that's so interesting?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Because I think people will eventually pay you what you believe you're worth, not they believe. Now, some people won't be able to afford you. That's okay. But they will pay what you believe you're worth. And I think that was such a beautiful example. Again, speak up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
But based on everything that you went through, what is the biggest advice that you would want to hear when you were younger?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
It was all for a reason.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And speaking of life by design, where are you right now? You said some pretty inspiring places.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Teaching and traveling. John, this is so, so, so inspiring. Thank you for coming in the show, sharing all the wisdom, sharing the inspiration and showing what's possible when you're actually doing what you love and you just continue. So thank you, John.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Were you scared? Were you scared to be alone at age 14? No.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Well, also, nobody knew what dyslexia is. We just had Richard Branson a few months ago, right? Nobody knew dyslexia. Nobody could put their fingers on, okay, they're not reading as well, but they're really, really smart. They're going to absorb it in other ways. There wasn't that notion. So you surf all day.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Were you happy? Do you feel like you were happy or were you miserable?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Dr. John Demartini, human behavior specialist with over five decades of experience. He is an international speaker, an author, an educator, the founder of Demartini Institute.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Oh, my God.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Yeah, I mean, it's brave.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Exactly. Mine would call an Uber. That's not helping me. But did you feel lost or scared or what am I doing with my life or not yet?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Oh, we'll talk about that because that's a big fuel. Because again, I can see the bricks that formed John. That's incredible to who you became. And that did become a fuel. So talk to us about that moment at age 17.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Tell me for a second, that accident, did you already say to yourself, this is my sign or not yet? You needed to meet Paul for that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
What's more interesting is that you were so far away from it. You weren't already a speaker for 4,000 people, and now you're imagining a million. You were so far of it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
And it's incredible, John, because the people that don't know you don't realize that from this kid that was dyslexic and until age 18 couldn't read or 17, whatever. And now what you read, I don't know, 30,000 books and you wrote a lot of them and right. And you speak in front of thousands or tens of thousands. I mean, it's incredible to see that change.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
So what happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Dr. John Demartini Crushed Life's Toughest Challenges to Unlock His Full Potential | E100
How do you maneuver through these challenges and keep sane?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And that is so, so, so important to pause. I actually do want to drill a little bit into this because the audience will actually find themselves in either they need to talk to their boss or their peers or to employees or whatever it is. And it is scary. And then you start pushing it and pushing it and pushing it. And that just amplifies the problem, like you said, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
It's not going to get better. What do you say to people? How do you create, again, the space? And how do you create the questions that actually start creating results?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Absolutely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Ooh, powerful. Tell me more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
That's the intention. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
So for me, there's two things that come up here when we're talking about this. So first of all, It feels like a little bit of a muscle when you wake up in the morning and you feel, sorry, shitty. There's a lot of crap going on, right? How do you train yourself to ask better questions? Because your instinct is about, oh darn, I need to go through da, da, da, da, da.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Your brain doesn't necessarily go to empowering questions, right? So how do, first of all, do you build that muscle to start thinking about smarter questions, better questions?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Yeah, uh-huh.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Let's go there to pause because I think that's really, really interesting. And by the way, you have a full book about 12 questions for love. Talk to me a little bit about how do you construct better questions? Because I think we all want to, but we sometimes have no clue. So let's start with ourself and then let's talk about relationship. I think both of them are very interesting for us.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I'm literally writing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I want to talk about the skin deep and the end, but let me take you back in time for a second to pause and thank you for sharing. Talk to me a little bit about what came about, because again, it probably didn't process enough or you felt you didn't talk to them enough.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
What came to you there and why did that become such a big motivator for you to open these conversations and to figure out the real truth now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
That's incredible. And that's such a powerful tool that we use in coaching, you know, and just seeing your questions are brilliant. Talk to me because you have these cards also for relationship, right? And to better questions around relationship. These are questions that we need to ask ourselves, first of all.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And I think this is really important because if you ask yourself crappy questions, you're going to also ask the relationship around you crappy questions many times. But Talk to us a little bit how this changes when you're talking about relationship and better questions around those relationships.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Amazing. Because that dictates also the intention that dictates what we're going through together.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And I think that is key, right? And I think that's what you talked about the intention, right? I mean, if we're coming with a very clear intention of, I just going to get rid of this and, you know, we're going to suffer through this together. We're going to part ways.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
It's a very different intention versus I going to come with a lot of love and curiosity to see if there's a way to make this better or if there's a way to make this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I actually want to take you there because I think what you just said is so, so, so critical because I think it's the difference between am I listening to only my questions and what am I saying next or am I actually present in a conversation? And I want to take you there for a second because you actually had, for me, it was a powerful conversation on your YouTube channel with your father.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Your YouTube channel has over almost, I don't know, a million subscribers. It's called the Skin Deep YouTube channel. And you are not afraid to ask your father some really, really hard questions, which I think a lot of us are shying away from, especially with parents, especially with loved ones. We try to go through life ignoring some of these, but that actually just stretches the wounds.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Can you talk a little bit about that, Paz?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Amazing. So Topaz, what drives you every day to work on Skiing Deep, to work on the YouTube? I mean, entrepreneurship is hard, right? I mean, there's just a lot of things going into it. What drives you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Tapas, can we go there for a second? So one of the things that our listeners will relate to, and I personally had this issue because I had this big heart, I would volunteer and mentor and advise people and advise companies and go and hustle and do all these things. But at the end of the day, I would come home and I was just like, how much money did you make this month? Zero. Great job, Ilana.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Let's go. Right. And it took me a couple good years to learn how to actually build a business, have a better relationship with money, not being afraid of charging money because it's aligned with value. So can you speak to that for a second, Topaz? Because I think that relationship with money is one of the harder relationships that we have, too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I like that. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Because I think your goals also change, right? I mean, your goals change and maybe your goals is actually to create more balance because you have a new kid. It can be many things as long as you are very intentional and strategic about your goals and how you create them, not just the paycheck, but the life that you're creating with it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And I love that, Topaz, because I think we're putting a lot of focus in Leap Academy and the programs themselves to really ask these questions. And how do you find clarity? How do you find where you want to go? What are your must-haves? What's critical for you? And again, some people are driven by legacy and thought leadership and fame and freedom.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Whatever it is for you, nothing is bad as long as you're willing to look in the mirror and say, this is what I'm chasing. Now let's go get it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And I think usually we end up with, what's your advice to your younger self? And I feel that's probably one of the interesting advice from you. Is there anything else that comes to you that you would catch yourself and tell yourself and want to make sure that our listeners are getting from you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I love that question, by the way. And I think she would tell me that I'm badass and kick ass and be patient.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I love this. Yes. But where would you go back in time?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
I would tell myself, so first of all, ask for help. I was the person that would never ask for help no matter what. I thought that I'm very strong if I persevere through things. And the truth is, I just moved slower. If I had known a tenth of what I know now, I know we would have been a billion dollar company by now. But I think this is the muscle I needed to build to be where I am today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Like, I'm really proud of what we achieved. And I wish I had asked for help a lot earlier in my career. So for me, that would be the big one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
They represent lives. The experience you become.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Yeah. And I think for me, it's also life change experiences that you're open to. Like suddenly, two weeks ago, I gave a lecture in front of Richard Branson, his son and his nephew. I mean, it's a pinch me moment. 10 years ago, did I ever see that coming? No, that wasn't even in the dreams, right? So for me, it's one of those moments that what else is available? If I just...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
do more, get more done, create the incredible team that I have, you know, and I'm so grateful for them and what we're achieving and all the hundreds of clients a year that we have. And I'm saying to myself, how much more is possible? And again, it's one small step at a time because we're just impatient people. Beautiful. Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
But thank you so much for this incredible, oh my God, I took so many notes. I was just like, this is awesome. Thank you for sharing all these beautiful questions. I do believe so much of it is the questions that we create for ourselves and it's a GPS and it's such a powerful GPS that we're not leveraging enough. And I want to just thank you for sharing all these beautiful insights and tips.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
That's fascinating to us because I was exactly there. Until I found my husband now, I was exactly this. I would push people aside, you know, in a way because I knew that I'm basically shielding myself from that potential separation. It's incredible to hear you now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
And I want to take you there, I guess for this reason, but I want to go there a little deeper, right? In 2015, if I'm not mistaken, you produced the documentary, The End, which honestly grew to become this viral sensation experienced by over 150 million people. Why do you believe this turned into such a success? And how did you have the guts to say, this is what I want to do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
How do you create the questions that actually start creating results?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Topaz Adizes. Today, we're talking to an Emmy Award-winning writer, director, Edmund Hillary Fellow. And you are right now on a mission to create powerful human interactions in the digital age.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
So talk to us about this space, because I think, again, you're going to have hard conversation or crucial conversations everywhere you go. You're going to have it with your bosses, with your peers, with loved ones, with partners, with kids. What makes a space?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Topaz Adidas. Today, we're talking to an Emmy Award-winning writer, director, Edmund Hillary Fellow. I mean, your work, Topaz, was selected for super prestigious festivals like Cannes and Sundance and so many more. And you are right now on a mission to create powerful human interactions in the digital age. How did this become a calling? How did you get started, Topaz?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
For you, it's questions.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
So talk to us more about these questions. And you have a full book on that, but talk to us a little bit about these questions because I think it's so important. People don't know what to ask and how to go there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
Oof, that's strong. I want you to tell me about one of those hard, maybe hard conversations. And you don't call them hard. You call them good, deep conversations.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
But they can be hard, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | E74 | Topaz Adizes
So I want to talk a little bit about a hard conversation that you either witnessed or been part of that shaped your understanding that you need to, I mean, it's a muscle that you need to build. And we're not born with that muscle. We're not taught this muscle. Can you share a moment?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
When no one is watching, you know you're going to crush it. Exactly. So that's amazing. So you're finishing these mega lots of hours. So take me there. Sorry, I broke from that because you reminded me something about fear. But what's helped you get the first role in a real company? Or how is the path? I don't even know what the path is in the commercial.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
To most people, the sky's the limit. But for Adva Amir, the sky is home. Did you know that only 6% of airline pilots are women? And Adva is an airline pilot. You'll find her on Hawaiian Air these days. And I started following Adva, this is actually really fun, from an insanely viral post that she had on LinkedIn. And this is actually the true magic, personal brands.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And I think all the listeners have no clue how on earth eventually you end up in the cockpit. So walk us there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
That could jolt you in a big way. Well, I think COVID jolt everybody in a big way because there was so much unknown. And I think you were in the industry that was probably hit one of the hardest, right? Like the travel industry. So take me there. At this point, are you in SkyWest? Am I piecing it together? Okay. So what happens? You're going back to Israel. There's a ton of unknown.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
What's happening?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Okay, so you're hustling.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
At some point, you also climb up in SkyWest. So what happens there? Was it before COVID? You do become a captain. And I mean, it's like pretty incredible even there. So what happened there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
How many women captains exist? Like it's probably like minimal, minimal, minimal, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
But how cool is that? Like you come in and you see two women in the cockpit, like let's go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
That's amazing. Okay. So you climb up there. Do you get remarks? Like I'm sure there's all sorts of remarks. People are excited. People are scared. People are wondering. People think that you're the stewardess. What remarks do you experience at that point? Because this is still new.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So I'm so excited to have Adva on the show. I actually begged her to come and tell her story. Adva, thank you for being here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
We didn't break the barrier yet. Like it's just not part of the template. Now you are part of the breaking the barrier, Edva. And that's why it's so amazing. And at what point did you write that really, really inspiring post that I think got, I don't know, many tens of thousands of whatever and millions of views, probably. When did you write that and why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So you're in Hawaii and we'll talk about it. But take us back in time. You grew up in Israel. What first sparked the love for flights? Why flights? That's so random.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Can I read it for a second? Of course. It had a really beautiful picture of you in the cockpit. And it basically said, people told me I'm too young. People told me it's not for women. People told me I'd never be a pilot. People told me I'm too gentle to fly an airplane. People told me I'll never make it to the airline, etc. And
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
To me, it's one of those really, really inspiring posts that basically, here it is. Even though I got all these no's and all the feedback that I can't do it and I did it anyway. So to me, that's part of why I think it drew so much and so many people into starting to see advice. It was really incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
That's incredible. Like for me, that was just such a interesting one. Did you know that you're working on anything personal brand related at that point? Or was it just more spontaneous? I want to share my journey. Or were you more intentional about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. At some point you decide to move to Hawaiian Airlines. Why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
But it was also like the first time that you did really, really long flights. Am I right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Was that an adjustment in terms of now it's different? You need to sleep, rest, whatever. Like there's all sort of things. Like it all changes. By the way, you have a great podcast. For those who didn't hear it, Advai has this really fun podcast where she actually shares little myths about what we think about flying and what it actually is. I love it. And you do such a great job there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
But share a little bit. What was like the switch for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And for those listeners who don't know the flight space very well, it's true. In the big planes, a lot of it is automated right now, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So let's talk about your life. Was there like a decision to go to Hawaii? Did it need a decision or was it just like, oh my God, yes, that's what I wanted anyway?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
When did you start surfing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Wow. So still new, like very new thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Oh my God. Okay. That is crazy. So you decided to stay and then you found the role in Hawaiian basically?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So, but let's go back to surfing because I think that's just such a great point. You see how my smile now. I know. I got it. It is so interesting because I think I do see so many similarities between, and even in the podcast, between perseverance in sports and perseverance in anything else. Because again, you need to fall down. You need to pick yourself back up. We see it every single time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
It's just amazing. So walk me through. Learning to surf for the first time, because that gets really hairy. And then what keeps you getting back up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
It's true for entrepreneurship. It's true for pilots. It's true for anything you do. The challenges are inevitable, right? The suffering to it or, you know, what you make out of it is a choice, but the challenges will be there. And you not only learn this really, really quick, but you're also competing, right, in the Maccabiac Games, which is insane. But take me to some of these falls.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Does it ever catch you and like, I don't want to do this. Like I'm cold, I'm miserable, like I'm breathing too much water. Like does it ever?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And for me, like sometimes I hear, and I'm sure the listeners will hear advice. And we're like, don't you just want to rest? You're flying when you like, and you do jet lags and then you serve and you do this. Don't you just want to like chill on the beach and have fun? And I don't know, some margaritas.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So you end up competing in the Maccabiah. How much anxiety? Competing is a different level. How did you cope with anxiety and stuff like that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
It's nothing. It's like most people have it for so long.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So becoming a pilot in the Israeli Defense Force is probably one of the most rigorous training tests possible. Most, most, most people, like I don't know the percentages, but most people obviously don't make it. But I think that setback for somebody 18 year old can actually really hurt. So how did you go through the training and how did you cope with the setback?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
I love that you're doing it. I think it's just so beautiful. And I also say, I'm giving you a hard time for, and we're laughing about being busy, but I do think that life is in phases. And I think there's different phases in which you're going to push different elements in your life. And it just feels like this is the right phase and your phase.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Like I think I was pushing, like, I don't know, Ironmans and adventure races and other things. So I think I can totally relate. And I think it's just also part of the experience that grow you and live with you and the things that you can carry with you. So I'm just excited for you, but for people who are listening and they're maybe in crossroads of what's next and how do I find my passion?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And I want to do more in my life, but I, you know, maybe I'm afraid maybe there's so what advice do you wish maybe somebody would have told you? Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Like they want you safe. Like, or possibly, right? Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
I love that because I think there's two types of remarks like that. One is to keep you safe. And that's usually if you really think about who you're getting that feedback from. It's usually not somebody who walked the walk. So I think always really be careful about who you're listening to. If they walk the walk and they're saying no, okay, why are they saying no? Let's be a little more receptive.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
But if they've never walked the walk, it's usually coming from some kind of guarding you. But I think the second type is just the haters. I had somebody on the show, John Hennessey, and he says, if you don't have haters, you're not relevant. So I was just like, oh, good. I feel better already.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And I think that's so beautiful because sometimes also your mood and your state of mind will dictate everything, right? Because it's kind of like Ford said, you know, whether you think you can, you think you can't, you're right. Whether you want to have a good time or you don't want to have a good time, either one will work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Like when I drag my kids to a hike, if they're pumped and excited, it's going to be a great hike. If they're already starting like, oh, not again, not again. Guess what? It's going to suck. Yeah. So now I only have an option. Like, do I drag him anyway or do I let it go? But it's like, I know based on the initial reaction. And I think we're the same. We decide a lot of times.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Sometimes we decide one thing and it's really going to flip on its head. But in general, we kind of dictate it. Am I right? Absolutely. Absolutely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So for people listening to this and thinking, okay, but airline pilot, that is really, really different. What would you say to them? Why pursue either that or anything else that really go after their dream?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
But it's part of the fun. It's part of enjoying life. We had Brian Keane on the show and he basically said, what would you regret at 97 and how do you win today to get there? And I think that was also kind of an interesting one for me because it was like, There's some things that you'll definitely regret not going.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And most of the time, we actually regret things that we didn't take action on a lot more than the things that we did take action and didn't work out. So that was kind of an interesting one that I thought was exactly your story. So you just say yes to the maybe all day long. And it's just so beautiful to see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And the challenges will still be there. The scary moments will still be there. You're going to be tired. You're going to have jet lag. You're going to all the things, you know, but you still know that you've done something extraordinary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Okay. Now that's a go. This was so, so, so fun. So inspiring. I want to say something.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Oh my God, it's so beautiful. That's why I did not piece all the pieces together. Although now in retrospect, I can see it. And now I'm like, oh my God, yes, you did message me. Anyway, now I can see it. But seriously, I've been actually following your journey. I think it was incredibly inspiring to see you and just your grit and your tenacity and going after your dreams. And I think,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Humans need to see more of that. So I'm just so excited that we got you on this show and that we made it happen. Because I was just like, I want to get you on this show. Let's go. I was the one chasing you. So let's go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Continue having amazing, safe, beautiful flights with gorgeous views around Hawaii and back and forth to the region. And good luck in the Maccabiah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
There's a little bit of, to some extent, the best of the best will go there. Otherwise you would not even get the minimum to even get the gate open, right? So what's interesting is that you take the most successful individuals that always, to some extent, were successful in everything they've done until then, And that is kind of the first blow they get. And that's a really, really hard one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
I mean, I think my first big defeats were kind of in the military, right? And these are big slaps in the face that sometimes take you some time to recover. Oh, my God. Like, what just happened? Did they just kill my dream? What is going on? So take me just for a second. Do you remember how you felt and how do you recover from that? Because again, it's hard for overachievers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
You are clearly an overachiever.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Do you want to share what that is?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
The interesting thing about military is that I think we get responsibility at age 20 that I barely had at age 40. And I still talk about it, right? So what do you think are like two, three main points or one significant one that are just like, oh my God, this helped me?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
To most people, the sky is the limit. But for Adva Amir, the sky is home. Did you know that only 6% of airline pilots are women? And Adva is an airline pilot. You'll find her on Hawaiian Air these days.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
And at that point, you're managing literally 16 people and you're what, 19, 20?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Right. Isn't that amazing? Like, it's just crazy to think about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So you still finished the military. What made you still decide to pursue flying? Because to some extent, that could also be a wound that you don't want to open again.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Oh, I want to be on a fly on the wall on that discussion.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So people didn't try to say, are you crazy, Edva? Just go study something that you know works. There's no stats around women making it as pilots, really. It's so abnormal. Just go the regular route. Why do you need to be crazy? Were there like naysayers or no, basically people just accept it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
It's very big. I love that. I love that. It is an open wound to some extent. I mean, it hasn't been many years. It's probably not completely scarred up. I'm sure there's a little bit of anxiety. What if I fail again? Is that still in your head?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So take us there. You're coming to the U.S. You have this plan. Talk to me about the first early days, because it's also acclimatizing to a new country, new language, new everything. That's not simple, Edva. Like that is very gutsy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
You actually need to make friends in English. Like that's not easy. Did you have those moments where you're like, you know what? Forget it. Let me just go back to Israel. Let me just go back to study. What on earth am I doing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
What age are you at that point?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So you're still really young. And you see probably your friends having fun and doing the normal life thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
It's hard. It's hard at any age. But how do you then get up and do it again? First of all, take me through that moment when you're like really down and you need to pack your bags and go back to the U.S. and do this again and just work on the hope. Because I think that hope is really, really hard to sustain itself.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
So you're continuing with these atrocious hours. What happens then?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Initially, when you start, do you feel fear of landing or fear of the basic things that should eventually become normal? Where did fear catch you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Whether you are a coffee lover, an entrepreneur, a leader, or just want to be inspired, today we are speaking with Howard Behar, who is the president of Starbucks North America and the founding president of Starbucks International. Think about it, opening the very first store outside of North America in Japan. How cool is that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
It is, and part of the thing that I shared right before the recording, if that's okay, I'll share it as well. When my daughter was about nine or 10, she learned that if she can actually dress up really creatively, she might actually get a chance at a free coffee in Starbucks. And the interesting thing, you know, I always kind of was surprised why she feels like she needs it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
But I think for her, it was more the achievement. And she was so creative about it. Those are going to see this on YouTube. I'll put some photos on for you. But, you know, it was so creative for her. But what I want to say as Starbucks employees, they could have basically kicked her out. You know, she's nine year old. They didn't have to show respect.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
The fact that they did, they created a client for life. She probably already bought at least 2000 coffees since her entire school goes and meets there every single day. So by respecting the people, you actually buy them for life. And I think there is something so special about that attitude. And it's very clear that it's top down throughout the company.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
So you do have a great story about that, right? When you, I think you became president and you realized the culture moved to a me culture instead of a we culture. How did you turn this around? Speaking of, that's not easy to do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And during his tenure in Starbucks, he grew from, I think, 28 stores to over 15,000. across five continents, like I can't even fathom. But before we jump into your career, Howard, your books and how we got here, one of the hardest moments of your life actually came when you retired from Starbucks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Howard, I have to ask. Throughout your career, all the way, there's always tough moments because that's inevitable, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Because every single person that will push themselves always going to have challenges and also life in general will have challenges, right? How do you always find the energy or the way to keep taking that step forward versus throwing the towel and giving up? What do you think are some of the things that help you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
So to everybody else, you look like you tick all the boxes of success, but many of our listeners are high achievers, you're super driven, but they somehow lost their footing, right? And their purpose. Can you share your experience at this almost like a rock bottom moment? Can you share a little bit, Howard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
First of all, how do you know what to listen for? Because the truth is you'll get a lot of opinions and a lot of things and some are completely BS and some are you need to listen. So first, how do you decide what to listen for?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Oh, I love Frappuccino.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Oh, what a beautiful story, Howard. Oh my God, it's one of my favorite. What is your favorite coffee, speaking of?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
That's amazing. So tell me the first time that you're promoted to president or even on the way. I mean, it's a scary move. Can you share a little bit, what is the experience like? What does it mean? Because again, at that point, you guys are growing at a pace that usually it's not even normal for any normal company. What does it feel like and how do you cope? How do you learn fast enough?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Can you share a challenge? Can you share one of those challenges?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And I think what you're saying is so critical to organizations everywhere because it was okay to experiment. It was okay to, as long as you're doing your best and you're within integrity, it was okay to make mistakes. And I'm hearing a lot of things that are actually right now, we know they're instrumental to innovation. I don't know if we spoke that language in the 1990s necessarily.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
So why do you think we knew that? to experiment. Somehow your instincts already told you that this is the only way to grow and to make it so successful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
That's such an interesting point when you look at a public company and you need to live quarter for quarter, you know, instead of looking at the two, three, five year horizon and really look further.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
What do you think, Howard, is, you know, maybe something that people don't know or something that you went through that built your resilience, your attitude, and maybe your love to people as it is today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And it's incredible that you knew to find mentors at this age. So for me, it took me a long time to even admit that I need help and to not try to just persevere through everything on my own and think that if I'm asking for help, it means that I'm weak. mentors changed my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And I think for me, one of the things when somebody asked me what would be, you know, an advice to your younger self is to look for help early on. Stop trying to do it on your own. Like if somebody is walk the walk and teach you, take their hands. What would be your advice to your younger self if you look back?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Wow, that is so powerful. And again, you have so much wisdom in your books, The Magic Cup, and It's Not About the Coffee, which, you know, I was hiking and listening in the audible and I was like, oh my God, I need to take notes. So I kept stopping.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
But it was just incredible, like how much knowledge and experience somebody like you have and you're just sharing it with so much honesty and authenticity that is truly inspiring, Howard. Thank you so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
How many times do you change this, by the way? How many times do you change your goals? How many times do you change your mission? How many times do you change this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And we try actually with every single person on our team to do one, three, five-year plans, personal, professional, and financial, and show them how Leap Academy can actually align with their personal needs. And I think only when it's a win-win, people will be all in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
That's so incredible. Howard, thank you for sharing everything with us. I'm sure this has been an incredible episode for all the listeners here to get inspired, but also if they are down to realize that there is hope. And I think that's really, really, really important to start making decisions based on hope and dreams, not fear and doubt.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
You are such a special person, Howard. Thank you so much. And we'll make sure to also put it in the notes in the podcast. Thank you so much. You're welcome.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And I think this is such an important message and thank you for sharing it so openly because I think sometimes, first of all, there's a little bit of a shame, right? I mean, I have a roof over my head. That was for me. So I lost my identity at some point. I was kicked out of my own startup. I lost my identity. And my identity was always attached to my title, to the company that I was with.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And suddenly it felt like a nobody, right? But the problem is that there's this shame around admitting that something is wrong. I mean, you have a roof over your head. I have two perfect kids. Why am I even complaining? How dare I? And then I think it's so important that you're bringing this out and that you are talking about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And I think what you just mentioned is, yes, we have to put our own oxygen mask on first. Otherwise we can't help anybody else. And it's just amazing to see that though, you know, I think it's very inspiring to hear someone who is so successful has ticked all the boxes, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Howard Behar, the president of Starbucks North America and the founding president of Starbucks International.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And it's inevitable for everyone, but look at you, what you're creating now and how open you are and how incredible that is.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And I think there's a saying that says there's no amount of success that you can stand in it forever, right? And I think there's something along that line that serving others is incredible. So let me, but then take you back in time as a child, sweeping floors in your local family grocery store, right? Tell us a little bit, where did you grow up and how did that shape you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
I feel this has been a theme for you all the time. You were jumping on opportunities to start a new site, to start a new region. You always been the person that is not afraid. to say, you know what, even if I need to now take a step back, and I eventually will get to that story. But even if I need to take a step back, I want to start a new site or a new international place.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
So you've been always there. What do you think? It looks like it came from your dad, right? But What do you see the difference between some people, and I think you mentioned it a little bit in your book, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
How do you always find the energy versus throwing the towel and giving up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
Some people that only look at, I need my title, I need my management, I need my people, I need to be paid, et cetera, versus people, and I think this is really important for people who are listening, to sometimes just raise your hand because the opportunity is there. Say yes, figure out the how, versus always try to find what's in it for me approach, Howard. Can you talk a little bit about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Howard Behar, Former Starbucks President: Putting People Over Profits for Lasting Impact | E56
And it did for you. So you do have a famous quote that I think is probably one of the big reasons Starbucks has grown so fast. And you say we're not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people's business serving coffee. Why do you think this is such a critical distinction? And why do you think it helped Starbucks grow so much?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Oh my God, I love that, David. And first of all, I love that you shared this because I do believe that we learn better from failures or from things that we've done wrong versus the things that we've done right. I have a pretty famous story that I talked to a commander in my F-16. We were teaching them and training them. He was like 30 years more veteran than I am.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
David Simas, former president of the Obama Foundation, from serving in local government in Massachusetts to advising President Obama. Oh, my God. I'm so excited about this conversation because David dedicated his career to strengthening democracy, creating impact. Oh, my God. So amazing to see this, David. Thank you for joining us.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
And he basically said, honey, do you know who I am? And I'm like, oh God, no. The truth is, beyond his name, I didn't know who he is. And it's a long story, but I will just say, knowing your audience is still probably the most important lesson that I learned from that day. I'm like, oh, darn it, because I said the right thing. I should have said it differently.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
I love this story and how it ties into everything. you then eventually go to politics. And I want to understand why do you leave law and, you know, I mean, for everybody in the political, you know, they're trying to get into anything politics, like White House is like a dream. So share a little bit about that story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
It will be an incredible show. I mean, you have such an incredible story. But let me take you back in time. So you grew up in Massachusetts. small Portuguese immigrant family. How did that upbringing shape you? Take us back in time, David.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Well, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you are feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training. I know it's going to help. It's leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show. David, I want to go there for a second because that's one of the most incredible stories. Do you know why they reached out to you? How did you build that credibility, that authority, that reputation for yourself? And I want to make sure that our audience gets it. These kind of jobs are not on the hiring boards.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Everybody gets that, right? It's all in the hidden market. It's who knows you. And it's according to what you want to be known for. So how do you think you were able to build that kind of reputation to be the person that somebody like this calls?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Amazing. And it's probably a combination of really hard work that they're seeing your loyalty. But also, I think even you talk about it, even when you were in the Obama administration, you probably had hundreds, if not more, of occasions where you were listening to other American stories and conveying them to the president personally. which is just so incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
But can you share a moment that touched you or maybe a story or two?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
You're his eyes and ears basically on the ground.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
That's such a gift. It's pinching me moments probably again and again. And again, you've had 14 years around these various roles. Share a little bit, some maybe moments that stuck with you that you learned about leadership or you've seen something that you think will be beneficial.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Oh yeah, of course.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Not them again. Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
It's a constant muscle that you're building. But I will say, David, you're one of the few, and we've interviewed a lot of people, but you're one of the few that the very first sentence that you said when you came on, it's like, I have a great day. And I think that positivity is also part of who you are. And the reason why, because I think there's certain lenses that you put on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
No matter what you hear, you need to look at it in a certain lens. And that lens will dictate a lot of the amplifying of how you hear these things, right? And I think that's just so beautiful because you are in general just looking at the world in a positive, beautiful, community, trusting way. And that's what I hear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
That's a big part of you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
And you're putting that gratitude lens on so it makes other things be seen in a different perspective. And I think that's the big thing of it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
I love that. So David, based on everything that you've experienced and seen and all of that, if you look back in time, what would you say to David, the kid or the teen? What are the things that you know today that you wish somebody told you or that you would have listened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Is that getting me closer to my goals or not?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
And I love that. I have the same from Israel. And I always wonder if I ever going to feel home in each one of them because I love both, but I have both. Right. And it's like this mix, which is beautiful. And by the way, my mom's parents all talk Portuguese. They came from Spain and Portugal. So we have a lot to talk about, but kind of funny.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Oh my God. I love this, David. And I could probably talk to you for hours, but I want to thank you for showing up, coming, telling that all these like amazing stories that you had and just seriously a dream. I probably need to come and visit you and we probably gonna like geek out on some democracy stuff.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
I love this, David. Thank you. My pleasure.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Golanjo.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
But knowing a little bit about this culture and you'll share more, I think there's something about this culture of everybody helping one another and lifting one another. And I think you also have a really interesting story around that. Would you share a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
David Simas, former president of the Obama Foundation, from serving in local government in Massachusetts to advising President Obama.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Ah, so beautiful. I hope they hear this. And I think you bring that with you and we'll talk about it. There's a pattern there that keeps on that compassion, but not going into victim mentality, but staying victor. There's like a pattern that I see throughout your career that I'm sure that has a little bit definitely came from there. But let's fast forward for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
So you finished school and you studied law. What are some of those lessons from law school? Because one of the things, David, that I want our audience to hear is that even if you're not staying in law, there's so much transferable skills. There's so much transferable experiences that shape you to where you are going, right? So tell us a little bit and maybe a specific story that shaped you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Totally. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Do you need a thick skin to go into any kind of politics?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
I think we apply it every day because what you just said is almost like the basic emotional intelligence, understanding of what's around you, understanding people. It's all of this and it's happening in every conversation. Was there a specific story as a law student that just crystallized the importance of it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas | E90
Priceless.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Right. And I think you talk a lot about creating value for a small group of people and then grow from there. So knowing that they're coming back to you again and again, they're coming not because you're soliciting them or because you're begging them, but because they're actually have value in what you're showing or giving or creating.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
So how do you find that group for people who are listening to us? And how do you make sure that they're really coming back to you? Because that's the key to get started.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. Don't forget to like this video, subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking yourself to catapult your own career, figure out what's next for you. Get that clarity, fast track your own growth. Check out our free 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Now let's get back to the show. You've been very strategic and intentional about it. And I think you're also looking at the history of what you've created as kind of the muscle that keeps on bringing you to where you want to be next, right? So this helps you reinvent yourself and leap and create even more value and more content.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Can we talk for a second about your own entrepreneurship endeavor, if you will, Seth, because you reinvented yourself again and again and again. It sounds like it's even a lot earlier than anything that I knew. How do you see yourself when you're trying to start something new? How do you go through this in your head and reinvent yourself as well?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And I love the word iteration. I love how you look at this because I think a lot of it is painting the art of possible to people with the knowledge that you have and with the information that you have. How do you see, though, the maybe discrepancy between what used to be a career, which is one thing, this is what you do, 40 years later,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
retire awesome versus creating this portfolio that creates massive impact and a lot more interesting. And you can do all these things, which I'm a big believer. And it sounds like you do that too. How do you see the difference?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
That's true. I love that you said that. I think it is the whole world of work is changing as well that we're seeing. And that's why we're seeing people are doing different things in a different way. And I think it's also there's a lot of different passions that are coming now. I think people want not just a paycheck, but the life that comes with the paycheck. And what does that life look like?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
What can I create with that? I mean, you're seeing many millions of people going through. You have huge keynotes, by the way, which are amazing. How do you see that, the shift in the difference today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
What I love about what you just said, which I think is just so, so important, I want to make sure our listeners understand this. I think from a certain age specifically or a certain stage in life, et cetera, people don't pay you per hour or for your time or even not for your expertise. They pay you for the outcome or the value of the outcome that you deliver, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And the more you can emphasize that outcome, but again, it's not just what you say, it's It's everything about you. It's the reputation, it's the brand, it's everything needs to be aligned in order to justify the $10,000, right? So you understood personal reputation and personal branding very early on, I think way before we even understood what a blog is.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And right now, I think it's more important than ever. What would you say to our listeners that want to build that reputation, want to start creating those assets for themselves?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Hmm. That's strong. I love that you talk about it as a family and we call it hidden market, which is basically the same thing is who thinks about you when you're not in the room, we'll bring those opportunities to you. We'll think about you like, and I think this is all aligned with what you're saying. And then do you want to be known for being a Hyatt or a Motel 6?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
They're both fine, but you need to define which one are you? And you somehow control the narrative very, very well and help others control the narrative through your books and through your content. For you, you love to teach, right? You love to bring that value. How should people control the narrative? And I think it's that authentic with the people, right? With the family, I guess.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And you can't control yourself, your narrative. Yeah, right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Ooh, that's a strong one. So now when you're, this strategy is out and I'm probably one of the first ones to buy it, I think. And you have this awesome promotion together with a dark chocolate. It's not promotion, but it's like a little marketing thing. Can you talk about it? Because I found it fascinating when I was kind of binge watching the videos and Can you talk a little bit about that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Because I think, again, this is why you're so good in marketing and why a lot of people want to learn from you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Oof, I absolutely love that. I knew I had to ask you about this, Jacqueline. I love it. So, Seth, now that you've seen so much in your life and you talk to so many people, you've been on, I don't know how many you've said, hundreds of hundreds of hundreds of podcasts. And again, all of it is advice to your younger self. That's what you talk about all the time in your books.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
But what would be one thing that you wish... somebody caught you earlier on in your career and told you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
I love it. And also see it as a muscle that will help you get to the next thing anyway. Because I think you poured... Everything that you learned into teaching others and making sure everybody becomes the best version that they can be based on all the content that you can share with them. So, Seth, thank you so much for coming to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Well, a lot of people learned a lot about you. So I appreciate your sharing all the knowledge, Seth. And thank you for creating this amazing content, as always.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
When you get 800 rejections, that's usually where people stop, right? I mean, they stop by the fifth one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
So what makes you, and you talk also about the fact that you're never going to be ready, and you talk a lot about the perseverance of these things, but what made you continue when you get no's? What makes you continue even now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Then you also talk in, this is strategy in your book, you talk about time and games and systems and empathy and you touch part of it. And I love that you call it dance together versus combat each other. Can you explain this a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
That's beautiful because you also talk a lot about making change happen and creating impact and curating things that you care about. And a lot of it is also driven by the strategy that you put together, the marketing you put together. Why is making change so important?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
What are the strategies that will help you rise above the noise?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
So you talk a lot about that and you're actually saying, and I love this quote, what you're doing today that creates the condition for tomorrow to be better, right? But I think you also talk a lot about bringing your passion, bringing your all in, right? And if you're all in, you'll be able to do so much more in your life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Interesting. So many times I talk about that I don't know if I believe in motivation, I believe in habits. And when you form these habits, you can create it again, again, again, right? But I think you, and we talked about it a little bit before the show, you in the dip actually, I think opened my eyes a little bit to say, yes, but what's on the other side of this habit that you're creating?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Is there something you know, a trajectory to something beautiful? Or are you full gas neutral going into this cul-de-sac dead end that is just getting you nowhere, which I found myself in my career as well. So how do you put all of these together as far as you're concerned?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Seth Godin is the author of 22 worldwide bestseller that has been translated into 40 languages. You are an incredible entrepreneur at heart, plus one of the most prolific bloggers on the internet.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
Seth Godin is the author of 22 worldwide bestseller that has been translated into 40 languages. Seth, you love teaching. You are an incredible entrepreneur at heart, plus one of the most prolific bloggers on the internet. I even bought your chocolate.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
I think that was a really, really interesting awakening. But what's beautiful, then you create these books about this is marketing and this is strategy. So assuming that you know where you're heading and assuming that you're not going into a dead end. Now, how do you actually rise above the noise? Because there is a lot of noise right now. There's a huge people pile on every single platform.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
opportunity that you're going to go after. So talk to us a little bit because we want to go back to this strategy. What are the strategies that will help you rise above the noise that is just so hard these days?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success | E82
And I know you almost never talk about yourself because you want to give so much to others, but I do want to take you for a second to starting your first company, YoYo Dine, which was acquired by Yahoo. Can you share a little bit about that story?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Jessica Jackley, one of the most incredible social impact entrepreneurs and investors. She co-founded Kiva.org, first peer-to-peer micro-lending platform. I don't know how you got into this. We'll talk about it. And since 2005, has raised over $2 billion in loans, reaching over 5 million people in 84 countries.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And I think that also holds you when things are hard. So as a founder, you really need something to lean on. And I think these inspiring stories, which I would love to hear one, but really hold you. And I think you're also talking about respect, like it adds a layer of respect and making decisions from or lending from hope and dreams versus fear or doubt or I want to do you a favor.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
This program helps hundreds a year, and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Can you share an inspiring story?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Now the founding and general partner in Untap Capital and so much more things that you're doing, Jessica. I don't even know how you're doing it. But get us started. How did you grow up that made you decide to start Kiva? Well, thank you for having me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And you wrote that in your book, Claywater Brick, right? Which is basically based on this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
I think you have a quote that I love about the heart of entrepreneurship is never about what we have. I think it's really where it's about what we do. And you're saying it's so beautiful and you give all these examples. Thank you. So it becomes this big thing and then you have another startup. I would just rest, but you continue.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And based on everything you went through, just a couple more questions, Jessica, because you just did so much and your name is really connected with a brilliant entrepreneur that also manages to do good, right? Which is really, really rare. Can you share a hard moment where you had some doubt of, can I even continue? Is it even for me? Is that even ever in your head?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Based on everything you've done and everything you learned and everything you experienced, maybe now with that perspective, is there something that you wish you would say to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And I think gratitude is underrated. So that's a really important one. Anyway, Jessica, just hearing your story is extremely inspiring. I was, you know, I remember hearing about you as an entrepreneur, probably, I don't know, like... almost a decade ago, right? And I think just seeing that journey is incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And like you say, it was hard to keep up with the dream because the dream was just becoming bigger and bigger. In Leap, I love saying, it's not about what we make, it's what we make possible. And what you guys made possible is exceptional. Thank you so much for coming to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And I think, you know, if I may just tap into that for a second, because in Claywater Brick, I think you have a quote, and I might be butchering it a little bit, but it was something along the line of something we talked a little bit, choose not to focus on the lack or the hurt or the poverty or the brokenness, that we all know exists, but choose to see potential and possibilities.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And I think everything you were saying is about creating that impact, but creating the impact from the possibilities, from what is available, what is the dream, and just creating a better society, better world for everybody, which I love how you're just seeing this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Jessica Jackley, one of the most incredible social impact entrepreneurs and investors, she co-founded Kiva.org, first peer-to-peer micro-lending platform, and since 2005 has raised over $2 billion in loans, reaching over 5 million people in 84 countries.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Take me back in time, Jessica. Someone working or living the Stanford, California, comfortable life forever. finds herself flying to Kenya, Uganda. I mean, the only thing I'll correct is, yes, of course, objectively speaking, of course.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And I want to take you there because you're starting this sort of like experiment, right? Can we help these people? And suddenly you're finding yourself dealing with millions of dollars. I'm sure that that takes also your personal growth to start adjusting to this kind of magnitude, if you will. Can you talk a little bit about the beginning, Jessica?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
Like what were some of the hurdles or what were some of the fears that come with this magnitude?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
How do you balance, Jessica, between sheer panic when the side goes down and actually asking the hard questions to move you forward instead of drowning in the anxiety or the sleepless night?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
And kid stuff is real. And we'll talk about it. You have four, so, right? Am I right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Empowering 5 Million Entrepreneurs: Making Business a Force for Global Good | Jessica Jackley | E64
I just want to go for a second back to Kiva because you were able, and yes, some of it is timing, but you also need to create your own luck, right? And you somehow managed to get in to talk to some really significant people. You just mentioned opera, et cetera, right? Yeah. What do you feel your role as the marketing persona that made that happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Which is just an interesting way to look at focus overall and products overall. Like, where is your edge?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Ouch. What did that do to the relationship? I have to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Chemi Peres, I am so excited about this conversation today. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Pitango Venture Capital, which is really Israel's largest venture capital fund with over $3 billion in assets under management. I mean, it's invested in over 250 startups. Chemi is also the son of Shimon Peres, the former prime minister of Israel.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And somebody actually needs to tell Chemi that it's sort of because of your dad.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
That's incredible, Chemi. And I want the listeners to hear that because I think a lot of our listeners right now are going through some hard times. There were a lot of layoffs in tech. There was a lot of layoffs in USA. There's a lot of layoffs in federal. There's a lot of hardship right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
So if you're listening to this, I want you to lean in because Chemi's story right now is just becoming even better. But it was from that hard moment that it sort of catapulted you to a different place. But talk to me for a second, if that's okay, about that moment. How do you get yourself back up? And how do you decide?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And entrepreneurship was not very common, especially not venture capital, Kemi, when you started this. So... First of all, how do you recover from that humiliation and how do you leap into something that is basically scary because not many has done it before. You didn't know if it's going to pay the bills. You didn't know if it's going to hold your growing family.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Like, how do you not hide behind the fear?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And Chemi continues his father's legacy in the most beautiful way as a chairman of the Paris Center of Peace and Innovation, where he really uses technology to foster peace and collaboration. Super inspiring. Chemi, I'm looking forward to this conversation. Thank you for coming.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
So I have to take you back in time because I kept thinking, what is it like to grow up with someone like Shimon Peres? For all of us that know him, everybody in Israel knows him. Most of the people in the world know him. He was a huge inspiration to so many people. What is it like?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And that's around the 90s, right, Remy, for people who are listening?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And Khamenei, we'll talk about it because you don't just invest in startups. You completely change the ecosystem in Israel. But I want to go there for a second because it's very, very different to be an operator versus an investor. You need to look at different things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
You need to not run to the solutions, but you want to actually look at the problems and to look at why people didn't realize some of these things, et cetera. What do you see as the differences or what was the learning curve in terms of what's going to make it, what's not going to make it, the pace of change or the pace of knowing if something will work out is different in venture capital.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
How do you see the differences?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
I'll show you in a few years.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
You've seen a lot in those years. As somebody that is basically creating this big venture capital very early on, what are some of the big challenges that you ran into that you needed to overcome?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
It's fascinating to me because you've seen so much, but you also have seen a full country move from something that nobody barely knows anything about venture capital to the startup nation. Are there moments where it's especially in the beginning that you're like, you know what? This is dumb. I'm not going to do this. This is ridiculous.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Are there moments that you're just like, what on earth was I thinking? Or was it very clear that this is the route?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. I actually want to take you, if it's possible, to maybe deeper places for you, Chemi.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Because the last 10 years of your life have been pretty rocky on a personal level. And if it's okay, I want to take you there. I mean, first of all, you lost... your dad in 2016, which I'm sure impacted a lot of things, but you also, which I think a lot of people don't know, you lost your son, Guy, a few years ago.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And this changes everything on life and legacy, and I'm sure everything you can think of. So first of all, let's talk about your dad, because I think that's insanely hard, but it's also a little more... And then if it's possible, how did that impact all of you?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
He was an incredible person. And you're saying you got a lot of the modesty from your mom. And I would say, I think your father is also like, it was so humble. I wish there were more leaders like him today. But take me there. Does it come with a lot of stress, a lot of expectations? Is it coming with any hate in school? What does it come with? What are the things that we might not know?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And by the way, for those who haven't seen it, this is one of the most beautiful, inspiring buildings, locations. It's a place that you go there and you immediately feel a lot more innovative, inspired, hopeful. Like it's just so, so, so special. But how do you balance between your own legacy and the legacy that you're building for your dad? Is there a way to balance?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
You wear a lot of hats because you somehow managed to do so many things that I can't even wrap my head around it. And I'm a big believer in portfolio careers, but your portfolio career is a whole different level. But take us to 2022. How do you recover?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And yeah, nobody can understand any of this. I think what I can see is the way that you and your family and everybody is just marching to do more good on his behalf and on everybody's behalf. Your instinct, I feel, as a family, to give back and to, you know, your healing is to do more good in the world. And to me, that just does such an inspiring thing to see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Not that I want anybody to go through any of this, but I'm just saying the way you heal is the way you impact more people in the world. And to me, that just such a beautiful way to take this. And I don't know what made you do that, or it's an instinct, or somehow that you were brought up and this is your instinct to do. But it's incredible to see. I don't know if you noticed that.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Amazing. So how do the listeners find it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Let's go back to the prayer center just for a second to end kind of on a positive, inspiring note. As far as I can see, the center has this mission of building a brighter future. How do you see the center's mission in overall Israel and how do you cultivate it?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And you do it so beautifully, Hemi. So maybe last question. If you would look back at your younger self, would there be something that you wish you knew or somebody would tell you?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Skewed. Skewed notion.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And as an Israeli, I have to say that thank you for inspiring and showing what's possible and creating this economy that just changed everything for Israel and for all of us. So thank you for the role model that you've been and instilling hope and peace and love, which I think is important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Oh, my God. I will go back to that because you did have a very special relationship with him and also your kids had a very special relationship with him. But when you were about 18, I guess you went to the military just like every Israeli and you actually went to pilot school. But I think there were some challenges there. What did you face and what did you learn?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Because I believe that the military is one of the best schools possible. It taught me a lot, but I'm curious about you, Chemi.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And that's the pilot course, just to make sure everybody follows.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Chemi Perez, co-founder and managing partner of Pitango Venture Capital, which is really Israel's largest venture capital fund, was over $3 billion in assets under management.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Which, by the way, I think helicopter flying is probably the most complicated flying ever because there's just so much to do. So you put that goal, you convince people around you, you build that resilience. How do you summarize like all the things that you learned in those 10 years? It's priceless. I'm sure it built you, Hemi.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
That's incredible, Jamin. I actually want to talk about this a little bit because I think debrief is so normal for somebody in Israel in the military. But I think it's pretty rare in life, especially here outside of Israel in the U.S., etc. And for those listening, debrief is basically when you really have to look and be really honest about what worked and what didn't work.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
And you do this all the time. And that honesty with yourself and that complete ownership that you're taking on just lets you learn so much faster. And I think this is something that I don't know if it really caught up in every single place, but I believe it's priceless. How do you see debriefing today, Chemi?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
It's almost a different breed. Yeah. And I think entrepreneurship to some extent is constantly debriefing. It's that agility that you get that is almost opposite. But tell me, Chemi, so around, I think, age 24 or so, you also became a dad. Did that somehow scare you from flying or impacted flying in any way or not? Or how did that catch you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
You lost your dad in 2016. I think a lot of people don't know you lost your son Guy a few years ago. How did that impact all of you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Trust me, at about a week old, I took him swimming with me and I was like, sit down and watch me swim because I have to go back to the regime. So yeah, I had my moments as well too. Okay, life is a little different now. And I think you finished the Air Force and you do go to Israel Aerospace Industries. I think in Israel, everybody knows it, but there was a big project called the Levi Project.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
Tell us a little bit about what it was to move from military, 10 years as a pilot, that's a lot, or in the military, right? And then to move into kind of more, I don't know if I would call it corporate, it's different, but how do you see that change and shift?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
At this point, do you have two or three kids?
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
The first one, okay.
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Chemi Peres: Overcoming Personal Challenges to Build Pitango, Israel’s Largest Venture Fund | E98
No, that's scary. Yeah.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
A few people?
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
So first of all, I'm a big advocate for experimentation. So I think what you just said is really, really important. I think there's a little bit of a myth about burning the boats. You can burn the boats, but once you're pretty sure this thing is going well and after you experimented and you have a good feel, right? If you burn the boats too early, the stress might make you freak out.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But when you... Start a business, and when you start growing a business, you hear a thousand opinions. I don't know about raising capital, outsourcing, expansion. I can go on and on trying to scale. How do you decide what to listen to? And I would also love a story around things that didn't work out. I'm sure there's quite a few.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Can you share one?
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Oh, and I love that, Nick. And right before we start recording, we talked about when we came here to the U.S. about a decade or two ago, we felt like it was completely a desert of really good espresso drinks. So we welcome you with... Big arms and you actually have an incredible Bluestone Lane coffee shop here in Los Altos, right next to my house. And I'm very excited and a lot in San Francisco.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
That's incredible, Nick. Although I have to say, I would not guess that Toronto would not work because they are coffee snobs as well. So I have to say, my instinct would have been the same. And I wonder also if you didn't have COVID, if the outcome would have been the same, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But again, I think sometimes when we hear opinions, that's the hardest thing is when you're anyway wobbly about all these decisions you may need to take. And as an entrepreneur, you're going to make a thousand decisions a day. It's just sometimes really hard to figure out. The grass sometimes looks greener on the other side and you're trying to figure out, should I go chase that green grass?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But I also want to understand a little bit just in terms of logistics. I mean, coffee shop and not even talking about coffee shops, many, many, right? Just in terms of logistics. I mean, the avocado will get bad. The milk will run out. Like how do you even plan for it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But take me back in time when you started. You started from sports.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Exactly. That's why it's hard. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Yeah, be nice, like chill. I know I was unique, but and again, we're in the consumer space too, right? And from time to time, we're like, come on. So especially when you have like a good heart, right? Like you really are trying to do good, but mistakes will happen. But as a founder from time to time, it will also take my sleep away. It hurts. How do you cope?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
And I think what you just said, and this is really important for everybody listening, because again, we are not trying to just create a paycheck. We're trying to create the life that you want with that. And whether it's in a corporate job or entrepreneurship, but it doesn't mean that you're not going to work hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Sometimes you're going to work your ass off, but create the life that you want with it. But Tiki, you did allude to COVID, and I assume that COVID is the hardest moment in entrepreneur and hospitality. It was a few years, and it was like, especially the first year, and there was a lot of unknown. It was opening and closing and opening. Like, I can't even imagine.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But Nick, what was it like for an entrepreneur?
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Oh my goodness. I didn't even think of these. I can't even wrap my head around it. This sounds so, so, so hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
I just love Bluestone Lane. This is close to my home, thank God. From San Francisco, you got closer and now I can go visit all the time and you have the best avocado toast. So I know there's a ton of other things, but I somehow always order the same thing. But what are you the most proud of then, you know, for Bluestone now or Bluestone that you see in the future for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Incredible, Nick. But I want to take you back in time for a second, because most professionals or most people, when they're kicked out once, they're done. What made you, and there's a reason why I'm asking, because I think it's a theme here, right? It was entrepreneurship too. What made you go back and try again and give your all, I assume? So what was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
It sounds like a lot of it is the community, but talk to me more about like, what are you most proud of?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
As somebody that knows some of the rest of the things around, for me, they're not a comparable, right? Like I don't really compare that, right? For me, this is an experience and it needs to come with the coffee. Those really quick, let me just grab a drink. That's just not going to happen. So it's not just comparable. It's just not going to happen. So I do appreciate that a lot.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
And that's what I love about this, Meg. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Oh, I love that, Nick. So based on everything that you know, what would be like an advice to your younger self?
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
I absolutely love this. And I think you talked about how we're harder with family on family. And I would say the hardest we are on ourselves, right? Especially if you're driven, you know, you're going to talk to yourself in a way that you're never going to talk to a friend or to a coworker or to anybody, right?
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
And I think celebrate the journey is just so important because we get to be so hard on ourselves. Nick, this was so inspiring.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Oh, it was amazing. Thank you, Nick. Love Bluestone Lane and let's go have some coffee there at some point.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
I mean, it feels like that's exactly the muscle you needed to build in order to create what you're creating and Blue Stone Lane and beyond. It sounds like it's exactly what needed to be built. So you're going and you're leaving Australia and you're moving to New York, which is a whole different network, a whole different thing. What is that like, Nick?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Today, I actually get to talk to Nick Stone, who is the founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane. Bluestone Lane is bringing Aussie coffee culture and better coffee right to the US.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
as a founder it hurts how do you cope i'm very very fortunate to have For those who don't know me, I am such a coffee snob. And today I actually get to talk to Nick Stone, who is the founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane, which is such an incredible place that I love coming again and again to. They have 55 cafes, if I'm not mistaken, coffee shops across the country, and I'm
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
That's incredible. So what are some of the differences? Because again, you kind of push your own luck or make your own luck there, right? You get somehow into New York, but it is a new network. You kind of need to build yourself there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
I love that, Nick. So you're going into the finance world again, you know, investment, banking, etc. Like it's a very lucrative place in New York. But what takes you from that to entrepreneurship? That's a really hard move. It pays well. It's comfortable.
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Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
What makes you leave such a fraternity?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
Blue Zone Lane is bringing Aussie coffee culture and better coffee, right, to the U.S. And I am just so excited to have Nick with me here to talk about his career because you were not always in coffee, Nick, were you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
I love the idea of not just being driven almost like product-led versus experience-led, right? Really giving a whole experience to coffee because that's how I grew up. But I mean, fear can be numbing, right? And most people, even if they have this great idea and they have whatever, all the background or all the things that you're mentioning, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience | E72
But they'll still not go ahead and open the first shop because there's a light years away between thinking about it and actually taking action. Take me to those days when you're contemplating, yes, no, the fear is numbing. Where is that taking you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Did you ever think, oh my God, maybe I just can't improve this team or, oh my God, it's going to take down my brand if I'm not able to do like, did you ever make it mean anything bad for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Tony Khan, founder and CEO of All Elite Wrestling, valued at, I don't know, $2 billion? Like, come on. He completely shaken the wrestling world. And he's also an investor very involved in the NFL, Jacksonville Jaguars, and football, and many other ventures. You are going to love this today because I want to learn together with you, how does somebody...
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
You are a wrestling fan and you're starting to think about funding All Elite Wrestling, which is a huge undertaking. Tony, first of all, what was that moment when you started thinking, this is what I really should do?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
influence such a big industry with existing big players. So get ready for a fascinating show about taking bold action. Tony, thank you for being here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Take me there for a second, because to some extent, and again, I'm kind of comparing WWE to like a Google, you know, where like, if you know that there's like this big monster around, you're really scared to create a little competition, right? Because you're like, who am I to start creating this from scratch? And how do I even get started? And who's going to trust me?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
There's a lot of fear involved. So there's excitement, but fear or no, it doesn't sound like it even like... It made a lot of sense.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So a lot of it is your wrestling love and knowledge and experience of it. But also that combined with all the years and years and connections and the NFL and all the things that you built already in football and NFL, it's like you already knew a lot in the world. But take me there just for the first year, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Because a lot of our listeners are like, I have all these like big ideas and I want to create something big. But the fear is numbing, right? Or they don't really know. There's no blueprint. There's no map. Like you kind of need to figure things out. How do you get started with such an audacious goal, if you will?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
It's going to be amazing. So take us back in time. You are a fan of sports from very early age. Tell me, what was the obsession about sports?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
It's not easy. Like people are like, oh, you know, he can go to his father. It's not easy to go to your father. So take me there for a second. How do you even convince him? And how do you not make his pushback mean like you still work with that conviction of I truly believe this is an amazing opportunity. Take me there for a second, Tony.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I mean, now, AEW is a big, big deal. Anywhere you look into it, it's like, this is a big disruptor in the world, right? And it changes the whole landscape. But when you start, you need to earn people's trust. You need to get people to partner with you when you don't have a lot to offer. And I get capital is part of it, but how do you get people to trust you in the beginning?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I'll wait for somebody else to start first.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. So you launched this thing. You have the capital. You're starting to like get people on board.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
But 2020 is right around the corner. And I assume that created a little bit of a heart attack. I don't know. It would for me. But how did COVID... What did that do?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I was busy watching Smurfs. Like, I don't know what was...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And you need the energy to flow inside. You need that energy, I assume, just like any performer.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Right.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
There's actually a beautiful research on COVID. You could see CEOs split to three, and it was just a beautiful story, Tony. The first, and I'm telling this to the listeners because I think it's so important, like there's a first group that just were so stressed about what's coming that they were just numb.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Like they just couldn't do anything because they were in this really, really dark place, right? And the second group is basically the group that just ignored it. oh, it's nothing. I will just continue as I am because that was not it, right? Like it definitely took effect. And the third group is exactly what you're talking about. They were listening. They were getting all these ideas.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
They were adapting really, really quick. And it's incredible to watch. So Tony, that's why eventually wasn't even a big bleep. It was just one of those things. I'm just going to adjust the sale and I'm going to go. So I just love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I love that example because you're right. When everybody's in the same boat and it's hard on everybody, then it's really more about who's going to be the problem solver, the innovative, who's not going to let the stress take them down. It's so true. And I think in 2022, if I'm not mistaken, you obviously acquired Ring of Honor, right?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
entrepreneurship is really, really hard. In my mind, it is really, really hard. And there's raising capital and there's dealing with hate and there's dealing with doubt and there's dealing with money issues. There's always something, right? First of all, can you share, except for COVID, can you share another challenge that hit you and how did you overcome it?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And just a little bit of how in general do you personally cope with these things?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Did they love sports as well? Were they watching? Was you or I know your dad was a fan, but were they also watching sports or were they like, what on earth is Tony watching?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Does it change your perspective on anything in terms of legacy, in terms of what's important for you, in terms of life overall?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Well, it's amazing that it doesn't scare you and it's amazing that it doesn't take you down. One of the questions that I'm sure a lot of our people in the audience will have is they would love to get in front of TV and entertainment and shows and medias, whatever, but it's such a hard place to crack.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And you're somehow not only cracked it, you're like, you know, you have all these entertainment things, like you totally nailed it. What are some tips maybe that would help somebody that doesn't have connections, doesn't know they have a good story, but have no clue how to crack the code?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And you're not shy of hard work. I always laugh that I think sometimes there's these myths about the four hour work week, et cetera. And I'm like, no, I'm kind of working my ass off. Maybe from time to time, I can have a little more freedom because it's my decision. But eventually, if you're driven by definition, you're going to work really, really hard and you travel a ton.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So it doesn't burn you out because you love it so much, because it's something that you're so passionate about.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
This is incredible because I think for those listening and want a bigger life, it's beautiful to see how you were managed to basically create your passion into your life and your business. And, you know, it's just all gels and intertwines and it's beautiful to see. But you also have this amazing portfolio career, like you're doing so much. And we're big believers in portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I think we're the only place that actually teaches how to create a portfolio career, but you live it. What would you say to people that are listening to this and saying, I want Tony's life, but I don't know how to get it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Yes, there's a lot of people that were dealt a pretty good hand, but they still didn't build such an empire and they didn't disrupt such a big market. So I think the way you are, to some extent, yes, you got some luck and everybody needs some luck, but you're creating your own luck as well, right? And you're just creating such a massive impact with that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So if you take it back in time, what would be some advice that maybe you would share with your younger self?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So it's amazing to see where you guys are and what you're creating. And I loved researching a little bit about all the things that are even coming your way and what you already have accomplished. So thank you for coming to the show, Tony.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Oh, I appreciate it. Thank you, Tony. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And meanwhile, I think your father at this point is a pretty successful businessman. Like he's definitely doing some incredible things. How do you think that impacted you or whether it's pressure on you to show up or inspired you? What do you think that did to you?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Tony Khan, founder and CEO of All Elite Wrestling, very involved in the NFL, Jacksonville Jaguars and football and many other ventures.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And do you think they pushed you towards like, did you know that you're going to be a business person? Or did you think, you know, I'm just going to go study, I'm going to find a job? What did you think?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So you go and you actually study finance, right? Why finance? Was there a reason for it? Was it part of a big plan or was it something you were drawn to?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Was that a hard decision, by the way, to move from engineering? Like, did that feel like you're giving up on something or you were like, oh my God, that's what I want.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
I don't think you ever will, but that's okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
And it's definitely serving you now more than the other. But so after college, you're finishing finance and you're actually taking some interesting roles. Talk to us a little bit about the first role and how did that all shape you?
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Right.
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Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So you joined, and I think you at some point start working with the Jacksonville Jaguars and you start looking at, I think this entire operation and organization in a different way, which is a lot more data-driven, et cetera. What knowledge did you bring and how did you look at the organization a little different?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
So for the first whatever years that adds up to be, you're kind of an employee, if you will. And at some point you decide to start your own thing. What happened there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
How do you get started with such an audacious goal, if you will?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tony Khan: Building AEW into a Billion-Dollar Brand and Competing with Wrestling Giants | E106
Let me take you there just for a second, because to some extent you describe hard moments. We tried and it didn't work and we tried and you're describing hard moments as if they're just normal and you just kind of continue, right? But I want you to take us to one of those hard moments.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Isn't that what we all want? He's also the founder of One Young World. You have a lot of amazing stories. But David, were you always fascinated by marketing? How did this all start?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
So take me on that journey, David, because I would also assume that it's impossible. Tell me a little bit. You're on this journey. You see this need. But between that and raising $300 million, there's a big gap. So take me on this journey for a second. Where are we? 2015, roughly?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Oh my goodness, tell me more. So from sport, what got you into the corporations world? Because again, you got to CEO of a marketing company pretty early age, but how did that all happen?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Everybody understands now. If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you.
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We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career. This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Do you think the reason you had the courage, because again, the rejections is what kills more dreams than anything, right? I mean, it's the rejection, it's the fear, it's the, you heard too many no's and now you're starting to wobble yourself.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Is it because you've been, I mean, you've been in marketing and advertisement, you knew the world so well. Is it that knowledge of the problem that just made you so, that level of conviction of I gonna find, it's basically, Who's going to be on board versus if I'm going to find it?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Tell us a little bit about BrandTech. You've had some acquisition, you invest in a lot of companies, and now you put in place a really interesting platform that combines branding and tech. So tell us a little bit about that, because I do want to also go into some of the impact things that you're doing, because again, you're all over. So it's just incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
But talk to us a little bit about BrandTech.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
We're spending a lot of money on ads, so hey, I like the idea of making it easy. But on top of everything that you're doing, you decided to also be pretty big on the world of impact. So first of all, you are the co-founder of a global youth forum, right? One young world that I think was recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative, if I'm not mistaken. Why is this close to your heart?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
It sounds amazing what you're saying. And I think it's also the execution. I think in your book, Who Cares Wins, you actually have a beautiful quote and I may be butchering it a little bit, but you talk about different corporate social responsibility. And one of the quotes that I loved, I think it was from Lee Scott, the CEO of Walmart at the time.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And it said something like, we will not be measured by aspiration, we'll be measured by our actions. It's basically what you live for, which is really interesting because you're also taking action. You're not just thinking about it, which is probably the difference with a lot of people.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
That to me is a big one. And I think there's a little bit of a myth today because it looks easy. We talked a little bit about it, right? You see it on Instagram. You see it at TechCrunch. You see the successes. What you don't necessarily see is the rejections, the how long it take, the overnight success that took 10 years in the making. So I think you don't see those.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
So there's like a little bit of this freedom myth. I can have it all. You could, just not at the same time. So let's tack it up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
I love that. But I will ask, I mean, you met, and I think mentors is also a big thing. If you can be surrounded by really smart people, it's kind of what you're giving one young world, right? But if you can be surrounded by really smart leaders, mentors, people that inspire you, that opens your mind to possibilities way beyond the school and the regular grind.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
How did you get into situations where you meet Kofi Annan and people like this? How did you create your own luck basically to find yourself in those situations?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
So take me back to that moment. What made you have the courage or the idea? Advertising is a lot about rising above the noise, right? There's a lot of noise in the system. And you could see that a few decades ago to understand that you need to get through. And the biggest thing is how do I open the door? How did you even get the idea? And how did you have the courage?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Not bad.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And what I'm hearing, you know your mission. We can see your passion. And I think a lot of what you're talking about is this hidden market, which we talk a lot about it because the best opportunities are not coming in the job boards or whatever. It's basically based on the story you tell and then who knows you and who's going to open the doors for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And the more you're intentional and strategic about making sure that you are in this hidden market and people can open the doors for you and you are there to help others and bring value and good things will happen. That's basically how you rise above the noise. So that is how you get out of the people's pile and you get better, better opportunities. Am I hearing this correct, David?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And to me, that's so important because although I'm the person that always says we have our own gifts, we can figure it out, we can break the glass ceiling, but the truth is it is harder. And there are a lot of situations that we're just not invited to the table. And we actually need ambassadors like you that open these doors. So to me, that's really, really important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
I love that you're doing that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
I agree. So we do need to ask and we need to ask who has a lot more courage without being apologetic about it. So I agree with that too. A thousand percent. So I agree. But again, I am talking as an Air Force gal. So I also got a little bit of that growing up at age 18. So I think that prepared me a little better. I think we're just guarding the women a little bit more.
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
as children, and that makes a difference. David, what would help you with One Young World or with your incredible brand tech company?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Amazing, David. And young, what are the ages for you?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Yeah, that's a good idea, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
So David, from everything that you've doing with brand tech and raising so much money and disrupting marketing and the impact that you're creating, the book, like I can't even catch up with everything, David. What would be an advice that you would give your younger self?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Wow, that is a powerful one. I totally wrote that down. Thank you for all the inspiration and thank you for sharing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Just do it. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
John Maxwell says it beautifully. He talks about the people pile. And I think, you know, a lot of it is understanding people and how do you rise above the noise? And that is incredible to hear. So you find this internship. How from that in 2005, you became, you know, a really, really young CEO of a global company, Havas. Again, how did that happen?
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Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And also, how do you adapt to such a big, big role? I mean, that's hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
I'm hearing that you're just not afraid. Or maybe you're afraid, but you do it anyway, right? Because different cultures, different countries, different people, that takes a lot. But then you're also... You're not afraid of going back in order to leapfrog forward. What do you think went in your head? Did you know that you're taking a risk? Did you just see the future?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
Because again, marketing and tech is exactly where you are now. This is your secret sauce. But back then, what made you do this move?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
This story today, when I first came and read it, I was actually blown away. David Jones here is the founder of Brandtech, a gen AI marketing platform, which will blow your mind. They just raised $115 million on a valuation of 4 billion. And by the way, back in 2015, when he just started, he raised 300 million to do various acquisitions and investments to do marketing better, faster, cheaper.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
I think one of the favorite quotes that I heard you say at some point is that I think something along the line is the mobile phone, which is so true, right? Made every person into a content creator, but generative AI made every person into an advertising agency or something along these lines, right, David? When I heard you say that, I was just like, it's just an incredible way to see this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Taking Big Risks: How David Jones Built a Billion-Dollar Brand Against All Odds | E54
And now it all... so aligned with brand tech and what you guys are creating, which I want to go into. But one thing I just want to ask you, because you shared this incredible story, if you will, the difference between being at the top, like a CEO and number two, three, four, whatever it is, to me feels light years away. What does it take to adapt to such a big role?
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Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
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Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Tell us about it, because I think a lot of people are going through some weird things as well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
So wait, before we go there, so this is incredible. So you land this role that gives you, I guess, very discounted flights, right? Why necessarily London and why basically every year for four years? Why did you decide that London drew you at that level? Well, the first...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
It's such a great pleasure to have you on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
I want to take you back in time. Let's go to memory line. What was your childhood like? Did you know that you're going to be this incredible entrepreneur doing massive fashion? And tell me a little more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
So let's talk about it. So let's talk about it before we go there. So you have this store. And I think at this point, you basically, roughly at this time, you're married to Eddie, right? Yes. And you open your first store and you're starting to bring clothes from London.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
So talk to us a little bit about the early days, because I don't even know if you realize you're starting a business at that level. Like it was just kind of like, let me bring things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Was that scary, Norma? Because again, at this point, this was your safety net, right? They were paying the bill. They were paying the flights to London. It was $80, $80 a week, okay?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And that sounds like it, because it sounds like also at the time that you were there, I mean, even now, like I think starting a business is extremely hard. I think it's not easy to find mentors and role models, et cetera. And I think in your time, it was even harder. So getting some of that client experience and how do you run a business and how do you run an operation?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Like, I think it's just so valuable. Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. Don't forget to subscribe and download. Now, if you're looking to leap your own career, figure out what's next for you, fast track your own growth and create portfolio career, check out my free 30 minute training at leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
That's leapacademy.com slash training. Now back to the show. And at some point, and I think it's roughly at the same time, like you're starting to move to Madison, to a bigger location. So clearly you're doing very well. Talk to us a little bit about that, because also throughout this time, you and Eddie, I mean, you got married very early on, what, age 19?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
I would freak out and my kids would freak out. But he was also your partner, which is not easy. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
But he was doing a lot of the sales too, right?
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Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
$2,000.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Nobody knew me at all. Exactly, because you were always kind of the behind the scenes, the person that actually creates all the designs. And at this point, you're roughly age 35. Am I correct? I was probably 30. We were married 19 to 29. That is a trauma. I still can't piece together why you don't have half of the business, but I think these were different times.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
That's incredible, Norma. So take us there for a second, because then you're essentially starting from basically nothing. You don't have a name brand. You have $98. And eventually you become that designer forever. Pretty much all the known figures. Your bathing suit is in a museum. I'm wrapping my head around it. I mean, you're getting President George W. Bush to give you a prize, an award.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
How did that even happen, Norma?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And I love that because success leaves clues. We just need to find the clues, right? And we need to connect those dots and they don't initially connect. And for you, you also went through some things in your family that started shaping you a little bit. Can you share a little bit about how did that all shape you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And that's incredible. I'm literally getting chills here. That is really, really inspiring. And I think people need to see others, especially women, do it on their own, but also ask for help and seeing how everybody is helping, right? Because otherwise you're staying stuck alone on the journey. And it's just so hard. You mentioned chair.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And I think you also had Bette Midler really early on, right? And suddenly you become this person who, Why do you think the stars suddenly got so drawn to Norma Kamali?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
It's probably also the connections that you built, because I think you build a lot of trust and a lot of connections with some of these people. So they become an advocate and they relate to the brand. One of the things that popped for me, though, you at that point, you didn't really know how to sell, right? And you're starting on your own and you're expected to know how to sell.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
What made the transition?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And you need to bargain anyway, right? Everywhere you go, you need to bargain. Negotiate.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Oh my God, what an incredible story. And again, you were really bold with the things that you've done. You've done sleeping bags and like, I mean, you've done all these things that are just pushing everybody's thoughts to a next level. How were you not afraid?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And to me, that's so inspiring. And I think a lot of our audience will really resonate. They're in a transition in their life, many of them, and they're trying to figure out what's next. How do I get faster, better? So this is really, really important. And I believe you keep on reinventing yourself also through COVID and also through other things, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Like you continuously change, transition, do more, right, bigger. So maybe a little bit about what that looks like for you before we wrap up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
What's next for Norma? Because you keep on changing, how do you see yourself continue to grow?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Norma, I love this. And again, like in education for Leap Academy, I see millions of people or tens of millions, hundreds of millions that will need to reinvent themselves. So for me, that's a big calling. What would you say to your audience and to your younger self that is trying to like figure out what's next and how to really make the most out of life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
That is such an important sentence. Seriously, Norma. I want to thank you so much, first of all, for this episode, but also for just, I think you are a pioneer. I think you are a role model to a lot of women that needs to see this, bring the fashion, starting a business, growing a business for so many decades. Thank you for everything you do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Golanjo.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And I think when she said that, it was very rare. There was something very rare at that time, right? Because to some extent, you did get married in order for somebody to take care of you and you in return have babies, right? Like there was a little bit of that. Am I right? Well, that's what women did.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Norma Kamali, not only a designer and entrepreneur, she literally brought fashion to the US and for 57 years dressed stars like Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez and some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment business.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
If I'm not mistaken, you lost your father, your stepfather. Do you remember fear? Do you remember anxiety of survival? Do you remember any of this? No.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
What are you talking about?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
And you talk a little bit about falling in love a little bit was drawing or was art. Were you talented or did you just love it? What was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
Why do you think the stars suddenly got so drawn to Norma Kamali? It was... Norma Kamali, not only a designer and entrepreneur, she literally brought fashion to the U.S. and for, what, 57 years, dressed stars like Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez and Cher and Rob Stewart. And I can go on and on in some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment business. What a story, Norma.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
So you decide to go study fashion illustration. Why? But then eventually your first job is not related to that at all. Take a stare for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons | E88
So right after that, you need to find a job because your mom makes it very clear that you need to find a job. What happened then?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
I think you studied philosophy, religion. Take us back in time. How did that shape your career path?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
First of all, I absolutely agree. And I think we share the same language, which I love. And I think there's a lot of similar stories in the sense of getting to massive burnout. And for me, you know, and I needed to have like, you know, losing almost everything in order to start realizing that I need to get a lot more intentional about every step I make. But take us there on the journey.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
So the year of the big talk, Michael, when is it roughly? 2002. 2002, you realize that I need to change, but if I'm not mistaken, you actually become a CEO and you turn around the company and all of the good stuff after. So you need to put this all together for me and for the listeners. So how did that path come?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
The normal thing, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Well, I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. We have a lot more to cover, but don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking to fast track your own career, figure out what's next for you, get that clarity, fast track your own growth, check out that free 30 minute training. You'll get a lot of value out of it. It's sleepacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
That's sleepacademy.com slash training. Now let's get back to the show. How scary is it to lose relevance or to not be able to succeed in your career now? And this is what will hold you back from the promotions that you want to get. Obviously, it didn't. So walk me through this a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Yeah, totally.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
You can read the same thing again and again and again. And I'm like, it's not coming in. And then tomorrow morning you read it and I'm like, oh, that was so easy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
You came from a pretty religious household, or is that something that came later?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Well, there's a beautiful saying, and I know I'm going to butcher the quote, and I don't know who said it, but it's something along the lines of, you can have a thousand problems, but once you have a health issue, you have only one problem.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
It's such a wake-up call because you're right. That's the first thing that we always neglect as high achievers, workaholics. And the truth is, you bring such a great point because I used to have a boss way back in Intel that literally awarded people if they stayed until four in the morning, five in the morning. That was an award. And I was always embarrassed that around 2 a.m.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
I got so freaking tired that I had to duck so that nobody will see I need to drive home. And, you know, I remember that embarrassment of what a wuss. How am I like at 2 a.m. like going home? It's like, dude, that's freaking 2 a.m. Like, why am I embarrassed about it? But I think there was this notion of you will not be able to be successful if you don't grind.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And I think a big thing of what you're doing, and I love that, is you're showing us that it's possible. And we'll talk about full focus in a second, but you're showing us that it's possible. Not only that it's possible, in fact, you will actually do better. You will be more intentional.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
You'll be more successful if you take some time to yourself and you put the boundaries and you do this right way. And it's about working smart, not just hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Oh, I love that. Oh, my God. I think the listeners need to hear this because you put these boundaries. You had a coach. You put the boundaries. We'll talk about how exactly this all happened. But then you become a CEO at, what, 2005? That's right. So what do you think are some of these pivotal decisions that you made that made this and brought you to be a CEO?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And then I do want to take a little bit about what it actually takes to be a CEO.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
That's such a beautiful sentence. That's a choice. I met John Maxwell recently and some crews we were on, and he's an incredible person. Listeners, if you haven't checked him out, great author and great speaker too. But one of the things, and we do have a president's club in Leap Academy as well for people who are like C-suite and they create a mastermind.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Like you said, I can't reveal it anywhere, but I can reveal it with my little safe space. But you somehow, let's talk for a second, 2008 is an incredible hard time to navigate, especially as a CEO. The buck stops here. You need to somehow go through all the decisions. How do you sleep at night? What do you do? What were some of the challenges?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And I love that because the truth is, Michael, you started at word publishing, but very quickly you got to entrepreneurship, honestly, before the word even existed. Right, Michael? Like, I mean, I don't think that word existed. And you co-founded your own publishing company. So talk to a little bit about that route from Baylor and how that formed into your own company.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Right. I love that. I want to hear more because I think at the end of the day, it's that level of self-ownership that differentiates the great leaders because they will always look at what they can control.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow. I think it's beautiful. The more we can get used to looking at ourselves and what we can control versus all the rest of the things, because there's always excuses. Like if you want a pile of excuses of why it's not going to work, there's always excuses. And if you're a very persuasive person, you can go on with excuses, but... At the end of the day, it's like, what can I do right now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And what would I have done different? I love that. I wrote that down. So you're taking all this incredible insights and the things that let you lead at this level and decide to start full focus. First of all, what made you decide to leave the publishing industry altogether, I think? Well, you're an author, so you're not really leaving, but you're doing it in another way, I guess.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
But then to start Full Focus. So talk to me a little bit about that time of decision, if you will.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And I think that's interesting because you've seen personal brand before we talked about personal brand, before I personally understood personal brand. I was the person that will put my head down and just work my ass off. And this is all I could think of. And you somehow saw it. You saw that this is where you want to go and what you want to do. Talk to me a little bit about that too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Walk us there. You have all these followers. You understand personal brands. So you already have a personal brand, which makes it a lot easier. And I think for our audience, a lot of times and our listeners, one of the things that I want you to get a lot out of this conversation is that being really intentional, strategic was where you want to go and start building that brand for yourself.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Because otherwise you... If you do, you always fall forward, right? You can always do the next things. If you don't have anything, you literally start from scratch. It's like so hard. But walk me through, Michael, you decide to not go rest and sit on the beach for some ungodly reason, but you decide to start another company with full focus.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Walk me through why the passion and where did that come from?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Oof, powerful. And the way I like to say it, and I think that was so beautiful, is you all have a brand and the brand is what people think about you when you're not in the room. I don't know who I stole it from. I know I stole it from someone, but I can't justify it. And I think the other thing that you talked about, legacy, we had an episode with Howard Behar, the ex-president of Starbucks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And one of the beautiful sentences that he had, that he said is, There's no amount of success that you can live on forever. And one of the hardest moments in his life was when he retired. So it's exactly what you're saying. I needed to find a purpose again. So it's beautiful to see where he is now. But I think you're spot on just in terms of finding that purpose.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And for those, by the way, not on YouTube, take a look at him. Like he is kind of looking 50s. But then you also have the time to build a business, author many books. How do you fit it all in?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow. So I wonder what it is for you. So I personally need to go on walks. I might run or whatever, but I have to hike many times a week. And that's where all my ideas come from. This is where my sanity comes from. This is where suddenly I don't see the noise of the constant emails, but I can actually think about the big picture and scaling the business and big ideas.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And all my best ideas came from these walks. What is it for you, Michael?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Talk to me just for a second about your why. What is the legacy that you hope to leave behind for future leaders, for entrepreneurs?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And you have 11, exactly. Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Do you think there's something that you went through in life beyond the stories that you shared that built you to who you are today, Michael?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Thank you for sharing. That explains that massive drive that I see. That's incredible. So what would you advise your younger self based on everything that you've seen and the things that you overcame? And I'm sure balance is part of it, but how would you talk to younger Michael?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow. First of all, I think every time you asked the question, I was like, yeah, check. Not sleeping at night, check. I'm like, darn it, Michael.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow, this is amazing. But you're also open to listening, to hearing new things, to trying new things. I think that's actually really interesting. You know, I want to talk just for a second about that, because I think sometimes we come with a lot of ego of, I know it's not going to work. I don't need this. Like, I think there's some ego that comes with leadership sometimes or maybe with success.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And I think sometimes it's just really hard to listen. I wish I was more receptive, more coachable a decade or so in my career. Because again, at that point, I'm like, VP, I ticked a lot of boxes. I don't need this thing. I don't need help. I don't need coaching. How do you get that receptive? How do you... Listen, I know about tapping, but I'm like, oh, I don't need this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
So how do you become more open to ideas?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow. Oh my God. So first of all, I want to take you there and I appreciate the real truth here because I think there's some myth about, and we see it in our business, right? I mean, we're on one hand, one of the fastest growing companies in America. On the other hand, you're like a little duck, you know, trying to like stay above water, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
I love this. I wish I knew this earlier in my career. If I need to tap into my younger self, it's definitely get coaching faster. I probably have like six coaches for different things right now. And again, you're always going to go faster and higher. And we see it in Leap Academy because you have big data.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
I can tell you based on thousands of people a year, who's going to get a job, what title, what the compensation versus if you're trying to do this alone. So Michael, this is so, so, so valuable. Thank you for coming on the show. This is incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Oh, my God. Well, not everybody is as open, as incredible with so much achievement and just so humble and awesome.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And people are like, yeah, but you guys make multi-million dollars. Yeah, that doesn't quite get to the bank. So walk us through a little bit just before we move on. What made you continue, Michael? Because that can get really, really hard and scary. What kept you going in those really, really hard moments?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Michael Hyatt, from the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publisher, now he's the founder of Full Focus, author of several bestselling books. You're a podcaster, you're a speaker, and you're all about showing leaders that they can win at work and succeed in life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow. So, I mean, theoretically, your wife can cut the cord and say, you're done, Michael, with your games. You go back to whatever it is that you do, find a job, stop entrepreneurship altogether. And even though you did have some very specific roles, we'll talk about it. But in general, you are an entrepreneur in the making, right? You're either at the top somewhere or you're into nerds. So,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
What made you decide, yes, I am going to be resilient. I am going to continue doing this despite the fear, despite the risk.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
How do you recover from that? And how do you find balance?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Incredible. What do you think, if you need to summarize that specific failure, what did you take later to be the CEO that you were, to start full focus? What do you think are some of the biggest lessons?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Wow, this is powerful. Okay. And that actually feeds so well into how you grew from there. So take us there then in time. I mean, you somehow shake yourself from that moment. Take us there to your path all the way to the CEO.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Michael Hyatt, from the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publisher, all the way to the acquisition of HarperCollins, which I think we all heard of. Now he's the founder of Full Focus, author of several New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, bestselling books. I don't know how you do it all. You're a podcaster. You're a speaker. Michael, it's incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
And you're all about showing leaders that they can win at work. and succeed in life. So first of all, it's so great to have you on the show with us, Michael.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life | E80
Oh my God. How do you recover from that? And how do you find balance? Is balance a myth or is it real?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
It is incredible, massive impact. But Tom, will you take us back in time to Tom who was a teen? Maybe your mom kind of believed that you will not be as successful. Tom, take us there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
When I read Lisa's book, Radical Confidence, who is your wife, for those who don't know, it literally seemed like it's, almost like within a few days or a day or something. Like you literally are supposed to move out. You're supposed to quit. And instead, you're starting Quest. And in fact, you believe in it so much that you're willing to risk your house, if I'm reading this correctly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
What switched? Can you go back and why Quest? Can you share that a little bit, Tom?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of the billion-dollar company Quest Nutrition. You also started Impact Theory, a media company that helps others realize their full potential, build massive thought leadership. I mean, you have, what, 4 million YouTube subscribers, 500 million content views.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Can you share why Quest?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
I love how you explain the team, because I think this is so hard to find. Teams that are from different backgrounds, they all bring a different mix, but they're all passionate about something. It's not easy to find at all. And I love that it's based on a personal thing, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Because I think one of the hardest thing and tell me what you noticed in the Tom, but is that in entrepreneurship, there's a lot of what we call the near death experiences. It gets really hard. And I think having that really strong why really, really helps stop. Did you run into that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
between wanting to do something big and actually growing to Inc., you know, second fastest growing company, I told you, I have so much respect because I felt we are growing really fast and you are just like at a whole different level. How do you do that? How do you get started? Because again, it's, there've been other bars before. Yes, they were disgusting, but how do you get in front of people?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And I think a lot of it is what you stated, but it would be great to hear a little more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
That is a mic drop here that I need to also sink in a little bit. And I think that is just so fundamental because there is something about a best product, but there's also a best known product. But what you're saying is sometimes you need to think about what you're actually selling. And in your case, it's not necessarily the game. It's not necessarily the bar. It's the community.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
that will advocate for it because that's going to create a real snowball versus trying to acquire one in one, right? That's what's going to make it successful, which is so interesting. As a CEO, as a founder, What makes you so determined? And again, I'm sure a lot of it is experimentation, but there's a lot of noises and there's a team that says that this is not the right way.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
What helps you with decision-making? Because I feel like that's a hard one sometimes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
How do you cope with fear, Tom? Because that sounds scary. That is a decision that costs more. Now you need to raise more capital. Like, I don't know, whatever, maybe you didn't. But I'm just saying that is a scary decision. How do you cope with the fear?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Yeah, there's a saying, there's no traffic jam at the extra mile, right? And I think you say it really well. Don't ask what's the minimum I need to do, but ask what's the maximum I need to bear, right? And it's just so exact. So you decide to sell Quest, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
So you're starting a media production company with Lisa. Yeah, and again, you're not retiring on an island. Why, first of all?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Well, I agree with all of it. And I have kids and I don't necessarily think for me personally, it's enough. Every single person can decide what's right for them. And I think it's really important to bring not just the paycheck, but the life that you want with it. And I think you actually say there's no amount of success that you can stand in it forever.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And I actually just talked about it literally two hours ago with the ex-president of Starbucks, right? You could theoretically, you know, ticked a lot of boxes of success and it's just not enough, not for certain people. Again, waking up every single day with this mission. Talk a little bit about this mission. Why is it fueling you so much?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And to me, that is so strong because sometimes we look at people like you and we say, oh, it's all been easy. Their path to success has been all pink and roses. And it looks like it's almost like a born thing. You have to be born an incredible leader. And that's the only people that are successful. And I think one of the...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Why are you trying to touch that 11, 15-year-old to become their best version?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
quotes that you have that just hit me like a brick I think you're kind of at some point you say something along the line like I needed to admit that I'm actually average I don't know exactly how you say that but that to me was hitting home because I think this is what listeners need to hear everybody can do this now the only question is how hard are you going to try when are you going to give up what are you willing to do for success talk to us a little bit what changed for you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Wow. That is incredible. Well, I have two kids to donate, so. We'll take it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
That's incredible. Do you think there's something that you went through in your childhood or after that builds you to who you are today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
I will make sure my kids listen to that. But Tom, if you go back in time, I don't know, maybe right after film school, when you're kind of in that phase of anxiety, maybe even depression, I know a lot of our listeners are very driven, but some of them just don't know what's next for them or how to take themselves to a next level or how to really become their full potential.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
What would be one advice that you would want to hear back in the days that you wish you knew?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
When I was vice president, theoretically ticked some boxes of success. And I thought that I was coachable. I thought that I knew it all. It's kind of that ego that you're talking about, right? That confidence that you think you have, you think you know it all. And actually that's the most dangerous area because you're not listening to learn, you're listening to argue.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And you're listening to prove to someone else that they're wrong and you know better. How do you wake somebody up from that? Because again, I wish somebody woke me up a decade ago, but I don't know if I was even receptive to listening. How do you wake somebody up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
That is so strong, Tom. Anything else that you want to share with our audience that they can help you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Tom, thank you so much for all the nuggets and all the inspiration. And I was really looking forward to it because I was binging your stuff. But thank you so much for sharing all of it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Thank you. We sort of made the list. So I'm proud fastest growing company.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Okay. Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Thank you, Tom. We are, we are. And we're changing lives, just like you guys. So I think we share that passion, which is important. But thank you for all the inspiration, Tom.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Because again, it's uncomfortable as heck and fear can be numbing. It will be numbing. But then again, you go to film school, which is basically, I want to say 180 degrees from where you ended up, but actually you are coming back towards that. But share a little bit, you go to film school, what happened there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
seeing you suddenly that motivated and hustling to make this way, what made you fall off that horse?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of the billion-dollar company Quest Nutrition. FYI, my kids and their friends are huge fans, so I'm so excited, and they're gonna love this episode. You also started Impact Theory, a media company that helps others realize their full potential, build massive thought leadership. I mean, you have, what, 4 million YouTube subscribers, 500 million content views.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And I absolutely love what you just said about the quality of a questions will dictate the level of success that you have, but you need to remember to listen to the data, not the drama that comes with it, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And I think one of the things that you say is don't limit yourself to where you are now, which I think is also really important because the lens that we see life in is right now, but it's hard to really connect the dots. After this conversation, horrific experience after film school. You somehow joined kind of at the bottom of a startup, right? Tell me a little bit about what that experience was.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand | E62
And I think it was a pretty toxic environment as well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Tell us a little bit also about getting it accredited, because there's a difference. Like, I'm sure it came with some skepticism and, you know, I mean, this is online. How can it be accredited? What challenges did you run into in the beginning?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Shai Recep, today is going to be one of the more inspiring stories you heard on this podcast. The founder of University of the People, they're transforming global education. He created the first to Tuition-free, listen to this, accredited online university has provided access to higher learning for over 153,000 students worldwide. Tuition-free, accredited.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
And I want to talk a little bit about the impact of this, because what it disenabled is ability to serve 150 plus students from, what, 200 countries? And, you know, including, I think you have incredible stories of helping refugees. And can you share a couple of stories just so people understand the magnitude of this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Incredible. And I believe you also have people from Gaza. You have people from all over. When they can't go anywhere else, they come to you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
How many stories do we get that people are just that good? Shai, thank you for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
This is absolutely amazing. And if somebody is watching me on YouTube, I'm like literally crying here. But tell me for a second, Chai, even to sponsor so many people, do you need to constantly go look for donations? Seriously, how do you run this operation? And what are some hard moments even for you? Like this mission can't stop, but donations sometimes are hard. What is it like for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
How does somebody grow up and eventually change the world and change education in this level? So tell us a little bit about you as a younger kid. What was it like? Were you entrepreneurial? Did you like education? Like, who are you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
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How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
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How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
I see a lot of beautiful people in Leap Academy that have all these brilliant ideas, but pulling it and making this happen, definitely the magnitude that you did, but even just launching it, being able to get the first donations, that's not easy and sustaining it. There is a donation fatigue and people donate to a thousand things. So that's not easy to maintain.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
First of all, how did you become sustainable? Because I think that's key.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
It's amazing that you don't let that fear take you down. But let me ask you also a different question. And one of the things that we noticed in Leap Academy, and again, we can't compare this. This is very much a for-profit. It's for a different set of education, et cetera. But what we noticed a little bit is that When people don't pay, they don't pay attention.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
So there's a lot of self-help book, there's YouTube channels, there's a lot of free education that people won't do anything. And then once they pay, suddenly their back is against the wall and it fuels them. It could be that it's just a different set of audience that just doesn't have as much starvation to content.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
But I would love to, did you ever feel like that actually because it's free, they're not as committed? Do you see any of that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Nobody's bossing you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
So we have a lot of the listeners, again, they're like thinking, oh my God, like I have huge plans that I wanna change either within the company that I'm in, or I wanna create some big change and I wanna do something with meaning and I wanna do something that matters. What are some of the tips that you give somebody like this to say, what is it and how do I actually lift it off the ground?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
What are some of the skills? What are some of the mindset that you needed to develop to continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
But before that, why masters in Chinese politics? What would get somebody to decide, I'm not from China, but I'm fascinated by that specific topic?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
It's not your main thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
And how are you as a leader, Shai, don't take that stress, if you will, from financial stress or pivot need, etc. How do you not take it down on your team? Or how do you balance between involving the team and being all alone on everything? How do you balance that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Yeah, I think we're both, we want everything yesterday. So, and I don't know if that's something that you can talk about. Are there any special folks that were kind of more, I would say, famous or people that our audience might recognize their name that actually finished the University of the People? Or is that something that you don't reveal?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
I love that. And this is part of something that we share. Like for me, the biggest moments, and I love that you shared the stories because I think at the end of the day, the biggest moments for me is that email, you changed my life or that post on LinkedIn. Like I wouldn't be here without Milana or Leap Academy or the coaches.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
And I think this is what keeps you going because it's still gonna be a roller coaster, but it's that conviction and that belief in the mission that actually keeps you going. Getting up back in the morning and, you know, plowing through. Exactly. No, I love these stories, Jay. What would be an advice that you would tell your younger self, maybe, based on everything that you've seen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Is there something that you would wish you knew earlier on?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Of course. And it sounds like you guys are just scratching the surface, like you just got even better accredited now and now let's go. Like the sky's the limit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Amazing. Incredibly inspiring, Shai. Thank you so much for, first of all, everything that you're doing, but also for coming and sharing it with us. And just incredible to watch projects like this. And hey, if you heard this, if this makes you excited, go spread the word. That's the least we can do. And also if you can contribute, if you have an organization that can contribute, let's help.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
I think this is just such a beautiful conversation. mission and you're moving the needle on so many people that it literally makes the world a better place. So it's not about what we make, it's what we make possible. And what you're making possible, Shai, is out of this world and all of us listeners can contribute.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Of course. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
We're seeing it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Incredible. So right after that, instead of continuing in Chinese politics, you decide to go to education. So tell me a little bit about that path that people think you're crazy. How did that go?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
What year was that, roughly?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Amazing. So right when everything is starting, you're already understanding the power of online, which is incredible because people were still trying to understand this internet thing. And you already understand that this can actually be huge for education. So you work with Kit in Europe and build that. How did people adapt to that? Was it weird for people? Did they trust it? How was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Shai Resif, the founder of University of the People, he created the first tuition-free accredited online university. He has provided access to higher learning for over 153,000 students worldwide.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
I still want to go for a second because you led Kidum to transforming it to one of the largest private education companies. What are some of these challenges that you faced? I mean, some of it is definitely the money and the fact that it's cost. But what are some of the things that you face when you grow an education company to this level? And how did you overcome some of these?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
And I assume you've taken all of this, obviously, to University of the People. But let me take you for a second to that idea of, I'm going to do something incredibly hard. Let me just create the same thing, but for free and accredited and for a lot of people. Like, Tell me about that moment when you're deciding to do this and how do people around you react to that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Because it does sound crazy, Shai. Let's be real.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
From that moment still to pull the trigger and say, let me try to do this crazy thing that will only rely on donors and volunteers. And oh my God, Chai, yes. How did you get there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
So let's dive into that, Chai. It's amazing that you got already the press to see it, and that really helps. And again, I can see why they would be drawn to something so beautiful. But tell us about the early days, because the early days still need... capital to some extent.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Shai Reshef Is Empowering Refugees and Underserved Students with Free College Education | E96
Even if a lot of people are volunteers, there's still operations and there's technology and there's infrastructure and there's marketing or travel, like there's still things. So how do you start rolling this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Be curious, be bold, be hungry and explore different opportunities. Kirthika Reddy, she was the first employee from Meta India and Managing Director for India and South Asia.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And we talked about creating your own luck, like you literally, you know, created your own path with this. You were not afraid to hustle. You were not afraid to make it. And I think together with that, there's an element of patience that is also needed. And I think sometimes as high achievers, really driven, we're We don't want to be patient. We want everything yesterday, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
But you're not realizing that the patience is what's actually going to eventually work. Again, you're not going to procrastinate. You're still going to push. You're still going to do things. But the patience is a bliss, right? Like a lot of things happen after a while. And these are the connections that you create. I love that, Krithika.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I so agree. So you have this big success in Facebook. I would love to hear a little bit of how do you then jump to the VC world, right? Like for me, the VC world is such a closed environment. It's not easy to break, especially, sorry, as women. How did you break in?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I want to stop here for a second. I think this is such an important piece. I, as a leader, will always prioritize hunger and drive versus skills. I always believe that in most cases you can teach the skills, but if you don't have the hunger and drive, you can't instill that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And I think it's just really important for our listeners to understand that if you show up energetic, hungry, driven, it's amazing what's possible for you. I mean, this is just such an important, point.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I think there's two elements that you said that I think I want to make sure the listeners get it. In Leap Academy, we're huge on experimentation, right? Like we somehow experiment with startups, but we don't experiment with our careers. And I don't know why. And that should be a norm.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
So from time to time to run some experiments, check things out, take a little bit of gaps, see what comes from you, invest a little bit, see if you like it, join some boards, use some advisory. Like there's amount that you can learn from trying things, volunteering to things, just the amount that you can learn about yourself, about what your passion, about what you want to do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
It's just so incredible. And then at the end of the day, it's all bound to relationship and being very strategic with your networking and how you build your brand. I love it. And I just want to make sure everybody understands these steps because there's literally like engineered steps that to get the clarity, to build your network, to build that reputation and to just keep on going.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
It's just beautiful to watch you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And I have to ask you, so again, you somehow get this opportunity in SoftBank, which is, I mean, it's probably a dream for everybody, right? I do want to tell a little bit how this experience was for you, but also if that's okay to touch it, because a lot of people know WeWork, seen maybe the Netflix movie about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I want to hear a little bit about your experience with a turnaround and getting into such an account that is so visible, that has a lot of, I personally love WeWork. I think they did disrupt a big part of the market and how we see work. So I personally, I'm actually kind of a fan. I know that there is a lot of noise in the system and I, you know, not getting there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
But I think what they created overall is a whole different experience that we didn't quite have as startup founders. But I do want to hear your take on getting into something so visible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And now you decided, and I'm sure that's not an easy decision, but to go to the complete other side and to actually become your own co-founder and CEO and virtualness. Talk to me about that transition, because again, it's sometimes harder or easier, but I'm curious what you're going to say, to jump or leap when you actually are very comfortable. You're in a comfortable place.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
You have the prestige. You have the status. And to some extent, when we're founders, we're a little bit of a beggar versus the behemoth that can get anybody on board. So talk to me a little bit about that transition. I'm curious about it for you, Kirtika.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
So create your own luck, basically. Be all in and create whatever you can from what you have. And I think this is a theme in your life, which we see again and again. We'll talk about that. Do you know where the hints of leadership and entrepreneurship started coming up for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Can you share a very challenging moment? Because everything seems so easy for you, right? You just leap from one to another and you're just all successful. So can you share a challenging moment that kind of like you needed to catch yourself and how did you get around it? So many challenging moments come to mind. Tell me one or two. I think the listeners would love to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Absolutely true. Do you think that traveling or sports or whatever, do you think that helped you become the leader or the pusher, the driven person that you are today? Or how do you see the connection?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
She was also the first female investment partner at SoftBank, where she led 1 billion of new investments.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Thank you for being open about it because it's never as easy as it looks. I'm the first to admit it. And it's true that there's a little bit of a layer that sometimes we take on our shoulders more than we need to. We take the whole world on our shoulders. But if you look back, what would be an advice to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Would there be some kind of thing that you wish somebody told you earlier in your career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
A big thing that we're looking at in Leap Academy is that people do reinvent themselves and leap to different functions, different responsibilities, different industries, whatever it is, even within the same company, but they still need to adapt all the time. So reinventing yourself and leaping is becoming one of the most important skills for the future of work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And you're going to need to do it again and again all the time. So I just love that you said that. Be curious and be bold. And you actually are offering first certifications on Verix for free. Can you talk a little bit about it? So if our listeners are listening, like, how did they get it? How did they jump on the wagon? And how did they reach out to your company or to you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
You're amazing. I just love having you. I can probably chat with you about travels and Nepal and other things for hours. But thank you for coming and for sharing your incredible career journey. I mean, I know we're going to see each other with Verix and beyond, but I'm just like rooting for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
You're a best.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
such a beautiful, inspiring story. And you decide at some point to go across the ocean to do, you know, your master's here. First of all, that's a very bold move. And it's not easy. Take us a little bit. What came with that? How did you move to the US? How did you get along?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And now you're the founder of Virtualness, an AI-powered blockchain platform.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I love when those circles come along and you can kind of force to see the past and your journey through that past. So you take this bold move, take us a little bit, because that's not, again, I remember moving here, maybe slightly older than you, but suddenly all my advantages suddenly become disadvantages. I'm just like, oh. Oh, my God.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Like I used to, you know, I was so proud of all the things that I achieved. And suddenly, you know, it wasn't that a big deal. My English wasn't great. My network isn't there. So take us a little bit landing here, starting your education here. What was the experience like?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
The VC world is not easy to break, especially, sorry, as women. How did you break in? How did you break in? Today we have a story about many firsts. Kirthika Reddy, she was the first employee from Meta India and Managing Director for India and South Asia in the heart of the country going digital and mobile, like incredible. She was also the first female investment partner
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
If I remember correctly, you do Silicon Graphics, you work in Motorola. And at some point, you somehow get an opportunity to start Facebook in India. Huge deal in 2010. Take us back there. How did you even land this? For our listeners, I think a lot of them are very high achiever, very driven, and they're waiting for this like dream opportunity to fall on their lap.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Katika, what would you say to them? Tell us the story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
I think this is such an important point. Sometimes when we only look at the titles, only look at the pay, we forget the big picture of what are we actually trying to create? What are we trying to leap into? What is the big picture? What do we believe in? I just talked to Howard Beer, the ex-president of Starbucks, and he said the same thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
Like he needed to start, you know, from moving from leading thousands of people to starting, you know, a site that then suddenly became like the president of Starbucks. We talked about traveling and I want to go there for a second. Before we go back to your career, we talked about Everest Base Camp and we love traveling.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
We both love mountains, I think, you know, and again, never climbed Everest, only saw some movies and got to the base camp. That was enough for me. But in Everest, you actually go up to base one, go back down, base two, go back down. So you actually need to go back down to be stronger and be able to go higher up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
And I think in our career, many times we're so afraid of going back that we forget that that actually where some of the opportunities may relax. So Kirthika, I love that. I didn't want to stop you, but I thought that's really important for our listeners to understand and really absorb. So yeah, take us there then.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
But take us still to Facebook, because I think it is still fascinating. We'll
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Managing Director of Facebook India, Kirthiga Reddy: How to Seize Life-Changing Opportunities | E70
at the 130 billion SoftBank Vision Fund, where she led 1 billion of new investments. And now you're the founder of Virtualness, an AI-powered blockchain platform, which we will talk about. But Kirthiga, you grew up in India. Tell us more about your family, your life there. Take us back in time, if you will.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Oh my God. I love this because I think if you connect that Basie zone of genius, kind of where you're really, really good at together with what you want, what you love, what the company needs and together with that origin story, because now you have a purpose as well, right? And now you're more motivated to push higher, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
This is where, yes, you get everybody to work a lot more collaboratively, if you will, to one mission. But how do you do it in a big team? Maybe when you have, two and a half people. Sometimes it's easy to mama them. But if you have hundreds or thousands of people, how do you find the origin story?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
How do you have the bandwidth or the flows or the processes to even push them towards where they're going to be most amazing at?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Bernard Hampton, Managing Director, Bank of America, heading the Academy, a team of over a thousand professionals supporting over 200,000 employees globally. His journey up the career ladder is fascinating. So buckle up, jam-packed episode. Bernard, thank you for being with me today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
You can't, right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I want to take you back in time. When you grew up, tell us a little bit of what that looked like. And did you already have that vision that you're going to be this big boss when you grow up? How did you grow up, Bernard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Well, how did you share your origin story? Speaking of.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Wow, that is so powerful. First of all, Berna, thank you for sharing that. I think this whole tool, basically, if you think about it as a tool to share those stories, it's just such a strong way for people to bond and to get closer, to trust more, and to want to work together towards a mission. So today, with all this knowledge, you lead the academy in Bank of America and
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And it's supporting over, what, 200,000 employees globally, which is insane. First of all, what inspired you to move towards talent development and learning? Like, it sounded like it was always a big passion. That's the truth. Like, this is what I'm hearing. But what inspired you to move towards that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And that to me is amazing. I would love to take you for a second to that decision, if that's OK, Bernard, because clearly you make a huge difference. And by the way, when you can unlock potential of hundreds of thousands of people, guess what? The whole organization wins.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
But I want to take you to that moment of decision, because I think one of the things that we see repeatedly with our audience, with our clients is is the fear of, oh my God, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to be irrelevant for everything else. And that's going to kill the rest of my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And what if I, you know, like it's that final thing, which I look at a career as all experiments and we just going to adapt again and again. But I know there's always this fear of, oh my God, is this decision going to dictate the rest of my life? And I'd love to take you there for a second, Bernard, because clearly that is a big shift.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Which is incredible. And I want to go there for a second. But you also mentioned, which I love, sponsors and mentors. And I'm a big believer. I wasn't a big believer until relatively later in my career. But the more and more I realized that a jar can't read its own label. And sometimes you do need the sponsor. You do need the mentor. You do need the external view to reflect this back to you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Because, yes, the data was always there. I was just not looking at the data in the right way. And I love that you're mentioning it because I think there's a little bit like in sports, we're so good about going to coaches in order to train the Olympics. But for some unknown reason, we're so scared of admitting for help related to a career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
But actually, that is probably where we lose the most amount of money, time, relevance, opportunities. How do you find these mentors, sponsors? What helped you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So right now, if you're looking at what you're doing and your entire organization is doing for employees globally, what do you think are some of the key maybe skills or opportunities or the things that really move the needle to unlock these people's potential?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Before that, were you like a really great student as a kid? Were you really driven? How was it like, Bernard? And where did you grow up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I love this, Bernard, because I think people don't even realize how much is on the menu right now. There's endless possibilities. There's endless ways to grow in responsibility, to grow to different function in the company, to different tech tools, to different... There's just so many. And I think what we also sometimes we miss is that... It's less about your skills.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
You still need to be good, but now it's more about adaptability and curiosity and emotional intelligence and about a thousand things that they used to be soft skills or the things are nice to have, but they're actually the career accelerator that you need, which is kind of interesting to see how I think the world shifted and these are becoming a must-have.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So I want to take you just for a second. You're also pretty big on and active in organization outside in terms of Urban League and to give back and Leadership Florida, I think, and other things that you love giving back to the community. Why do you think it's an important piece?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I absolutely agree. And for me, it's also a big thing. And I think it also helps people get the balance, but also learn skills. They bring back those skills and that fulfillment and that passion back to the organization. So I love that this is something that you lead with because I'm sure other people can follow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So for our listeners, maybe Bernard, if somebody is listening, but maybe they didn't get a chance of leadership yet, or they're right now freaked out about the economy, they don't know how to find a job or whatever it is. What are some of the tips that you would give them in order to leap to that leadership role and to become more successful, to be able to prove themselves?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So very driven from the get-go. Do you remember specific events, even as a kid, that shaped you to that extra driven person that you are?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
You alluded to a few things and I want to emphasize them back for the listeners to hear this again. Who's around you is really, really important and who you're looking for and learning from, right? Because there's always going to be the voices that are scared for you and want you to play safe and don't necessarily want the best for you, right? Or just want to keep you small.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So you want to make sure that you're looking and you're learning from the people that are really where you want to be and not that will keep you stuck and safe. So I think that's one that I think is just really, really, really important. And I think the other thing that you alluded to, beyond that taking perfect steps every day and just continue, I think patience is a bliss.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And I think there's a little bit of a balance between patience and hard work. And it's okay to be very driven, but also you need to understand that there's an element of patience that you need to embody because things take time. And sometimes as I admit, I have a patience issue. And I want everything yesterday. But I also need to realize that's not going to happen.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And I just need to keep on going towards the goal. And I know to have that belief that eventually it's going to all pan out. And I think that's just so hard sometimes for driven people. What do you think, Bernard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I think what you said about making it scientific is really, really interesting because one of the things that I admit I came late to the game was I didn't believe in any of the disc assessment, personal tests, all of that. And now I'm kind of eating my hat a little bit because that would have solved a lot of my issues.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
But the interesting thing is that I always assumed everybody's motivated in the same way. And that is not correct. So I was just kind of thinking, oh, everybody's like me. If they're motivated, they just go. No, everybody's different. Some people are more result driven. Some people are more people driven. Some people are more, you know, it's like they need more of the processes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
People are different. And I think if we are looking at it in a little more scientific way versus only my gut feel, because my gut feel was wrong. I thought everybody's the same. But if you're thinking about it a little more scientific, you can actually drive the people in the right way according to what's right for them and not try to put them in the wrong boxes, if you will.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Did you see that, Bernard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
They're all together.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Congratulations.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Amazing. So your parents in general taught you hard work, but they weren't necessarily with corporate titles. It wasn't about, I need to be an SVP, a managing director, like none of that came there yet.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
This is priceless, Bernard. And I wish I met you a few decades ago, because I think for me, you know, I always end the episode with a tip for your younger self. And I think you just talked about my tip to my younger self. And I think, yes, as a driven person, when my daughter was five months old, I was like, OK, now back to work. And I missed probably the first five years of their life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And I think there's something about, we talked about burnout just for a second at some point, but burnout is basically when your priorities are wrong. It's not that you're working hard. I'm working really, really, really hard right now, but I'm doing what I love. And I love every second. And when I just came back from Turks and Caicos, it was my family because that is a priority for me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
But I do it differently now. So there's no burnout. And I think what you just said is so critical. Because the organization usually going to be okay. And all you need to do is just work around it. This is brilliant.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Yeah. So what would be your one tip to your younger self? And then, you know, because now that you gave me mine.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Oh my God. So I have to say, if Bank of America leaders are talking like you, that puts everything in a different perspective. So Bernard, thank you for this amazing conversation. It was just pure gold. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So you start basically from a sales associate in RadioShack. Did you start before that or was that a first?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Oh, my God. So I love what you just said. If I'm going to take good care of them, this is going to be basically the recipe for success. And then it becomes a win-win. What are some things that you needed to learn, though? Because you haven't been a leader yet. You just got to a leadership for the first time in Radio Shack and you're starting to climb up the ladder.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
What are some things that you feel like you needed to learn and that shaped your leadership style? Or if there's specific events maybe that just, oh my God, I don't want to do this or I do want to do that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
At some point, you decide to move to Bank of America and you create a long career there and you just keep on climbing up the ranks. Probably a lot of the things that you do in leadership today are based on things that you learned along the journey, right? So share a little bit about some of these pivotal moments maybe that shaped you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Bernard Hampton, Managing Director, Bank of America, heading the Academy, a team of over a thousand professionals supporting over 200,000 employees globally.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
2004.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
If I'm not mistaken, a few years later, there's a big financial crisis. How did you maneuver something like this? I mean, you're not new, you're not new to leadership for sure, but this has been, I'm sure, shaking the boats of everybody.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
Bernard, let me ask you something, because I think that's extremely relevant. Even now, a lot of companies are feeling, a lot of individuals are feeling fear. How do you as a leader balance between, on one hand, integrity and authenticity, and on the other hand, not freak everybody out? Because if you're going to freak everybody out, they're not going to be there, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
So how do you balance the two?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I'm a big believer of empowering the team because if they know the truth, they can be empowered to make better decisions. And it also gives them a chance to rise up to the occasion when some of them will not rise up to the occasion, right? And that's okay because that's when you also know where the winners are.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
I think it's really, really interesting because I think this is where some leaders lead with fear versus dreams and hopes. And I think the other element that I'm just curious about for you specifically, but also all the people that you're helping in the academy today, there's a fine balance, I guess, between pushing people to work harder and burning them out versus letting them go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
And then now they can just do whatever, be in La La Land and understand that they all need to work harder toward the mission. Yeah. How do you balance between results and not burning out the team? What are some of the things that helped you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
This is worth waiting for a second because I think what you just said is so critical. And I want the listeners to hear this. You need to understand your must haves and you can have it all, just not at the same time, but you need to understand your own must haves. And it needs to be you, not what people think about you, not what society expects for you, not what your parents want for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
If somebody's listening, but maybe they didn't get a chance of leadership yet, what are some of the tips that you would give them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bank of America's Bernard Hampton: The Leadership Secrets to Building High-Performing Teams | E104
It's what writes for you. And then you have that piece of these are my must have. This is what I need right now. And this is where I'm going for, right? So I think, Bernard, this is just so, so, so important. So I had to stop here for a second. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Raj, thank you for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
It's amazing. So take us back in time, Raj. I mean, you are a kid to an immigrant. How do you think this shaped you to do the things that you do today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation as much as I do. Don't forget to subscribe and download. Now, if you're looking to leap your own career, figure out what's next for you, fast track your own growth, create a portfolio career, check out my free 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Now back to the show. When you hear this story, you think you're probably 60 by now, but no, at that point, you're like 36 and you're deciding to tackle the next thing. And you joined the USAID and you tackle some big issues really early on. What was it like? Why did you decide to do this move? And a little bit of the challenges that came right when you joined.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Incredible. And Raj, I want to go there for a second. But before that, what do you think in your reputation caused you to get a phone call from Hillary and then the president? How did you create such a reputation for yourself at such an early age to be known for that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
So you're six days or whatever into the job. How do you, first of all, not just panic, freak out?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Incredible. And I'm literally getting chills here. Raj, you did have an interesting story when you talked to the president around that. Take us there for a second. And I do want to see, how did you not freak out? How did you not panic? How did you just not like, hey, you know what? This is not for me right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I think you mentioned that in 1995, you had some summer experience that shaped you a little bit. Will you share that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And how do you not take this into your sleep, into everything you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
I'm not sleeping.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Incredible. And I think you do emphasize it a lot because we are stronger as a group. So if you can lead with others, you will be stronger. And I think that's such an interesting pattern in your book as well. And again, you deal with Ebola. I mean, you took some big things for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
I don't know if you want to talk about it, but then I also want to understand how did you move to the Rockefeller Foundation? Why did you decide to do the shift? And you guys have some pretty audacious goals as well. So... Take us there a little bit, Raj.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I love that you said that because, again, you can't connect the dots ahead of time, right? You're going to have to experiment. You're going to have to innovate. You're going to have to try to do things. You're going to have to do big bets. And you can only make decisions from there, right, once you see the results. And I love that you're emphasizing this. And it's the same with their career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I'll just say this, Raj, and I shared that a little bit. We did open up a free program for anybody that was laid off from USAID or the tech sector. We've had hundreds of thousands of people reaching out. So we want to help you. So reach out. But thank you for doing what you're doing, Raj.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
I appreciate it. We can all do it together, right? And you at that point, you're moving to the Rockefeller Foundation. Again, some big, big things happening there. Why did you decide to leave?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Incredible. And you have some big goals. I mean, you're commenting climate change and electricity. You have some big, big, big goals. I want to talk a little bit about it, but also some challenging times for you, because as a leader, whether we like it or not, even if the mission is incredible, even if the teams are incredible, there's some scary times.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I want the listeners to also understand that that is kind of normal. So, Raj, can you share a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Dr. Rajiv Shah is the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, previous lead global crisis and response in USAID and various health related efforts in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
In our family, we have this thing of going every year to a place to give perspective to the kids. Otherwise, they grow up with a Silicon Valley. I have everything I need. So we've definitely seen it in Ethiopia. We've seen people without any electricity, no toilets or anything in Myanmar. So we've definitely seen some of this. And I absolutely love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
But again, for you trying to lead something like this, like sometimes there's cash issues. Yeah. Share a little bit, one maybe challenge that you feel like you needed to go through that shaped you to the leader that you are today, Raj.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And that's incredible. Maybe one question. I'm just curious, because I had Don Ariely a couple months ago, and he's an incredible behavioral scientist. And he was at the front of these massive conspiracy theories around COVID and all of that. Did you guys get any of that? Or was it pretty transparent? I'm just curious.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I love that. And I think that's a pattern that you keep talking about partnership. And again, you're able to somehow take, what is it? The organization is 111 years old, right? And you're able to keep the innovation, keep the partnership, reignite the passion. I think it's rare and it's hard sometimes to keep it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
I'd love to hear a little bit about that, but also your advice to people listening, your advice to your younger self. I would love to go there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
As a leader, and I know we have a lot of people jumping into C-suite, etc. Maybe a little tip of you jump into C-suite. There's a little bit of balance between let me just change everything to, you know, let me just do everything the way you've done. How do you balance it? Because I think that's something that everybody's contemplating a little bit about.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And you talk a lot about the scorecards in your book, which again, for anybody listening, like if you want to dream bigger, if you want to create bigger things, I highly recommend it. It's incredibly inspiring. Big Bets, just incredible book. Raj, maybe last things that you would advise your younger self or the people who are listening and that you wish that you had that perspective.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Oh my God, I love that. And you're right. Like I think as a kid, I was probably a little more transactional and it's actually the trust and connection that you build that eventually flourished so much more. So- Raj, this was so, so, so inspiring. I could probably talk to you for many, many hours. But thank you for coming on the show. Thank you for inspiring.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Thank you for doing all the things that you're doing and giving your life to these big, big, big things that are changing our society and the world.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Wow, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. It's completely free.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Galancho.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Incredible. And as a young person seeing these things, I'm trying to figure out like it can actually traumatize you or it can fuel you. Why do you think it actually fueled you versus traumatize you and want to like run away and never look back, right? Like, why do you think is the change?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
That's incredible, right? You did start in medicine school and you decided at some point to leave medicine school. Talk to me a little bit about that. And I'm sure we share parents that for me was also, you're either a lawyer or you're a doctor. You cannot choose anything else.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
It's incredible. And I want to make sure the listeners get this because sometimes in order to leap so much higher, you do need to take a step back to the thing that is more interesting for you. And Raj, at that point, you're in general on a trajectory to become a doctor. You have your life almost scripted for you. And you're taking almost this like 180 degrees to help Al Gore.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
What do you think in your reputation caused you to get a phone call from Hillary and then the president?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And not only that, you try again and again, which is kind of a pattern in your life. No is not an option. So you just continue. What made you decide that this is your calling, that this is the right thing for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Which is incredible because I think it also boils down to the things that we talk a lot in Leap Academy. A lot of the biggest opportunities will come from the hidden market, right? It's who knows you and for what you want to be known for and to put yourself out there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And I just love that because, again, I could also sense somebody getting really confused by the fact that now you're starting from scratch and that could throw you off as well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Right. And you talk a lot about it in your book. But I think one of the things that strike me when I read this kind of a book is these audacious goals of vaccinating everybody in the world, right? These audacious goals that to everybody else will sound, okay, that is a dream. And you just break it down to asking small questions. And can you talk a little bit about that, Raj?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
Dr. Rajiv Shah is the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, previous lead global crisis response in USAID and various health related efforts in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He's also the author of the book, Big Bets, explaining how large scale change really happens. This is your ability to see that it's possible to change the world. And it's just, to me, it gives me goosebumps.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
And to me, that's incredible. And I think you also share really beautifully how you moved from getting angry when people are not understanding the mission to actually asking a beautiful question. If you had a magic wand, what would you do, right? And to me, that was actually really, really interesting because you also asked this to a lot of the different stakeholders.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
So you're getting a lot of different information and now you're starting to understand the magnitude of the issues, but now you can start solving them. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because again, it's just incredible to see how you took such a big problem and you broke it down to the small pieces.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises | E86
I didn't even think of the supply chain until I saw it in your book, but now you're starting to just solve the things that are standing in the way.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
But I think one of the things that sets you so much apart, Craig, is that most people feel like they can't create an engineering platform or some kind of a platform without raising capital. And you not only that you created it kind of on your own, and then you're able to scale it without raising capital. Which is very rare. I come from Silicon Valley. We don't hear a lot of these stories.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So that's incredible. Now, Craig is involved with so many causes and we'll talk about it, but I want to take you back in time if that's okay. And I want to know what shaped you to become the Craig that we see today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I mean, the Sand Hill walk around the venture capital is real, right? So how were there scary moments? Like, I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills. I don't know how I'm going to pay salaries or not really. Like, how was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
But you somehow knew that this you want, this is the trend, like this is something that you want to start and grow somehow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
But in 2000, you take, if that's okay to go there, you make a very interesting decision. And that basically is to step down as CEO and to let Jim run the company. I think for a lot of founders, this would have been a very, very hard decision to make. Can you walk us through, Craig, a little bit? What was the reason? And did that come with a lot of anxiety or not?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Well, I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. We have a lot more to cover, but don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking to fast track your own career, figure out what's next for you, get that clarity, fast track your own growth, check out that free 30 minute training. You'll get a lot of value out of it. It's sleepacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
That's sleepacademy.com slash training. Now let's get back to the show. And what I think I noticed all along, and there's a theme there with you, Craig, even with you wanting me to introduce you as just basically a nerd and amateur philanthropist, like there's basically no ego that I can see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
And if there's no ego, it doesn't bother you to be a customer service rep suddenly when somebody else is running essentially your baby. Am I right? Like, how do you explain it otherwise?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Because again, a leader is someone that knows how to listen. And even though you present yourself as a nerd, you're truly listening to people. And again, sometimes you'll do it more immediate and sometimes it will take some time for it to absorb and then execute on it. But I mean, you're definitely receptive. And you are very passionate.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I mean, since 2001, as far as I could see, you're basically very passionate about Craigslist Foundation and philanthropy. And, you know, cyber is a big piece of it. Do you think it came from those days in that people warned you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So you're taking, I mean, you're essentially working on this for 20 something years, right? And you're basically, every time it's different causes, but you're huge on, you know, anything from cybersecurity to, like you said, vets and military families. I saw things around diversity and I saw a few really interesting sites like Blue Star Families, et cetera, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So let's talk for a second about them, but also what's your why, Craig? I mean, you could be on the beach all day slurping, maybe mojitos, like whatever. Why drive these amazing causes?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So this is your fun. So contributing, drilling into cybersecurity and what it can do to America and how to defend from it. This is your fun.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Amazing. So what do people, if they're listening, what do they need to know about some of these causes that you're so passionate about, whether it's in the cybersecurity or the vets or the military families, what do they need to know?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
And I love that. And you have, I mean, there's a lot of, especially in Israel, there's a lot of different cybersecurity companies and ventures and startups around it. Is that something that you're passionate about? Is that something that you're jumping in to study more, to learn more about the trends and what's going on? Like, how are you up to date with everything?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Well, that's good for me to know. I mean, I'm going to meet the president and the former prime minister in a few weeks. So definitely something that could be interesting in a lot of the venture capital. So we'll definitely talk. But Craig, if you are talking, you know, our audience are people that your story is like a dream, right? I mean, they're like, I don't know, 30 to 65, maybe.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
And they're saying, how can I do more in my life? How can I be more fulfilled? And I have this big mission and this big vision of myself. I want to do more. What would you say to them? I know you feel a lot of it was luck for you, but I also know there's probably a zillion decisions that you did right, whether you realized it or not. What would you say to these people that just want a bigger life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I love that you call yourself that. And I think one of the things, Craig, that I think will be very, very interesting also to the listeners is you kept going on things that you're just passionate about. You didn't start from, oh, I need to... be a billionaire and I want to create this big thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
You just started, you know, like I just, I want to do a list and I want to solve somebody's problem and I want to solve my own problem. And then you kept going. And then like, I'm passionate about cybersecurity. Great. Let me just go into it and just kind of like understand it a little more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
You're passionate about something and it kind of makes you go all in on what made you go on necessarily have a mission for vets and military families. Like, where is that coming from? It's usually something engraved in you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I love the Pigeon Rescue. So maybe last thing that you would kind of say to our audience or people are listening to you inspired by what you accomplish and what you continue to accomplish. What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Craig, seriously, I love listening to your story. I love how humble you are and how true you are. And I find it extremely inspiring, especially because there's a lot of leaders that could use a little bit of humbleness. So thank you, Craig, for sharing all your wisdom.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So from one nerd to another, Craig, it was amazing to have you on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I just love that. And I love that you reflected on what shaped you. I want to take you back in time to your childhood. Again, like you said, small Jewish boy, New Jersey. If that's okay to take you there, Craig, and tell me if not, at age 13, you lost your father. I personally, when I lost my mom, I literally wrote how losing my mom changed my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
How did that heartbreaking experience impact you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
I love how you laugh about yourself, about being a nerd. You even write about it on LinkedIn. And you still were able to change the world with your nerdiness. So we'll talk and you continue to do that, which to me is mind blowing. But also, how amazing is that? But I do want to take you like you with that. You started working as a computer programmer, right? And like IBM and Charles Schwab. Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Craig Newmark, today we get to speak with the founder of Craigslist. He would say that he's a nerd and amateur philanthropist. I would say that Craig Newmark actually revolutionized how people buy, sell, and connect with their communities.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
How do you think did that help you get out of your shell? Like tell us a little bit of how that shaped you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
If you believe that you don't have enough emotional, you know, intelligence, how can you be so good at customer facing? Like you would think they're connected or no?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Well, you're faking it great. And I love that conversation. But let me take you even back in time. I don't want to jump to 2000 yet. We'll get there. I actually want to take you to kind of like, I don't know, around 95, 1995. And you started basically an email distribution for your friends, as far as I know, in San Francisco, focusing on local events. Talk to me about that period.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
What started this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So you start with what helped you personally, and you start an email list and you run also, I think I ran into, you run into all these funny limitations, like 250 address limitations and things that the internet wasn't ready for Mr. Craig, yes, but Craig found a way. So talk to us, how did you decide eventually to jump all in and do this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So before that, before that, so you have an email list. I'm still stuck there. You have just an email list. Like how does that become so big? I know in 1996, you say, okay, maybe I need to create a web-based platform, but how do you move from one to the other?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
So your moral compass was there all along. And I do want to touch that as well, because I think for a lot of leaders, yes, that can get wonky pretty quick, you know, with business. So a few things. So first of all, you have an email list. You run into a 250 address limitation or whatever.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
You realize that you have to create a web-based platform for classified, you know, if you really want to do better. You decide to... leave the name Craigslist, right? Why? I mean, it basically catches, but I want to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
And you literally created a movement. And I think this movement is still alive, which is pretty mind-blowing. But in 1996, and by the way, congratulations, Craigslist is 30.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Very exciting. Huge congratulations. That is a very happy birthday. Okay, so it's 1996. You decide to move it into web-based. You understand that Craigslist essentially is catching on in a big way. And I think it starts from covering categories like jobs and housing services and personnel, right? How did you see it taking on? And were there moments that you're like, what the heck am I doing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Why am I not enough in Charles Schwab? Like, were there like big moments that you're scared of this thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Craig Newmark, today we get to speak with the founder of Craigslist. He would say that he's a nerd and amateur philanthropist. I would say that Craig Newmark actually revolutionized how people buy, sell, and connect with their communities. I think it's incredible. And Craigslist disrupted traditional, classified, and created a digital marketplace for billions of monthly page views.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Well, I will correct this a little bit, Craig, because a million page views was very rare at the time. And I was in Intel. So we, you know, knew how to measure these things. And that was very rare. So you created something that was catching on really fast for that era. How did that feel? And what does it feel like to scale something like this? I mean, I'm sure it comes with challenges.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
But you did have some scaling challenges, right? There's fraud when you scale, there's monetization issues, right? So let's talk a little bit about this thing is growing and you're probably starting to see fraud or things that you don't like on the site. What was it like and how did that make you feel and what did you do about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business | E78
Oh, I agree. And we actually had a full episode with somebody called Don Ariely about hate in the digital world. But let's talk about this then. I mean, you're talking about all these things that you needed to spend money on. But on the other hand, you're very, very lean in Craigslist and you decide not to raise capital. How do you have enough capital for a team or to run this thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Russell Branson, entrepreneur, author, marketing genius, started ClickFunnels, the fastest growing non-venture-backed tech startup in the world. ClickFunnels grew from zero to, listen to this, $100 million in just three years. Unbelievable. So Russell, first of all, so glad to have you here. I've been watching you and binge watching your stuff for many, many years.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
In the venture world, as I was investing in companies, we call it the near-death experience. Every founder has to go through what we call a near-death experience because only then you know that they can actually go through it and actually continue. And every single one will have that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
The way I look at it in Leap Academy is this is the muscle you have to build in order to become the leader that you're meant to be. And I think this is why you became more creative So I do want to hear that story because it's a beautiful story of how you met Todd and how ClickFunnels was born. I have to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
It will be so much fun. But you were drawn to marketing and sales from a very young age. Can you take us back in time?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Ah, it's tired. Collecting stuff. I want to go all the way back.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Oh my God. What's beautiful is not just that it changed what you created. It's what you're making possible for so many people and the ripple that that creates because they're creating these amazing things that then have this mega impact on millions or billions or I don't even know, which must be like the best feeling in the world.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And like you said, you continue for a decade now. And I think what's interesting to see is also to view you as how you reinvent yourself, even within ClickFunnels, how you reinvent yourself, first of all, as a leader, that somebody that can take something to this mega success, because I'm sure that needed a whole different approach. mindset of money and leadership.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Take us a little bit to how do you scale from zero to a hundred million? I just bragged to you that we're one of the fastest growing companies, but then after hearing you guys, I can't even say that. So how do you grow fast enough to be able to absorb that level of leadership and money risks and everything that comes with it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
So one of the beautiful stories I think also that you share, and I shared it a little bit with you, you talk about the Dream 100, which really impacted me when I shared that earlier.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And you talk a little bit about how you went ahead and created this amazing relationship with Tony Robbins and also how that helped you with some really interesting decisions for yourself with ClickFunnels and leading it. So can you share a little bit about that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
I'll urge people, you know, if you're listening to this, I think this is a video that really did impact me. I think you call it Dream 100. But I think, first of all, just the patience that you have in terms of, yes, I want everything yesterday. That's who I am, right? And it's not going to happen yesterday. It's not going to happen tomorrow either. So building that relationship takes time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And also just a lot about giving and finding the wins for them. John Maxwell calls it the people's pile. There's a big people's pile with Tony Robbins. I told you for me, it was Richard Branson. Like we need to somehow learn how to break that people pile to create that connection. And I think the idea of spending $600,000. It was like mesmerizing for me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
But seriously, like the patience together with the investment, because that's exactly what I've done with Richard Branson to some extent, just not with that level. And I think that just taught me so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
I love that you said that. I'm sure you're getting a thousand. Hey, can you make me this introduction to the president of Starbucks or Shopify? No. Can we move on? Like, I don't know you. So you're right. It's really about how do you see things? But I think, again, it's that give, give, give mentality. How do you find win-wins for them? Because if there is no win...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
you know, it's not going to make sense. And I think also your ability to put yourself in a room with people who are just so smart that will force you to leap, if you will, right? No pun intended.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Oh my God. I love that story. This is so good. And I love that sentence, work or crawl your way or buy your way. I just love that. You are pretty open, if that's okay to go there for a second, about something that usually nobody is. It's your difficulty to have children.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And the reason why I would love to go there for a second is because I think this is like for a lot of people, one of the hardest times in their life and nobody can talk about it. Do you mind sharing it a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
That's incredible. And I think that is really, really, really inspiring to hear your level of authenticity and just honesty, because I think it is missing in a lot of the leadership that we see today. But I also understand that it's easier to tell the stories from the scars, not from the wounds. When it's really, really, really open, it's hard. You need to sometimes let it scar a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
So maybe based on everything, and again, you write a ton of books. I have one here. I have a trillion others on my audio bowl. How do you do it all? And what would be an advice to people who are listening or to your younger self based on all of it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Well, I'll be reading it for sure because I read every single one. But seriously, Russell, anything else that you would want our listeners to hear about you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
I totally agree, Russell. This was so, so, so inspiring. Thank you so much for everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Oh, my God. Most people are just not as driven or kids. It's just not as driven. I don't know what made you so driven to collect these things and get curious about it. And you also love wrestling. And actually, you were like state champion in high school and you had this massive passion. Do you think this shaped you also to who you are today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Russell Branson, entrepreneur, author, marketing genius, started ClickFunnels, the fastest growing non-venture-backed tech startup in the world. ClickFunnels grew from zero to $100 million in just three years. Unbelievable.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
It's so easy to stop three feet from gold because fear is numbing. So fear will take more dreams than anything. But you somehow started this entrepreneurship endeavor back in college and you did all these super crazy things. innovative, potato guns, and can you take us back in time? I remember the first time when I saw this, I'm like, rewind. Am I sure that this is what he actually meant?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Yes, that's what he actually meant. Russell, take us there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
You share, and I found that super inspiring, that someone helped you break that four minute mile. And you have this beautiful story about how you broke the first million for yourself, et cetera, et cetera. Can you share a little bit of that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
How do you scale from zero to 100 million?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
And again, we have our Millionaires Club. We have the President Club. Because again, I want people to see what's possible, right? If you don't even know what's possible, you're still stuck with that. I'm just trying to do this move from senior manager to senior, senior manager. You know, I'm like, come on, there's more to life. Let's go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
But yeah, you share at some point. You have the most brilliant videos. Folks, if you didn't see that, you're revamping your YouTube channel. Although I always thought I was very revamped. But go to Russell's YouTube channel. His videos, to me, are just so inspiring. It's so beautiful. And you share so much with so much vulnerability and truth.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
You share one of the hardest moments when you needed to lay off a lot of your team and just kind of rebuild. And I think it's just so important to listen to that too, because there's always going to be, like we said, challenges and things and setbacks and things that will hurt you to your core, but you somehow continue. Can you share that a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Russell Brunson: From Rock Bottom to $100 Million in 5 Years with ClickFunnels | E60
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
John Hennessy, founder and CEO of Hennessy Performance Engineering, a leader in high-performance vehicle tuning. For three decades now, he's been pushing cars beyond their limit. He's already set a world speed record. We'll talk about it. And now as a Venom F5, he's chasing the 300 mile per hour. Oh my God, John. First of all, why cars? And maybe take us back in time to your childhood.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
And I want to go there, John, because I think this is exactly where our audience is, because for them, they would say, oh my God, there was so much risk in now putting all the eggs in this one basket, right? How can I, just by modifying cars, I can actually make enough living to sustain myself. Now I'm married, I have hope here, and I want to make sure I take care of her.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
So how is those early days, if you take us back in time? I assume you had no clue that you're going to create this massive empire. It was more like, let me sustain my hobby, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
When did this love start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Oh, my God. Congratulations, first of all. So you and Hope, we'll talk about her as well, speaking of more car lovers. So take us back in time to your childhood. What fueled you into this drive and success? And was there like a specific moment?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
And I love that, John, because I think there's still, even in today's world with social media and everything, like, yes, it's easier to continue publishing, but on the other hand, it's also hard to rise above the noise, right? So I think a lot of people are actually 10, 15 years of overnight success, but it feels overnight success when it blows up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
But again, you're trying to do something really, really hard and to sustain yourself on that and to sustain a family is not easy. Before it goes viral, were there areas or were there times that you said, oh my God, should I just be looking for a regular job? Am I crazy?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
It was always there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
And I'll definitely want to touch that. And I think what I'm also hearing is that just no fear of opening the doors, hustling, almost creating your own luck, right? You're not just waiting for the press to show up. You're going above and beyond trying to get in front of.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
That's amazing, John. And we'll talk about it because you're doing so much now for others and I will want to touch it. But before that, you create, like you said, I think Venom, a thousand Viper videos. which is one of the most powerful cars at that time. And it does go viral. Did you need to do something for it to go viral?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Or you feel like just by the fact that you already kind of had a little bit of a brand, you already competed in some things. Did you feel like you needed to be active?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
And it's probably also status and coolness and other things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Well, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you are feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training. I know it's going to help. It's leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show. So let's talk about this because at some point, I don't know the exact year, but you decide this insane undertaking, which is to create your own car. That's a huge undertaking. Now you're competing with really big players. It's very expensive. Tell us a little bit about that decision.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Thank you. I would love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Incredible. So take me there though, John. You didn't study how to modify a car. And I think you modified your very first car already. Like you already tinkered with it. How did you even know what to do? It wasn't like YouTube days.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
I agree. And again, I think also when you fail, just not understand that it's normal and you're not alone on it. I think that's also a big piece of it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Right. And I tell people I eat failures for breakfast. I just like continue. It's like, move on. But I love that, John. So if you take yourself, maybe look at yourself back in time, you know, one of the questions that I love asking, like, would there be an idea or an advice that you would tell yourself earlier on that you wish you knew?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Hang in there and love what you do, which I think is, I mean, it shines through you, John. You're just like ecstatic about it. So that's beautiful to see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
John, thank you so much for the time and sharing all this beautiful ideas and tips. And I took so many notes and thank you for doing that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Golanjo.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Amazing. And then when you grew up, you decided to go, if I'm not mistaken, right to entrepreneurship instead of the typical normal jobs, et cetera. First of all, why? And was it scary? I mean, you didn't come from, I think, a lot of money. So that should be scary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
John Hennessy, founder and CEO of Hennessy Performance Engineering, a leader in high-performance vehicle tuning. For three decades now, he's been pushing cars beyond their limits.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Did your parents force you to do all these jobs, like the 3 a.m. thing, or is that something that you wanted to do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
Amazing. So to some extent, it was also a huge gift.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
That's incredible. I need my kids to listen to that because they're not going to get up for 3 a.m. anyway, unless it's from some kind of a flight. But so you get into car racing and you become this crazy guy from Texas that basically shows up with tools, helmet, right? Spare wheels and just goes. Tell us a little bit about this time, because I think it wasn't that typical.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars | E94
I mean, you went into something that wasn't that common.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And I think it's really important and I appreciate your sharing that because I think it's really important for the listeners to see see the journeys and see the real truth. It's really fun and exciting when things happen and it's growing and oh my God, and I'm hiring and oh, this is so cool. But in the day-to-day, there's also a lot of crap that we need to go through as you're growing something.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Okay, so Kissmetric had a lot of issues and then tell me more because Crazy Egg went actually really well. So talk to me about how do you... decide to continue going to the next entrepreneurship versus saying, okay, nevermind, let me just hang on something safe. What made you continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And that to me is really interesting. We do have two Teslas and I love them, but maybe I don't drive that much. I admit everything is over Zoom now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Um, probably four hours to Tahoe, but not much. I probably done it like twice ever. And you're usually going to need to charge anyway on the way. So at that point, by the time you go get coffee and dinner, it's like, I'm okay now, but nothing is perfect. Even, you know, we were just moving to HubSpot. That's been a nightmare. So it doesn't matter what the size of this, always going to be issues.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And I think that is really important to not be hard on yourself as well. Um, So you're continuing this entrepreneurship endeavor. Your agency is growing like fire.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
But I think one of the interesting things for me, Neil, is that you had the intention from the get-go and the realization how important it is to build that personal brand for yourself and how that will be a big portion of what's actually going to create marketing for for yourself, for the business that you are in. And unfortunately for me, I did not realize it until about a few years ago.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And now I teach in Leap Academy, but it took me a few decades to learn that. First of all, what made you realize it? And how do you continue to cultivate that personal brand that you built for yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Incredible, because I think it did help in the beginning for sure. I think when you don't have a lot of budget, it does help. And then once you have the snowball and you have the employees and you have the marketing, now you can start creating and delegating and bringing in people.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
So when you continued and now you have Ubersuggest and your own agency, how do you see the difference of what you're building now versus what you built earlier on with Crazy Egg and Kissmetric?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
That's such an interesting model. Do you know how you got this? Which one was the first time you bought a company and you just realized, you know what, there's something here?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Amazing. You know, and I think I'm hearing a pattern, Neil, of when you needed to find the right mentors, you knew how to ask the right questions. And now you become that expert in your field and you can move the needle on a company because you've seen so many of these patterns of what's going to actually make it work. And that's an incredible shortcut for people.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Well, I would challenge you on that one, but it sounds like you're doing phenomenally well. And you talk a little bit about, and I love the phrase, I think you call it renting your dreams. And sometimes you say to people that...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
It's okay sometimes to compromise or to decide that you want to do corporate or you want to go to a specific role or you want to do something specific as long as you have a plan. It's all about being intentional about what it is that you want to do. And if you need, we call it a mini leap. If you need a mini leap right now in order to stabilize, great.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
But as long as you understand what you're doing. Talk to us a little bit about this concept for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
That's exactly it. But again, as long as you know why you're doing, why you're saying yes to things, why you're saying no to things, which I unfortunately had my eyes shut for about two decades because I was just, all I knew is to work harder and harder and to hope that that's gonna be it. That's gonna be the thing that will take you to the next level.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And as long as you're more intentional and strategic about every move you make, all good. Just know why you're doing what you're doing. And I think that's a big lesson here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Now, there's a lot of people that will get various awards, but awards from Obama, the United Nation, like you got some things that nobody else does, or at least it's very, very rare. How do you create your own luck or create that to even be a thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Absolutely true. What do you think is something that you went through, maybe that people don't necessarily know about, that you went through that built you to the Neil that we're seeing, that is willing to hustle, getting out there? What do you think is something that built you to what we're seeing today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
What are some decisions that maybe you made recently that you feel like they completely changed something in your life or changed a big aspect of your life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
To give them the independence to think the way that is right to the company and that keeps them more motivated and more all in basically.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Which makes so much sense. So now that you're looking at everything that you achieved, Neil, what would be some advice that you would give to your younger self, but also to our audience who are all very driven, usually high achievers, just trying to figure out what do I want to do? How do I create more for myself, for my family, for impact in the world?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
What would be some advice that you would give them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
To me, that's really important. Like you said, there's going to be people that ticked all the boxes and studied in every university possible and they're stuck. And there's going to be people that came from nothing and look what they built. So there's both. But for me, I love what you said in your book, Hustle, that is you can do whatever you want. And it's really more about the hustle.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
You've helped companies like Amazon, NBC, HP, and more in marketing and growth.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
And how do you afford them? Like if you're the small and the underdog, how do you afford the big shots? How do you afford the ones that you really want?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
If our listeners here are curious about what Neil is doing, all this SEO secrets that he has, first of all, I will just say, just go to his site. We'll have it all there. And you have all these like really cool funnels and things for SEO. But what would you say to people that are debating what does Neil provide?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Thank you so much for the time, for just being so humble and honest with our audience. And I'm sure it's just incredible to watch you grow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Yes, some people, it will be a little easier for them. But guess what? It's going to be hard for them, too. So now the only question is, are you willing to continue when other people stuck? So for me, that is the big thing. But take us to your young age. Yes, you didn't grow up necessarily with this, but you were also entrepreneurial from a very young age. Take me there for a second, Neil.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
I need my kids to listen to that. But tell me a little bit. So you decided to start your own venture, but you also realized then how important is marketing, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
For the listeners, I want you to realize the level of curiosity that is needed here. Sometimes we let life pass us by, right? And you just see these opportunities and you're just not going to jump on them. But that curiosity of saying, wait, what is that? Can I get it? Is actually really fundamental. So you jump on this. You do try to find some marketing agencies.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
They don't know what they're doing. So take us there, Neil.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
What do you think is something that built you to what we're seeing today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Wow. So you're 16. I mean, you're already getting these opportunities, which is incredible. Tell us about college. What did you decide to do and what's your thoughts around college overall?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Neil Patel, entrepreneur, marketing guru, been recognized by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, even President Obama and the United Nations. Like, come on. You've helped companies like Amazon, NBC, HP, and more in marketing and growth. And you've seen yourself 10 million visitors a month from 180 countries on your site. And you're helping others do the same through your agency and Ubersuggest.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
I love that story. And I think there's something that you talk a lot about in terms of the practical work will actually eventually and the experience will eventually be so much more important, which is exactly what, you know, So take us there a little bit, because there's a 10,000 hour rule that usually going to say, hey, you're going to need to work on 10,000.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
But actually, that really scares most people because they don't even know if they can afford 10,000 hours. So how do we shorten the cycle?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Neil Patel, entrepreneur, marketing guru, been recognized by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, even President Obama and the United Nations. Like, come on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
I'm very big on experimentation, and you're right. A lot of it is coming either from the Air Force or startup ways, right? But you want to experiment because at the end of the day, the clarity comes from action, not just thinking about it, dreaming about it. You need to get the momentum. And then guess what? The hours somehow add up when you are in the momentum.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
So you co-founded multiple companies since Crazy Egg and Kissmetrics. And now you have Ubersuggest and you have your own agency. Walk us through a little bit of how this all started and some of maybe the hard moments, but also the learning.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
Let me stop you for a second, because what you're sharing right now is one of the scariest things for every founder. How do you get up in the morning? How do you continue taking the steps forward? How do you not just put a blanket on anything entrepreneurship after that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Neil Patel: From Crushing Failures to Building a Global Marketing Empire | E68
But in your book, Hustle, You want to show that success is for everyone, not just the rich club, not just the Harvard graduates. Why is this important for you, Neil?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
for about 100 million, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
I am so excited about this episode because I've been following James Currier for a while now. So James Currier is a five-time founder and angel investor in DoorDash, Lyft, Patron, and a founding partner of NFX. NFX stands for Network Effects, one of the most active venture capital in the U.S. focused on seed and pre-seed startups. James, I'm really excited about this conversation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Ooh, that is powerful because you're bringing this back to every single one of your ventures and now to NFX, which is really fascinating.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Of course. So after that, you, for some reason, not going on the beach and I don't know, and having fun, you decide to start more ventures. First of all, why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Never thought of myself as a graffiti artist, but okay, I'll take that, James. That is awesome.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
More stuff. So tell me, so you found then Wonderhill in 2008.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Let's take you back in time. Let's rewind. You studied in Princeton, in Harvard, and I'm sure a lot of people in that area took the traditional path, consulting, finance, all the accolades. Why did you decide to be an entrepreneur?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
It still makes sense. But why was it such a mistake? Because I heard you say that before. Take me there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Nobody wants that. So take me there for a second, James, because you have tried for a while. Like you did basically put your head down and try to make it work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And I'm sure the fact that you had to go through the various ventures in this one, I'm sure that just makes you understand founders at a whole different level. I mean, you did sell this out, but you do look at it as a huge, I think, waste of time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
So when you sell GIF, does it make you decide, you know, I'm done? Or, I mean, again, the graffiti thing just makes you now decide to start NFX because I feel like that should also be traumatic to some extent. Like, I can't do this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
First of all, how did you meet Gigi, by the way, Gigi Levy?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Well, you know that Israelis don't have these walls of things that you can't talk about. You know that, right? Not all of them.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
I mean, it's almost like marriage. That's not easy to find.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And this is around what, 2016, 17?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
So you're starting NFX. I mean, starting a VC fund is even harder than, I think, a startup to raise the capital.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
A lot of businesses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
That's incredible. But let me ask you something, and I'm curious what you're going to say. I mean, clearly, NFX has done really well, and you have some really amazing companies under your belt. But one of the things that I'm curious about, being an operator or even a CEO of a company is very different than gauging if something will be good for investment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And I almost feel like sometimes it's almost opposite because we tend to be very optimistic. At least I am. So I suck at investment. Like I just invest with others because I'm too optimistic and I love the founders and I just want to say yes to everybody. So James, how do you bridge that gap and learn to be a really good, solid investors?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
There's not much data.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Thank you for sharing that because I think that's the piece that is always interesting for me to see. But then when there's ups and downs for founders, I feel like one of the big things that investors are looking at is, yes, you want the big thing, but you also want to know that the first time there's a dip and that near-death experience, they're not just going to give up. Is there a way to ask?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Is there a way to see if they're going to just give up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
I definitely heard some of the criteria that is important for you guys and effects. I would love for my listeners to also hear. I know speed and ambition are really big ones, but I would love the listeners to hear a little bit. What do you think makes a really good founder? And if somebody is like debating, should I be an entrepreneur? Should I not be? What would you tell them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
That's a good answer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
It became the cool thing to do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And if you have to do it at this point, I don't see myself doing anything else. Like, I just love what we're doing. Like, it's just incredible to see people change their lives. But with a gun in my head, I'm probably not going to be an employee again. But I think it needs to come not because you can't be employed, but it has to come from this passion that this is what you want to create. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
So first of all, I love what you guys are doing. I love NFX, huge fan. And if you look at what would be some advice that you wish somebody told you way back when they could have?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
I love it. Technology windows. I'll definitely check it out. James, thank you for everything you guys do. Totally enjoyed this conversation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
24. 24?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Wow. Okay. So first of all, are you afraid at any point or you're just eating the dream?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
That's incredible. And that's exactly our audience, by the way. Every single listener here is right now getting an aha moment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Wait, wait. So let's go there. Let's go there. So he gives you this like aha moment and you're saying, OK, maybe this is what I need to do. But between that and actually knowing what to start is a very different story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
James Currier is a five-time founder and angel investor in DoorDash, Lyft, Petron, and a founding partner of NFX, one of the most active venture capital in the US focused on seed and pre-seed startups.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And I'll tap into that. And I want the listeners to listen in because don't go there just because you think it's easier than finding a job. Go there because it's a passion. Entrepreneurship, as far as I'm concerned, James, correct me if I'm wrong, it's always going to be hard. But if it's your passion, it's going to be the thing that you have to do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
He's a different kind of prison. Yeah. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
So let's go there for a second, James, because I agree with you a thousand percent. With Leap Academy, I decided not to raise capital and not to have the prison. But I still want to go there for a second. So you have this idea. It's keeping you up at night. You're like, oh, my God, is that tickle that you need to start? So you know that you need to create it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
That's brilliant. And that's really early on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
So you had this idea, you're jumping all in, you decide that you're going despite fear, despite money, despite it all. Was there fear? Like, am I crazy?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Okay, but then the .com brought very, very cold water. How did you do with the 2000s?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And I want to go there, James, for a second, because I think one of the things that I hear very, very often is like, but I tried. And what they mean is that they went to seven and they got rejection. I'm like, yeah, I mean, look at my spreadsheet for the podcast. Do you know how many thousands said no initially until I got, you know, a few big names like that is it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
And at that point, like you had so much conviction in the idea that you just continued or was there like, what the heck am I doing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
At that point, are you in a relationship or not yet?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Okay. And she's not slapping you and saying, James, get a job.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Which sometimes we do take it on the spouses for my poor husband, but I have to say he has so much patience. Okay, so at some point you're starting to see these seeds of viral loops that are happening and you're starting to understand this network effect, that thing that is happening. Can you explain a little more what just happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
The maybes are the hardest. Yes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
What do you think makes a really good founder? And if somebody is like debating, should I be an entrepreneur? Should I not be? What would you tell them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
Right, because then you need to also monetize and make it sustainable, I assume. Right, right. So tell us about that because that's hard.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Venture Capitalist, James Currier: Mastering Network Effects to Scale Your Startup | E102
That's really cool.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Capital, from building a multi-billion dollar real estate empire to teaching millions how to sell, how to scale businesses,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
You're kidding. Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
That's incredible. I think it's so important for our audience. A lot of them are giving a thousand percent to the workplace, which is really important to be loyal. And I do believe in this, but you can't have all your identity attached to one title, one company. You need to have your own brand to stand on its own because the minute they lay you off, you're a nobody.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And I think this is just something that sometimes we just don't understand that we also want to build our own brand and that safety net for ourselves.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I love that. And we literally just published that we're going to help some of them find a job for free for a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I agree.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. Don't forget to like this video, subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking yourself to catapult your own career, figure out what's next for you. Get that clarity, fast track your own growth. Check out our free 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Now let's get back to the show. It's true for everything. I mean, the comfort zone is a very dangerous place for all companies. I agree. So tell me, how did you get into real estate? And when was that based on that 51 boundary, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
But take me there for a second, because one of the things that we're seeing with a lot of people is that fear of money or fear of taking a loan or fear of doing something that you don't really know. How were you not afraid?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Tell me more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And you still build empires.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So you somehow know how to push it out?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So many of my people listening to this have to hear this. And honestly, I need to hear this. So walk me through this for a second. So you are taking a loan on money. You don't necessarily know where it's going to come from. You know that you could be broke because you've seen your mom, right? So it's not something that is unknown to you. What makes you still go for it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And now you just do the same, Grant, but you just do it on bigger sums of money that are just like mind-blowing. So take me to your thought process. Because again, the biggest thing holding people back is this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Do you think that being the person that looks at the worst thing, is that making you a better investor, actually? Because I think that probably you're not as optimistic. So you're actually finding the actual holes in the deal.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I don't know. I think you kind of are in Mars with your multi-billion dollar enterprises.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So talk to me about, for a second, a hard moment and how did you overcome it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Shit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
It sounds sleepless. Like, what do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Yeah, let's go there for a second because your story is phenomenal and you weren't born to wealth. And I want to make sure everybody understands that. Let's just take back in time to the kid in Louisiana.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
The regular things that throw you off, but it's continuous. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
The big one. Because the big ones, you're just going to focus all in and you're just going to solve it versus the nagging ones that you're just going to nag you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And it's incredible. And I've seen that you went to California and I've seen your post around it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Yeah, yeah. Because I've seen it. I mean, it was devastating.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I don't know if it's your personality or whatever it is, or it's the legacy that you're leaving. Because again, you don't have to, I mean, the California thing, you also don't need to create a private equity fund. I mean, Grant, you have so many things, you have so many businesses. I can't even say all of them. What makes you then go and decide, okay, let me just rate a fund, which is insanity.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And to make it even worse, let me try to figure out how do I do Bitcoin type fund? You know what I mean? It's like, so talk to me about that process.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
It's not much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Yeah. I mean, the $50 is not what's going to get you there. That's a million dollars if you have 20,000 people, right? So that's not it, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
That's where it goes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Not only that you have bigger problems, first of all, yes, they're bigger and bigger and scarier and scarier, but you're also kind of babysitting now 18,000 people. Yeah, I mean,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Take us there for a second because you talk a lot about that also in Undercover Billionaire. That was a pivotal moment for you, for your mom, for your family.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
You're not winning.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And that's the hard piece, Seth Godin, that we had on the show. Basie said, there's a dead end, you know, no matter how much they're going to like run, run, run, run, run, but they're running into words, nothing. It's a cul-de-sac. But talk to me also, you have the fund and on top of this, you also have one of your biggest ever projects. last GrowthCon, which is a global phenomenon.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I actually brought my team to it. I think you had Trump at some point. You had Arnold Schwarzenegger at some point. How did you build this to this size? And why is this the last one, you think?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And I guess it's a new beginning. So what is the new beginning?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Amazing. So Grant, advice to your younger self.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I love that, and I keep buying my way in. So thank you, Grant, for enabling that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Thank you, Grant, for everything you do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And you're only 10. I mean, you're at that point, you're 10 years old. That is traumatic.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So take us there. We'll fast forward in a second, but I think it's important. You've been in this trauma. Age, I think, 15 to 25, you were still kind of lost, right? What was it like, Grant?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
What changed? How did you decide to take control of your life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Wow. Again, I want people to hear this because people are right now going through really tough times. There have been layoffs. I mean, people are going through a lot. California had this fires. There's a lot of crap going on in the world right now. And there's a lot of suffering.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So I want them to hear that you can control your life, that you can decide that you want massive success no matter what. And you are a hustler. Grant, I think of myself as somebody that is hardworking and I can outbeat almost anyone, but you put a shame on me. So you outwork me any day.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
I love that, and I keep buying my way in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
So tell us, what shifted and suddenly you learned that you love sales and you take that as a gift?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
That shift is absolutely incredible. And I think you took it to a whole different level. By the way, one of your books, Sell and Be Sold, is just so incredible because you're trying. Every conversation, there's like two frames, right? You're either selling or somebody's selling you their crap, right? Like it's like one of them and happening.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
But you also built the Tenex brand and the Tenex rule, right? to a global movement way before anybody understood branding. I think most people didn't really understand what it took. And you were just like, you saw it. You saw the future. And we're going to tie it to what you see now. But you saw that future.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Oh, my God. Today I have such a treat. Grant Cardone, who was also a mentor and somebody that helped me, is a fund manager. He's the CEO of Cardone Capital. He's the CEO of Cardone Training. Serial entrepreneur is an understatement for you, Grant. But he really, he's like a real estate investor. He's a private equity fund manager.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
And by the way, for those who don't know, that's Elena.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Oh yeah, for sure. Wait, what age was that when you decided that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Incredible. And I think this is so important, Grant, because a lot of our audience, you know, if they're somewhere around that age, they feel like life is over. Did I miss the boat? Like, am I done? I mean, I literally just had somebody on LinkedIn that said, hey, you know, I saw your episode with Gary Vee and I decided not to end my life today. And I was like, that sucks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
Like people are suffering right now. So what made... That switch of, I'm not going to give up on this. I'm not just going to look for another thing to just this, but I'm going to create this portfolio career and I'm going to make sure my brand is known. And I'm going to, you know, like what made that shift and what happened then?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom | E84
From building a multi-billion dollar real estate empire to teaching millions how to sell, how to scale businesses. Seriously, Grant, the 10X movement is not just a slogan. It's your way of life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So that even is even more incredible for me to hear because fast forward a few years, I actually saw you in a huge conference. You spoke right before Tony Robbins and I showed it a little bit before, but I want to share it with my listeners. One of the biggest thing about Trent, you showed a video of how you got started.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And you basically said, hey, don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle or success or whatever it is. And you showed yourself with that phone, right? Or like a basic video live.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And for me, I think that was exactly what I needed to see at that moment to realize that you're going to have to take those imperfect steps every single day, because if you're going to try to wait for that perfection, it's never going to come. And that created a huge impact on me. So Trent, I mean, that's the, first of all, thank you. What a journey to that big stage.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So definitely seeded something massive for me. So first of all, and I think it also showed me the authenticity piece. Today, I think all my listeners and everybody that is following me and social will basically say that that's the biggest thing that they connect with me. And I think a lot of it was taken from you. So first of all, Trent, thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And I think all my listeners will thank you for that. And this is how I think you launch Rehab Time. So take us there because that's such a big movement. Can you talk a little bit about it, Trent?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
First of all, we'll need to drag you to one of our huge live events. It's going to be super fun. And we call them leapers. So it's the same, like they want to be part of something so much bigger than just one person on their own. And I think when you are part of something, you can create magic. We say it's not about what we make, it's what we make possible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And when you unleash that full potential, it's like, what else is available? Like, how can we create a better society, a better world? And I think you talk a lot about turning pain into power. How do you turn pain into power? Talk to us about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Did they instill that extra motivation in you? Like how? Because even sports, I mean, you need to get back up. What do you think led to that motivation?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Wow. Mic drop. Trends. I love that. Oh, my God. Like you said, they're consistent about binge watching Netflix. They're consistent about something. The question is, how do you get consistent about the right thing? And this is so powerful. So if you look at right now, I mean, you wrote multiple books. The Greatest You is an incredible book. Now you just released Protect Your Peace.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Do you want to share a little bit for people that what are you trying to convey?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
there's a saying, it's not the challenges that are stopping you, it's the belief about these challenges that are stopping you, right? We see it with a lot of our audience, you know, they're constantly in this, I need to prove myself, I need to prove myself mode.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And in fact, if you just look inside and you are actually in a lot more peace with yourself, with your leadership, with your worth, with what you actually have to offer, Interviews sound better. When you pitch yourself, you sound better. When you go to your network, you sound better because you know you're worse. And now the only question is, is it going to be a match?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And I think there's like something so beautiful about, like you said, protecting your peace, because that is such a fundamental piece of it, Trent.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
I agree. And I think also having a mirror and somebody says walk the walk is just such a fundamental thing because, you know, you can't read, a jar can't read its own label, right? Like sometimes you need somebody external to kind of see that. So, What is a challenge that, you know, right now, I mean, I saw you, you know, on a Tony Robbins.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
You have this podcast, by the way, straight up with Trent Shelton, which is incredible. And you have the books and you have the speaking. And so what is a challenge that Trent is still maybe something that you're going through right now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Sorry about your mom. I actually wrote an article. I remember how losing my mom changed my life. So I can relate to that. And it was the huge slap in the face, I think, for me to even kick myself further into gear. There was a little bit of a perspective there, too. And I love that you shared that, right? Because we all have challenges all the time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
You know, the beautiful thing about high achievers, and I want you, the listeners, to listen to this. The interesting things with somebody who is driven, by definition, the carrot will always move. The pole will always move. And how do you balance chasing that, but also looking back, seeing how far you've come and enjoying the journey? Otherwise, you're always in the chase.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So I think that is just such an interesting balance, right? Because otherwise, it's so easy to lose that peace. What do you think, Trent?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
There's a reason why on planes you need to put your own oxygen mask first, right? You can't help anybody else without that. I didn't want to move away too fast from that. Do you feel losing your mom changed you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Wow, that's powerful. And I think a life with no regrets is such a powerful statement. So we always kind of end with what would be an advice to your younger self? Like if you go back in time to Trent earlier on, what would you say?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Can you elaborate that thing, Trent? Because it's so common for us to lean on the advice that we hear from expert, from parents, right? But if in general, they're not where you want to go, they can't help you get there. They're trying to protect you or they're afraid. So they're, you know, mirroring it to you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And that's incredible. So you get to NFL, which is very, very hard to do. Talk to us a little bit about playing football in college.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So powerful. And I want to make sure our listeners hear this because you're going to hear so many opinions where so many people figure out, did they walk the walk? Have they been there? Have they been where you want to be? And if not, that opinion should not serve you. Trent, this is incredible. We'll obviously have all the links in the show notes, but how do people find you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Get your book, get your podcast.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Trent, thank you so much for being on the show for this incredible, authentic conversation. I knew it's going to be a joy and it's been even better. So thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
I love that you said that, I think, because I got a lot of it from the military. So I was in the Air Force as an F-16 flight instructor. And I think like that, you know, we're in this together is something that is hard to teach. It's something that is not there later on, I feel, in life. And that was so fundamental. So I just love that you said that, Trent.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So tell us a little bit about the day where you realized that that career is not going to take you further. That must be a hard moment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And that must be really, really hard because I feel like when you are so in something and you do that basically all the time, this is part of your life. It becomes part of your identity. And suddenly, like, who am I without football? Who am I without tech? So take me there for a second, because that is a hard moment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
To me, that takes me back in time when I lost, I was kicked out of my own startup at some point and, you know, lost everything, right? That was my identity. My tech was my identity. And suddenly I, you know, you're like, so who am I? Like, I don't even know what I want next. Right. And I think even that, like just not knowing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So take us there for a second, because I know a lot of our listeners are exactly there. They either lost a job or they want more in their life or they're They suddenly, they realize that all their life, their identity was attached to the title or to the company that they were with or whatever it is. And suddenly they feel like a nobody. How did you recover, Trent?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Trent Shelton, from NFL athlete to seriously a global inspiration, Trent turned personal struggles into rehab time, a movement helping millions find purpose and self-worth.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
How do you turn pain into power?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And that's so powerful what you just said, because I think one of the things that we see again and again in Leap Academy is that when somebody wobbles, loses a job or just not as motivated about or they're in a toxic environment or whatever is happening in their life, you lose so much confidence because you start stacking the evidence all against you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And, you know, you just started spiraling down and you tend to forget all the amazing things that you've done. Just like you said, if you've already been amazing, you can take this to the next thing. But that confidence is and really understanding, OK, so what is my zone of genius? without football, without like, what is that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
That now I can unleash that full potential and take myself even higher. That to me is so powerful. And for you, I think there was also another layer, which was becoming a father that made it, I would think, even harder. So take us there for a second, Trent.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
And I think there's another element. I want to take you there for a second before we kind of build your, the incredible trend that I've seen about seven, eight years ago. We'll talk about that. But you also lost a lot, you know, a good friend to suicide. I remember seeing it also on your podcast. And I think that created another layer of why. Can you talk for a second about that trend?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
I thought that was incredibly powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
Trent Shelton, from NFL athlete to seriously a global inspiration. Trent turned personal struggles into rehab time, a movement helping millions find purpose and self-worth. A best-selling author, speaker, podcaster with over 18 million followers. Maybe more. I can't even count, Trent. But how did all of this start? Take us back in time to your childhood days.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
I have chills. Seriously, Trent, thank you for sharing that. And I think you also talk about in your podcast about him sharing if you had two years to live, what would you do differently? I think and that's a really powerful question to ask yourself, right? Like, what would you change? And why are we not changing it today? Right? So was that part of that promise?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
There's a quote that says the richest place in the world is the graveyard because that's where all the ideas that never came, you know, the books that never been written, the, you know, companies that never been started. And to me, that's kind of what you're saying. Like, why are we waiting? Right. Let's go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
So you're starting to share your story on social media and it kind of starting to step into that motivational speaker. We'll talk about how I saw you a little bit later on. But how did you get started? Can you share a little bit about the beginning? Because I think the beginning is what everybody stumbles on, right? It's like, but I don't know. And it's not going to be perfect.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power | E76
I don't know what to say. So share a little bit about the beginning, Trent.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
You alluded to it in the previous question, but I mean, you worked in, I don't know, Paris, Spain, Silicon Valley, Australia. I'm sure there's many that I'm missing. And you're definitely seeing some culture differences that are very substantial. First of all, how do you adapt?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
But also what are some of these culture differences beyond their readiness for entrepreneurship or not wanting to work hard? Because for us, it's like, yeah, midnight is normal. Let's go. Yeah. So how is that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
But Andrew, this is completely not what you studied. It's not how you started. Can you take us back in time for a second?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
I think there is this thing to look for the easy button these days because we see all these successes on social media. They all look like an overnight success. They just don't realize the decade that came beforehand of really, really hard work. So looking for that easy button just doesn't really exist. You can have freedom, but after... It just can't be at the same time.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And even I know people that sold for a lot of money, the companies, but it does not go to your pocket. So the majority of it disappears, even if it has a lot of zeros there. So we are seeing a lot of these stories, but it sounds very glamorous. Oh my God, they sold for a multimillion. Yeah, but most of it did not go to the founder.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So there's a little element there that I think is also some preconceived notion that
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So I want to actually take you there, Andrew, because at some point you decide, you know, we can talk a little bit about that second company, but you're basically starting the third, right? Which is Pernuvo. And there was a little bit of a reflection of which idea do I want to chase next, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Take us there a little bit, Andrew, because I think a lot of our listeners are exactly in that crossroad of what do I want to do next? And maybe I do want impact and maybe I do want to change the world, but I just don't know how.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Not knowing what I wanted to do next, I think for me was one of the hardest moments of my life.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And it sounds like you took it with a lot of leaning in and very proactive approach of let me try to have as many conversations as possible. First of all, was that a hard moment for you or was it a fun moment?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Amazing. So the very first thing that you do is you test the product, which is fascinating, right? And then you raise a ton of money for it, which is pretty mind blowing because obviously you believe in it. So talk to us a little bit. How did that come about?
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
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The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Incredible story. And I think you raised what, 80 million right now? Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
What you're describing is, yes, it was hard, but you just continue to look for the few that will say yes. So first of all, again, what motivates you to keep on looking, right? Because you need to, first of all, really believe in it. That's very clear. Be very passionate, but also keep motivating yourself that there's going to be the people that will say yes. How do you do that, Andrew?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And again, most people will stop at about 10. We'll say, okay, this is not investable. I don't want to continue. But you continued.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And I think also sometimes you hear all these advice of experts and the grass always looks greener on the other side, right? So you find yourself just maneuvering everything and you need to know what you want to listen to and what you don't want to listen to. And that's a hard one because when you're trying to raise capital, you're trying to be more receptive.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And on the other hand, you need to continue.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So what do you see for Pranuvo? How do you see that forming in the next whatever future? How do you see that disrupting health?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Oh, it sounds incredible. And I'm so aligned with your mission. What do you think is something that maybe people don't necessarily know about you that made you who you are or built you to who you are today, Andrew?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Oh, I love that curiosity. It definitely explains a lot of who you are. So what would you say to your younger self based on everything that you know about yourself and where you are?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
And you still work until 3 a.m. as far as I could see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
You are changing lives. And I think even from the first second that we chatted, like it's very clear that it's almost like that bigger mission. That's the adrenaline that keeps you going. What would you say to our listeners?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
It just becomes harder. And I always say that it took me time to realize that even as a vice president, the difference between number one and number two is light years away. And I didn't really grasp it. I felt like, oh, I'm doing a lot of the things anyway. No, you're not.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So I think not realizing that actually running the thing and being the person that all bucks stops here, that is a big difference.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Oh, I just love what you just said, Andrew. And I think it's true, right? If everybody drives themselves, even within the organization, how much more are you able to do and how much are you able to grow yourself and the organization?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
What an incredible tip. Thank you. I wish you so much luck. I'm just such a big fan of what you are all creating. To me, that looks like exactly where health needs to go. But also just really appreciate your stories and this really honest conversation. Can't thank you enough.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
What do you think they were looking for?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So you moved to a new country, which is on its own, not that easy to do. By the way, I remember the first time I got to drive in Silicon Valley and I would see the Googles and the Yahoos. These are real companies. Like it was really cool. And I assume you probably had a similar.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Andrew Lacey, founder and CEO of Prunuvo, a really transformative health company which can detect cancer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
It's interesting because you don't feel like you can find a job and you somehow stumbled on entrepreneurship, which I think objectively is harder. Was there fear?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
You basically start from scratch to some extent. Obviously you have you, but you can define you because nobody knows you and there's no real expectations. So you're deciding to start this company. Talk to us a little bit about how this goes and what are some of the learnings from that first experience?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
So you moved from law to entrepreneurship. By the way, did you get weird comments about it from family, friends, or was that pretty much you were young and it's okay?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
I can see you're the type that loves adventure. You're the type that goes all in. Tell us a little bit about this company. What does it teach you? And again, it was sold for Disney, right? There's definitely some ticking box of success, but I want to hear a little bit of what that journey was like.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Exactly. But tell us about a hard moment. Again, entrepreneurship always has a lot of hard moments. So if you're willing to share from this company or another one, share a little bit about a hard moment and kind of that learning from it. Because we grow a lot of muscle from these.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
But what helped you get up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
I think we would used to call them the near-death experiences. There's like moments where you feel like the whole world is collapsing on you, which, like you said, eventually you wake up in the morning and you see, oh, it didn't collapse. But what helped you get up when it does feel like those hard moments can feel pretty suffocating, I would say?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
But co-founder is also tricky, right? I know a lot of co-founders that just pulled themselves together downwards, right? So how do you navigate a co-founder and maybe talk just a little bit about how that worked with acquisition for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Andrew Lacey. If you want to hear somebody that is now seriously changing the world, it's really incredible to see that, but it's also incredible to see how we started. So founder and CEO of Prenuvo is a really transformative health company, which in basically one hour using MRI can detect cancer, stage one, and 500 other medical conditions. That is amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Accidental Entrepreneur: How Andrew Lacy Turned Rejection into Health Tech Innovation | E58
Tell me a little bit, you sell this company, the first company to Disney. For some ungodly reason, you decide to move to Paris and learn to code. Did I get this right, Andrew?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And for me, it was like, why is nobody teaching this? And that's part of why I'm so excited about this weekend, because this is what I want to do, or at least give you at least some of the map. And again, it doesn't matter what you want.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So when you put that hand on your heart, whether you want massive impact or legacy or thought leadership or the stages or the awards or the medias, like it really doesn't matter. all we need to do is start getting relentless about it. But again, it starts with a dream. And if you're like me, when you couldn't dream, you can't achieve it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So my commitment to you this weekend, I want all of you to start dreaming big. Is that a good deal? Is everybody in? Okay. So let me go really quick over the steps. So the very first thing is to have an unstoppable story and confidence. Ties into my Intel days, why I couldn't find a job, right? So the unstoppable story is really, really critical.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
A lot of the people that I see, this is where they're missing out. Their story is just not clear or it's told without confidence. We'll talk about it. Strategically open any door. Skyrocket your personal brand. If you actually do all of these, you can leap and you can charge your worth. And you do it again and again and again so you can leap again and again and again.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
You can create these portfolio careers. It's amazing. We'll talk about it. But to change the world, you're going to have to start with changing your world. and the people around you, your family, the network. And I can't tell you how important that is because when I was slumping, I couldn't change the world. I was in survival mode. So make sure that you put your own oxygen mask on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Without your own oxygen mask on, you cannot help anybody else. So that's the first thing. But the truth is that even once you decide on something and you know it, it's freaking hard. And I think this is probably the piece that I didn't understand well enough. So there's a little bit of a pendulum, and I'm curious about you in the room.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So when I was this VP feeling like a big shot, the pendulum was like my ego was my ceiling. I didn't really understand that at that time, but I didn't think I need anybody's help because I'm going to crush it. being there was actually the lid that prevented me from doing big things. So that's probably why I needed to slam down in order for the pendulum to go all the way to the other side.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But then when it was all the way to the other side, I was freaking out. I felt like a failure. I felt like I lost every relevance. And the interesting thing is to get the pendulum right back in the middle, where you're actually coachable and you're actually listening. Because again, from ego, I wasn't listening. I was hearing, but I wasn't listening. I was hearing to argue.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I was listening to say that it's BS. I wasn't really listening to lean in. When the pendulum flew all the way to my fear and my doubt and my darkest moments, I couldn't really believe anybody or anything can save me from it. So I needed the pendulum to be somewhere in the middle. But if you're in one of those areas, first of all, just know that I was there, and it's solvable, okay?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But one of the things that people don't share enough is how hard it is. And Tom Bilyeu, which, by the way, was another amazing speaker on my podcast, an amazing guest, says he sold his Quest Nutrition for a billion dollars. And he says, don't ask what's the least you can do. Ask what's the most you can bear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
This is where careers take off, where innovation meets action and where you step into your next big leap.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And I can't tell you how many I think and they are something I had a few conversation in my home yesterday. And I said, she's like, how many times do you ask yourself, can you do this? And I'm saying every goddamn day. Seriously, my husband is a witness. Every goddamn day. I say this is the hardest fucking thing ever on the planet. But I still go. So there is no shortcut, there is no easy pill.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
That does not exist. But that's why you want the map, you want the guide by your side, you want the network to lean on, and you still just continue, okay? And that was really important. This is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. And he basically said, it's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong person stumbles or where the doer of the deeds could have done better.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood. And at best, They'll know at the end the triumph of high achievement, and at worst, if they fail, at least they fail while daring greatly. And when I listened to Brene Brown talk about this quote, I realized two things, and I want you to think about it for yourself. One,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
When I held my mom's hand, I promised that I want to be in the arena. I knew I wanted something bigger in my life. So that was already decided. So once you decide that, I want you to know only one thing that is absolutely guaranteed you will get your ass kicked, period. Is that a good deal? Yes. Okay, good.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
The second thing you need to understand is that there's always going to be naysayers, haters, critics. Always. Does that hurt? Absolutely. But if they're not in the arena with you, I don't give a damn. Or at least I will try not to. I will listen. I will listen to all the feedback. I always want to get better. There's always things that we can learn.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But I can already guarantee that the people that are in the arena are not the people that will criticize you because they know what it takes. They will be the people that will hold your hand or hold on and double check that you're okay. Okay, so just realize the people that are criticizing you are probably not where you want to go. So don't give it a wait, okay?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
That was probably the hardest thing for me. Again, when you get into the arena, it is really, really hard. But I want you to think of names of people who inspire you. Are they on the sidelines or are they in the arena? Probably in the arena. So we're going to go in there with them. This weekend, it's not about just to change your weekend.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I don't give a damn about your weekend, but I appreciate that you're all here. We're here to put a line in the sand and to transform the second part of your life. That's why I'm here. Are we a good deal with that? Is that a good deal? Okay. And in order to transform the life, we are moving from the sidelines, from the fear, from the doubt.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
The sidelines is where everything is, the haters, the naysayers, the doubt, like everything that you can think of, the teacher that hurt you, the failures that you had, like everything is in the sidelines. But you're going to move from the sidelines into the arena because this is where the possibilities are. So we are getting into the arena this weekend. Is everybody a good deal with that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Is everybody a yes? Say yes. Okay, great. Thank you. So in order to get in the arena, there's a really clear map. Okay, there's steps. And again, we're going to go over these steps really, really quick. Again, unstoppable story and confidence, strategic opening doors, skyrocketing your personal brand. That is it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So if I go over these really, really quick, the very first thing you need to remember, your story is not about who you are now, it's about who you want to become next. Right? We learned that. And in order to do that, you're going to have to build that confidence. But here's the catch. You can't fake confidence when you have no clue where you're going. Trust me, I tried.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So the very first piece is that bottom of the pyramid is that clarity. We have to get that clarity of where are we going. And after that, we have to practice it again and again and again because guess what? We're not used to talking about our story. And after that, then we can fake it. We can smile and we can stand tall. We can have our shoulders back. We can fake the core.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
We can't fake any of the other pieces. So we have to get that clarity. We have to get that competence. Now, there's a few reasons why it's probably harder for some of you. First of all, you have no clue what you want to do next. That was me. So it took about, I remember, I think I told some of you the story. I met the CEO that could probably have opened any door for me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
He was a venture capitalist. He was a CEO of a big company. And it took him exactly five minutes to tell me, Ilana, you have no clue where you want to go, right? Not only that he's not going to open the doors now, I just became a red flag. So I realized that great tip that I got from people, go network, talk to your network, see what they think, was actually hurting me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So I had to understand where I want to go. Then I wasn't emphasizing the relevant points like I did in Intel. Imposter syndrome is another one. Lack of confidence. Oh, but I don't want to brag. I get you. We'll fix it. So the big thing is there is a map, okay? And I wanna make sure that we understand that. Strategically open any door.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I'm not gonna go over this too much, but whether it's cold outreach, warm outreach, get introduced, I can see a lot of you that don't understand the big people pile that exists. So you're just thinking somebody will give you 20 minutes of their time. No, they won't unless there's a reason for it. So we'll learn how to do that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But the reason this is so important is because every single amazing opportunity you're ever going to find is only in the hidden market. And if you're not playing in that hidden market, you're missing out on all the possibilities that this beautiful life has to offer. So we're gonna have to figure this out, okay?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
This is exactly how I landed my executive roles, the public speaking, the businesses, the whatever. And I think last, who was in San Diego where I shared how I chased Richard Branson for a year and a half? Okay, good, solved. Okay, but seriously, like there's a people pile. You need to learn how to play the game, okay? Another thing. Let's talk about reputation. We are in an era of change.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I know you heard me probably say it again, again, again. The pace of change is something we've never seen before. But I always also say in 2007, we all became a media company. You can like it. You can hate it. It doesn't matter. If nobody hears from you, the assumption is that you don't have anything to say.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
You're amazing. I love you. You're amazing. Oh my God. I admit this is freaking unbelievable and I don't get emotional very easily. I can't believe you all are here and that this is how it started. What I want you to do for a second now is I want you to get up for a second. All of you get up. I want you to put your hands on your heart. I want you to close your eyes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
On the other hand, it's the best time ever to control the narrative, to decide what you want to reinvent to and tell the world. So it's an incredible tool if you use it right. And this is what enables you to be in that hidden market, to be that impactful leader, to open portfolio career, to create your wealth. That's what creates that. But it needs to be done right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So in branding, there's only one goal. It's to leap faster and higher. Is that a good deal? Okay. But here's the thing. There's three types of branding. One is the basics. If you don't have your crap together on LinkedIn or you don't have something decent at least, you're not going to get a chance, you're not going to get access, you're not going to get a chance at a door, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But on the other hand, there's visibility. I want to be top of mind, right? And there's authority. I want to be paid my worth. So there's levels. You decide which level you want to be in, and probably you're going to need to mature to the next level. But all I'm saying, there's three types of levels, and we're going to work on all of them. There's also three types of leadership building.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Again, the basic one is just, I just don't want to be the person that sits like this and nobody listens to me, okay? The second one is the visibility. It's the people that come in the room and suddenly they command the room. And everybody's quiet. And it's amazing. Like, you say something, they say the same thing, and everybody's like, oh, my God, that was such a great idea.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I'm like, I just did that. That is this. Okay? And the next level is the authority where you're a thought leader and you're brought into the biggest rooms and the biggest decisions. Again, you decide what the level that you want to build is. but it's incredible to see the possibilities that come with that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Again, once you master these, this is where we see people jump one level up, two levels up, three levels up, executive level roles, advising boards, et cetera. So it's incredible to watch what's possible when you master these. So I just want to give you some context. And again, when you do this again and again, you can leap again and again, charge your worth. It really is incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And I think, again, a lot of you have a front seat to how I've been reinventing myself with this podcast, getting some of the biggest names on the planet on the podcast. By the way, if you're not signing up for the... Who's listening to the podcast, by the way? I'm just curious. Oh my God. Okay. That is amazing. Thank you. And I highly recommend it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
It's an incredible blueprint of some of the biggest leaders of our time and how they build themselves. So if you're not listening, pick some names that you like and listen to them. I really think it's just going to Open your mind to how the biggest leaders achieve their careers. And by the way, how hard it is for everybody.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So for me, I'm learning from every single one of them, but it also gives me the fuel to continue when it's hard. So I highly recommend it. But also, this is what I did again and again to speak in front of Richard Branson or whatever, right? Like, I do this all the time. I'm not teaching this based on theory. You can watch me walk the walk.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But again, many are trying too hard and they're not using the map or they're not using a guide. And I can't tell you how a map and a guide changed my life. So lean on the map, lean on the guides and hack everything we do. Hack it. I'm not saying steal it, but hack the heck out of it. Okay, do it for your own. Translate it to whatever it is that you want to sell.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
When you're creating these portfolio careers, when you're creating your thought leadership, hack it. That's what it's for. Every big innovator is standing on the shoulders of somebody else and reaches higher. I remember being annoyed when I saw, you know, like one of my coaches kept sending marketing emails. And I'm like, why do I need to see all of this? This is all what you are.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And then I'm just like, wait, this is incredible. Like I can actually learn more copy and more emails and more marketing than I learned in my lifetime just by reading the freaking emails. So hack everything instead of saying like, I mean, compile all. Like think, why are we doing this? Why are we doing everything? How can I apply it to my own leap? Look at every single step.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I can't stress how important it is to look at someone else, hack the system. That's what it takes to leap, okay? And again, we're going to have an awards ceremony in the evening, and we're going to have an amazing dance party. So first of all, I want to make sure, is everybody excited for this evening? Yes, it's going to be epic. But I want to say, like,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
What I love about this community is that this is where you can also get inspired by other people leaping again and again. And these are just some of the people in our Millionaires Club or our President's Club, like Doron, who is sitting here, who is amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I want you to put aside everything that it took to get here, the hustle and the flights and the security and the packing and the logistics with the family and all of this. I want you to put all of it to the side. And I want you to close your eyes and think, why are you here? What is the goal? What do you want? What do you want for yourself? What are you creating? What is the dream?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Like, he was already an executive, but, you know, he then leaped to another company, and he rang the bell in NASDAQ, and now he's doing this M&A thing, and he's incredible, and I can't wait to do some incredible things with you, Doron. And Itzik is right there.
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LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I don't know, some of you heard his story, but he moved from being a director that was laid off from his work, the best thing that happened to him, because now he's the CEO of an AI company. Like, incredible, Itzik. Yes, exactly. Iran, I don't know if I saw him here. Everybody, I think you met him yesterday in my house, was Doron's accountability partner, by the way.
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LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
He raised $22 million to invest in startups that are doing impact. Lior, who I think some of you met him in San Diego. He literally started, you know, a Ruiz IT agency and sold it with the help of Doron for eight figures. Dganit, I don't know who met her, but she became a CEO of a public company. Mavish, who's seven extra salary. Mark, I think you're here, right? That landed, yes.
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LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in. I'm alive, everything is cool, I have two kids, things are cool. But something was wrong. I could not dream, and it drove me nuts.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So he leaps again and again, like just incredible to watch you, Mark. I just want to say, welcome to the arena. Are you all in? Okay. Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Golancho.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And there's no judgment. Do you want to be on stages? Do you want to be in magazines? Do you want the seat at the table and to feel like you make a difference? Do you want the job of your life and to feel incredible or to have that first class or private jet or whatever it is? So let's go get it this weekend. Yeah. So we're going to say yes to that dream.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And I wanna tell you a little bit deeper in the story of why this was so impactful for me and why I'm so emotional this weekend. Mark Twain says, the most important day of your life is the day you were born and the day you discovered the why. And if I would have seen this quote probably a decade ago, I don't think it would resonate because I didn't really understand what do you mean the why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I'm alive, everything is cool, I have two kids, things are cool. But something was wrong. I could not dream. A decade ago, I lost the ability to dream. And I'm laughing because even my dog has a dream, either the bones or chasing the cat. But he has a dream, and I didn't because I was in survival.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I was trying to figure out where on earth the next fake check, why am I losing relevance at a speed that I can't understand, why do I feel like such a freaking failure? And it drove me nuts. And the reason this was so important, and I want to kind of share a little bit of the journey of LEAP. Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots forward, but you can connect them back.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And I want to kind of reflect a little bit of that journey. And I want to also remind you, success leaves clues. Go look for yours. They're there. So when I was a kid, I was a pretty shy kid. I stepped into my confidence towards age 16, 17, a little more. And then I think the Air Force would change my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I became an F-16 flight instructor and the first woman to ever become a commander in my squad. So that created like a pretty big boost of confidence. In a classic hidden market way, and usually, I think maybe next event I should tell you some stories about some fuck-ups in the Air Force. I think that's going to lighten your day. Because it sounds all glamorous, and it was mostly scraping my knees.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But fast forward, in a classic hidden market way, I was the youngest student they ever hired in Intel. The only reason they probably hired me is that their competition will not hire me. But that's okay, because I got my claim for fame there. But after four years of writing code, I realized this is not my zone of genius. Am I trapped? Is this the only thing I know how to do? And it was 1999.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Don't do so much math. And it was 1999, and if you had any kind of resume with anything around computers, you would get a job. But here I was looking for a job and looking for my first client-facing role, and nobody wanted me. It was devastating. It was like, did I lose my relevance? Am I done? Do I have to code all my life? And it's amazing how fast you get trapped.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So I moved from engineering to technical sales to product, but what I realized is every time I get good at something, I get stuck. So when a friend of mine, somebody I knew for probably two decades, wanted to start a company together, I was like, oh my God, yes, no. That's it. We raised capital. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Think about it for yourself as well, right? And at that point, eventually, I realized what I've done wrong. My story, and by the way, some of you are already in Foundation or Millionaire's Club or President's Club, so you understand how these dots connect. Guests, you'll see it in a second. But at some point, I realized, wait.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
My story, I'm talking about all these cool algorithms that I'm running, but if I want a client-facing role, I need to emphasize different points in my story. So this is where I started to emphasize different points. I found a job pretty quick, negotiated the worst salary in the history of Silicon Valley. Good job, Ilana. But again, I got a chance at field engineering.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
It was the first client-facing role. It was like getting in the arena, a lot of issues, a lot of the company wanted one thing, the client wanted one thing, you know, you're like, but when you get good, guess what happens? You get stuck again, right? So there's like this stuckness.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So I moved from engineering to technical sales to product, but what I realized is every time I get good at something, I get stuck. And the reason why I get stuck is because I get to be known as the problem solver. but not according to what I want to be known. How many, does that resonate? Like, how many of you are getting stuck because you become the person that you don't want to become, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And again, you raise your hand to opportunities, but they're not the opportunities you want. So that's what, you know, and I was just like, okay, so what is happening? Fast forward, I can tell you, and it took me a few decades to find this out, no pressure. But what I realized is that this like whole stuckness area right there at the corner,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And it's a circle that every high achiever will go through. So we work really, really hard, and then we get stuck. And then we work really, really hard to prove ourselves, and we get stuck again. And what I realized, there's other people up the mountain, right? They become these impactful leaders. They come in the room. They command the room. They have the executive presence.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
They become this indispensable leader. They have the seat at the table. They're called to all the coolest meetings. And they have the authority. They have the reputation. And why them? And when they do have all of that, guess what?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
What's happening to them is that they're in this kind of a hidden market and they're getting all these opportunities because all of them are in some kind of hidden market opportunities. I'm not getting them. They co-found companies. They invest in companies. They become executives. They get on board. They get advisory. I'm like, what am I missing? Because I can outwork them.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Why am I not getting the chance? So that drove me nuts. Now, I want to take you back. Also, there was a pivotal moment. And this is a pretty emotional story. I've never shared it this way. Is that interesting for you guys? Do you want to hear with a pivotal moment? Okay. So meet Lil Ilana was my mom.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
When I became a mom, 2007, the first kid, 2009, the second kid, my mom gave basically all her career and gave up on it for me. And the first kid, it kind of looked normal, right? Like, I'll settle on my career. I'll put it to the side because all I'm trying to do is be a mom. Did it again for the second kid. And at some point when she was about five months old, it started nagging me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And little did I know that it's going to blow up in my face. Within 24 hours, I lost my job. I lost my salary. I lost my startup. I lost the investment. You see me doing and reinventing myself again and again and again. So there's actually like steps. So the very first thing is... LeapCon 2025 was absolutely transformative.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
This can't be it. I love them to the moon and back, but this can't be all my life. My mom wasn't feeling well, and we flew to Israel. I had one more week for my maternity leave. So I figured I'll just hop to Israel and see what's going on. About three days later, she collapses in the hospital. We start realizing that she has a tumor, and it's actually not just a tumor.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
It's a cancer that went from her lungs all the way to her brain. It's all over the body, and we're essentially counting the minutes. And for me, you know, I still remember holding her hand. And it's basically just me and her. I'm an only child. And I remember holding her hand. And I was trying to figure out, like, does she have regrets? But I didn't have the, you know, I couldn't really ask this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And I didn't feel like I could. And I kind of, like, regret a little bit not asking some more questions. But at that point, like, I was holding her hand and it felt not enough. Like, I knew she was really appreciating that I love her. but is this really all there is to her life? And the funeral was really small. I mean, it was just like a few family members and some of my friends that showed up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
But at that point, I made a promise that this can't be all there is to my life. And losing my mom became the biggest thing, the fuel that I needed to kick myself in the butt and just do more. And there's this beautiful quote, I don't even know who this is, but scariest day of your life is the day you die when the person you are meets the person you could have become. And that to me
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
was, this is not going to happen to me. I'm going to be the best version that I can be. Okay, so my daughter is five months old, and I'm zooming up, because that was the fuel. So I founded Israeli companies in the U.S. It was an incredible opportunity, from buying the printer and the router to... five sites, $15 million in yearly revenue, like we were just like taking off.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And, you know, so I was in this uphill trajectory. But five years after that, I look at myself, I fly every single week or every two weeks. My amazing husband, who is right here, is the most supportive husband on the planet because he literally had the kids all on his own for the first five years. I was not around.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And at some point, I'm catching myself, and I'm like, is this really what I was meant to do? Like, not being present at all? And Sean here, by the way, he was part of this. Hey, Sean, you boy. So, and I was like, is this really, is this what I was meant to do? Like, to just fly all the time and not be with the family? Did I, you know, the pendulum flew a little too much, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So how do I even it out? So when a friend of mine, somebody I knew for probably two decades, wanted to start a company together, I was like, oh my God, yes, that's it. This is what I was meant to do. But I worked every second on this startup that we had. I was so excited. We raised capital. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. And I thought, oh my God, how did I get this lucky?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So when I left that VP role, it was like a big party. I wanted to tell everybody about the money that we raised. It was really cool. And little did I know that it's going to blow up in my face. It was like amazing. It was like within 24 hours, I lost my job. I lost my salary. I lost my startup. I lost the investment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And again, I can't tell you like the ego comes crushing down in a way that it's like, oh, And I think for me, it all came about with my promise that I'm not gonna be that person that does nothing. And here I am. What I didn't realize is that my identity was attached to my title. It was attached to the company that I was with. I never built my own identity. It never occurred to me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
So suddenly when I didn't have those, I felt like a complete nobody. And that was a hard realization. And to make it even worse, I didn't know where I was going. But I'm not the type of person that is all confused. Like, come on, I got my things together. Like, why do I know where I'm going? Not knowing what I want to do was one of the hardest times in my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Does anybody resonate with that, with not knowing what you want to do? Okay. Thank you for being honest. I started spiraling down. I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't wake up in the morning. I was snappy at everybody around me. My health deteriorated. I was like, why can't I figure this out? I think I'm a smart human being. Why can't I figure this out? I Googled everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
I found either very motivational, who you can do it, or people that live and inspire me. I'm like, this can't be it. So at that point, I did make a promise that if I ever figured this out, I have to tell the world how. And I think this is part of why this weekend is so emotional, because just seeing all of you in the room is just incredible. So first of all, thank you for being here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
We brought together over 300 incredible individuals from around the world for a weekend of growth, inspiration, and powerful connections. Some rooms change you. Some moments redefine you. And this was one of them. From incredible speakers sharing game-changing insights to the magical moment when we all stood together holding hands with massive energy in the room. It was truly unforgettable.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
Eventually, I did leap again and again. You know, I talked a little bit about it. You saw it in the video. I started a company. I sold the company. I stood on boards. I've been on stages. I've been an advisor. And again, I realized that I was leaping again and again. I was just getting a little better at it so I can leap faster and higher.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth | E92
And at that point, my geeky engineering brain was just like, oh my God, like there's actually a way. Like there's actually steps that I'm doing again and again. By the way, a lot of you that have been following me, I'm doing it again and again in my podcast. I'm doing it again and again to grow. Like you see me doing and reinventing myself again and again and again. So there's actually like steps.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And for those who haven't seen this, I'll just recap for a second. So you went to compete in China. It's a TV show watched by 400 million people. There were a trizillion things to memorize, whether it's things that went into a lock and the numbers of the lock. And like, I mean, it was just like... overwhelming.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And I looked a little bit at that and even just, you know, it's a different language, the amount of noises, the amount of people, like even that would create mental stress without even the memory. Like I'm not even talking because I can't even fathom that. But even without the memory, just standing there is a freaking panic attack in its making. So you're saying that
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
That training is what helped you cope with that? What went through your head knowing that 400 million people are looking at you? I mean, that alone is something that nobody gets to experience, really.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Incredible. Even just watching it is overwhelming. I want to allude to what you just said, because I came from the Air Force. This is where I started. And this is where we start suppressing any kind of feeling. So the minute something comes up, you diminish it. And you continue to cultivate this, like push aside, push aside, push aside, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And I do love, you know, I think somebody told me that feelings are like puppy, you know, they're like gonna come and get your attention. And if you actually give that attention, you know, it's actually gonna wag its tail and go away. But if you don't, like it will continue coming up and it will actually come up at three in the morning, you know, exactly when you don't need this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
It took me, again, because I was so wired to push aside, push aside, push aside, that was a very hard one. So if I didn't do well in a public speaking opportunity or something or a test or whatever, you know, if I didn't do well, our instinct is pushed aside. I'll just ignore it. I'll try to toughen up and then it will creep in at three in the morning and I will try to shove it again.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And I think there's something about what you're saying about actually sit with it, give it some attention, feel it for a second because it will go away. Do you have a story that this is where that just became so vivid for you? Because I'm sure this is coming from a very personal deep story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Was there a specific event that caused suddenly these panic attacks? Why did they start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
When I'm listening to this story, John, and I binge watch some of your videos, to me, that's mind blowing because I'm the person that grew up without memory. That's my identity. I'm attaching to that identity. If somebody gives me their name, I don't remember it two seconds later. I ran away from any subjects that actually needed memory. So I made sure to not go that route.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
What's interesting, John, is that I almost feel like to some extent there was this John who was going to all these competitions and he's a champion and he claims the awards and everybody's looking at him as this, oh my God, did you see John? And he presents USA and China and he does all these really cool things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And on the other hand, on the personal side, it sounds like there was John that was trying to figure out how to be himself and a great dad and a great, you know, like there was like somebody inside that were trying to like get all of that together. Am I hearing this correctly?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And you just somehow woke up one day and decided to remember things. How is that even possible?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Amazing, because you saw how it was handcuffing you. You were basically a subset of what you could be because of these limiting emotion or suppressed emotions that you had, I assume.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Amazing. And do you think there's something, and again, it sounds like there's a lot of things that you went through personally that brought you to where you are. Do you think there's a moment where you've seen how that built you to who you are right now or to decide that this is what you want to teach?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
What you just said, I think, is really, really important for listeners to understand. And this is maybe extreme ownership or really looking in the mirror. But when you're snapping at somebody or you're snapping at your kids or you're snapping at your spouse, usually it's something that is going on with you because you could have had exactly the same circumstance before.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And react completely different, right? If you were in a different state of mind. And I've seen it in myself, right? When I was in a really bad state, I was snappy at my kids. I was snappy at my husband. My health deteriorated. I was a mess. But the truth is I was a mess because I was personally a mess, not because they were any different, right? But I reacted to it very, very differently.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And I think that is really, really important to reflect and look in the mirror and saying, why am I reacting this way? So I love that you teach that because I think this can be a really scary moment for people if they're trying to figure this out on their own. And again, you're teaching something different than our instincts, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Again, our instinct is to push aside, push aside, and you're almost forcing us to live through it and feel the emotions that come out with it. I want to take you for a second to the memory piece, just because I know a lot of our audience will also be really, really curious.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Because again, there's these two very different Johns, but I think they're all together too, because the reason where you're able to be so successful is because you were able to overcome the panic attacks, overcome the anxiety, be able to focus. So they're kind of merged together, which is really, really interesting. So I want to take you back.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
If somebody is just listening, how do you teach yourself to remember? Is there really a technique? Is it something that everybody should try to learn? And why are we not learning this in school?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
How do you do it so fast though? The whole point is that you go through a ton of names or if you go to a networking event, you meet, meet, meet, meet, meet. How do you go through this so fast? Is it something that you train basically?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And do you think this should be taught in schools? Do you think it's possible to teach these things?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
That's another battle. And probably some of the things that you teach today also should be probably part of school and not learning to just push aside, push aside. John, we always end a conversation with an advice to your younger selves. If you look back, what would be some of the things that you tell yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Incredible. So let me take this up a notch, John, because I love this answer. If somebody is listening and they are feeling anxiety, panic attacks, we see a lot of it now. I mean, we have people that are unemployed and they're afraid. We have people that are financial in fear. people that got really, really hurt because of layoffs. Like we've seen a lot of pain right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
I also going to say, yes, we see a lot of coping with alcohol. We're definitely seeing a lot more abuse in different ways, which is really, really sad. So let's assume that they're listening to you, John, what would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Incredible. And that is the power. So for me, this story is about hope. And it's about the fact that there is a way out. There is a way to become the best version of yourself. There is a way to create that into the moment that will define you and catapult you to bigger things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And you just need to choose the right direction versus to let it suffocate you and to live in that victimhood that you found yourself in, right? And it's a choice.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Absolutely love this, John. So thank you for sharing this inspiring story. Seriously, like I think a lot of people need to listen to it and a lot of people need to take action. I think knowing that there is a better way is just so fundamental and it's such a big piece of the hope and the possibilities and the future. So thank you for sharing all of this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
So I want to go there later. I would love to hear some techniques, but I want to almost take you back in time to John the child. Did you see yourself as a child with good memory? How did you see yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
So talk to me a little bit about that. Because again, as kids, we always try to fit in. But that actually... sometimes pulls the wrong things from us and we become somebody that we are not necessarily. And I think for you, there's also, it came with anxiety and other things. Talk to me a little bit about that, John.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And that's interesting because now that I see you, it's really hard to imagine this, but do you have a moment that you remember as a child where that anxiety or those panic attacks just overwhelmed you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
A lot of the people that will listen to this podcast, they're going to sit in this board meeting and they have this great idea, but they can't speak. What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Wow. How did you cope with that? Or how did you learn to cope with that? Or maybe that's many years later. Talk to me a little bit about that, John.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
Which is true. And also that achieving things, and we'll talk about it later, that achieving thing is something that it's like a carrot that always moves, right? There's always one more thing to achieve. Those who are on YouTube will see some of the awards behind you. There's always something to achieve.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
And that pull is never like you never really have an opportunity to hold on to that pull for more than one second because the target just moved for you. So if that's the thing that makes you happy, it becomes really, really tough thing to chase, I assume.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
You are somehow growing up as kind of a shy individual, right? Trying to fit in. You run into eventually, not even that early on, but you eventually run into this book that changes your life. First of all, what made you say, you know what? I want to tackle memory, right? Because again, we're all trying to always think what's next. And you had a steady job, boring, but steady, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
What made you say, you know what, this is the way to stand out. This is what I want to follow. I mean, this was not that long ago.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
John Graham, three-time USA memory champion. How cool is that? When somebody gives me their name, I don't even remember it for one second. And here he is memorizing like trizillion numbers in minutes. But John, you somehow taught yourself how to memorize. Tell me more about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
I want to stop you here, John, because I think a lot of the people that will listen to this podcast, this is where they really need something, right? Like they're going to sit in this board meeting and they have this great idea, but they can't speak. Or somebody is now putting them in the spotlight and the words don't come out or they come out blah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
This is exactly what a lot of people need to cope with. It's that anxiety or that, how do I even concentrate at this level? How do I even get myself out of the pressure and actually perform? Two questions. What helped you then at that moment, the first time, but also you trained yourself to not get in those moments, I think, or at least I don't see these moments with you right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
John Graham, three-time USA memory champion.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Crippling Anxiety: How I Beat Panic Attacks to Become a 3x USA Memory Champion | John Graham | E75
So talk to me a little bit about what that looks like.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
And it's funny because I still remember the arguments in Intel. What are we going to use? And there was camps of people. Which one is better?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. So Tim, you have this ability to, on one hand, be 30,000 foot view to just see the trends, see what's going on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But then if you need, you just zoom in and you get the details as much as you need. And then you zoom back out. Do you feel like that's what you're doing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Today I have a really fun episode. It's extra fun for me. It's gonna be amazing for you. And I want you to listen because when I got into Intel, the very first job I ever had, I was put in front of this big pile of books And apparently they were all Tim O'Reilly here and just so excited to have him on the show with us.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So how and when did you decide to expand? Because it sounds like you actually created a conference in 2001, which was the hardest. Okay. So why, when it's so hard when you're in the dot-com thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So Tim O'Reilly is a true pioneer in the tech world, is someone that didn't just ride the wave of innovation, but helped define it. And to me, it's just so interesting because as the founder of O'Reilly Media, he played such a crucial role. in evangelizing the World Wide Web, the Perl programming language, Linux, open source, so many others that we're going to talk about.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
You're saying something really smart. I'm in Silicon Valley now, and I almost feel like we're celebrating how much people raised instead of how much value is created, how much revenue is created. And again, from time to time, you have to. Maybe there are definitely businesses that you need to raise before you can.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But then I think we already forgot that most businesses can actually create value, create sustainability before they need to raise hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. And I think we lost it a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But O'Reilly Media is expanded into online publishing and conferences and magazines and early stage ventures, investing, et cetera. And I'm just so excited for you to hear this incredible, incredible journey. So Tim, thank you for being with me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But tell me, because I think there is something a lot. I don't know if it's harder because it's different. You know, I had a startup when we raised capital and now I'm bootstrapped. But there's something harder in the sense of every dollar that comes in. This is what you can use, basically. There's less cushion, there's less reserve.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So talk to me a little bit about how do you keep growing in terms of expanding to the conferences and to venture capital and investments? And like, how do you look at expansion?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Do you feel like you needed to build this tolerance for money? As a leader, you need to invest Big amounts usually, right? Before you're going to see the return. And I feel like sometimes one of the things that I talk to my clients about is the shift in how we need to think, right? Because I used to think as if then else, right? If I get this, then I do this. If I get this, then I do that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
I became the master of pearl here. It was all thanks to you. So I want to take you back in time for a second, Tim, because the way you grew up somehow sparked that love for books, for writing, for what do you think shaped you to the person that you are today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
As a leader, you don't really have that luxury, right? It's more you take the risk, then you'll see the return later. You take the risk, you say yes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But you're running a big organization now. The swings are not that small.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
That's beautiful. So what is 2025 and beyond waiting for us? With AI, the pace of change, the economy, like, what do you think?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
I love that. Oh my God. I used to laugh that people are paying me to write the code and then to fix it. So I was like, I'm being paid twice. This is really cool. But I think there's also an element of the engineering piece is what helped me understand logic for product management and architecture and business and combined. So I think there's a myth. I think people are overreacting right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So I'm with you there. So Tim, maybe last, what would be something that you wish somebody told you earlier in your career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
That started as me and I learned the hard way.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Well, especially when it's your baby. But that's incredible. Like it's such an empire and so much legacy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Well, as far as I'm concerned, your camel, you know, built my career. So, hey, I am all in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Oh, Tim, this is so, so beautiful. Thank you for sharing all of this. I absolutely love it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
That I agree. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
How did you see the whiteboard? Didn't you like what's in there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So how did you move from there to starting to write manuals?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
That started everything. Were there moments where you're like, oh my God, this is hard. I don't even know if it's going to pay the bills. Let me go back to work. Or was there any like- Well, because I've never had any- Decent work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
So you notice even when it was hard, you're basically adapting, finding another thing that maybe will work out. Eventually, we'll talk about venture capital versus non-venture backed, because I think when your back is a little bit against the wall, you have to find other ways.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Same as Leap Academy, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
But tell me about those moments when they're really, really hard. And I think the reason why I'm asking, and I'm sure there were more, because as you grow, there's just a risk is just bigger.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
I will go there because I was assuming that that was a hard one. I mean, it was hard for everybody in tech. But let's take one of those hard moments because I think as a leader, especially if there's no million spare sitting there as cushion, that can get really, really, really hairy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Tim O'Reilly is a true pioneer in the tech world. As the founder of O'Reilly Media, he played such a crucial role in evangelizing the World Wide Web, the Perl programming language, Linux, open source, so many others.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
How do you go past it? Because I think this is the hardest thing for entrepreneurs to not give up. And even for people right now that there are layoffs, there's lack of work. What do you think helped you through that really hard moment? Because it doesn't sound like that short. It sounds like a couple of really hard years that you needed to somehow motivate yourself to get through.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
And for those, by the way, that don't know, you literally coined the term Web 2.0. That's not quite true. Not quite true? Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Interesting.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
How do you keep growing in terms of expanding to the conferences and to venture capital and investment?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O’Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109
Open source, right, like the whole concept.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
You've been author of many books, top keynotes. You've been on Google Talks and Brazilian podcasts, right? But at some point during COVID, something flipped and you started going into... Some very weird things. Can you share a little bit? When I read this, I have to say in your book, Misbelief, it's heart-wrenching. I literally had tears in my eyes. Can you share a little bit what happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Dan Ariely, he's one of the most well-known behavioral economists of our time. But I saw Dan on stage about a decade ago, and I was mesmerized by his wisdom and how we make decisions. He's also a professor in psychology and behavior economics at Duke and author of many books, including bestsellers like The Honest Truth about Dishonesty.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And I can't still understand that, I have to say, even though I read the book. And I think one of the things that you explained so well there is how this can happen almost to everybody, how they can move from something nudged them a little bit to the wrong way, and suddenly you're going off to the dark holes of the internet and beyond. We are seeing a lot of people
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
losing their job, they can barely pay the bill, they run into endless rejections. We can see how it's taking them to really dark places. What do you feel they should do? Like what helped you wake up in the morning and say, I didn't sleep well at night, but I'm going to try again?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And we're also going to talk about your new book, Misbelief, which actually give me chills. But Dan, especially for those who are watching us on video, but also for those on a podcast, you have to start with a little bit, why half a beard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
So taking control back to you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
First of all, it's really great to be boxed together with Bill Gates in the same way. To me, that's a huge compliment. But I hear you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Well, we'll bash them back because I'm a big fan and I think that's all BS. And I know how you've been for decades trying to just help explain humanity, help people date better, help people make more money. You've been trying to help humanity for decades. How can they even take you there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. I feel hate in the digital world became really, really easy. I personally got rape threats to myself and my daughter.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
By the way, the minute they involved my daughter, I went berserk. You want to threat me? I'm okay. I can take it. You're involving my daughter in any way. I went through the roof, Dan. I could not sleep at night. I was going nuts. I feel it became too easy to just be an anonymous or not even anonymous and just throw things. How do you explain it? Why do people become villains?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Is it because we're impatient and we jump to conclusions too fast?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
It's always easier to look at somebody else's fault. I mean, that's for sure.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
But one of the things that I hear for a lot of people who are listening to this podcast, one of the things that will scare them a little bit is they're going to say, well, if I build my brand or if I go to these executive level roles, I'm more susceptible to be in the forefront, to suddenly find myself in these situations where
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And I need to create thick skin or I need to learn how to be more resilient because and between us, Dan, I get hurt by these things. I can't even imagine what you went through. I take it personally. So how do you build either a thicker skin or motivate yourself to still be on a mission, get back up, continue going? This is a scary thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
You're right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And again, you need people that will not drain you and take you down with this, right? Because that's also easy. People will be so timid for you that they will start taking you down. Well, so don't try so much, right? And there's the Richard Benson quote, the brave don't live forever, but cowards don't live at all, which is kind of what we're saying. And I love that example that you just gave.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
I think it's so beautiful. There's another great saying, you're going to always overestimate what you can do in a year, but we always going to underestimate what we can do in a decade. So we never really get started, which I think is sort of what you're saying. Let me ask you one of the questions that I think our listeners, if that's okay, will really care about.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
You talk a little bit about mental health, I think now for decades. CEOs and entrepreneurs and employees. And I think this is something that is right now very much on a topic that I would love to talk a little bit about that, if that's okay, Dan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
I love that. And we say that to our clients to do the most important thing first. Otherwise, you just continue to push it. And I think there's another element of self-ownership of if you are pushing it, why? Because I push it sometimes because we all do. But then we need to reflect back and say, why am I actually pushing it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
It's because I'm scared or I don't know what, and I don't want to, and I don't feel like it. Like there's something holding me back. And if we can actually move this away, we can actually move forward, right? So I absolutely love that, Dan. We always end with an advice to your younger self. And you had multiple younger selves along the journey. What would you say to yourself looking back?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And I think not worrying so much about what will people say and what does it look like and what should I take to make my parents proud, but more of where do you actually want to be? And I think that makes all the difference. Then I could probably talk to you for like 12 more hours. Seriously, just such a big fan. I hope all the BS is going away very fast because it doesn't make any sense.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And I think maybe you had to go through it to create something so powerful like misbelief and to start understanding what happens in our society with all the stress and the mental health and maybe... That's why they unleashed it on you because they knew that you're the genius that can figure this out. So thank you for being on the show, Dan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
That's an incredible story. I knew it, but I love hearing it again and again. So tell me, Dan, I do want to go back in time, though, because you suffered for three years an incredible injury. You talk about it with some details, and I'm sure it's not a fraction of what you went through. But that somehow built you. That injury actually became your gift. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Dan Ariely, he's one of the most well-known behavioral economists of our time. He's also a professor in psychology and behavior economics at Duke and author of many books, including bestsellers like The Honest Truth about Dishonesty. And we're also going to talk about your new book, Misbelief, which actually gives me chills.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And you're about 19, 20 at this time when you're having all these debates, right? I mean, you're young.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
The whole future is in front of you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
So this is where you started just observing, understanding, but then you made this your life mission, I guess, to understand and take it to a whole different level. How did that become your profession?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
First of all, it makes sense because the level of questions dictate the level of problems and focus and wisdom that you're going to start gaining.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
And I think, but somehow, and we'll talk about is because you're able from really hard moments to actually find your passion and swerve it towards analyzing and actually understanding. So to me, that is your zone of genius. I think it was really interesting for the listeners to understand sometimes from your hardest moments will actually come the biggest breakthroughs.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
I feel hate in the digital world became really, really easy. Why do people become villains?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Bastiano Ferrari, actor, Emmy-nominated producer, entrepreneur. It's just incredible. You've been on so many films. Thank you for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Oh, such a beautiful way to put it. I do believe that you're building a muscle to become the legend that you were supposed to be, but that muscle needs to be built by some challenges that come your way to create that and to build you to the next version of you. And Bastiana, you also talked about network.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And I think that's really, really important because I'm pretty sure every opportunity you've ever gotten is through people bringing you opportunities. It's not job boards. These opportunities are not coming from the newspaper, right? So can you give like an example of how exactly that worked for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Tell us a little bit about how you grew up and how did that shape you, Bastiano?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Well, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you are feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training. I know it's going to help. It's leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show. First of all, the notion of give, give, give. Yes, I understand it's a chess game and you want to do this right. And there's also an ask that we need to get better at asking what we need. But if we don't give, we become that person that is just taking, taking, taking.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And eventually the squeaky wheel maybe gets the oil, but it's the first thing you're going to get rid of, right? So at some point, it's really important to understand that. What is the other person? What can I help? What can I offer? Because when there's really specific things that you can give and you're seeing as that indispensable, it's just incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And I love the example of public speaking. For me, public speaking changed my life. It's just such a great way to... Be, on one hand, more of a thought leader. On the other hand, give a lot back. Just love all of this, Paciano. And I think we both share kind of what we talked about, these portfolio careers. You don't have to do just one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
There's like an element of multiple things that can actually create a ripple of the value that you bring, of create this like incredible snowball. How do you juggle all of this? Because sometimes it gets daunting. It can get a lot of work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Ooh, I love that, Bastiano. And for you, the audience listening to this or seeing us on YouTube, I love looking at this as bread, B-R-E-A-D. So batch, reduce, eliminate, automate, and delegate. So if you can look at your life and decide what can you reduce, what you can eliminate altogether, what you can automate, what you can delegate, it's going to make such a big difference.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Bastiano, that was amazing. And I love that acting on one hand is your fun area, but that's maybe also why, you know, in such a short time, you've been able to be Emmy nominated. And like, it's probably because you're having a blast. Can you give us a glimpse into this world? So I come from the tech world, but I think Hollywood is this thing that we just see on the screen.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Tell me about a story that you think maybe some people don't know or most people don't know that shaped you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Can you give us a glimpse of what does that feel like? What does it look like? And what's next there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I totally know because, you know, I started my career in the Air Force as an F-16 flight instructor. And for most people, that's weird. What did you do? But for me, that was my life. That's what I knew at age 18, 19, 20. But I think the interesting thing is what you just said that is so important. Usually the people that will kill those dreams are not where you want to be.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
So I think one of the biggest things that I want people to listen to, the reason why I'm so passionate about this podcast is because we're bringing these blueprints and these proofs, basically, this evidence that, yes, you can come from a small town and still make it to tech in Hollywood. And I think that's just so, so, so important for people to hear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
It's like, okay, so I just need to try harder. I love that story, Bastiano.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Oh, I don't know if that's what I would say.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
No, you're awesome, Luciano. But seriously, we just had Seth Godin on the show. And one of the things that he says, which I think is interesting, and I would love your perspective, Sometimes you persevere through something, but it's actually what he calls a cul-de-sac or a dead end. You're persevering through something, but it's clearly not going to have some major success on the other side.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
So you're actually kind of wasting your time. On the other hand, many times there's just this amazing thing that's going to happen on the other side. So work harder, persevere, try again. What works for you? How do you know, you know, when things are really challenging, like when you sleep on a beanbag, how do you know there's something beautiful on the other side versus that's it? I'm done.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
This is never going to work. Let me pull the towel and that's it. I'm done. What is that for you, Bastiano?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I love this, Cristiano. This is super, super, super true. And I think that if you can dream really big, but then take those imperfect steps every single day, suddenly the clarity comes from action, not just thinking about it, dreaming about it. That just creates fear and doubt.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
But Stano, if you're looking at your younger self, what are some of the things that you know today that maybe would have shaped you differently based on where you are right now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I would love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And it sounds like you have some big plans in tech and in Hollywood. Anything you want to share?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
So first of all, just this one quote, fear is temporary, regret is permanent. Oh my God. But learning this at such a young age is so rare because I feel like when we're young, we don't really understand regret. We're just living life. And to some extent, we're sleepwalking through life and we just stumble upon luck.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
And it takes a little bit of that wake up, which I guess you got in a very early age. So talk to us a little bit. How did that shape you and how, you know, eventually, I don't know when exactly you got to Hollywood, but, you know, as somebody that is not coming from the Hollywood scene, clearly it doesn't sound like your parents who are actors.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
So how did you even break that ceiling that looks so impossible to most people?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Bastiano Ferrari, actor, Emmy-nominated producer, entrepreneur.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
That was an incredible recap. I will probably take you back in time because I'm sure there's just so much learning on this incredible journey of yours. I think we grew up in a similar environment in the sense of between two options. I could either be a doctor or I can be a lawyer. And if I have to, then maybe an engineer. But these were the options.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I was just like, you know, choose one of two or three. That is your life. I just love the fact that you were able to say, you know, we are big believers in portfolio careers and that in the future of work, everybody will have a portfolio and not just one thing. I do believe that there's this whole thing of portfolio career. But take me back in time a little bit. So
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
I'm sure throughout your career, there was like some really core challenges and we always learn more from failures than from the successes. Can you share a moment that you're like, oh my God, huge challenge, but huge learning opportunity.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
How do you know there's something beautiful on the other side versus that's it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Oh, I love that. And for the audience, if you didn't catch this, if you can't get in the door, maybe you need to build your own door and just carve your own door and get in. Right. I mean, I just love that. Right. But Bastian, sometimes, and I think for many of our listeners, sometimes you Life gets so hard, right? It's like you're trying so hard. Things are still punching you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success | E91
Things are not falling into place. You slept on a beanbag. Maybe some people here lost their jobs. Some of them are in some kind of financial stress. How do you train that well enough to just keep on going, keep on believing, keep on taking one step at a time? What works for you, Bastiano?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
Hi, I'm Ilana Golan and I can't be more excited to share this show with you. This podcast has a simple mission, to inspire, empower, and give you the advice you need to take your reputation, career, and life to the next level so you can become the best version of yourself.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
I can't wait to connect with you here in the Leap Academy podcast.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
to help you decide what you want from your career, land the role you deserve, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build effort for your career. Throughout my life, I leaped again and again from F-16 flight instructor to engineering, tech roles, all the way to vice president. But after massive success, I lost everything. The job, the title, my startup.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
This shattered my confidence in my identity. See, not knowing what I wanted to do next was one of the hardest times in my life. Since then, I've found an engineered way to reinvent and leap again and again. Today, I'm a public speaker, board director, investor, and founder of multiple seven, eight-figure businesses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
This proven method already transformed thousands of careers and lives in our Leap Academy and inspired millions of others through my webinar and keynotes on some of the biggest stages around the world.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
So in this podcast, I want you to hear from the most successful leaders and top performers, how they got where they are today, the challenges, the hidden truths, the lessons that enabled them to continue where most others stop.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
This podcast is different from any podcast out there because it will reveal many untold stories, tips, and takeaways that you will hear nowhere else and you can apply immediately to your own career life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
This is the LEAP Academy
So if you're feeling stuck, unappreciated, underpaid, or perhaps you've been looking for a job for a while, maybe you're not even sure what you want to do next, or you just know that there's so much more for you out there, this podcast and everything I do in Leap Academy is exactly for you. So tune in weekly, subscribe so you don't forget, and be ready to transform the second part of your life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
I love that you said that, Tiffany, because for me, first of all, as we're working with thousands of people a year, imposter syndrome is one of the things that will come every single time and for every single leader, because I think by definition, when you're driven... you're always going to do things that are outside your comfort zone. Otherwise, you would just stay stuck and boring, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Who were you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So by definition, every single person driven will do big things. And if they do big things, they're going to have a little bit of that. Oh my God, like, can I do this? Now, the only question is, does that stop you or that makes you continue? And I think the beautiful thing with you, Tiffany, is that you just continue, which I love.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And again, I think you're also in an industry, again, that is relatively unrepresented with maybe women overall, etc., What do you think helped you navigate that space? Because again, it is not easy to get that first impression, to get people to trust you, to get that leadership.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And did you have mentors beyond that? People that helped you get where you are? Or do you feel like you just leaned on your boss or your bosses? What was it for you, Tiffany?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Every single person or especially leaders that are doing some big things will have some moments or two, they just need to like plow through with massive resilience, whether it's something in life or something in the work itself. Do you have some hard moments like this and how did you need to pick yourself back up and continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Okay, so you basically all loved the Warriors from day one. Yes. But again, I think between loving the Warriors, there's a lot of people that love the Warriors. I mean, we live in the Bay Area, right? I mean, everybody loves the Warriors. But there's a big difference between loving the Warriors and getting to work with one of the most iconic people
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And I absolutely love that. And I think this podcast episode is also an example, right? Because for us, we were like, oh my God, like we talked to Richard Branson and the president of Starbucks and the president of Shopify and founder of Zillow, et cetera. And he's like, no, you should talk to Tiffany.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And to me, that was actually so beautiful about how he's empowering his team and you to shine the light on you. So for me, that was such a beautiful example of the person that he is and how much he wants to empower you. So tell me a little bit of what you guys are doing. I mean, you're responsible for overseeing so much strategic initiatives way beyond basketball, if I'm not mistaken.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So take me a little bit of, I mean, there's like industries and media and philanthropy and business and like there's so many things. Take us a little bit into your world, Tiffany.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Well, how beautiful is that? I think this focus on unrepresented groups is so, so, so important. I was just talking about it with my team because in Leap Academy, we're totally seeing how there's like this big cliff of tens of millions or hundreds of millions of people that will need to reinvent themselves and nobody's going to help them.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
But there's rescale schools, but nobody really teaches how to reinvent yourself. I feel like there's this whole groups of unrepresented is just getting bigger and bigger. It's amazing. So I love what you guys are doing. Is there something that you went through? I mean, I'm looking at your drive. Sounds like some of it is your mom.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
beloved, accomplished athletes of all times, right? So there's a big difference. And I want you to take us to where do you think that jump started? How did, do you even have any connections in the sport business?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
But is there something that you went through that maybe some people don't know that has built you to the Tiffany that I'm seeing today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So one of the things that I love doing is looking back. Is there an advice that you would give your younger self about your career and chasing these big dreams and accomplishments?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
I love that. And so what would you say to people listening? So some of them have been laid off and they're looking for jobs, which is really hard these days. Some of them are trying to fast track to the C-suite, to executive level. Some of them are just trying to figure out what on earth do I want to do next and maybe jumping to entrepreneurship or creating these portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Right. And I think what you said is so true because what we say to people, you already have a brand. The question is, what are you known for and what do people have, you know, in their head and will they bring those opportunities to you? And, you know, if you're not top of mind, it's not going to happen. So I love that. Yeah. I love that. So how do you navigate now this world of top celebrities?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
I'm sure it's not just Steph Curry. I'm sure he knows a lot of people and you're working with partnerships and all these things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
That's incredible, Tiffany. So we'll definitely be in touch because I'm Sure, we're going to have a lot of people that maybe can help or do other things. But seriously, Tiffany, thank you so much for joining the show and inspiring and doing the beautiful things that you're involved with.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
And I want to go there because, Tiffany, first of all, I think you said, for me, it's one of the most important words, which is hunger. I think that without the hunger, you know, I mean, if somebody is way too comfortable, they just not necessarily going to have the edge to continue and to push. And I love that you said the word hunger, because for me, that's such an iconic word.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
But like you said, you started as a receptionist and you were not afraid to start basically from the bottom and to basically prove your way up. Talk to me a little bit about what that journey was like for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Wow. Now, as a receptionist or right after, do you have accessibility to the players? Like, were they able to see how you perform? Kind of my instinct is probably not, but what kind of visibility did you have?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Exactly. I mean, it's incredible. It's such a beautiful story. And if I'm not mistaken, in 2015, I think you played a very major role in organizing that NBA championship parade for the Warriors. Do you think it was a pivotal moment or tell us a little bit how you see this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
What would you say to our audience who is trying to get the role of their dreams?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So first of all, what I got out of this is that level of curiosity and learning to just keep on asking the tough questions because you're right. We just look at a parade like I didn't even think of the bike rack. And my husband will actually spank me for this because he's a cyclist. He's like always complaining about the bike rack. So I should have thought about it, but I didn't.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So he will love this. But seriously, just that curiosity of asking, because by definition, you're doing these things that you've never done before. It bears the question, how did you know what to do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
So from that pivotal moment, what happened? Because within, I don't know, like a year, you already leaped into working with Steph Curry. And that is mind blowing because again, everybody would think that that needs, I don't know, he will hire his sister or is, you know what I'm saying? Like, not necessarily like, you know, like you just like climbed your way. How did you do that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
What do you think were some of the main things that you got to get there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Amazing. So tell me, Tiffany, what do you think you said? And again, it sounds like he already kind of knew you. So that is a big difference, right? But do you think there's something that you did or you said or that just made that cross the line? Do you think there's something in the connection that you built? Or what would you say to our audience who is, you know, they're trying to get
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Tiffany Williams, the COO of 30 Inc., the company that was founded by Stephen Curry. Yes, Steph Curry. How cool is that? The Golden State Warriors NBA superstar. Tiffany played such a pivotal role in shaping his brand, the business ventures, the philanthropy. And I just can't wait to hear your incredible story, Tiffany. Thank you for being on the show and take us back in time to Tiffany as a kid.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
the role of their dreams, right? And they're trying to interview. What are some of the things that you think that made a difference?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
These examples are amazing. For somebody that doesn't know a lot in the world of sports, who raises these ideas? Who's like the executor? So tell us a little bit what happens behind the scenes when you want to build a brand for somebody like Steph Curry and all the amazing things that you are all doing with him. Tell us a little bit of what's going on behind the scenes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Tiffany Williams, the COO of 30 Inc., the company that was founded by Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors NBA superstar. Tiffany played such a pivotal role in shaping his brand, the business ventures, the philanthropy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
Well, I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. We have a lot more to cover, but don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking to fast track your own career, figure out what's next for you, get that clarity, fast track your own growth, check out our free 30-minute training. You'll get a lot of value out of it. It's sleepacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams | E83
That's sleepacademy.com slash training. Now let's get back to the show. Now, I know that no matter what, anytime you need to climb up the ladder, do big things, there will be challenges that you're going to face as a leader. Give us some examples and how do you feel like you overcome them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
How does a shy kid with no connections in the entertainment business leap into such a career? I want you to meet Jeff Krause, the founder of IE Group, creating massive experience and events for stars, celebrities like George Clooney, Saturday Night Live, the LA Dodgers, and many, many more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
That's your reputation. That's your connection. That's your trust that you build. And that's the long-term game. I think that's part of what you're saying. But again, I think a lot of us are impatient. We want everything yesterday. And if it can happen yesterday without a lot of work, even better, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
And I think that impatience makes it really, really hard to realize that some relationship will take time. years to nurture, to hustle, to work hard in order to start creating that story for yourself. Am I right, Jeff?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
John Maxwell has a beautiful story about the people's pile. And I think that's exactly it. There's a people pile when you're trying to get to these places, right? And it doesn't matter if our listeners are trying to get in front of some VPs and CEOs that are very busy or entertainers or big shots. It doesn't really matter. They all have a big people's pile.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Some have millions in the people's pile. Some have thousands and tens of thousands. But no matter what, the question is, how do you rise above the noise? And a lot of it is that consistency, which I love that you're talking about. Tell us about Saturday Night Live, because it's just such a beautiful example, if that's okay, Jeff.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Am I the only one that didn't know that after after after parties exist or whatever you call them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Jeff, I have to stop you here. This is an incredible, incredible conclusion that I want to make sure every single listener understands. We as humans are such a meaning making machine. Like we will get a rejection or somebody didn't call us back or somebody won't. tell us something. And we, instead of just taking it as the data, we will start creating these incredible meanings about it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Like, darn it, I didn't do well enough. I sucked, you know, that's a rejection, et cetera. And in every single time that I've seen, it's never the challenges that are stopping us. It's our beliefs around these challenges that are stopping us. And most humans will just stop because they'll say, darn it, I had my chance. I screwed up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Now I'm going to something else because this is not where I should be doing. And you just continued, which I love about this story. And I want to make sure all the listeners are understanding that. You know, if you're running, you listener, running into something that somebody rejected you, told you something, something that hurt. Sometimes people didn't respond. They didn't follow up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
They didn't want to introduce you. Whatever it is, it can be a thousand reasons. So stop making meanings out of it and just continue. I can't stress it enough. Jeff, that was amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
what you're showing is also you're going to have to create your own luck. You're not just going to wait for some miraculously things to fall on your lap. You're just going to hustle and create your own luck. And that takes me also amazingly to COVID because whether we wanted to create our own luck or not, COVID created a whole different situation for
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
In the event business, Jeff, can you tell us a little bit about what it did and how you, again, found a way to pivot?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
I absolutely love the idea. And I think we're all craving a little bit of that. The Instagram or whatever is just not the same, right? First of all, you did pivoted really quick to something virtual that adds a lot of value. You know, you have incredible stories about how you made that also create a real change in humans and in people. Jeff, do you want to share a story?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Amazing, amazing. To him and his parents and everybody around. Like, it's just so, so, so beautiful. And I love that story. If somebody's on YouTube, they'll see me half crying. I just love this. What do you feel are some of maybe a decision that you took recently or a decision that really you feel changed your life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
priority, but that's a decision.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
We get to choose the type of life we want. And that's part of freedom, right? It's the ability to say yes to certain things and no to other things. And that's freedom. That's the freedom of choice versus going exactly where you've been and just continuing doing it again and again. So tell me, Jeff, if you take yourself
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
back in time, what would be an advice to your younger self and whichever that younger is, right? The shy boy or later on, you know, in the businesses, what would be kind of an advice that you wish you heard before?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
It's actually so, so, so important because the noise is sometimes so hard to deal with. The rejection, the failure, the something that we've done wrong, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
And it is a hard combination because I think some people are afraid to brag, right? And then they don't tell their story or they go on the other side of the ego side. So it's really interesting balance. And you've somehow managed to just continue with your thing and just do it in a way that people are just connected with you. They build that trust and relationship and things just open up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Because again, you need to be top of mind and that's where opportunities come your way. Oh, I love this story so much. I love all the share. Jeff, thank you for making time, being on the show, sharing so authentically.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
That's so beautiful, Jeff. Thank you. And we'll have definitely the links and everything for people to reach out. Thank you for everything you do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
So tell me, Jeff, because again, you, on one hand, talk about being an introvert and shy. And on the other hand, you're calling people and hustling to invite them to parties. Is that a clash? How did that work for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
This is great. I can see it. So you're starting to create these parties. But from that to George Clooney or Saturday Night Live, it's just not the same. So take us a little bit step by step. How did that start forming?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
So how do you get to people at the top?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
If you've been curious about how we get into the celebrities, into events with stars, I want you to meet Jeff Krause, the founder of IE Group, creating massive experience and events for stars, celebrities like George Clooney. Oh my God, I would love to meet him one day. Saturday Night Live, the LA Dodgers, and many, many more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
So let me stop here for a second. I wanna make sure the listeners are really understanding. So first of all, the way you leaned into your zone of genius, because again, your shyness, you turned it into the tool, I guess, that helps you build better trust, better connections, better relationship to actually nurture and open these doors and actually nurture these relationship, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
But I will say also another thing, you did not let, entrepreneurship or failed the lounge or rejections or things that don't go your way. You didn't let that stop you. You just continued. You continued building your network. You continued building your reputation because again, now people are starting to come your way. So that's just beautiful to see. And I want to make sure everybody gets that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Am I right, Jeff?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
Can you share a hard moment, Jeff? Because I think it's important for the listeners to hear it because I can hear it between your story. But can you share a hard moment that was really letting you down?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
So how do you get to people at the top? Like the George Clooney's of the world, et cetera. And we also have a great story about Saturday Night Live, which I want to talk about in a second. But how do you get to the people at the top? Because everybody's trying to get to them. It's millions of people that are trying to get to the same few people.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events | E65
He's also the creator of Fan Room Live, which is a platform that connects fans and celebrities through virtual events. Amazing, Jeff. But how does a shy kid with no connections in the entertainment business leap into such a career? Take us back in time, Jeff.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Alex Carter, the go-to expert for negotiation. She is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Columbia law professor, and her recent TEDx on how to ask for more, highly recommend, check it out, was seen by over a million people. She built a career helping people own their voice and ask for more, which is so, so, so important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
I so agree with that. And it's true in corporates as well. They will get you more motivated, more inspired, more empowered, et cetera, et cetera, because I think one of the things people don't understand, and I love that you just said that, people will treat you the way you are perceived to be treated and people will pay you what you believe you're worth.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
So at that point, you just need to build that conviction of what it actually worth. And by the way, some people can't afford you. That is okay too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
This is amazing. So let me take you there for a second. So you work with global leaders, Fortune 100, UN. Take us back in time to the first big client and opportunity, because I think one of the things, Alex, that is taking a lot of fear and doubt for our listeners is how do I make that first step? How do I get the first clients in the door? How do I leap initially?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Or whether it's to a new industry or to entrepreneurship or to executive, it doesn't matter, but the initial is It's just so scary and fear can be numbing. How did you get the first clients?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Alex, you also say negotiation isn't just for the boardroom, it's for life. I'm so glad that you're here today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
It's going to be incredible, but I want you to take us back in time to Alex, the kid, how you grew up, where did you grow up? How were you as a kid where you were like this assertive, like I can negotiate anything in life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
For everybody listening, first of all, I want to iterate the hidden market, right? One of the big things that we say in Leap Academy is that every great opportunity you're ever going to get is going to happen from the hidden market. It's not in the job board. It's really who knows you, who thinks about you when you're not in the room, who's going to bring this opportunity for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Alec, this is classic, right? I mean, they've seen you, they whatever, right? And again, you need to be top of mind. Otherwise... Who's going to see you, right? That's how they reach out to you. But also I love, and you have it also in the book, there's other things you can negotiate. It's not only money.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
In this case, it was whatever, success stories, leads, media, because now you can use it for your website, for your reels. Like it's just so powerful because there's other things that you can negotiate and you look at it as problem solving, which is so brilliant. Talk to us a little bit more about our listeners.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
This will be really impactful for them because they might need to negotiate a job, a paternity or a role. What are some of the tools? And you have some amazing tips in your book, Ask for More. What are some of the biggest advice that you would give to some of these people?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Let's give them little nuggets.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
So if I'm, I don't know, an executive that wants to get a promotion, what do I say to my boss? Hi, I'm working really hard. Can you give me a promotion? Probably not.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
That was so, so, so powerful. Listeners, I want to make sure that you understand it. Every single thing Alex said is from the eyes of the person she's talking to, right? It's not about you. It's about them. It's about making them successful and how it's the win-win.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And what I love about what you say, Alex, is also how you steer the conversation, how you create that curiosity, ask a lot of questions, but you also say something really, really fundamental in your book and your TEDx. And you're actually taking them back and saying it all starts way before the negotiation. And it actually starts with you because it's so true, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
We take ourselves out of the race way ahead of time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Oh, I love that, Alex. Oh my God. That was like slam dunk. You're actually nicer to your audience because we asked them to do the 50 reasons. So if 50 is 50 reasons, why you, why this, why now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
It's like all the skills, all your connections, all the conviction, almost like a brag bank, like all the reasons why you're going to be super fundamental for that, because you're just going to show up so differently. And I absolutely agree with you because it all starts with you. But let me take you there because I know some of our listeners will say, well, but maybe it's relevant for promotion.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
But if I'm landing a job, I don't want to rub them in the wrong way. And I don't want them to hate me right off the bat. And I don't want them to think that I'm slimy. How do I negotiate at that point?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
You just dodged a bullet. And I agree. Oh, my God. Like this episode is full of gold. Listeners, if this is helpful, do share it with others that need to hear it. But I will say, Alex, I think one of the key things that at least I find, I wonder what you're going to say next.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
is always negotiate if you can face-to-face or in some kind of a Zoom or in some kind of a conversation, not through emails. I've seen a lot of cases where wording just gets off to the wrong areas and not really adjusted. Like people don't understand it well enough. So whenever possible, try to say, oh, my God, I want to work with you. I'm really excited about this opportunity.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Yes, I want to talk about some things. Can we hop on a call? So whenever we can steer it towards a conversation, because I think the conversation makes it a thousand percent easier to negotiate and to speak your truth and to also understand how they're seeing it, looking at their eyes, you know, and kind of adjusting. What do you think, Alex?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
That's super interesting for me to hear. I think as an Israeli, I'm a little too blunt in emails. I should probably do it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
I want to go there in a second because I think that selling yourself, selling your value, negotiating, we'll talk about it because you don't call it selling for a good reason. But selling yourself, selling your value slash negotiating, I'm saying what people perceive of the words. Are you going to correct us? Yes, uh-huh. But the way it's looking right now, people hesitate, right? It's scary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Alex, I love, love, love, love, love this. What are some challenges that maybe you went through as sort of an entrepreneur that you feel sharing will actually really help our audience?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
I don't want to push. I don't want to be the person that rubs them in the wrong way, the rock the boat. So we'll talk about this. But I would love to understand, and I think you said something beautifully, that when you find your voice... you are so much more in power and empowered to actually speak up, right? Which I think is so, so, so important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
I look at it a little different and it's so aligned. So I just love that because I love putting a little bit of a number on your time. And to me, if we're growing, I'm at a Leap Academy, for example. So we're one of the fastest growing companies now in America. But if we're looking at, okay, how do you get to 20 million, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
So if I'm going backwards, all I'm saying, I need to say, okay, every hour is roughly 10K-ish. It sounds a lot. But every task that I'm doing that is not moving us to that scale is a waste. And now I can start looking at my time and saying, great, so who can take the things that are worth whatever, $10, $100, $1,000, right? I'm going to need to delegate them.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And I love that. And again, if you're in speaking and for all of you listeners that you want to create this portfolio career with speaking and advising and board seats and all these beautiful things that exist now in the world. Like if I'm a CEO, you know, of a billion dollar company and I want to get my sales team just a little more motivated.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And I believe that Alex will help them or somebody else will help them, right? Even at just by 1%. This is already worth a million dollars to me. So $10,000, $20,000, it's irrelevant. So yes, they want to pay you for the outcome of the results that you're delivering.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Ah, I love that. And I love your conviction. I love everything about this episode. Alex, this is amazing. Maybe one advice to your younger self. You know, what do you wish you knew way earlier in your career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
But I do want to challenge you for a second, because when you didn't know if you have your voice, why did you go to debate? Why did you go in high school to some kind of public speaking team? How did you push yourself? Did somebody else push you? What was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Wow, that was powerful. Alex, everybody listening, first of all, I hope you enjoyed it. Let us know. And I want you to shine your light. I want you to find that voice. Somebody in the world needs to hear it. So let's go get it. I love that, Alex. Thank you for the brilliant conversation. Thank you for having me. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Do you think something in your childhood brought this kind of resilience for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Alex Carter, she is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Columbia Law professor, the go-to expert for negotiation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
By the way, we share that story. So my parents got a divorce at age 15. But that's now it ties to why law, right? I mean, that suddenly became your mission. Oh, my God, that's so strong. So tell us, Alex.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Did have initially your work involved a lot of mediations and tough cases and researching conflict resolution, right? And that gave you a lot of great muscle and valuable skills. What are they? How do you see it today? And how do you use that all the time now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
Ryan, I love that. And in your book, and we'll talk a lot more about it as for more, there's a ton of brilliant things. And I think every single person that is listening to this needs to hear it because yes, negotiation is everywhere. And what I love that you say is don't request recruit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And I think this is such a different way of looking at negotiation because you're not trying, listen to me, listen to me, I deserve more because I worked really hard and many hours and because that's not relevant. Nobody's going to pay you for so many hours, but you can recruit them to understand that they want to pay you more because it's an incredible win-win.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And I think the way you're positioning it is so beautiful. Right before that, though, you needed to move to teaching, right? Negotiation, et cetera. And I believe you almost didn't apply. Is that true?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
you're never going to be perfectly ready. It's never realistic because as high achiever, you're always pushing yourself a little beyond when you're really ready. But you're bringing that conviction of why it will work versus why it won't. And I think that's just beautiful. And you share a lot around how do you... decide to go even if you're not ready. And how do you push through that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
And I just love that, right? I think you did it also with a clinic in Colombia, a negotiation clinic. You've done it with the UN. I want to talk about it for a little bit. So you've done it again and again, even though you're never going to tick all the boxes. It's just not realistic.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Alex Carter: Negotiate Like a Pro, Powerful Techniques to Unlock Career and Business Growth | E99
You alluded to something in the beginning, and I want to bring that back for a second because I think you said something along the line. I was so good in negotiation for everybody else except for me. That is so, so, so common. And I assume that's also part of what made negotiations such a big passion for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
No, it's beautiful. There's so many lessons in this. And I think, yes, life of resentment and victim mentality will never serve you. A lot of us do this with kids. A lot of us do this with parents, right? Like the last thing you want is to do them a favor and then... feel like you're always in victim and resentment and never be present. So we do that, right? So I love that story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
I think it's just relevant for so many listening. Thank you for sharing because this gives me chills also in the book. But so Matt, after this, you... planned roles with the New York Jets. But even there, there was some hard moments too. Like it seems like you were basically having a lot of tests in your life, if I may say so.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
I know. Because you somehow bypass all these tests and continue, which is incredible. Because you never let that... go into that victim mentality. I think Tom Bilyeu, which I just had on the show a few weeks ago, he says, if you want to be successful, don't ask what's the minimum I need to do, ask what's the maximum I can bear. And I think there's an element there and a pattern that I see
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
And I think what you just shared is so, so important because I think it's also the muscle that you need to build in order to create extraordinary things. And many times that muscle is built when things are hard. Now, you somehow managed to have meetings with multiple presidents. You have a list of quotes on your book, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jay Shetty and Mark Cuban.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
How do you get, and this is the book, Burn the Boats, for those who are looking at, how do you get to such personalities? What is your trick, I guess? Because I think a lot of people are very intrigued by how do you open up opportunities for yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
I love that. In Hebrew, we call it chutzpah, like you just need to like figure it out and just do it and open those doors for you. But I agree. I think sometimes, and I could probably see myself even a decade or two ago saying, Seeing something like this and saying, well, this is not for me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
This is for somebody that already has the network or already has everything or they have a massive vitamin P, you know. So it's really hard to see yourself as somebody that can create that. and make that possible. So, and this is also just, I think for everybody listening, I came with no network, none, okay? Matt came with no network, like he created this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
So I think this is just such a great reminder that yes, everything is possible as long as you're willing to be determined and continue. And I think like you say, Matt, hesitation will kill more dreams than speed ever will, right? So I think a lot of it is just the compound action that you're talking about.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
First of all, it's fascinating because a lot of people will say certain words, but this is real for you. You know, I always laugh at some people in Silicon Valley. I call them broke millionaires. They feel broke, but they're not really broke.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
That's so powerful, Matt. So you open a lot of doors in Shark Tank, which is extremely rare to be in the U.S. and Dubai. I think that's non-existent. First of all, how did you do that? But also, I want to emphasize to the listeners or the viewers, you're surrounding yourself with really, really smart people.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
So you're intentionally putting yourself in rooms that are extraordinary because that will just catapult you at a whole different level at a whole different pace. And I think that's also something to just note, like, who are the people around you? Who are the people that you're surrounding yourself with? Because that's going to make such a big difference. So Matt, take us there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Like, how did you even make that possible?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Exactly. But also we're right before, I mean, as we record this, it's probably not when it's going to come out, but we're right before Thanksgiving and you actually have a beautiful story about Thanksgiving. Can you share that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
I know, it cracked me up when I heard this, but, and by the way, this is exactly it, right? I mean, that's why Leap Academy, right? Because I don't believe necessarily that you need to crawl your way up. I think what really makes a difference is that pattern interrupt. Like you're going to have to create a pattern interrupt in yourself and people around you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Otherwise, they just see a little bit of you working harder. That's all they see, right? So you're going to have to create that pattern of interrupts for yourself and everybody else. But I think there's also a patience play that you're talking about, which I lived through as well, because we all as high achievers want everything yesterday, but it's not going to happen.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
So when you understand that patience, and it is a patience game, but it's also you're moving from this if-then-else mindset. That we all live in. If I get this, then I'll do this, right? To know I'm going to first say yes, and then I'm going to figure out the how. And when you shift that, that's when you start creating that momentum that I just love hearing about. Am I right, Matt?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
I absolutely love this story. It's incredible. So tell me, Matt, some people will hear the second part of our conversation and will say, well, Matt, you can say this because you never fail. What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Can you share a story of, no, we all fail because when we burn the boats, we're going to try a lot of things and some will succeed and some will fail, but we're just not going to let it take us down.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Oh my God, this is so powerful, man. The pain is inevitable, but the suffering will be a choice. And you need to decide if you let it take you down. But I have to say that in venture capital, and I've been investing for quite some time, we have a saying, it's called near-death experience. We literally know that the co-founders or the founders will have what we call a near-death experience.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
And the only question is, will it take them down or not? it's inevitable. So the only question is, will you take it down, right? But speaking of drones, I come from the Air Force world and, you know, been a lot in that arena and you have an incredible company. So can you talk a little bit about that, Matt?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Looking at all your life, what would be something that you would kind of reflect to your younger self and wish you could meet the child, Matt, and tell him?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Wow. That's incredible, Matt. I never thought about it, but I think for me, losing my mom was the biggest slap in the face of stop wasting your life. So yes, if we can leverage death to push us forward, but also be present and enjoy the journey, it's just such a powerful thing. Matt, thank you so much. I knew it's going to be incredible. I can talk to you for hours.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Thank you for your time and everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
But that's your story. So now continue, because that became so intentional about dropping out that I have, you know, this story is incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
So for everybody listening, everybody viewing, that book is incredible. It will make you cry. It will make you think. It will make you everything. But I can't recommend it enough. Matt, thank you for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
But you were so young. How at such a young age you have symphony? Because I want to hear that too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Matt Higgins, from basically a broke high school dropout selling flowers to co-founder of RSE Ventures, building a multi-billion dollar portfolio of over 100 global brands. He teaches at Harvard Business School that appeared on Shark Tank in the US and Dubai.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Go there with me for a second. And I also want to hear about the last day in school.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Matt Higgins, from basically a broke high school dropout selling flowers to co-founder of RSE Ventures, building a multi-billion dollar portfolio of over a hundred global brands. He teaches at Harvard Business School that appeared on Shark Tank in the US and Dubai. Author of the bestseller, Burn the Boats. I mean, wow, what a turn, Matt. Take us back in time to your childhood.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
This is so good.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Well, I mean, I have your book here and I have it on Audible and I was crying when I heard this. So, hey, at least...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Thank you. I think just the way you took everything that you went through to literally catapult you to law school and more and more and more. And we're going to talk about the more and more because I want to make sure that's so clear. Because, I mean, I can't keep up with you, Mr. Matt.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shark Tank’s Matt Higgins: How I Beat Poverty, Loss, and Cancer to Become a Global Investor | E73
Like, we're in touch through LinkedIn, and every time I look at you, you're doing something else incredible again. Thank you. So take us with you a little bit, because you somehow see your mom. That gives you that energy to be able to go to college, go to law school. What happens, Matt?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Oh my God, if you want energy in today's episode, buckle up because it's going to be fire. So Brian Keene here is a 3X bestselling author, a certified strengths and condition coach, sport nutritionist, and the host of Brian Keene podcast. And when he's not working, you will find him running ultra marathons in like Arctic, the Sahara, all sort of crazy things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And your goals and what's your must-haves and how driven you are, because I think me and you are kind of a little fanatic. So that drives the time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But take me there, Brian, because I think one of the things that a lot of people miss, and I want to challenge you here for a second, Even if you're really good at your craft, what they miss is when they want to start their own thing. They actually don't necessarily need to be good at the craft, but they need to be really good at sales and marketing and business and hiring.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
It's like it's suddenly all these things that this is not why I started. I started because I'm passionate about being in the gym and now I'm hustling on getting ads and whatever podcast. So tag me there because I think this is so different.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But Brian, you actually have a classic Leap story because you started as a primary school teacher in London. So folks, if you are listening to this episode, you want to hear about somebody that did a complete 180, lean in. This is going to inspire you. Brian, thank you for being here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
First of all, it's understanding that there's a gap, but also getting that extreme ownership, not victim mentality, but actually owning it and saying, you know what? I see a gap and I'm going to freaking find it, right? Even though we're talking about entrepreneurship specifically, what you're saying right now is relevant for any leadership role.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So if you need to understand, like in today's world, Even if you just want to climb up the ladder, even if you just want to be relevant and corporate, you're going to need to work on your branding. You need to understand, you need to look at yourself as your own company, as your own CEO.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
It's so important and not just neglect and close your eyes and put blinders on and just do the hard work and forget about yourself. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, oh, it's not relevant for me because I'm not an entrepreneur. Yes, it is. So open your eyes and open your ears. So thank you, Brian. But let's talk about mindset. because I hear a pattern all the time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
I'm also very honest about probably a decade ago, I didn't think at all about mindset. In fact, I would think it's a little bit of BS. You know, I'm like, oh, who needs mindset? Just tough it up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Grit, grit, like grit, right? So talk to me about What transformed in your life to start looking at mindset? And again, this also relates to your first book, The Fitness Mindset. It's all connected, but what shifted in you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So take us back in time. Let's rewind. You're studying and you're deciding to be a teacher. What happened there and why a teacher?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
By the way, we already talked about that we're not going for the Sahara and the Arctic, but go ahead, Brian.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Get in shape. What are you doing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
100%.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. I remember when we just started Leap Academy, I didn't believe in mindset initially.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So I just gave the strategy, let's do this. And suddenly not everybody's taking action. And I'm like, how is it possible that I'm giving all these tools and people are not taking action? And we started bringing in mindset coaches and suddenly... People were taking action. I was blown away because it took me time to realize it. But it's so interesting what you said.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
We catch ourselves in that spiral when things are not working out. But again, I don't believe necessarily in motivation. I think you alluded to it. I believe in the habits that will form the results, right? And I think that's really because the motivation will take you so far, but at some point you need that habit to just start forming, right? Is that basically a lot of what you're doing too?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Oh, so good, yes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
There were so many gems here. It is true. The biggest cost in our life is always the money we're not making, right? And if you're not deliberate about it or the achievement that you're not getting, right, there's a horrible joke that the richest place on earth is the graveyard, right? This is where all the ideas are and all the books that haven't been written.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And I mean, it's horrible, but it's true. It's such a sad thing. But I also want to say in today's world, A lot of the things are, you talked about the two months, and I think patience is the hardest thing, right? Because we live in the Instagram, TikTok, whatever arena, Snapchat for my kids, right? It's like, everything needs to happen now, right? And if it's not yesterday, it's today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And I think that patience is really, really hard. And again, patience doesn't mean procrastination. It means that sometimes it's going to take time, right? But you're still going to need to do these imperfect steps every single day, but also not compare your beginning to somebody else's middle. Because I think that's also, it's hard to take action because you're thinking I'm not there. So who am I?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So it's all of these things together that just make it really, really hard to just put your head down and just continue to creating those imperfect steps.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Sorry, never happened before, but hey, there's a proof for everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
That's a great question, by the way, to ask yourself. It's really powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But I think you said something really, really critical because it is so hard. Like I remember when I wanted to start Leap Academy, one of the first things that I'd done, you know, I was just like Googling and I'm like the average coach. And again, I don't really see myself as a coach. I never studied coaching. I just leaped in my career and I wanted to get more people to learn that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And then I hired coaches, right? But I see myself more as a business person. But when I search for the average salary of a coach is like $40,000 a year. This is it, right? So it's just like, is this a good idea? I don't know. That could scare you, right? Or if you look at podcasts, there's probably millions of podcasts. Like, would I start a new podcast? What is my chance?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But again, you can't look at that because it will just stop you on your tracks. So what you have to do is think really with yourself, what is it that is important for me? What would I regret if I don't take action on? And then just lean on your why. And I think that's just so, so, so important, Brian, that you mentioned that. But I do want to take you to those ultra...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
crazy challenges because I think I shared with you something I usually never share. It's nowhere on my bios or anything. Like when I was about, I want to say 20-ish, 25, I thought I was going to be a mountaineer. So that was my thing. It was not my zone of genius. So everybody's very grateful that I didn't pursue that. But I did go after all sort of really exciting peaks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And it was so exhilarating. It was so exciting. I will never forget. Like Nepal is like my favorite place on the planet. You know what I'm saying? Like I loved it. But your things are a little more crazy. So take me there. Why? How do you even train to that? Running the Sahara Desert, running the Arctic. You're doing things that are just not like the rock and roll marathon. How did you even start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
That's some accident.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Very different.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Yeah, a little different pace.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
You quit. You, yeah. Right, you can't say that, right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Oh, my God, this is so powerful. And I think I shared with you, we had Charlie Engel on the show last year, and he crossed, I think, from Morocco to Egypt on the Sahara. And his story was just crazy, crazy. So you guys are in the crazy thing. But it's also interesting to see how being a father, I think a lot of times do change us as being a parent, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Like it does create a different level of why it sounds like it did for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So did you already talk to people and they think you're crazy because why would you leave or why would you even attempt to leave such a confident, secured place as teaching? And by the way, you guys, it's comfortable. Like you have summers off. I mean, it is a comfortable thing too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
That's my favorite places on earth.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And I think that's so important because life is in phases and different phases will bring different must-haves or different things that you want out of them. And I love that because I schlepped my kids in all sort of crazy hikes. So I love that for your daughter. And by the way, Ironman is probably your next, you know, you'll just kind of need to tackle that one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
I think it's just a tick, honestly. Like, I don't see myself doing it again and again. But one thing that you said that I think is really important, the night before the Iron Man, for some ungodly reason, the place where we stayed actually had a massive party right next door. So we actually couldn't sleep all night. And it was just so annoying.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But the interesting thing is, and again, I was sure that it's going to take effect. There's no way I can't now go into this, whatever. For me, it's, I think it was like almost 13 and a half hour ordeal, right? I can't go into this hours and hours of swimming and biking and running. And the truth is it didn't matter. What mattered is the nights before that night, just that was not the thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And I think it teaches you something different, right? Like now when I go into the business and sometimes the nights are not great and then you have, you know, I had my kids, this was before my kids and suddenly I had, you know, my kids and suddenly it gave a whole different perspective to not sleeping at night. Like who, so what? You know, like it was just like this whole like,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So I just resonate so much with all your stories, although I'm still not sure I will ever pursue anything like it. But for everybody listening, I would love to hear, now that you've experienced all these amazing things, if you meet Brian that is either the teacher or even before that, what would be some of the biggest tips that you would want Brian to know that you know today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Brian Keene here is a 3X bestselling author, a certified strengths and condition coach, sport nutritionist, and the host of Brian Keene podcast.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Oh, that's powerful. Thank you, Brian. And how do people reach you? I mean, we'll have all the links, but in general...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Brian, thank you for a beautiful, beautiful, fascinating episode.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
I'm going to do it to show her.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
And I love what you said, Brian, because I think to some extent that aunt or whatever, like what she expressed was what I would say to myself, right? And that's probably the hardest thing. It's not only that everybody else is thinking of it. I'm kind of thinking that. So to some extent, it's almost like this is the hardest wound that I'm trying to heal. And she just went slam right into it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
But I do want to talk a little bit about that transformation because fear can be numbing, Brian. And I want to recognize that because I think a lot of people, it looks so easy, but you don't see where they're actually going through to overcome that fear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
So walk me through a little bit, some of that fear, maybe the initial challenges, because heck, I can tell you, there were a lot of challenges when I started. So take me there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Most people where I see them trapped is not necessarily the fear of going back to teaching. It's the humiliation. What will people say? What will people think of me? I will look like a failure. That is what's scary for them more than going back.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From School Teacher to Fitness Icon: What I Wish I Knew Before Quitting My Job | Brian Keane | E107
Take us back in time. So you're doing this thing on the side, right? And you're at some point deciding to go all in. Walk us through the first initial days.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Oh, that is to me so, so, so important, Lisa, right now, because one of the things that I see continuously in your book and in everything that you do is that emotional intelligence, that EQ and those instincts, that you somehow able to figure things out completely out of the box. It's not something that is learned. It's more experimentation, I guess. And it's just figure things out.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Today I have a really special episode for you and she will crack you up. So if you're here for a beautiful story and you also want to laugh a lot, here you go. So Lisa Bilio, she's the co-founder of a billion dollar company, Quest Nutrition. FYI, Lisa, my kids and their friends are huge fans of Quest. president of Impact Theory. She's the best-selling author of an incredible book.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
And what I love about that, and I wanna make sure the listeners are hearing this, Again, this is not about a college degree. It's not about something in a book. It's really about just taking action, just figuring things out, just trying things out, just being able to get out of your comfort zone, try different things. It's just so beautiful because
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
You have multiple stories like this of how you got to ship things faster and you were the candy person and you have all these things that every time it's like, wow, genius. But again, it's more about knowing your audience, understanding what they care about, understanding what will move the needle and being able to be that person that is in the extra mile. There is no traffic in the extra mile.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
You were there. Thank you. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
I am a little woozy, I guess. But I'm not in control, which I hate it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
We'll talk about it, Radical Confidence, which cracked me up so hard when I was hearing it in Audible. And she's the host of Women of Impact Show. Lisa, look, you grew up in an environment that believed that... You will only get to be married, take care of kids. And now your life is like complete 180 degrees from that. So can you take us back in time to teen Lisa? Absolutely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Which is the most important piece because that's what takes you away. But I think one of the things that you're talking is that extreme ownership that no matter what, you are looking in the mirror and you're really, really honest with where am I? Can I make this decision? Do I need to take action in a different way?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
And I think one of the things that I'm hearing also is bring the data, not the drama. So the minute there's too much drama in it, like we can't make the right decisions. So we want to separate it But by the time you actually need personal help, it's too late. So you want to create that distance, which is so, so, so brilliant.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Even though I still want to go to Quest for a second, but I have to ask you. So you talked about being that person that does take things hard. There is a lot of hate in the digital world. It becomes so easy to comment on people, to bash people. how do you cope with it? Because I think for a lot of us, that's a scary piece. When you get out there, you start getting hit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Wait, can I stop for a second? For those that are listening to the podcast and not watching it on YouTube, she is gorgeous and the sweetest person ever. But let's continue, Lisa.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
That was like a mic drop over here. I love that. And speaking of your mission, I do want to go back, but your mission is huge, right? It's to help women become this confident badasses that you're meant to be. Talk to us a little bit about impact theory and your mission today. I do think this is really, really important because confidence is one of the biggest things holding people back.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. First of all, the fact that you have literally the GPS, right? What are you going to say yes to?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
What are you going to say no to? Makes it so easy when you have that mission. But for me, what you just shared about checking in with yourself, I wish I thought about it a few decades ago. But that starting to be really intentional, very, very strategic with every move you make is becoming so critical. It's such a big piece of Leap Academy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
But also, even though I climb up the ladder, whatever, VP, all the accolades, at some point it's like, but I'm not excited about it. So why am I doing this, right? I'm doing this because I'm scared to let go of everything that I already built. But that's not the way to look at this. And you actually share in your book that, moment where you hear this like amazing public speaker, Lisa Nichols.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Yes, that amazing quote. She literally says something like, don't make me extraordinary to get yourself off the hook, which is so powerful to start catapulting yourself and not giving excuses to not be extraordinary. So can you talk a little bit about that, Lisa? For me, that was just like, whoa, powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
probably about, I don't know, but I have a full team, 20 hours a week. And on our programs, probably another 50 hours. Like I'm working my ass off. Like if somebody thinks that I'm sitting on the freaking beach, I am not.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
That is incredible. And she's speaking, but she has like a million and something followers on YouTube and a million people on Instagram. But it's about asking better questions and looking in the mirror to say, what are you really willing to do for success, right? Because the truth is, I hear it all the time. Oh my God, I want the freedom. I want my company to be successful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
And then they go and binge watch Netflix for five hours a day. I can't afford that. I wish. That sounds cool. But no, that's not happening in my future. So you better work hard for it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Oof, powerful. So Lisa, but tell me, you are very honest with two things. And I wonder about them because I think some listeners will be very inspired by them if that's okay to go there. One is about your eating and another one is about deciding to not have kids. First of all, what made you be so honest about it? And second, tell us the story maybe of one of them.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
I can help you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
I love this story because I think your honesty is really, really important. I think a lot of people are doing a lot of things because what society expects from them versus what they really want for themselves.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
I think what you're sharing about asking really strong questions and you see it all throughout this conversation and everything that you share, but you ask really hard questions and really honest questions with yourself. And the level... of questions that you can ask yourself will determine the level of decisions and results that you're going to get. And I think that is so powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Why did you decide to be so open about this and everything else in life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
But I come from a very similar religion. So I get it. Do you really? Yeah. Jews are the same. Like it has to be within the same.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
The Jews are exactly the same.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
So to me, yes, we have one life to live and how are we maximizing it to create the life that we want? Not just a paycheck, not just tick the box of what our society expects, but really how do you live the life that you want for yourself, which is just so powerful, Lisa.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
So one of the things, my favorite questions towards the end is if you look back to teen Lisa, who is lacking confidence, what would you share with her? Or maybe the person in the house. So either the teen or the person that stayed home, whichever one. But what would you share?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
It's just so, so, so powerful. Oh my God, Lisa, like this is, I told you, my hardest problem would be in this conversation is not to talk to you for hours, but thank you. You're just incredible. You're just full of sunshine. Like I hope everybody will also see it on YouTube. You're just full of happiness and it's just so great to talk to you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
It becomes comfortable to stay stuck and it becomes harder to get out of the stuckness. You have a beautiful story of you come to study film, you come to the U.S., which I think it's out of your comfort zone as well. So leaving Greece, leaving the family, coming to the U.S., so you already had that drive. But something caused you to then push yourself and start compromising.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Incredible. Thank you for everything that you're doing. And thank you for this big mission that you're sharing with the world, Lisa.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
She's the co-founder of a billion-dollar company, Quest Nutrition. She's the best-selling author of an incredible book, Radical Confident. And she's the host of Women of Impact show. When we started Quest, we put our house up for collateral.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Talk to us a little bit about that. Because again, a lot of our listeners are people that are driven. They're like you. They want more. And they're suddenly found yourselves a fraction of who they could be. And they're not sure how to get out of that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
It's so easy to talk about, so hard to do. And somehow you're starting to work with Tom on Quest and you're starting to take more and more responsibility, including management, and you never learned any of it. It's totally out of your comfort zone. Lisa, can you talk a little bit about this shift?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Lisa Bilyeu: Radical Confidence, My Journey From Housewife to Billion-Dollar Boss | E55
Because it's a massive shift, you know, especially when you hear those eight years and where your confidence is. How did that shift suddenly happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And I love your realness about it because I think we are living a little bit in an era of four-hour work week and freedom and you can live life on your terms. And the truth is, it is kind of true. Like I'm kind of doing my own thing and I'm still working 20 hours a day. Yeah. So there's a little bit of that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
But I think another element that I think is really, really important is that what you said about the Tony Robbins, is this an advantage? And I think when you actually look at every single person, their zone of genius, their story, you all have an advantage. You just need to find it. My military experience, I've never talked about it, but it's actually an advantage. I just didn't realize it, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
So I think there's a little bit of, do we actually know how to look for those advantages that actually open the doors, right? And start telling the stories. Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. Don't forget to subscribe and download.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Now, if you're looking to leap your own career, figure out what's next for you, fast track your own growth and create portfolio career, Check out my free 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. Now back to the show. So you're building this business. And again, a hundred million fucking dollars. Sorry, like how incredible is that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And I'm not supposed to swear in this show, but that's incredible. But you also talk openly about anxiety and depression. And I'm really honest about it. I don't think everybody is meant to be an entrepreneur. I think it's the hardest thing ever. And I think if you're happy in a corporate job, freaking enjoy it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Oh, my God. And I love that story, Amy. First of all, I personally had PTSD. So I came to the U.S. I get it very well. And I came to the U.S. because of PTSD. My entire country is probably in PTSD right now. What you're sharing, I think, is just so, so, so true, because I think there's a little bit of... Almost like we're not supposed to talk about anything mental, anything that is going wrong.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
I can't wait to have that discussion with you, Amy. Thank you for being on the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm happy to be here. It's so cool. So I looked at your career and it's so interesting because your early life, your childhood played a pretty big role in shaping who you are today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
You're always supposed to be bright and sunny and everything is pink and purple. So first of all, thank you for sharing that. To me, this is so important. And I have to touch this for a second because entrepreneurship for me is one of the biggest roller coasters for sure in my life. And I think even as an investor, one of the things that we understand is that
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
The biggest problem is to invest in people that once the down comes, that near-death experience is going to take it down. They're just never going to be able to continue in that. It feels like literally near-death experience. So, Amy, how did you manage to build such an incredible empire with this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Take us back in time for a second to how you grew up and what influenced this entrepreneurial mindset that you have today.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Right. And to me, that's so important. And the other thing that I will say, and I do want to eventually talk just a little bit about how we build online courses, but in a second, because I truly believe that no matter what, even if somebody isn't corporate, in today's world, we all have portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And the more you understand the notion of portfolio careers and actually creating these ripple effects for yourself, for your reputation, for your safety net, for ageism, for, you know, whatever, the more you see it, the more you can really create life on your terms, even if it is in corporate, but then you start expanding.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
So I want to go there, but just for a second, in the two weeks notice, you have an incredible book, highly recommended folks, if you are considering leaving corporate, but tell me a little bit about, First of all, writing that book, and what are some of the biggest things that you want people to shift when they read the book?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And I love that, Amy. Take us a little bit to some of these challenges, because I think it is really important to hear that. I think my hard moments as an entrepreneur are a lot harder than anything I've ever went through in corporate. But talk to me about some of these challenges, especially in the beginning.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
I think a lot of our folks really need to hear it because I think sometimes it's like, oh, but I really posted this thing and the clients didn't come. OK, I quit. I'm like, yeah, well, not quite. It takes a little more than that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
I love that you said that, Amy, and I think it's so rare to hear it. One of the things that we do with our clients is, first of all, define their must-haves. And you're right. Sometimes it is finance. Like, I just need to make the money, or it gives me confidence, or I might... For me, I wanted to make more than my husband, you know? It was like a thing. Oh, I love it! Right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And sometimes it's kind of more growth. Like I want new possibilities, new opportunities, titles, whatever. Sometimes it's impact. I need to move the needle. Sometimes it's balance. But no matter what, nothing will give you all four. You need to choose the two that are critical for you. The two others will be a compromise, but it changes all the time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And I think one of the things that we don't realize is how much it changes. And to understand that it's okay that right now I just want freedom. I just want fun. I want experiences. And I think you implemented it beautifully with your own team too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
So take us there for a second, because I think just understanding these must-haves, but also not letting society dictate the must-haves for you, I think is really, really important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And that's incredible. And again, now you're creating not just a paycheck, but the life that you want with the paycheck. And I think that's just so incredible to watch. Yes. And the other thing that you talked about, you mentioned a little bit when your team pushes back, but that's your team and they love you, et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
But what do you do with, and you talk about it a little bit in the book, you don't need everyone to pay attention or to love you. It's not sure exactly how you say it, but it's something around there. But that's also very, very hard, especially when you're coming from I think you're like me, like you like people to like you and you know, like you want to please, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And we came to this because we want to also do good in the world, right? So how do you deal with hate or bashing? It's really easy in the digital age. There's a lot of frustration with clients or with ads or with whatever. So talk to us a little bit about it. I feel like that's a common one, right? Like it's, you need a thick skin, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Wow. I just saw this book and I saw Mel Robbins' opera. I said, I'm like, oh my God, I have to read this because I think this is probably where mine and I think a lot of our audience is like, oh my God, but what will people say? And what if they don't like it? It takes a toll. I can feel it even with me. And it just starts to stack the evidence, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And again, if you think you can't achieve it, you won't achieve it, right? So if you're stacking the evidence of, see, now they hit me. Now it's not going to work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Totally. You're talking a little bit about the first few years getting the first clients, but also when you start scaling, right? That has its own challenges of how do you scale and fear of money? And what if I will go broke? And now the expenses are really big. How do you cope with that? And did you need to go through some mindset exercises or imposter syndrome, self-doubt?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
I mean, they all come in when you're growing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
But take me back in time. You've been in Harley Davidson and then you landed Tony Robbins. How did you land it? I think one of the things that a lot of our audience is, how do you get these dream opportunities? How did you land this? Do you remember?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
That's an incredible insight, Amy, because I think our instinct, this is how we grow up, right? It's like save, save, save, save, right? And the truth is you're going to have to invest and lean in. And to some extent, what's really hard and one of the things that I say to our clients, and I'm sure you felt it, is...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
We move from deciding if then else, like if I get this raise or if I get this promotion, then I can pay for this. But as a leader, you have to switch the order, right? I have to invest first and I'll see the ROI later. And that is probably the biggest muscle that takes to build because it's like I pay for ads. I will see return rate later. I'm going to hire people. I will see return later.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And it's like... Nobody teaches you how to shift that priority, right? And that mindset. And I just love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
So tell me, Amy, if somebody is listening to you and maybe talk a little bit about what is this online courses thing? Because some people have no clue what you're talking about. And again, some of them are our clients, so they've seen a little bit. But what is this online course thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
We're going to need to talk at some point because I think it's such a beautiful part of this portfolio career that people, I think, really need to figure out how to do. And there's a way to be really intentional, strategic about it. And once you do it the right way, it's not about throwing spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks, but if you do it in a strategic way,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
that will actually catapult your reputation, your personal brand, your public speaking, your revenue. It's just incredible to see people zoom up the titles, people create businesses. It's just amazing to see the impact of doing this right. And again, it changed my life having this kind of a course. And finally, for people who are listening, what would be an advice to your younger self
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Maybe in terms of the mindset or in terms of the doubts or the fears or talk to me a little bit about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Ah, my God, mic drop, Amy. This is so good. Oh my God, I love this story so much, Amy. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful, with so much honesty and so much openness. And I'm just rooting for you so much. Like, it's just incredible to watch you. And just thank you for sharing, Amy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Golanjo.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Amy Porterfield, she is a leading online marketing expert and entrepreneur and a best-selling author who helps business owners grow their online businesses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Oh, my God. I love that, Amy. And I agree. I think many times our instincts already know the answer, but we're rationalizing with data and we're giving ourselves excuses and we're like backpedaling and it's like we're doing all the things. But I absolutely agree. And by the way, every time I hired somebody against my instinct or something is always off.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
I love that. So you are landing this incredible role, which I'm thinking, oh my God, this is a priceless school of opportunity that you just landed yourself. What do you feel is some of the best learning experiences? Again, it was just like all the marketing and all the things, but can you pinpoint some specific things that you literally got from this opportunity?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Can I say something about this? Just a second, Amy. For everybody listening, I think this is so, so important. I want you to literally circle this thing because I see people doing this with hiring managers. I see people doing this in interviews. I see people doing this with pitches to investors. I see people doing like...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
We're trying to give them everything we've done in our life, everything, the entire thing. And this is not what they need right now. So really, I can't stress this enough. Amy, you said it so beautifully, like think what they actually need to know right now to have a green light, right? Whether it's a client, it's a hiring manager, it's a board seat, it's whatever. So, so, so important.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And that's incredible. And I think we'll talk about it later because you already have a podcast. And clearly, I can already see how you're answering through stories. And you've been doing this for many, many years. So I also don't want the audience to feel freaked out or have imposter syndrome around it. It is a muscle that you need to build again, again, again.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
And it's like that muscle just gets stronger. But talk to me for a second. It sounds like it was an incredible opportunity, a lot of growth. You clearly have somebody amazing to learn from, and you still decide to leave it all away and take your own path, which could be a daunting decision. So Amy, take me back in time a little bit to that decision. What made it real for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Amy, how did you manage to build such an incredible empire? I think that... Amy Porterfield. I've been following her for a while. She is a leading online marketing expert and entrepreneur and a bestselling author who helps business owners grow their online businesses. How cool is that? And she's one of those that hit $100 million in total revenue last year. How badass it is.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Oh my God, Amy. And you jump into this thing, but it's a completely new world. Landing the first clients is freaking scary. Take us back there a little bit because I've been there, right? And it's like that move is like in the first clients and you have this constant imposter syndrome and can I do it? And what am I selling? Tell me a little bit. What was it for you, Amy?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business | E89
Four-hour work week, let's go.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And if I'm correct, they got about 50% of the company for 250%.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
So it's probably one of the best investments on the planet ever. So if somebody wants to calculate, if the company right now is worth about $20 billion, you can make your calculation. But first of all, you... Start with a few beta sites. You start with a few companies.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Tell us a story of a company that wanted to adopt this, but also I'm sure you had companies that didn't want to adopt this or didn't want to adopt the internet altogether. Share some stories because I'm sure at the beginning, it sounds glamorous. Like, oh my God, you're on this hockey stick. You raise capital. Everything is amazing. Share some stories, Gil.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Gil Shvet, founder and executive chairman of Check Point, the longest serving CEO of any NASDAQ traded company. It's roughly a $20 billion company, the pioneer in cybersecurity and probably the largest company in Israel.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Wow. So something sparked that interest very, very early on. And in the military, you got into a very elite unit. Those who know, it's called 8200. It's in the Israeli Defense Force. And it is more around intelligence, etc., What did that early experience did for you, Gil? I know I always talk about how we've had more responsibility at age 18, 20 than I had many, many years later.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
What a story. And I want to talk about those 100 days, first of all, because a lot of people, this is where they would give up. Like they would basically say, well, you know, a week or two have passed. I didn't make it. Does this even make sense? Is it going to create anything?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And you had no problem continuing, I think, that level of conviction, I guess, of what you're building and that this is going to be a real thing. But what kept you motivated and not just pulled the towel?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
But talk to me a little bit about that for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation as much as I do. Don't forget to subscribe and download. Now, if you're looking to leap your own career, Figure out what's next for you. Fast track your own growth. Create a portfolio career. Check out my free 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Now back to the show. There's the book chutzpah or the word chutzpah. You know, I mean, there's something about knowing how to create our own luck, I think, that is playing a really important role here. And I love these examples. Now, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, Gil, but only after about three years, you decided to go public with Checkpoint. You're super young. Why did you decide it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
How did you know how to do it? Talk to us a little bit, because that's a big deal in every perspective.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
First of all, I would love to hear how your leadership morphed, right? Because you're starting from such a small company to 7,000, whatever, employee company. That's a huge transition. And there's a lot of phases that go through this growth. What is that for you? How did you...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
learn how to morph yourself or what are some of the mistakes that you feel like you've made and you needed to learn how to do better in terms of leadership?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Like if we stay in with 2002 for a second before we move forward, I mean, you're a public company, you need to report everything. Unlike a private company where you can hit the losses, right? Like now it's all public. There's a lot of stress. How do you handle the stress?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
One of my favorite quotes is, you can't change the wind, but you can adjust the sail, right? And I think there's a little bit of what you're talking about of how you're adjusting the sail according to where the wind is blowing. But I do want to talk about this for a second because you need to get ahead of trends in the cybersecurity world
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
So it's incredible, inspiring, but I think also the military lets you dive into areas that maybe on the day-to-day you usually don't dive in. Where did that hit you in terms of cyber? What did you learn there that you took later on?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
which is changing so fast, how do you anticipate the future? What are some of the ways, Gil, that you can even start predicting the future?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Wow. Okay. But you managed to somehow reinvent yourself, even as a CEO, again, again, again, you delegate more, communicate better, like you learn how to steer a ship that is really, really big and very, you know, disruptive in this world, really revolutionized the security industry. And At some point, only I think last year, you decide to step down as CEO.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Can you take us through, Gil, your decision? Was that a hard decision? Was that a fun decision? And again, you were the longest standing CEO of any public company in NASDAQ. So that's incredible. But take us through that decision.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
I love the example. It's so true. And Gil, maybe one last question. If you're looking back in time, I mean, you grew from this engineer that loves to write code to somebody who invented and disrupted this huge market. And led huge teams. So what would be an advice to yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And I want the listeners to hear they might be in the stage of stress or trying to figure out what's next for them or how to grow in their career. What would you say to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Wow. That should be a refreshing change for you. Gil, your story is incredibly inspiring. What you created is amazing. Right now, cybersecurity is one of the biggest trends and things that people deal with. But you somehow created this incredible organization way ahead of time. So I want to thank you for coming to the show and sharing all your insights and
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Anything last that you want to share with the listeners? They want to build something incredible or they want to be part of a company that does something incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Gil, I could probably ask you a million more questions, but thank you so much for your time and for your knowledge and for what you created and what you're demonstrating and mentoring all of us. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Wow, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. It's completely free.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Galancho.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
It is a pretty big one. And I want to go into that. So you don't really deal with cyber yet. That's true. Although I think intelligence overall teaches you how to solve problems in a certain way. And I think that's also in the military. Like you say, you take 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds, and they need to solve problems. You know, you don't train for four years to learn it. You just figure it out.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Do you feel like there's a story for you that latched on to what happened in Checkpoint later? Or do you think there's something there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
It's actually critical. I think it's that level of confidence that no matter what you have and what you face, you can figure it out, which I think is a big part of something that sometimes as adults we lose in life at some point. And I think it's important to see how to get that back, which I think a lot of our listeners will resonate with.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
But you leave the military, you don't necessarily start Checkpoint right off the bat. You do have a few more jobs. What did you gain from some of those experiences? And what do you think that helped you in terms of founding Checkpoint later?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And I'll just say the word entrepreneur didn't even exist and you already knew that you want to start something. Go for it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
Gil Shvet, founder and executive chairman of Checkpoint. Gil Shvet was the longest serving CEO of any NASDAQ traded company. How cool is that? He founded Checkpoint in Israel. It's roughly a $20 billion company, the pioneer in cybersecurity and probably the largest company in Israel. Gil, you began programming at a very, very young age.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
And I want to take you there for a second because I was probably in the military and the Air Force at that time. And I think we kind of saw the wave of internet starting, but you, and it kind of moved from being this academic tool to being companies starting to see, you know, how they can do something with this. And you somehow latched on and decided to not only companies will need this, but
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
but they'll need a firewall or they'll need literally a door to protect them, right? And by the way, I love this explanation. You know, I think you explain it really, really well. So can you explain what you've seen and what you decided to solve?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
You realize there's going to be a real issue, which is pretty incredible because I think both of us were just dazzled by the idea. But you were already looking a few steps ahead, which I want to talk about because that's a theme in your life. But you also decide to raise an extraordinary amount of money. We'll talk about it. This is a joke.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
When VCs, I mean, the whole concept of venture capital wasn't really there before. And I am joking because you build this company from basically nothing, how you started. So can you share a little bit?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity | E81
You were curious about computers when we barely knew what it is. So why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Did you realize that what you're creating will go so viral or was it an experiment and feels more like you created your own luck to some extent?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
You also co-founded Hotwire, which was sold to Expedia for $685 million in 2003. You've been on boards of TripAdvisor and Palantir and co-founded many ventures recently we'll talk about. But you come from a family of entrepreneurs. So take us back in time to Spencer, like the kid. How did you grow up and how did that shape you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
I definitely want to go there. I want to go into two things that I think are fascinating for our listeners, because first of all, there's this notion, at least in the Silicon Valley world, get out as fast as you can, get out scrappy, et cetera. But when you get out very scrappy, there needs to be a little bit more baking in order to get to the millions that you've seen.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So first of all, how do you balance between the MVP or the minimal viable product versus going with something that is good enough for it to really go viral?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Got it. So now you are literally jumping on the wagon of mobile, which I think is something really, really interesting, because as we know, some companies completely missed the boat. First of all, how did you realize that you need to be mobile first? And you changed everything. You changed Zillow completely to be mobile.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So if I'm hearing you correctly, it sounds like you're basically relentless on understanding your audience avatar. You understand that they're not going to be on desktop. They will be roaming around. They will be driving. And you're relentless on trying to understand what do they need when they are driving around. They are looking for homes. And together with being very attentive to what's coming.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So it sounds like it's that... constantly being relentless about what is really needed versus what I'm building.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
You did allude a little bit to the 2008 crisis. How did you maneuver that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
First of all, you as a company or as an individual, there is a little bit that you get a little more creative when things are hard, right? So you have to figure things out and that creates more efficiencies.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
And we saw it, we'll go into the pandemic later, but we saw it in the pandemic, how much innovation actually happened in the pandemic because it kind of accelerated a lot of the things that people didn't necessarily adopt until they had to.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
I still want to go into Zillow for a second because you at some point become CEO and you've played a lot of different roles, which I think is also a big part of when you need to be number one, it really helps when you understand you have a very broad look at different things. How did you become CEO, Spencer? What would you say to someone else that wants to get on a fast path?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So you knew from the get-go that you'll take the CEO role?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
How did you feel about the difference between being CEO and all the rest? Because it is different being sort of the buck stops here and most of the decisions need to be channeled, although there's boards and stuff, but still.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
What about when things are really, really hard or scary or you need to lay off? Do you still have the same or does it still weigh on the CEO a little more than others?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Yeah, I heard that. So you grew it to incredible market size. And then at some point, I think 2019, if I'm not wrong, you decide to leave. First of all, why? And we're going to talk a little bit about all the great things that you're doing now, Spencer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
And then there's pandemic for you. Yeah, I didn't predict that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
That's incredible adaptability. And if I'm not mistaken, you're also taking outside investors into Picasso.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Exactly, which is usually closed. So that's very exciting. And I think you're involved with a few other things. What is your mission now? And I want you to tell a little bit about these things, but how do you see your mission now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
When you look at your dad like that, and he's probably worked really, really hard, did that create that hunger from early age or did that scare you? Like, I don't want to work that hard as crazy as my dad. Like, what did that do as a kid?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
It sounds like you're basically having fun and still creating an impact. That's what I'm hearing, basically.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
And that's brilliant because mentorship at this level of somebody that builds such mega things, it is really remarkable. So I just love that. Based on everything you've done, what would be an advice to yourself or to our listeners that maybe they want more for themselves, maybe they don't exactly know what, but they know that there's more out there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
They're just not sure what it is, how to get there, how to maximize their potential. What would be some of the advice?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
To me, that is so important because there's also a lot of negativity. There's a lot of naysayers. There's a lot of, I mean, if you want to surround yourself with things that will crush you, that's easy to do. I think it's harder to find the people that will actually lift you, mentor you, tell you the truth when you need to hear the truth, all of that. And that's incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
And I think the curiosity is
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
an incredible tip because you're right people just move on they see something but instead of going deep you want to be obsessed with whatever it is in order to take it to the next level which is amazing to hear spencer this was so inspiring thank you for sharing all your experience been following you for a long time and it's just been so great to hear the story in real life
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
He also co-founded Hotwire, which was sold to Expedia for $685 million.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So you were an overachiever from a very early age. You showed it in school, student body, president, all of that. Am I right? You were always kind of pushing yourself.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So when you went to college, did you already have in mind that it's going to be entrepreneurship? Because you went to investment banking and that route. Was it by definition? Did you just roll into it? How was it, Spencer?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So you left a very lucrative, well-paying roles, right? In Goldman Sachs and the private equity, very safe in order to parachute into starting Hotwire. So how did that happen? Why did that happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
You did allude a little bit to the 2008 crisis. How did you maneuver that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Every startup is, but I want to take you through that moment because I think people, they probably can't really understand what you went through, but they can start relating to it because that feels like a disaster. When you run a company and you know that you have some piece in this disaster, how do you wake up? How do you take care of yourself, Spencer?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Spencer Vascoff, co-founder and CEO of Zillow until 2019, which during your time grew to over 4,500 employees, $3 billion in revenue, $10 billion in market capitalization.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
Because I think that scares a lot of people and that's really hard too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
I think you're right because, Spencer, one of the things that we see all the time is that when people are going through these near-death experiences, they quit. You didn't quit on Hotwire. You continued. But I think there's some areas where you're like, I'm suffocating. So how do you go through this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So today I have a really great episode for you because this person, I've been following him for a long time, Spencer Vascoff, co-founder and we're CEO of Zillow until 2019, which during your time grew to what, over 4,500 employees, 3 billion in revenue, 10 billion in market capitalization, massive. And I think every single person knows Zillow, which is incredible. My daughter uses Zillow for fun.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
That makes sense. I don't know if that makes it a lot less scary, but maybe a little less lonely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises | E63
So you recover from 9-11, you sell it to Expedia and you spend some time in Expedia. Why then start Zillow? How did that form? And I think there's also some people that also left Zillow. Can you share a little bit of that story?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I mean, I already gave up, so you can say that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
No, but you can hope to be. But I absolutely agree. Okay, so you work in the jewelry space. How did you get then into the tech world?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Guy Kawasaki joining us today, this legend from Silicon Valley, I know you're laughing at me, but that's okay, who I have been following and learning for years. Apple chief evangelist, he helped launch the Macintosh, shaping how we think about innovation and branding.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
And I will say nepotism is just a hidden market. This is how we get all the coolest opportunities anyway, guys.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Right. But I'll tell you, I don't call it nepotism. Like, I seriously believe that the best type of opportunities we all get from our network and we all get from people knowing people. And that's part of the reason to go to college was all respect is that network, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
And since then, he's become this venture capitalist, bestselling author, startup advisor, working with game-changing companies like Canva and others. He's also the host of Remarkable People podcast, really making the world a better place and shining the light on people that are remarkable. Thank you, Guy. It's going to be so fun to have you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Without a doubt, yes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
So I think people pull you. And by the way, it's up to you to make sure that your brand is aligned with where you want to go and that they bring you to the right opportunities. So yes, your brand was somehow aligned with where you wanted to go. He somehow knew about it and he brought you into Apple. That is a really cool story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Probably, although the surfboard makes it pretty desirable at the back, but... No, but seriously, I think there's a lot to creating your own luck. But when you got into Apple, first of all, it's funny because I literally live across the street from Steve Jobs' basement. But what was your impression working with Steve Jobs? Like, how did that environment shape you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
It's true. It's true.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I do. Mrs. Elizabeth, poor girl. But tell me, working with him, like I'm sure it still creates a lot of learning opportunities. What did you get?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I did not. I know. I already heard like this is one of your. Trust me, I do my homework, but oh, my God. Well, it is a similar last name, though. You have to admit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But I want to go there with you for a second, Guy, because at that point you needed to literally go persuade people about a vision that barely existed, right? It wasn't like selling diamonds that you can just pour it on the napkin or whatever, the scale. Like now you're trying to like sell this concept and make them create software and hardware for something that doesn't exist.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Talk to me a little bit about what that looks like.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But then you decide to leave Apple and I think you're doing your own ventures, which is a freaking hard guy, but I'm sure it's also helped you shape a lot of the things that I learned from you as an entrepreneur. So first of all, thank you. What were those moments of decision, I guess twice, of leaving Apple and what was it like to start being an entrepreneur?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Take me back in time, Guy. You grew up in Hawaii, if I'm not mistaken, kind of a tougher part of Honolulu. So you didn't come from a lot of money.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I'll just say that we just had John Hennessy on our podcast and he wanted to go slam on cars. And I'm like, dude, we're going to talk about your careers because I don't know anything about cars, but maybe I'll connect you two. Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Let's do it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
So tell me, how did you grow up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Oh my God, that's so funny. Oh my God.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Okay. So you quit, you do your own ventures, you come back, et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
If we look at speaking your LinkedIn, like the last 30 years or whatever that adds up to be, Guy, it looks like Guy is just like hopping from one advisory to one thing to another thing. Like it looks like there's have all these opportunities floating. There's never challenges in Guy's world. So can you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Walk us through what does it actually take to leap again and again and some of these challenges that do come with some of this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Existed. Yeah, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Yeah, good luck to you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Experimenting. I totally agree. I mean, that's the same experimentation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
And now you can do it to others.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But I think maybe it's like your belief was strong enough to know that eventually it connects the dots. Like if you believe that you can continue and not quit, somehow you did.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Well, it's not going to get you closer to your goals. So you can decide challenges are inevitable, but the suffering is a choice. You need to decide, are you going to suffer through life or are you going to do something about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Ouch. That's a good one. But speaking of suffering, Guy, if I'm okay with taking you there, you did go through a very hard moment a few years ago. Can we take you there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Okay. Well, share a little bit because you had some big news a couple of years ago, and that could have taken you into some pretty victim mentality, but you continue to be a podcaster. You continue doing. Oh, you mean losing my hearing? Yeah. For example, like that is a big thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Oh my God. But seriously, when you get something like this, how do you not fall into a really big black hole? Or maybe you do for a little bit because that's okay too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
No, but you also didn't quit the podcast. Normal human beings would have said, okay, screw this. This is not going to work.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But why Silicon Valley? Was that like a dream? Did you know that I got to get out of Honolulu or how was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
No, you're kidding. That's incredible.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Oh my God, I love this. So Guy, for professionals who are hearing this and saying, okay, but Guy, I want to go faster. I want to go higher. I want to be on stages like you. I want to author books like you. I want to be interviewed to podcasts like you. What are some of the advice that you would give them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I hear that. And I think that ties really well to what you said in the beginning. The grass always looks greener on the other side, but it's not. It's hard on that side too. You don't see it. And I think as an entrepreneur, I remember all these gurus like, oh my God, you should look at this direction. I was just like, okay, let me go look there. And I was like, okay, that's it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I need to listen to myself because this is going to drive me nuts.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
True. Is there something that you wish somebody would have said to you earlier in your career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
That would be nice.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Well, I do believe in freedom and I think you're living the freedom of choice. I am. Which is the most incredible freedom possible. So, I mean, you're doing your thing and you're giving a lot of entrepreneurs a lot of hope. You're teaching us how to pitch and how to create with decks and whatever. So it makes a difference.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Yeah, please do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
The motorcycle thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Yeah, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I know, I always fail somehow. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But you started studying psychology, of all things. So first of all, why psychology? Was that something you were drawn into?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
That is true, Guy. I admit that is true. Can I go surfing now? Now you can go surfing. Guy, thank you so much for everything and continue to inspire and crush it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
All righty.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Oh, me too. Trust me. It doesn't matter. I have two options.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Exactly. Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
So you were already entrepreneurial and you were already experimenting. That's how I see it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Guy Kawasaki, Apple chief evangelist. He helped launch the Macintosh. And since then, he's become this venture capitalist, bestselling author, startup advisor, working with game-changing companies like Canva and others.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
But I will say that one of the sentences that you say pretty often is that one of the best skills is sales and marketing. And I wish somebody was saying that more often because I think it's absolutely true.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
Yeah, so now you can get...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I love that. And I can already see my next question when you get to Apple. But before that, you considered law school. but also realize that this is not for you. So what was that moment that you decided to pivot? And I think you talk a little bit about sunken costs when you talk about this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
So I would love to hear you because I think a lot of people are trapped in a career that is not suitable just because of the fear of what if I move? What if I leave things behind?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
That works out too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
I agree. But I think in your book, if I'm not mistaken, it's your last one, Think Remarkable. But I did read most of them, so I could be wrong. But I think you say something that is very powerful, which is quit on a good day. So one of the things that I think is really important is to not look at the slump and
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Guy Kawasaki: The Tech Evangelist Who Built Apple and Canva into Iconic Brands | E97
and then decide, okay, I'm giving up, but look at it from a successful point and saying, okay, yes, I can look at this and still with my eyes open, this is not the right place for me and I need to move. And I think this is something I personally like how you say that, Guy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
And I think what you just said is so important because, you know, it's not just a paycheck. It's also the life that you want to create with that paycheck, right? It's like, what are we making possible? But take me there for a second, because you didn't come from the health industry. And I think a lot of our listeners are always really scared, like, oh, my God, I'm only in this industry.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I can only go to the competition. And... You did a massive leap, no pun intended, right? Like you made a massive leap to a different industry. You zoom up the ladder, you know, even before that. But how did you make that transition? And how did you prove maybe to the CEO that you are the right person?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
take me there for a second, because again, you came from a place where you weren't necessarily a great leader yet. And then suddenly you learned leadership. And not only that you learned leadership, you found yourself CEO of Medtronics. And not only that, I don't know, you just took it skyrocket. I mean, I was, you know, I was looking at the stocks throughout your time there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I mean, it's just like incredible to watch, Bill. So If somebody is listening to this, and I know you share a lot of it in True North and in some of your books, but what made that possible for you and what made it possible for Medtronic, do you think?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
So was there a hard moment when you just got started and you were trying to just figure out your way in Medtronics and how to take on such a big role?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
That's incredible. And again, I think a lot of it is about this boldness of not being afraid of, but also you're not afraid because you know what you're creating. You know the impact that you're creating. You know that it literally changes lives or saves lives and the ripple of what this creates. So you have this boldness of saying, yes, we're going to need to do that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
And I think what you just shared is so, so, so important. First of all, excitement is contagious. I think people see it. And I think it's very hard to fake it for a long time. So you can't really fake that excitement for a long time. And I think there's also an element of what you just said, as much as I'm proud of We grew really fast and we got these awards and ink and all that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
At the end of the day, it's that person that suddenly, you know, from going to, from $25 an hour and now she's at Accenture creating some big things and we changed her life. She's making 200 plus and she can get her, family to Pakistan to visit their family because she couldn't afford it for five years.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
So eventually it's the stories, it's the impact, it's the ripple that you create, which is so fundamental. And I think one thing that you're saying it so beautifully in your book is True North, and I think you're also sharing it in Emerging Leaders, which just launched and just came out. And you say a lot around leading from the heart, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Which is kind of what we're talking about, that EQ together with the IQ. Talk a little bit about that, Bill.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I mean, you shared so many interesting things and I was taking notes. I mean, first of all, it's not about what we make, it's what we make possible. And I think when you're really understanding the impact of what you're actually creating, it catapults everyone, right? And it just aligns them to the bigger thing because I want, I mean, I hire people some of the best coaches on the planet.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I hire some of the best teams on my planet, but I need them to decide every single day that they want to be here because they can go in a second and earn more somewhere else. But I need them to decide that they want to change lives. So first of all, I think that's a really important distinction that you just said.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
And the other thing that you touch, which I think is critical for leadership, and I don't really know, I think, how to teach that, is decision-making. Because in life, when we get started in life, I think a lot of it is if-then-else. If I accomplish this, then I do this. If I do this, then I do that, right? But as a leader, you have to change the way you make decisions, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
You first make the decision to hire, then you will see ROI. You make a decision to go for a direction, you'll see ROI much later. So you need at some point to get to those leadership capabilities, you have to start making decisions very differently than where our instincts are. How do you look at decision-making, Bill?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
And I think you talk a lot about that also in True North. And again, in both of your books, because I think a lot of it is and this is a big part in Leap Academy. Like, how do you find what's next for you? Because the plateau of opportunities now is endless. And I think most people don't even know what's on the menu. What are you trying to convey with those stories?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Because you bring so many stories from so many of the leading companies in the world. It's a fascinating thing to just look at all the different companies and how they operate and all the different CEOs. But what are you trying to convey?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
So first of all, what made you try again and again and again? Because again, most people would not try six times. They got a rejection the first time and they'll say, well, it's not for me. Leadership is not it. I will just do whatever, something else. What made you continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I love that. And you have so many stories of leaders that were able to follow their true north and were not able to. Is there a favorite story that you like telling or that impacted you when you heard it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
That's so beautiful. Yes. We're talking a lot about some of these leaders. And I mean, it's just incredible to watch when it is coming from love and compassion and et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Well, I come from Israel. I like that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
We're very direct, so we don't know how to show your code. But you talk about balancing career and family, which I think is also part of something that I think is important to talk about, because I think we see a lot of people with massive burnout. We see people that, you know, are on the brink of suicide because they just can't go any further.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
And again, we see some people that just want more, right? More recognition, more accomplishment, more impact, whatever it is. So we see both spectrum. But how do you see balancing career and family and all of that was a big career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I love that. And I think one of the things that we share is I do believe that maybe the ultimate balance, it doesn't really exist. Like I think life is in phases and different things will be important for you in different phases of your life. You just need to know what your focus is and just make sure that you're all in in whatever it is. I think the problem is our mindset around it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Oh, but I haven't done enough. And it's that victim. Like I haven't been enough with my kids or I haven't been. And then you're just not happy anywhere. So it's really more about just making that decision, knowing what's important for you and just making sure that you can go all in on that. And it's sometimes the quality, not necessarily the quantity of time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
That's incredible because you're absolutely right. And I love that you're saying to get into the arena. And I think also John Maxwell always says that your success will be capped by your leadership lead. And I think that just, it's exactly what you're saying. So you're getting this feedback of you're moving too fast. People can't catch on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Wow, that's a big lesson. Thank you for sharing that, Bill. I think we all needed to hear a little bit of that. Based on all your experience, if you're looking back in time, what would be an advice to your younger self? Again, you have your book for emergent leaders. So what would you say to those emergent leaders, I guess?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
What are the things that shift for you to suddenly start taking more leadership roles, you think?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I think this is just so, so, so important, especially today, because it's not about what society wants you to do. It's really, you're going to need to, like you say, find your true. I usually just say, I want to have fun. And that's a big motto in Leap Academy. That's, I think, you know, in our culture, everybody knows in the team, fun is number one, because when fun will happen...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
The client experience will happen. The growth will happen. It's all going to fall into place. When we're not having fun and everything is a slug, it's never going to happen. So I personally do take the backpack and travel the world. And again, just do whatever is right for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I don't know if my kids will, but I'm just saying do whatever is right for you, but don't be afraid of taking bold action and just enjoying the journey because it is a long journey and it's beautiful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
That's true. Bill, thank you so much for everything that you do and for changing so many lives and just showing up and sharing it with all of us and our listeners.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
By the way, me too. How rare is that? Anyway, that's so cool. Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
I think that's such an important distinction. I was not a great student. By the way, we just published an episode with Richard Branson speaking of people that had to leave school at 15. So I agree. It's not going to be all about the scoring. That's not necessarily what's going to show whether you're going to be successful in life or not.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
There's a zillion other things that will come into seeing if you're going to be successful. And I think that's a big part of Leap Academy. Like I want people to lean on their experiences and what they are good at and their zone of genius and to see how that ripples them and catapults their career. Because when we do lean on that, what else is available? What can you make possible?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
So yeah, Bill, thank you so much for raising that. That's beautiful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Absolutely love this, Bill. Thank you so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
That's incredible, Bill. And I think a lot of that adaptability and learning fast and making those connections is just so fundamental. But I want to take you maybe to a harder time in your life, if that's okay. You lose two very impactful people in your life, your mom and your fiance. Can you take us there for a second and what those strategies shaped your thinking?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
You made a massive leap to a different industry. You zoom up the ladder. How did you make that transition?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronics, currently an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, author, served on countless boards from Golden Sacks and ExxonMobil and Novartis and Target and more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
First of all, thank you for sharing that. It feels like such a big slap in the face. I know that losing my mom created a little bit of almost like life is so short. What am I doing? Why am I compromising? Why am I not going all in? Like it created a little bit of sense of urgency. Did that create a little bit of a perspective?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronics, currently an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, author, served on countless boards from Golden Sacks and ExxonMobil and Novartis and Target and more. Bill, I'm so glad to talk to you today because you had a pivotal moment at a young age where your father sparked an idea. Can you take us back in time?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
Did that change anything in terms of your career or any way of looking at life?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
So inspiring. So you, at some point, you start working in some kind of, some good environments, some a little more toxic environments. And I think they shaped you or shaped a little bit of your views and leadership. Can you talk a little bit about that, your earlier career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. Before you knew all these big people, were you scared that maybe, maybe you can't make a living out of this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Maybe you need to get a nine to five job. Maybe this is a hard type of entrepreneurship.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Tim's story is, first of all, friends. He is the comeback coach for stars like Robert Downey Jr., like Charlie Sheen, like Grant Cardone, and many others. He's also a globally recognized life coach. He's a speaker. He's a best-selling author. author who helped millions across 78 countries transform setbacks into comebacks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Were there moments like, I don't know, in the 2000s or 2008, or maybe those didn't really hurt you, but COVID, I don't know. Like, were there moments where you're suddenly like, man, this is hard? Are there moments where you also doubt yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
That's strong. And I love that you said that because I think some people are feeling a lot of winter right now and I think they need to hear it. So they need to hear how to grow. And I think in your book, The Miracle Mentality, I think you talk also a lot about
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
not only recuperating from these things, but also to live beyond the average thinking, like how to look much grander than to what your full potential is and not to look at just survival, right? So take a stare for a second and what shaped that book?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
We in Leap Academy actually brought him to speak on stage in LeapCon, our main event for the year. And he just blew everybody's minds. So Tim, thank you for being here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Tim, do you have some strategies for people who are listening right now to this episode and saying, I'm in a dark place. All the evidence is against me. I have haters. I have financial situations. I'm losing the belief. I'm losing my ability to dream. How do we help them, Tim?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
When you're a comeback coach for so many people, I'm sure, first of all, you're seeing patterns that are the same, but also I'm sure you've seen a change in this digital world because we're just moving in such a fast pace that I assume there's a difference in what you've seen a few decades ago.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
It will be amazing. So Tim, I want to take you to your childhood, if that's okay, because I think a lot of the seeds start there. And I want you to take us back in time, maybe pre-age 10, right at a big thing that happened in your life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
So give us an example, maybe from a situation that you had. You go after a specific goal, but all these evidence go against you, right? Because I'm sure that happens. And you still need to take those imperfect steps and continue. Do you have an example that you remember that you needed to shut that noise?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And I think the other thing that you're showing, and I think it's something that I really believe is, is that every successful person anybody admires survived the season you didn't see. Everybody has something that you didn't necessarily see. It just looks like it's easy. It looks successful. It looks... Like they're always winning, but they all have moments.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Based on everything that you accomplished, and maybe I do want to go for a second. I know these opportunities came to you, but I think a lot of people are listening and saying, I want to create my own luck. I don't want to just count on Opera at some point coming up to me or NBC at some point coming up to me. How can I be more intentional and strategic with making luck happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And again, everything you've done, you actually create your own luck. But do you feel like there's something specific that you've done in order to get some attention from a specific person you really wanted?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
I did.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And for those listening, by the way, not seeing the video, basically it's the duck like trying to scramble their way like underwater versus it looks like it's all kind of like swimming along, right? Which is true, right? This is how we look like. I mean, sometimes there's a lot of hustle.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
So Tim, if you're looking back at your younger self, is there something that you wish somebody reflected back to you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Do you think you felt it? You felt that they were financially challenged or at that point you're still too young to really realize it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Oh, that's such a beautiful thing to hear, Tim, because I think that's usually, again, in this fast-paced environment that we're in, there's always a go, go, go. And it's never about, let's really embrace the moments. And those are special.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Tim, I want to respect your time. I know you have more things, but your talk is still something that a lot of people, a lot of our clients, we've had you and LeapCon, one of our big premier events, and a lot of people are still talking about that talk and how it inspired them and made them think of themselves in a different way and
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Just take those limiting beliefs and shatter them and become a better human and a better self. So first of all, thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Oh, thank you, Tim. And yeah, I saw you speaking in Gran Cordon on the cruise. And for me, it was like, this is exactly what I need. Thank you so much for everything and for inspiring and just making this world a better place. We need more of that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And then right at the age of 10, which is actually a pretty pivotal time for any kid, you had a big thing happen in your family. Can you share? And how did that shake your world?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Which again, it will shake everybody, right? And I do want to go there for a second, if you will, because I think especially now, a lot of people are going through a lot of life moments. And I think at that point, I'm sure you saw your mom crying. I'm sure you saw a lot of stress. How does that, because again, at that point you have a choice, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
And you can go down the black, you know, very dark area and you can actually take it, you know, and what you've done is anchored faith, et cetera. But in that pivotal moment, how did that shape you, Tim?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
That's incredible what you just said, because I think who you surround yourself at those moments is just so critical. And I didn't think about it in the way you just said it. So at that point, you're in Kempton. It's a small area, right? I'm sure you see people that are not necessarily choosing kind of more of a dark path.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Tim Story is the comeback coach for stars like Robert Downey Jr., like Charlie Sheen, like Grant Cardone, and many others. He's also helped millions across 78 countries transform setbacks into comebacks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
But for you, it's very clear that you're going to lean on the light or the faith, etc. How did you grow up from that point? So teenhood later on?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Do you think that helped shape that desire to devote yourself to lifting others and to do the same? Do you think that's part of it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Do you want to share that story, by the way, because you have a beautiful second part to that beautiful story was that teacher.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
It gives me chills. I had to have you shared. But take me back in time. You're suddenly you're this like really young man that decides to travel internationally and speak. I'm sure that people gave you the looks or underestimated you because that's pretty classic. Tell me a little bit. How did you get the grit to at age whatever, 20, start traveling the world?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Do you have some strategies for people who are listening right now to this episode and saying, I'm in a dark place, I'm losing the belief, I'm losing my ability to dream?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
Before you go there, this is fast, right? And we, as people, first of all, we're lacking patience. We want everything yesterday. So I get that. That's part of the thing. But for you, again, you're starting from, to some extent, Tim, not much, right? It's not like you grew up to know all these people. How do you even... make connection with those BP? How do you get in front of them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tim Storey: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks and Achieving Unstoppable Success | E105
How do you get their attention? Tell us a little bit. What happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Incredible. So it's almost a third of your life, but who's counting?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Crazy. Okay. But early stage, when you start something, there's going to be a zillion challenges, especially because how fast Shopify grew. Can you share a little bit of the beginning, some hard moments that you all needed to confront?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
You started entrepreneurship when you literally had no choice. You did a bit as a kid. We'll talk about that too. But you leap to entrepreneurship in a very, very dark place personally and for the family. Can you share what happened, Arlie?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Darwin in the making, exactly. That's exactly right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
I'm hearing a few things that I think I want to make sure the listeners are really, really hearing because you became that person that is there for whatever is needed. If there's a problem with finance, we don't know, you're in. If there's a problem with operations, you're in. And it sounds like this is part of the reason why you zoomed up the ladder and eventually became COO.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
We'll talk about that. But that's probably one of the reasons why you became, because you're right. Otherwise you lose relevance at a speed that we've never seen before, especially now. Like I feel things are moving so fast.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And I think you're right. And I think that the listeners, again, not everybody's built for entrepreneurship, but it's never been easier. It's never been cheaper. It's accessible. It's accessible to anyone that is willing to continue when most others stop.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Oh my God, I love these nuggets. I was totally writing this down because I never thought about it as a trust battery, but it's so true and it's so accurate.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And the other thing, Harley, that I believe from everything that I've seen with Shopify through the years, culture has also been a big play for you, right? Aligning with the mission, believing in a mission, aligning the people and the culture to the mission. Can you talk a little bit about that, Harley?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And that's incredible. And by the way, it's interesting because we feel your passion, right? Like, I mean, I think everybody listening and people seeing it on YouTube, like you see the passion. It's contagious. Yeah. It has to be. I don't think you can fake it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
But what you said, I think is really, really important here in terms of when you talk about that zone of genius and that luxury, I remember one of my hardest moments was as you climb up the ladder, VP, whatever, you get the salary, it's very comfortable. And even though it's killing you from the inside, you are feeling ungrateful, right? I have a roof over my head. I'm paying my kids.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Why am I ungrateful? Why am I not happy? And so, first of all, it comes with a little bit of shame around how can I not be satisfied and grateful? And on the other hand, it's that nudge that actually made me leap and start Leap Academy, entrepreneurship, et cetera. And that created, I've never been this happy in my life. So how do you balance between that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
You know, I would love to eventually also talk about that COO role because I think that's also part of the story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Wow. I never thought of entrepreneurship as a problem solving, which I guess it is. But I want you to take me back in time then to this 14-year-old that decides to be a DJ. How did you even start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
That's brilliant, the tour of duty. And I think a lot of it is hardly experimentation anyway, right? Because whatever you studied at age 20 is irrelevant to what you're doing usually anyway. So if you don't experiment, how can you tell? But talk to us a little bit about COVID because there was definitely some changes that needed to happen. It was a stressful time for everybody.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Retailers were closing doors in many cases. Can you talk a little bit about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
I like that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And to me, I think that's a lot about that adaptability. But speaking of incredible times, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are historically massive for Shopify and for everybody on the platform. Why is it such a great opportunity? And talk a little bit about the numbers because you- Oh yeah, the numbers are crazy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Amazing. This is so, so strong. And the numbers are insane. I have to say, like, I need to wrap my head around it. Harley, what would you say is maybe something that maybe sometimes people don't necessarily know about you, but that builds you to who you are today?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
So maybe last question for you, Harley, because these are such important points. Our listeners, many of them are either want to go to entrepreneurship, but are afraid. Some of them are starting, but it's really hard to find the first client. What would you say to people who are debating? They're afraid of the financial element. They're afraid of what will people say? What if I fail?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
Like there's a lot of fear around it, Harley. What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
I agree a thousand percent, Harley. We call it in Leap Academy, the new possible. I think the plateau of possibilities is endless. And I love that Shopify makes it so much easier for people to just try it out, you know, go for it. I love this. Harley, thank you so much for coming in the show. Crush it. Continue changing people's lives because it's just incredible and it's in the masses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
That is so incredible because, first of all, the fact that they even thought of creating those cards, there wasn't Moo cards or whatever, you know, the typical card creators, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
So to me, first of all, that means that your parents were a big driver. They understood entrepreneurship when it wasn't a cool thing yet. So take us a little bit towards college because you're also learning something that is completely not what you do today. But take us a little bit there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
I had a dream, man. I am going naked. Harley Ficklestein, president of Shopify, valued at $100 billion. They're helping millions of businesses and entrepreneurs across the globe start, sell and grow their businesses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And again, this one didn't start with a passion. It started because your back was against the wall, which I think is also important to understand. Sometimes it is really great to follow your passion, but sometimes you also need to do things because this is what you need right now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
And like you said, when you're an entrepreneur, you wear trizillion hats. Speaking of hats, you wear so many hats and it is about just solving problems. I see something, I go all in. I see something, I go all in. But it's never been easier to start a business, which I want to talk about as well in a second. But talk to us a little bit about from selling shirts.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
How did you join Shopify and how did that all happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Shopify President: The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship Has Arrived | Harley Finkelstein | E53
How did you join Shopify and how did that all happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
What do you want to be known for? I don't want you to think too far away when you think about what you want to be known for. I really want you to think about a year or two because our life changes and our priorities changes. And I talk a lot about this in my keynotes. But here, I just want to give you a little bit about the reason why I want you to focus only about these specific weeks.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
So at least I got that, right? But that's my zone of incompetence. Then there's zone of competence. Competence is basically, you're okay. You're doing pretty okay. But honestly, others will do it better. This is probably me in coding. Yes, I was a good coder, but honestly... The minute I started working with customers, that's when I realized that's my zone of genius. Not the coding.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
There are better coders. There are people that love to do it 9, 10, 12 hours a day. That was not me. So figure out what are those skills. And then there's zone of excellence. Zone of excellence is actually a tricky one because you can actually have a really good job for the rest of your life, paid well, and you're going to be at that zone of excellence.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
But the problem is with going zone of excellence is that it's not your zone of genius. So you're going to be good, but you're not going to be uniquely, extremely amazing, or it's not going to make you as happy. Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
So there's definitely some things that I can probably put in that zone of excellence, but I can probably assure you that I'm not as happy as I am now because now I'm operating at my zone of genius and I love it. Okay. So Figure out what that is for you, because if you can focus on that, you're still going to have gaps. You're still going to learn a lot.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
You're still going to have things that won't work well, and you're still going to fail all the time. We're going to talk about it in other videos, but you're still going to focus on that zone of genius, and that's what's going to make you remarkable and really successful and happy, shining, okay? Proud of yourself. So this is what we want, okay? We want to find that zone of genius. Now,
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
In Career Leap, in the actual program, we dive super deep into this and analyzing your skills and everything. But here, I was just going to give you a few tips, okay? So first of all, focus on your strengths. Literally write those down. So take a piece of paper, shut down any social media, and write down what are those strengths? What are you great at? And really think from childhood.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
What did you do as a child that was amazing and let everybody look at you and like, wow, like... She did that? Like, that's amazing. Okay. So really look back at what people were amazed by you. And write down those skills. What is that? Where do you think you're actually at the excellence and genius mode? And then write down what is interesting for you, because that's not necessarily the same.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
So I can assure you that in my previous startup, I was focusing on cloud data centers, IT. I was pretty remarkable at it. That was probably my zone of excellence. But guess what? I'm not as interested in it now. So yes, I can help startups from time to time. They're in this space. I can help companies in this space. And that's what I've been doing now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
But that's not where I want to be all the time, right? I want to focus on what's more interesting for me, which is growing people, growing teams. So really focus on what is interesting for you. And the other thing that is a big tip for me is figure out What other people are intrigued by you? Okay, so you, my friend, are already an authority. People already come to you for something.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
What are those things? What are they intrigued by you? Why are they impressed by you? Why do they come to you with questions? What is it? So literally list those down. Now, sometimes it's really good to go back to like Messenger and see what people message do.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
I looked at my LinkedIn recommendations and I was pretty impressed by some of the things that they wrote because it wasn't even in my line of thought. Like I didn't even think that that was something I'm unique at it or as people see it in a different light. So look at everything that people think about you. Or if you don't have enough, just ask. People will love to tell you good things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
is because you have value that you can give today. And the question is, what is it, right? So maybe it's businesses and you know how to operate in lean situations, or you know how to entertain kids remote, or you can help adults with the lower stress meditation, building their reputation, right? Whatever it is.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
You're asking for a good thing, right? So ask people, hey, what do you think of me? What are the things that you're impressed by me? What are the things that you liked about me? What did you like to work with me, et cetera? So ask and you're going to love what you're going to see. The other thing is really list down those wins and accomplishments.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
And when you really had milestones that were kind of above and beyond and A, list them in CareerLeap, we actually create what I call a brag bank. And it's actually a great document because from that, you can literally copy paste things to your resume, to your LinkedIn and to email it. create a little brag bag for yourself and literally write down those wins and accomplishments.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
But also think about in what scenarios are you operating above and beyond, right? In what scenarios, like is that stressful moment? Is that places where you need emotional intelligence? Is this times when you need to problem solve things? Like try to really figure out what is that that made you above and beyond? What was the scenario? Because that might be a hint about that zone of genius.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
Another big thing is that many times we get to the zone of genius after we overcome a significant obstacle for ourselves. Okay. So if we battled with something specific, a big problem that we solved for ourselves, that sometimes become that zone of genius because we literally solved our own problem. That was a painful one.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
That's how I got to Career Leap because I solved my own problem when I lost my job and my startup and my investment and everything at the same time. And I needed to reinvent myself and leap in my career. So this was a big one for me. So figure out if you have an obstacle that you overcome because that sometimes... really hints towards that zone of genius.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
So do that homework and that will really help you hone what is it that you want to be known for and really divide it into two. Overall, what I want to be known for in the next year or two, but what is it that I can do now to help businesses or to help kids or to help adults or to help in these situation now in the coming weeks?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
because you can add value and build your reputation and personal brand along the way. There's also a free webinar that you can join. So there's a link and you can just click below because I talk a lot about your priorities and your zone of genius and all that. So you can click below and join a full one hour free webinar. So let's do that. Do the document, do your homework, stay healthy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
Wow, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. It's completely free.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Galancho.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
So what is it that you can help today that will give value immediately in the coming weeks and build that reputation while you do it? And when you do that, you're going to do two things. One, figure out if you love it. and also start building that trust that you can be known for this. Now, I want to talk about what do you want to be known for, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
How do we figure out what you want to be known for? So Gay Hendricks actually creates a really interesting pyramid in which he divides our skills into four categories. One is incompetence. So incompetence, basically, you're not really good at this. When we were kids, we were taught to focus on the skills that we're not great at.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius | E87
But here as adults, I will tell you, stay away because you're always going to learn new things. You're always going to have gaps. But if you're focusing on an area that you're never going to get better, then you're really focusing on the wrong place. Okay. So for me, it's probably me in the kitchen. Nobody wants me there for too long. But the good news is that I married well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
I'm going to take you back in time because it's going to be all about how you got to this level of success and then what you can do for others. But you grew up on Walnut Farm, right? And so relatively humble beginning, if I remember correctly. How did that shape you, Brandon?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Now I'm crying.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Wow, that was incredible, Brandon. We had an episode with the previous president of Starbucks, and he said a quote that I think sits in my head. It basically says, there's no amount of success that you can live on forever. And that one of his hardest moments was actually when he retired. And I thought that was really powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And now you decided to partner with Grant Cardone, and you work together with your amazing wife, Natalie Dawson, who I love. First of all, how is it working together? I think a lot of people are very afraid of working with their partner. How did you find that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Well, I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation. We have a lot more to cover, but don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel. Now, if you're looking to fast track your own career, figure out what's next for you, get that clarity, fast track your own growth, check out that free 30 minute training. You'll get a lot of value out of it. It's sleepacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
That's sleepacademy.com slash training. Now let's get back to the show. Let me ask you about a few things that you said that I think are really important. So I just came back from New York. We were recording an episode with Gary Vee. And one of the things that he said in the studio is about haters. And you touched it for a second. We all going to see more hate now in the digital space.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
It's just so easy to hate. It's so easy to bash someone. How do you cope with hate? I think if there's one thing that for me, it always like I try to ignore it and it always hurts. How do you cope with it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
I think some of us like to be loved or like to be liked. And even if I know it's them, it's their emotional thing. It's not related to me. They're putting on me something that is irrelevant to me. They might not even know me. They've just seen an ad, right? And they already hate me. But the question is, how do you create a little bit of a thicker skin? I think we see it a lot in leadership.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Our listeners will face it in different things that they do in their life. And I think for some of them, this is almost like a barrier to success. Like they're afraid to be out there to not get bashed or to not get hate. How do you create a little bit of a thicker skin, you think? Just go through enough?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
That was so strong. Thank you, Brandon. I think our listeners need to hear this. And speaking of trust, one of the things that when I engaged with you guys, I think I just got to know you last year. Actually, I think it's our one year birthday three days ago, Brandon. There you go. Congratulations to me. I just met you guys. I didn't know much. But first of all, I was very impressed.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Again, I'm an engineer. I need to engineer the heck out of your story, Grant's story. I needed all the pieces. I needed to understand the data. And the data was actually fascinating. I'll show it here for the people on YouTube. So if you're listening in to our podcast, check out the video. But one of the things that you talk about is your breakpoints.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And the breakpoints basically show exactly where are you in your business and what are some of the challenges that you're going to run into. Now, the interesting thing is, Brandon, and this is probably something you didn't know, I was in charge of bringing Israeli startups into the U.S., And I can tell you, each startup, where it was in the breakpoint and how it did.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
It was just incredible to watch. So as I was listening to this, and again, one of them, you know, exited for $350 million, one of them, you know, IPO-ed, etc. So some of them have seen amazing success, some of them not so much, but I can see like to the T where they were when I was trying to work with them in the US. And that was incredible to watch. And then I could see it with my own startups.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And I was like, okay, these guys know what they're doing. And the one thing that you said, Brandon, to me is like, do you trust yourself? And I think this was such a profound question because when I decided to go all in and invest basically for you guys to help me
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Oh, I don't know, about half a million, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Yeah, we basically doubled the business. So, I mean, it becomes a no-brainer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Oh, we make half a million less than a month. So yes, of course. I think it's way beyond that, Brandon, because you guys and I have like a full you did a whole review on our and again, I'm showing it in video. There's a full review here on our business. And we can literally see how we are on track to 100 million, you know, which is a billion dollar company.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
So I can see the track, which is a vision I didn't even have a year ago. So speaking of growth, that's not You know, like the half a million is is a peanut. But I think one of the things that I want to talk about is that engineered approach that you have. And how do you bring that data into helping thousands of businesses now? So talk to us a little bit about some of the things that you're doing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And I want to take you there because that's such a brave move, Brendan. Like at that point, you basically sell everything. You have a newborn, if I know correctly, and you are not afraid to cut and do it. I mean, which I think is just really, it's kind of burning the boats, right? It's just really, really scary. So what did it take from you and how were you not afraid?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And that's incredible. And I know we're almost on the hour and I'm going to let you go. But you also have an incredible book, The Nine Figure Mindset, which is I think is so true because it is a mindset. It's the mindset and the help. So I think going through entrepreneurship or overall your career to try to go through it alone is insanity.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
It's like the most expensive or, you know, mistake in our life because the biggest cost in our life is always the money we're not making. So it's like, how fast can you make it? Right. And who by your side can help you get there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
So, Brandon, what would be an advice to our listeners based on a lot of the things that you learned so far in your career and from the thousands of businesses that you help? What would be an advice?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
That's incredible, Brandon. And I want to go there just for a second, because you mentioned bringing the data, not the drama, which is so, so, so important, right? The drama will make us steer ourselves in other directions. But I just want to say in terms of the life that we have, I can't recognize my life this year. And I want you to know that. I want, you know, my listeners know that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
We've been on the podcast, our top charts, you know, like something incredible. I meet mentors like yourself and Richard Branson and others. And for me, it's like, I can't recognize my life. And I want to tap into what you just said. You can create that if you're just willing to be resilient, to take ownership, to go with somebody like it's all the usual suspects. But
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Brandon, thank you guys so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Let's go. I'm ready. Thank you. Say hi to Natalie.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Wow, what an incredible conversation. I am so inspired. I hope you are too. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, please share it with friends. It really, really helps us bring more amazing guests. And if you at some point want to take yourself and your career to the next level, watch our free training at leapacademy.com slash training. It's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And I will see you in the next show of Leap Academy with Yolanda Golan.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Which is incredible. And I do want to go there into the awesome points, but also the hard moments because entrepreneurship can also, sorry, suck. So we're going to talk a little bit about that too. And when you were 29, you already became one of the youngest people to ever ring the opening bell in the American Stock Exchange.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
What drove you, I think, to pursue entrepreneurship so boldly and so successfully, if you will, like at that point? Because you're still very young.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
I want to talk about this, Brandon, for a few reasons. First of all, this extreme ownership of looking inside and saying, well, you're trying to go to different venture capital or private equity and just saying, I need to figure out how to change my pitch in order to make it. It's not about blaming. It's not about victim mentality.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
How do you get back up and continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
It's looking at what can I control and change that in that resilience, because it's never the challenges that stop us. It's the belief around these challenges that stop us. Right. And you continue. But then eventually you're kicked out of your own company, which is I was kicked out of my own company. So at least I know that it hurts. How do you get back up and continue?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Brandon Dawson, from one of the youngest to being the bell in the American stock exchange, exiting his own company for 77x EBITDA and now partnering with Grant Cardone to help countless of business owners 10x their own businesses.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
As somebody who started in sales and then jumped to entrepreneurship, to also learn leadership, we're not really taught leadership. I think leadership, I mean, you guys teach leadership. We'll talk about it in a second. But in general, it's not really something that is taught.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
Brandon Dawson, from one of the youngest to being the bell in the American Stock Exchange, exiting his own company for 77x EBITDA and now partnering with Grant Cardone to help countless of business owners 10x their own businesses. Plus, he's also helping us at Leap Academy as we are becoming one of the fastest growing companies in America.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
After Sonos, you're really building AudioG and really starting to see this like massive success with building incredible team by your side. What do you think are some of these things things around leadership that then obviously you took to Cardone Ventures and I see and I rip the benefit. But what are some of these things that you learned in RGG and maybe even in Sonos?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And that's incredible. And we'll talk about it because I think that was almost engineered approach and very clear data driven approach is what sold me. I'm a geeky engineer. So this is what sells me. And I want to talk about it. But right before that, so you sell your company in 2016.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And for a lot of our audience, they somehow find themselves in a situation where they're trying to figure out what's next for me. And I think for a lot of our listeners, this is a hard moment because if you're a high achiever, if you're driven, you always kind of know what's next for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
So this conversation is really more personal for me and I'm so excited. Thank you, Brandon, for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson | E79
And there's going to be times that you're suddenly like, oh, God, like there's like this plateau of opportunities. I don't know what excites me anymore. What was it like for you, Brandon?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And I want to go there for a second with you, Chris, because I think a brand is something or some kind of a balance between what you want to be perceived and authenticity is really confusing, especially when you're talking sometimes to these big brands. You want to sound very serious and official. versus fun and engaging and happy, weird videos.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
How do you make sense out of it as a leader that on one hand, people tell you, you will not be fired if you're an IBM, but you will be fired if you're a startup coming in, right? And you screw up. So how do you balance it? You landed on the fun, authentic side.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And I want to go there for a second because it started with some kind of movie that you got involved and it took off. But how did that morph into Wistia? It's just such a beautiful story.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And what I'm hearing also is your growth as a leader, right? From somebody, you know, right from the dorm rooms, basically in college, and suddenly running a 200 people team, et cetera, et cetera, multimillion, right? What do you feel helped you grow as a leader to be able with your money mindset, suddenly dealing with a lot of income and revenue, et cetera, debt sometimes, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Like what helped you grow there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
What you just said, I had to write it down because that happens a lot in hiring. That happens a lot with different growths in different directions.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Right? But as a leader, how do you balance between, on one hand, you want the chaos, you want the speed, you want the creativity, you want to let your teams get freedom. But on the other hand, you need to drive results and not throw spaghetti on the wall. How do you see it as a leader?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Which I love because that's how you learn, right? That adaptability, that experimentation, you get the feedback really quick instead of, I still remember some of my enterprise companies that I was with, we had the requirements and nine months or 12 months later, something would chip and the requirements probably already changed. So I think that agility is really critical.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Chris, could you share a hard moment? Because again, you're running this big thing for many years now. What was a hard moment that you needed to catch yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Oh, my God. I mean, the roller coaster. How do you even get up in the morning and keep on going? What do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
First of all, you've been around for a while. You had an exit opportunity. You decided to decline, which is insane or not. But tell me what made you decide not to sell?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
From starting in his co-founder's living room, Wistia has since grown into a multi-million dollar business with over 200 employees and millions of customers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
That's incredible. And I think not only from the business side of you, but having that plan also, you started being very intentional about the life that you want to live together with this business. And can you share a little bit? Because I think that's super interesting.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And I love that distinction, right? Because I think there's also this myth of, let me just sit on the beach all day and create freedom and success. That doesn't happen. You do need to work hard. But sometimes we say life is in phases. Different things will be important for you in different phases of your life. It just go all in, whatever it is. But-
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
You also had, and I'm just curious where it stands for you. There's always this, do you build the brand of the business? Do you build a personal brand? Where do you see that? Because I think you also shifted a little bit and I think it's super fascinating to me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And I think it even won an Emmy Award. It was theoretically, it looked like a success, and then you were not able to really take it forward. Am I right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
That's exactly what we're doing. And I think that just so important for listeners to understand. You might be posting from a business page, but that usually going to go crickets unless you pay for it. So if you really want to build your own brand, that's going to take you further, but also is going to paint that more authenticity. If people will relate to you better. And I just love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
So for those who don't know Wistia enough, why should they use Wistia versus YouTube? I can tell you what we're used to doing, but I'm curious what you say, Chris.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Incredible, Chris. And for us, I mean, we use it for, you know, a lot of the things that you just mentioned, the webinars. For those who don't know, if you embed a video from YouTube on some kind of other platform, you're usually going to get other recommendations and you don't want to send people off your own website, right? So this is how we started was with Stia.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
And from that point on, you know, it became a webinar and so many other things. So I just, I personally love it. Chris, based on everything that you've gone through, what would be an advice to your younger self if you could go back in time?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Ooh, that's really powerful because somehow you have all these experts and the grass always seems greener on the other side. And it's just so easy to be tempted to go in all directions. But eventually nobody really knows except for you. But that's also scary to think about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Chris, thank you so much for coming to the show, for creating Wistia that we love, and for just sharing this incredible story with our listeners. Thank you so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Which always does, by the way, which is interesting because there's these myths that just causes us to think that things will happen faster. But talk to us for a second. So you were a very early adapter and you really understood what is the change that is happening and you knew that you want to jump on this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
But share a little bit around the pivot that you needed to do, the experimentation that you needed to do in order to find the market fit, which is always just such a hard thing to do because everything looks so green.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Based on everything that you've gone through, what would be an advice to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
There's actually a need. You're actually creating medicine versus a vitamin. People actually need it, willing to pay, et cetera, et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Chris Savage, co-founder and CEO of Wistia, a video for business, which we're using as well. And from starting in his co-founder's living room, Wistia has since grown into a multi-million dollar business with over 200 employees and millions of customers. But Chris, it wasn't an overnight success. Take us back in time to your college days.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
I love this story. And then you need to go raise capital, right? Which is very, very hard. Can you talk a little bit about it? Because again, I think there's a little bit of a myth. We see all these people raising millions and you're like, okay. And then, you know, just so hard to continue when you get the first few no's.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
That's a good hire, by the way.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
Chris Savage, co-founder and CEO of Wistia, a video for business which we're using as well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Wistia CEO, Chris Savage: Master the Art of Pivoting, How to Adapt and Grow Against the Odds | E61
As a co-founder, when you start a company, you need to, or even when you just lead a company, you need to make some really hard decisions and you're never going to have all the data you want in order to make the right decision, but you're going to have to make those decisions. You made this big decision in order to basically scale the company. How do you look at scaling the company?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
It was just I had just a really good feeling. The fact that you had that hunch is in that conviction. That was amazing. So tell me about the day that you decided, OK, I'm going all in. Do I want the stability and the comfort or am I like leaping into this unknown world?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Rosanna Pansino, a YouTuber, entrepreneur, author. She's the creator of Nerdy Nummies. I love that. The YouTube hit baking show with over 14 million subscribers. Like, come on, Rosanna. That's amazing. And she has multiple bestselling cookbooks and things.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
I meant to ask this at the end, but did you ever go back to them and say, you know, kind of like the pretty woman, big mistake? Did you ever actually go back? No.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Whoa, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you are feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute training. I know it's going to help. It's leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show. So you're starting these really basic YouTube videos. You're seeing clearly the community loves it. It doesn't make money yet. Now you have to make money out of it. What does that shift look like when now you need to bet everything on this thing, right? Like it better work. So how does that shift go?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And we'll talk about all your ventures, but really from overcoming this dyslexia and ADHD to becoming one of YouTube's highest paid creators and now multiple businesses and endeavors. It's really an inspiring story. So first of all, thank you for being on the show, Rosanna.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
But in the beginning, like you said, there is no really four-hour work week. And you need to put all the hats on, which I think is really, really hard for entrepreneurs. Like, I think they don't realize they come from a certain passion, but they don't realize, wait, now I need to do also the sales and the marketing and the partnership and the editing. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
So take me there for a second, because I think a lot of people don't understand the magnitude of what goes in, especially in the beginning. And then as you go with the team, that also gets really scary before it gets easier. So what was that like for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Before that, roughly how many hours came into a show like this? How long do you think it took?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And then how did you decide to expand into what we call portfolio career, which we talked about? Like, I love it because I feel like we're the only one teaching it and you're living it. How did you start expanding into a cookbook, into shows? How did that start happening and roughly how long after you started this whole thing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And I love what you said, because as high achievers, we're always moving the goalpost. It's so rare that we actually look back and we're like, oh, my God, look what I created. But take us back as a kid, Seattle. How did you grow up?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
She was an incredible person, human, woman, all of it. And for those who don't know, she did pass away. It shook the entire world, I think. She had a really hard year that year as well with her son.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And speaking of hard moments, let's go there for a second, if you're okay with that, Rosanna. In 2019, you had your own share of hard years. And I think we all do. It's almost like a muscle we need to go through to prove ourselves or something. But can you share a little bit and how did you cope with all of it? How did you continue, even though everything was kind of hard?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Well, it took you about 15 years to realize that it's important, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
20, 25. It sounds like 15, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
I love that. Oh my God. So last advice to your younger self that you wish you'd known or you've done something different.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Oh, I want to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Changing your circle and the people around you changes everything. I wish I knew that as well way earlier in my career. Like, come on. And I think another thing that you said, every time we say yes to something, no matter what, because we don't, we want to be the nice person. We don't want people to think about us. We say no to something else. And the question is, what are we saying no to?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And I think that is just like, I didn't realize it because I wanted to be the good girl, but I was saying no to my dreams or no to possibilities or no to other things that were holding me back. So I just love that, Rosanna.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
I just had John Hennessy on the podcast and he literally says, haters means that you are relevant. And I'm like, Oh my God, this is so good.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
I love it. I love it. I love to laugh. I know. Yeah. So cheers to many more haters, Rosanna, for both of us. Hey, thank you for the super fun, inspiring conversation and cheers to continuously doing fun, incredible life and meeting incredible people and just all the experiences and the impact that we can make.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And I love that. And we chatted a little bit about Richard Branson right before you joined. We have an amazing episode with him. So listeners, if you haven't checked it out, listen to the podcast with Richard Branson. He is a classic speaker about dyslexic thinkers, and it sounds like we both love him, Rosanna. He's such an inspiring role model. But
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
You started, I think, cooking was, or baking was your grandma. So there was a baking element. Talk to me a little bit about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Oh, my God. I love that. But you have no clue it's going to become a career, obviously. It was just a fun thing, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
So before that, because that was amazing. So you're finishing college. And if I know correctly, you're not really sure what to do next. So take us there, because I think also when I'm looking at a lot of the people in our audience, a lot of them are right now, there's just so many opportunities. So it's like, I don't even know what's on the menu and what do I want to do next in my career?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Rosanna Pansino, a YouTuber, entrepreneur. From overcoming this dyslexia and ADHD to becoming one of YouTube's highest paid creators.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
So did that scare you? Where did that catch you right after college?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And that sounds interesting because it sounds really rough, but it also sounds like later, and we'll show it, it sounds like you picked... the best pieces and you actually stitch them together to what you're doing now, which is fascinating. But you decide to move to LA. First of all, why? And what did that do for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
It was...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
Oh, my God. That's so cool. What year is this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And right now, you're still not with a fancy camera or anything. You're still with, what, a flip phone? Like, how do you do all these things? Oh, now I use a really pretty Canon. No, not now.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
And I think the agents at that point didn't understand what you were doing. For them, that was like, why are you not focusing on TV and other things? Am I right, Rosanna? That is completely correct.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire | E95
So the YouTube was paying the rent and giving some stability, and then this was giving another set of stability? Is that how you saw it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
That's totally true. Lacey Garcia, the founder and CEO of Willow, a financial platform which connects women and families with their ideal financial advisor.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
I don't have it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
There's a panic mode of, oh my God, what have I been doing? I've been looking so short term that I've never even bothered to really look. And me too, right? Because when we're 20, 30s, who thinks retirement, right? Like you just don't even think about it. But you took it to a very extreme place, which is starting a company, which is extremely challenging. Very risky.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
I'd love to hear a little more. What caused you to say, I'm going for this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
To some extent, one of your hardest moments actually became the biggest muscle you needed to build in order to create Lacey that we know today. You raised, you know, an investment from BlackRock and they're very well known, et cetera, et cetera. So... And I saw your son and you on, you know, NASDAQ. That was really cute. You're living a different life now. And it's all because you were attentive.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You listened to yourself. You were solving a problem you saw for yourself. And you could see that, you know what, if I had this, I'm probably not the only one. Right. To me, that's really, really powerful because I think some of the best ideas we see are the ones that you feel firsthand. It's not necessarily made up.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You're not necessarily going to land on Mars, but it's things that you see for yourself. And you're saying, you know what, if I'm going to solve this, I know it's going to help other people. I just love that you went there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
This is such key, right? Because you believed in the mission, because you knew firsthand that it helped you and it's exactly what you needed, and you fell in love with the problem, not necessarily the how. And that's where I think a lot of people make the mistakes of falling in love with their solution. But the solution may change a thousand times. You might morph it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You're going to need to tweak it, et cetera. But when you fall in love with the actual problem, because you know without any doubt that it's needed, now it's just the details of we're going to figure out the how. And it helps you with those things. I just talked to Naveen Jain about the near-death experiences, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
When you go into ups and downs, from time to time, this will feel like a near-death experience. And now the only question is, will you get back up and take the next step? So is there a certain scenario or thing that you remember in the last few years, Wiz Willow, that... was hard because I assume there is. It's entrepreneurship. There's at least one to four things, five things every night.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
I'm all in there. But share something that you feel like it was a big moment that you needed to figure out, but it became like a big lesson for you, Lacey.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
That's the reality. The amount of decisions you need to make in a day, it is overwhelming. And sometimes those decisions are small, like the color of the logo, which whatever. And sometimes, or some people might say that it's big, but for me not. But sometimes it's like, this is massive. This could determine a lot of our direction, a lot of our market fit, a lot of our audience.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Like there are just so many decisions. And I feel one of the things that changed a little bit, I wonder if you see it as well, is that when we grow in corporate, a lot of the decisions come from almost like if then else. If I get to this, then I'll make this decision. If I do this, I will achieve this, right? You can do this like if then else thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And as a leader, you need to almost flip it on its head. I need to make the decisions first, right? And I'll see the ROI later. Like I pay for ads first and I'll see the ROI later. I hire first. I'll see the ROI in a few months. There's almost like a shift that you need to do in terms of how you make decisions, which is not something that we learned anywhere, I guess. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And because again, I do think there's a big difference between number one and anyone else in the company, right? But Lacey, I think a lot of our audience is like, if they go with entrepreneurship, they would love to get investment. That sounds like a great way to get started versus bootstrap your way all the way. What do you think caused BlackRock to say yes?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You're making an incredible point, which you're absolutely right. Again, my first tech startup, I did raise capital for Leap Academy. I decided not to. And we've been one of the fastest growing companies in America right now, right? So to me, I think there's also like, what do you think is possible? And is this really holding you back?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
I don't know what I would have done with a few millions right now. You know what I'm saying? Like I would probably do more of the same. So I think there's also an element of that that you really want to think through. And again, there's some companies that can't grow without capital, but I think a lot of them can. So that's also an interesting element that you're saying, Lacey.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Yeah, it worked. But tell me, Lacey, and maybe I'm sure there's like a lot of mistakes that you see that people make. But is there one really common mistake that you see repeatedly with people that are coming to you that needs the financial advice? And you're just saying, oh, my God, like this is fundamental, like for all our audience that is listening to this.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And I'm getting chills just hearing it. Take me there for a second. The reason why is that a lot of our listeners are in the same boat. They might be feeling stuck. Maybe they got laid off. Some of them are trying to figure out what on earth am I doing? And many times these things, they have somehow implications are their marriage, on relationship with kids, on nightmares, insomnia, anxiety.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
if you're doing this, you need to talk to us, right? This is a mistake. Is there something like that that just pops for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Make the time. The biggest cost in your life is the money you're not making, right? Or just letting it slip through your fingers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Oh, I love this. Usually we end up with, what's your advice to your younger self? It sounds like this is it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Exactly. I mean, the biggest thing is what you don't know, don't know. Just go get the knowledge. And I do believe that financial literacy and financial planning, I wish my kids learned that in school. I wish I knew more about it, but the best time was yesterday. But if not yesterday, then it's today, right? Like that's it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Like I've seen people with health issues. So you see how this ripples into everything in your wellbeing, right? So take me there for a second because you're obviously financial, there's fear. What are their fears? Is it more about how do I keep the house? Is it more about how do I keep a job?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And I love that. So book that financial planning call. So they're all free calls. Just grab the information. You can make better decisions if you're more informed. But again, Lacey, thank you for sharing all of that. It's just so beautiful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Tell us a little bit more because I think that's also ties really beautifully into what you advise people today or what all of your staff, but talk to me a little bit about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Is there one really common mistake that you see repeatedly with people that are coming to you that needs the financial advice?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
I love that, Lacey. And you're right. At least 70%, if not more, of the people we work with. And these are, I don't know, almost a thousand clients a year. So it's a big amount of data. They have no clue what's next for them. And I remember this was probably one of the hardest thing for me. Because as high achiever driven, the next step was always very clear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And suddenly not knowing is the hardest thing because your identity is, at least mine, was always attached to my title or to the company or, you know, and suddenly you feel like a nobody. And that's been a really, really hard process for a lot of people. So I think what you're saying is so, so, so true.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And what I love about your honest story is that because you have worked, you know, your background is in financial services. You knew a lot. But suddenly when it's your own life challenges, it makes it really, really hard, right, to look inside and really understand what you don't know that you don't know. What are the things that you're missing? Right. Talk to me a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You're going through a divorce. You're a single full-time working mom. You're trying to make this all work. What questions did you even think of asking in order to find the answers that you needed? And, you know, I love how that created a company. So we'll talk about that too.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
Lacey Garcia, the founder and CEO of Willow, a financial platform which connects women and families with their ideal financial advisor, which is so, so, so important. This incredible idea really came to you from your own need at your 30th, right, or somewhere around mid-30s. And due to your own life changes, what happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
And I totally agree that there's some shame around. I think we see it in careers. We see it in finance. There's a little bit of shame of, I should have figured this out on my own. And then the only question is, but how much faster and higher can you go with somebody that has walked the walk? But let me take you there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
You mentioned a little bit for a second about being a daughter of a Cuban refugee who My kids were born here, right? And they still don't know anything about finances. But I'm thinking, talk to me a little bit of what that changed, you know, in terms of money mindset or understanding financials and challenges. Like, I think some of it is the debt part.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All | E69
To me, that sounds like a really big change in how people look at things now. What else did you notice as far as differences?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
So the trust was a big, big factor.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
So at this point, you're on this amazing career trajectory, Microsoft, Google, but it becomes almost like a little bit of a melting pot as far as what I'm hearing because you're getting more and more and more stressed and harder and harder working.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Oh, no. I've felt every single moment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Tell me more about that, because I think this is something that happened to me and I felt very miserable because I can't complain to anybody. I have it all.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Today, I have a really special episode for you. If you're trying to leap, you're trying to do a 180 on your career, you're in a career transition or something personally happened in your life, lean in. You might have tears, you might have smiles, but you're going to have a lot of fun. Mo Gaudet, former chief business officer in Google X. This is the moonshot factory of Google.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Or I can listen to an amazing episode, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
You're right. If you're feeling stuck, underpaid, or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career. This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Mo made a major leap after an unthinkable personal loss. He is now a 4X bestselling author, podcaster, who has a huge mission to make people happier and unstressable. I can't wait to talk to you. Mo, thank you for joining me here.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. So take me there for a second, Mo. You're in Microsoft, but you're still not taking time off and leaving everything. In fact, you're going to another decade of working even harder. Do you feel that competition between yourself or do you just lean in? What is it for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Shocking.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Thank you for having me. And then on the other hand, you grew up in Egypt. You don't have all the connections. So take us back in time. You loved engineering, but you didn't even go to tech right away. Take us a little bit back in time to Egypt.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
And I assume you're talking about 2014. Yeah, 2014. I was at Google X at the time chief business officer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Well, it's a loss of a son, like there's nothing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Oh, it's eating you alive.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
And you're weeks after Ali died.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Well, especially because I think you're writing about happiness when you're probably at the lowest in your life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Oh, what an incredible story. So first of all, Mo, thank you for opening your heart and sharing this. I think you started writing, but you need to eventually decide to leave the certainty of Google and say, you know what? I'm okay. And I want to go full on on this thing. How scary was it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
I always laugh that we have here in Silicon Valley tons of broke millionaires. I mean, they're literally millionaires, but they feel broke.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
You talked a little bit about stress and Unstressable, which is an incredible book. But today there's just so much stress. And I think you also saw it with your father as well. Let's talk about stress just for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
It's very mixed. Like you have the equations and you have the personal stories. It's really interesting. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Life facets away, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Make it pleasant.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
There may be, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
So you want to marry your wife, but somehow that gets you into tech. And I want to understand, like, what happened?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
What would be maybe one thing that you wish you knew earlier on in your career if you're looking back and you wish you would tell yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Mo, thank you so, so, so much. This was so powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
I'm sure it will. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Zilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
Mo Gaudet, former chief business officer in Google X. Mo made a major leap after an unthinkable personal loss. He is now a 4X bestselling author, podcaster, who has huge mission to make people happier and unstressable.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
100%.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
100%.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
And I love that about you. So you're basically from Egypt. You're joining IBM. What is it like to start in the tech world again?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Turning Personal Grief Into a Global Mission for Happiness | Mo Gawdat | E103
And I think it's not just about what they want, it's what they need.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
Hi there. I'm so excited that you're here. Look, public speaking and building reputation has changed my life. I still remember the time when I was stuck in my career, feeling a fraction of who I could be. I could see others zoom up the ladder, get the titles, get the seat at the table, get the pay, and I felt stuck.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
But the beautiful thing is that creates a snowball effect, which is exactly what I want you to do. I want you to create a snowball effect on your life and on your career, because that is how you started creating suddenly press releases and awards and podcast appearances and panel appearances and TV and radio. And I can go on and on. Now you're starting to be seen in a whole different level.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
So you get the pay, you get opportunities, you get things you didn't even know were possible. This is what got me on TechCrunch and Forbes and Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch. And I can go on and on. This is what got me awards such as 40 Women to Watch or Silicon Valley Awards and Startup of the Year for 2023. In fact, today, our podcast is at the top charts.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
And we are one of the fastest growing company. Leap Academy is one of the fastest growing company, according to Inc. because we know how to do this. So I engineered a process that will help you build your public speaking career and will help you catapult your reputation. Now, don't get me wrong. You can still land a job and then start building that public speaking.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
You can also use it to land clients. You can also use it to land even bigger leadership roles because suddenly people see you at a whole different level. So no matter where you're heading to find a job, to start a company, to create a portfolio career, to create your own business, it doesn't matter.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
Building your reputation and public speaking is going to be the most important skill to completely transform the second part of your life. So I don't know how long we're going to have these modules open. Usually they're worth thousands of dollars. So I want you to take advantage. You can do it at your own time, at your own pace, but take action.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
When you will take action, it will change the second part of your life. So I will see you there. Click on that link below.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
But worse than that, at some point when I didn't have that job, it was even worse because all my identity was always attached to my title, to the companies that I was with. And suddenly I felt like a nobody. I was taking every moment of my life to build this company that I was with, but I never left anything for myself.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
And at that point, I promised myself that I will make sure every single person that is driven will leave and make sure to build their own personal brand because that is what catapults you. That's what gives you a chance to change the second part of your life. And I invested so many thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars to learn how to build my reputation.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
The first step where you can start building a little bit of that public speaking muscle. And it's incredible because you literally start seeing yourself and I started seeing myself on bigger stages. And then I charged a little bit and then I saw myself on even bigger stages and I charged a little more. Today, I charge $10,000 for one hour keynote.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity | E85
But the beautiful thing is not only that, it's the opportunities that come with it. This is how I landed advisory role. This is how I landed board seats. In fact, this is how I sold my tech startup. And it's an incredible story for another time. But this was worth a lot of money for me. So public speaking has changed my life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And that's a big reason why it went from 4 million to 60 million.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
So how did you realize it? And what was the change? Let's talk to her for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
If you haven't heard of Gary, serial entrepreneur I think is an understatement for this guy. Like he is all over so many ventures. He is an author, he is a podcaster, he's invested in Facebook, Tumblr, like Snap, Twitter, Venmo, et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And I knew. Amazing. And you reminded me as you were talking about it, because I was supposed to stay in the military five more years to bring the F-15 to Israel. And I actually left and joined Intel as the youngest engineer ever that they hired until then. So that, it sounded so amazing. But in 2006, I'll take you there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Gary, we chatted a little bit before we started. You were an entrepreneur from day one, basically. But I want to take you back in time. So this is going to be all about your career and how you got to where you are. And you, a small kid, immigrant family. Yes. Why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
You somehow understood the power of personal branding probably about a decade before I even understood why this is even important. And I think a lot of our audience are still at the point of, I'm going to give a thousand percent to where I work and I will never build myself on the journey. So tell me more about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
I love that you just said that. First of all, because I needed to fall really deep in order to realize that I didn't build any safety net. I was a complete nobody. I'm starting from scratch. You reminded me of that. And if I just built myself, and this is what we do in Leap Academy, we try to help people elevate themselves. At least tell your story. Understand what's your zone of genius.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Start telling it to the world because... Otherwise, you're just your title or you're just the company that you're with. And you call it brand equity, which I just love that term.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Hey, I'm pausing here for a second. I hope you're enjoying this amazing conversation as much as I do. Don't forget to subscribe and download. Now, if you're looking to leap your own career, figure out what's next for you, fast track your own growth, create a portfolio career. Check out my free 30 minute training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Now back to the show. Let's go there for a second because you're absolutely right. Probably one of the biggest fears is the hate. And today in the digital world, it is a little easier to hate and to give a bad comment and to, you know, not to send you, I love you, but to send you, I hate you. That's right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
So how do you create a tougher, maybe a thicker skin or something to just let the noise go away?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Yeah. Make decisions based on hope and dreams, not fear and doubt. That's it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Do you want to be a victim? You want to be a victor? You choose.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And I think this is so, so, so important. And I appreciate your sharing that. For you, you start VaynerMedia with your brother, AJ. We're, what, 15 years later, 2,000 people, 350 million. Like, this thing is an empire at a whole different level. Plus, you're doing all these other things, which I don't know how you live. But! Can you share some hard moments?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
It's just an instinct.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Because I think one of the biggest things that our listeners have is this confusion about the overnight success. And a lot of these things are a decade plus long overnight success.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Do you think your dad's entrepreneurship was part of it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And in retrospect, the more I read about him and your mom, it's amazing how incredible, I mean, they moved across the ocean, you know, at a time that entrepreneurship didn't exist. I mean, barriers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And it's amazing because also in your books, you tell us to write your dad and that's going to happen because I wanted him to tell him about this meeting with you. But how do you make people hungry when today they have everything?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Right, and I love that quote. I even wrote it down, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
So how do you create a tougher, maybe a thicker skin? The real answer is... This is going to be such a special episode. So first of all, Gary, the fact that you let us into your home and just seeing this, feeling this, we are live in VaynerMedia with the one and only Gary. Thank you for having me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
Fulfilled.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
I always laugh that the more you make, the more there's ways to spend it. So you somehow at age 14 join your dad in a wine business.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
And even sell wine at age 16, which is not even allowed to like drink. Talk to us just a little bit about what is it like for you? Is that worse? Is it felt great?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
For those who lived under the rock, which I have until about 2016, we talked about it. If you haven't heard of Gary, serial entrepreneur, I think, is an understatement for this guy. He is all over so many ventures. He has, what, 44 million followers? I don't know. Incredible. He is an author. He is a podcaster. He's invested in Facebook, Tumblr, like Snap, Twitter, Venmo, et cetera.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire | E77
For those who don't know the story, I think it's important to go back there for a second because in 1995, I was in the Air Force. We were starting to get the winds of change coming, but you took it. Somehow you always know what's coming. That's pretty incredible. And you took it and realized that you need to bring the store online. Yes. And that's a big part of, and I mean, you rebranded it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
For sure. I mean, you meet people in the kitchen sink or the fire chat conversations, right? The really quick corridor conversations. It helps you get visibility as a leader. Right now, it's a big black box. Like you don't know what's really going on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
That's fascinating. I didn't realize that. I just like that there's a name so I can always remember the name. But how do you find leaders these days and how do you hire for them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
I always say that I like hiring for hunger versus skills because I do believe we can teach a lot of the things, but I need people to be motivated. Do you have some questions that you find that are helping you assess, will somebody be able to function or do you need them to be tested somehow?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
This program helps hundreds a year, and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Do you think there's something that you went through, whether it's in your childhood or before, that built you to where you are right now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Tell me more. I mean, you came before me. I was still back in Israel. So that's fascinating how you maneuvered the whole dot com.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And did you always know that you're a people person? Was that on the horizon all the time? Or is that morph into this is actually my zone of genius. This is what I want.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
If you talk to different professionals and basically our audience, they're thinking one of a few things. First of all, I'm not sure what I want to do, maybe, but let's assume I kind of do. I would love to maybe work with some of these really cool companies. How do I even get in? And even if I do get in, how do I fast track to the leadership roles?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
What would be some of the tips that you would give our listeners?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
First of all, John Maxwell said it beautifully with the people's pile, right? There's a huge people's pile trying to get into a lot of these companies. And it's really about that persistence that actually moves the needle and lets you stand out because there is no traffic jam in the extra mile. They will leave. So if you can actually be the person in that extra mile, that helps you stand out.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And it was funny because last week I gave some small talk to Richard Branson and his son, et cetera. And one of the questions that he had is, are you good at delegating? And there's an element where you literally need to fire yourself from your previous role in order to be better at a new role, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And as long as you keep on ducking your head in it, and there's an interesting challenge to have the visibility, to know if there's red flags, but on the other hand, to literally delegate that and to move forward. It's a delicate move, Ryan. How do you train people to do that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
who would be the perfect person to course correct you? Because you're right. I think there's a little bit of this that is going to happen. And I think sometimes you also need to make mistakes in order to start learning from them. And sometimes you can actually get feedback in order to course correct before it's a catastrophe.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Who do you think in the organization is the right person to help with that? Is it your boss? Is it chief people officer?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
You then ticked a lot of the companies that people would love to be part of, like Google, Square, Yahoo, Nextdoor. Like you tick a lot of boxes and you managed to also climb up to leadership in those amazing companies. What do you feel helped you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
So one of the things that we're seeing a lot in Leap Academy is when somebody joins a company, lands a role, and now they want to prove themselves. They have that famous 90 days or whatever you call it. What would you say to people that are coming in? I mean, you don't want somebody to just immediately change everything because they didn't even learn anything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
What would you say is some of the more important things for them to really understand? Like somebody that is joining next door, what should be the first few months?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Absolutely agree. And I love the little wins. Yes, you want to create little wins, but you don't want to create those massive changes that right now are completely out of context because you didn't have the full picture. So Brian, back to Nextdoor, maybe. Obviously, I think every person, at least in the US, I don't know, you tell me, will know Nextdoor. It's a brand that took off.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
What do you think is the success of Nextdoor? And maybe share a story of why this works.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And I love that because the first time I heard of Nextdoor, it was many, many years ago when the company basically started. You know, I grew up back in Israel with a lot of neighbors, like neighborhood was a thing. We would always laugh that in the U.S. there is no neighbors. You don't know the neighbors.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And when Nextdoor came, it was like, I don't know if anybody here wants to know their neighbors. You know, that was our instinct. And somehow it did catch. What helped suddenly for that to become a community?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
For you, were there days or times like COVID or whatever, did you feel that that actually grows the community or is that hurting the community? What did you see?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Ooh, fascinating. So Brian, we usually end the conversation with, if you look back to your childhood or to some time in your life, what would be the biggest advice to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
So put your own oxygen mask on and take it to the next level, I guess you're saying.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
I think what you just said is so, so, so important and I wanna make sure that our listeners aren't really grabbing this because life is in phases and different things will be important for us in different phases of our lives. How you talked about being intentional, strategic every year about what is important for you, that becomes really crucial because again, that will change.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And if you're not very deliberate about what that is for you right now, you might be suffocating certain parts of your life without realizing it. And that's going to get to burnout and just not being the best version of yourself. Am I understanding this right, Brian?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And I believe you cycle as well. So we share a little bit of that. And I agree. You want to manage your energy, not just your time. And even if you just manage your time with depleting your energy, that's not helping you. Brian, I can't thank you enough for the time, the tips. I took so many notes. This is super valuable to everybody listening.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And I want to just thank you so much for being here on the show. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
So you go for the scary then.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
I think, Brian, one of the things that our listeners will probably appreciate, sometimes they're very driven, but they feel stuck or they feel a fraction of what they could be. First of all, did that ever happen to you? And if it did, how did you overcome? How did you figure out what I want to do? And how do I get out of that stuckness, if you will?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
I really experience success as a we, not an I. Brian Power, he leads the people team in Nextdoor, but before that, Chief Human Resources Officer in Yahoo, Square, Google.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And I absolutely agree with that. And I love how strategic and intentional you are every time to reassess. Is there a certain story that you think you can share of adversity or a challenge that actually lifted you and grew you from there?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And it's such a beautiful story because again, as you climb up the ladder, especially in smaller companies, suddenly the weight on your shoulders become bigger and bigger and every decision is actually really impactful. So you're able to overcome these challenges. And again, these are the challenges that define you. These are the challenges that help you grow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Now in Nextdoor, you're already at the C-level. What keeps you up at night?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
If you talk to different professionals, they're thinking I would love to maybe work with some of these really cool companies. How do I even get in?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
So tell me more about these COVID challenges. I think we see a part picture. We see the remote work. We see other things. But I want to hear more, Brian. What are you seeing?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
So you have the people that are looking for safety nets, stability, on the other hand, maybe remote, maybe et cetera. Do you find that that's harder to hire for diversity, for, you know, a mixed environment? Is it harder? Is it easier? How do you feel hiring has changed?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
And do you feel that that's easier or harder to build leaders, to train them, for them to become the best version of themselves?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Nextdoor’s Bryan Power: Turning Big, Scary Opportunities into Career-Defining Success | E59
Brian Power, he leads the people team in Nextdoor. But before that, Chief Human Resources Officer in Yahoo. Before that, Square, Google. You just pick all the cool companies, Brian. What helped you really climb up the ladder in all these amazing companies? Brian, thank you for being on the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Well, I am so excited about the show today, and I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time listening. But I have a favor to ask. See, I'm on a mission to help millions leap their careers, elevate their careers, land their dream roles, fast track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, create portfolio careers. And this podcast is about giving you the map.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and general partner of Hustle Fund. I've been following her for a while now. Now, before becoming an investor, Elizabeth built and sold her own company, Launchbit, and later helped shape the next wave of startups as a partner at 500 Startups, which is an incredible startup accelerator, by the way, here in the Bay Area, California.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
We'll talk about it because I can see already how much of this you're bringing to Hustle Fund. So we'll talk about it. But talk to me, how much did you lean on amazing mentors like Tony and others?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
It's amazing how much has changed. And we're also going to talk about startup accelerators like 500 Startups in a second. But so you bring somehow the company to an acquisition and that process on its own, and it doesn't matter if it's big or small, that process on its own is a heck of an earthquake. Share a little bit of how that looks like for you or whatever you can share.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Elizabeth, I'm just so excited for this show. So first of all, thank you for joining me.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And I love that because again, there's so many reasons to buy a company, whether it's the team or the product or the market. And each one has a very different way of looking at things and the potential and the pricing. And so that's amazing. And there's just so much to learn in that. So you sell the company and you decide to join 500 Startups. Tell us a little bit about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
It's going to be super fun. So take me back in time. How did you grow up? Why engineering grabbed your attention? How did that happen?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
I think it's still before I even heard of 500 Startups. So I think I was still deep in my own world of tech. But share a little bit. Why did you decide to join and how was that experience for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And if I remember correctly, there were some dramas. So you were taking in organizations with a little bit of drama, if not a lot of drama, and you needed to stabilize the brand and to bring more people in. Was that a problem for you or no? The drama came in 2017.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Right. And take me there for a second, because when you see big data like you've seen and you wrote, you said hundreds of checks, it's very different than a typical VC. VC will write a lot less checks in general. So what did you learn about evaluating startups and founders? Take us a little bit there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Correct me if I'm wrong. I think it's very easy relatively to figure out who is not going to make it. I think if you see them for a while and you see the people that can't take action or really trying to get the perfection or like, I think it's relatively easy to see what probably will not work versus the maybe and the yes, I think they're always a problem.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
But I feel like it's easier to say, OK, like that's not going to help. And but maybe I'm wrong. Did you see that?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
like being surrounded with it. And I remember that because I was in Intel at the time. So a few years difference between us, but everybody was hiring everybody. Like it was just an incredible time to be probably around here for sure. I've seen it from the other side of the ocean. But if I'm not mistaken, you also interned in a lot of different countries. Am I right? Like Switzerland, Japan, India.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
So in 2017, again, you decide to do something that for most, they would call it suicide to start your own fund. I do think that it's exponentially harder to raise money for your own fund. You did have really good background. So the 500 Startups is a huge background. Being a founder that already sold a company, that's very different. But still, raising a fund is not easy.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Can you share a little bit of that journey of raising the first round for this fund?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
I hear stories around it. And my question is, Elizabeth, how do you not give up? In the startup phase, you still need to meet a lot of people, but you kind of need a few yeses to at least get going. But like you said here, the amounts are different. So you need to meet, what, hundreds? I don't know. Like, how do you not give up? How do you not just say, you know what? I have no chance.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
This is not going to work. Forget it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
of how some of the biggest leaders of our time reach success. So subscribe, download to never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps us continue to bring amazing guests your way. So let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Like I've seen a lot of countries. How did that happen? And how did that shape you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Oh, Tony. Oh, amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And by the way, for those who don't know, he was a big part of why Zappos was acquired for 1.2 billion, right? Or whatever, right? So, I mean, definitely ticked all the boxes of success. Yes.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
I appreciate your sharing because I think for all of us, this was a really shocking moment. And I think it also brought a lot of the mental anxiety and things to surface. Actually, one of the most interesting conversations I had here on the podcast was the president of Starbucks. And he basically said that the minute he retired, he almost killed himself. And I was just like, what?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
You were the president of Starbucks. That's like the ultimate success. And he's like, I lost so much relevance. I couldn't live with that. And I think just hearing that and realizing the impact of just what you're saying, losing that passion and losing who you are and who you want to become and continue to become is just a really interesting realization.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Right. And I agree because that emptiness was there for me when my first company was acquired. And To some extent, Leap Academy is part of that. Like I had to reinvent myself, figure out what on earth do I want to do next and how do I take myself to the next level? And I think I was like, how is there no home for me, for somebody like me? Very driven. It's not about who you can do it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
I'm like, I know I can do it. I just don't know what. And I was just like, how is it not possible? And I think this is a big part of that emptiness. So, oh my God, I love this conversation. I can probably talk to you for hours. But what is something that if you look back at Elizabeth earlier in your career, what would you want somebody to tell you? What advice would you give to yourself?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Ooh, I love that, Elizabeth. I think that's brilliant. I mean, I think Leap Academy does talk a lot about portfolio careers because I think that's kind of where the future is going anyway. People will do multiple things, whether it's investing or public speaking or writing a book or whatever, like people will do multiple things in their life.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And I don't know why nobody teaches that, but it's a really interesting idea to also for a small amount to play with understanding the investment and creating portfolio and getting the network. And so I just love that idea. Thank you so much for this amazing conversation, Elizabeth. I had a blast and I hope the listeners did too. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please leave a five-star review below. This really helps us continue to bring amazing guests. Also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Now, I will see you in the next episode of The Leap Academy with Zilana Golanjo.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
What are all the things that can go wrong? The good, the bad, the ugly. Elizabeth Yen, co-founder and general partner of Hustle Fund. Before becoming an investor, Elizabeth built and sold her own company, Launchbit, and later helped shape the next wave of startups as a partner at 500 Startups.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
That's incredible. And I'm sure it shapes you, right? Even just needing to prove yourself in a new place and new languages. How was that? I mean, it's not easy, especially if it was not your nature, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
I love that you said that. I almost feel like every example that you said, yeah, tick. I've had that tick, you know, like no social security, no history, no phone number. No, it was just like, oh my God. And it was almost like all my advantages back home in Israel now became disadvantages. How is that even possible? And I think it does teach you a lot.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
But then you start working in Google and at some point decide to start your own thing. Tell us a little bit about that journey of what happened? What did you learn? And how did that start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Right, and I want to go there, Elizabeth, where you said, first of all, I want to make sure our listeners and viewers see this. What would I be waiting for? It's such a beautiful question because it kind of makes that urgency, right? Versus like tomorrow, tomorrow, next day, next year, right? And just keep on moving that carrot and just really asking yourself, okay, what am I waiting for?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And I think in Leap, we see it a lot because it's like, well, I want to leap, but I don't know when, right? And it's never a comfortable decision anyway. But I assume Google was paying well at that time. They still are really paying well. And at some point, it's not an easy decision to say, I'm okay with not taking this. I will take whatever, zero for a while because I'm chasing a dream.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Can you take me back in time, Elizabeth?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
How did your parents take it? Were they like, what the heck are you doing? Or was it like, oh, my God, like, how did that conversation go? Speaking of?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
which I think was the bigger thing for them. The status, the status is amazing. Okay. So fast forward, you actually grow it. LaunchBit is getting acquired, but talk to me about those first years. I think you alluded to what you don't know that you don't know. And I think for me, I resonate a lot because I think at some point I built so much
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
overconfidence and a little bit of ego to think that I know everything. And I needed to smack myself and fall down deep to understand how much I don't know. What was it for you, Elizabeth? And how did you start acquiring clients and et cetera? So talk to us a little bit about those first years.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
And I fully agree. And it was interesting. I just talked to Gary Vee in his studio. And I think one of the things that we talked is the difference between number one and anything else in the company. And I think that realization was, I mean, I was already VP, whatever, you know, it's like, oh, I probably know it all. No, I don't.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
Every single time there's just this massive learning that needs to happen. So how did you figure it out? How did you raise capital? How did you learn how to be acquired? Walk us through this a little bit, Elizabeth. Oh, gosh.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin | E93
you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
movement is fertilizer for the brain so if you feel stuck move your body robin arzon a global fitness leader 27 marathons and ultra marathons two new york times bestsellers she's the vice president of fitness programming and head instructor at peloton i was not an athlete growing up but i think we all have those moments that start as a whisper
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
You'll hear a thousand things from different people, whether it's in entrepreneurship, whether it's running, whether it's whatever you try to do, there's always the people, the voices that will try to keep you safe. I don't necessarily think that they mean bad, but it's exactly not what you need to hear at that moment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
You can listen, but you need to decide what you're actually going to listen to, what you're actually going to take their advice or not. Let's talk about it because you do all of this with two tiny ones. And I saw you in Necker Island. I mean, can we talk about this for a second? Like Richard Vance in Private Island, an adventure race, and you are with two tiny kids, nursing one, running, biking.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
Seriously, like we were all dead there and you were doing also motherhood.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And this is so, so, so important because every time you say yes to something, you're actually saying no to something else. And the question is, what is the no? The no is time with family. The no is time at work. The no is time on your personal branding, whatever that is. There is always a no when you say yes to one thing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
So we just need to figure out what am I shutting the door on when I do say yes. And sometimes it's totally worth it and sometimes no. So I love that. And the way you were able to balance it all, I thought that was really inspiring. I personally don't bring my family with me because I was just like, when I'm working, I'm working. When I'm doing this, like I need to compartment.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
But it was just beautiful to see how it's all part of you. But let's talk about that adventure before you go back to Peloton, because I still want to go there for a second. But we're going to this adventure race. or whatever that is, crazy biking, like running, even swimming for you, which I want to talk a little bit about. What was it like for you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
That's such a powerful quote. I literally wrote this down because I don't see myself as a swimmer. As far as I'm concerned, I kind of survived the swim. And it was the first time I ever needed to swim. When I was at four and a half kilometers, I'm like, that was brutal. But I just, I will never call myself a runner or a biker or a swimmer.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
But it's so interesting how you create identity out of things. So you grow up in Peloton, but beyond Peloton, you start creating this mega brand.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
brand that has I don't know how many millions Robin like I can't keep up but there's millions of people that the minute they hear Robin Arzon I'm like oh now you're the cool kid you know if you know her you're cool so how did you build that kind of a brand you know I think the brand is
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
But you do tell a very consistent story. And by the way, there's also a book, right? Welcome Hustler. Yes, Welcome Hustler. Right? Because I think it does take some hustling for sure. But also that consistency, Robin. Again, most of us don't feel like posting every day or don't feel like doing something every day.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And you're still able to, even though you have the brand and you have a lot of followers, you will still get up every morning and you'll or whatever that is, right, whatever the cadence is, and you will still post something and you'll still give back and you'll still think about what are my followers need to see right now? What drives you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And that's what started also the Swagger Society community. And you're continuing with another book launch. So tell us a little bit, Robin, what is going on? What are you continuing? What is the Swagger Society?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
I'm looking forward to seeing what we can blend with careers and that together, but that's still in the making. So talk to me a little bit about your cookbook. That is coming. It's a big one for you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
That sounds a lot more for me. So when you're looking back, Robin, what would be some of the things that you wish you could say to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
I believe you. But I think what you just said is so powerful because I think the balance is really hard for high achievers, right? If you're driven and you're a high achiever, when something fails... For you, you're trying to continue. I know I did. And it took me time to realize this is a dead end. You're knocking on the door that is not going to open.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
If it is, it's not where you want to be anyway. So you better trust and go with what looks right. But at that point, it feels... very hard. So can you share for us a hard moment that you needed to like lean into and say, you know what, this is probably the wrong door that I'm knocking on.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And I do believe that creates the muscle that you need to build in order to do the next things that you want to do. And I think that's just so powerful. But we need to sometimes tell our stories from the scars, not the wounds. So when there's a really open wound, it's sometimes really hard to admit to the story, but we needed to wait a little bit until it scars.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
So Robin, for people who are listening or watching and they're saying, I want to elevate my career. I know I'm a fraction of who I could be. I want my name out there. I want to make an impact. What would you say to them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
Powerful, Robynne. Thank you as always. So amazing to see you months after running and biking and you're amazing as always. Thank you. This was so fun.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
So before we go to the running, this is a fascinating, and by the way, you talk about it in Shut Up and Run. So it's an incredible book. Like I laughed, I was frantic. All the emotions come in that book. And you are trying to actually talk to that person. And I think that's fascinating. Like you're trying to really understand him and engage with him.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
Can you talk a little bit of what's going on in your head for a second?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And that's incredible because we actually had Chris Voss, who is a hostage negotiator from the FBI. Yeah, and he says exactly this. And then I'm reading it in your book. I'm like, how did Robin know? It's somehow your instincts. So you're getting over this. I don't even know if you ever really get over this experience, but that takes you to running. What happened? Why running?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
How did that even come about?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And that's incredible, Robin, because if somebody has not been a runner, and even if somebody has been a runner, the first few miles are suffering. So what made you go again and again and again? Why not put the towel on this and say, screw this, let's take the car?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
And again, I love the choose R hard, but you choose hard in all directions now. We'll talk about this. I think you forgot the R, you know, like you just go... In all directions, we'll talk about it. But how from that moment you went into career in Peloton. And there's also a big difference, Robin, between I'm going to run three miles and I'm going to do ultra marathons. Take us there for a second.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
For those who don't know what's an ultramarathon, tell us a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
Crazy, crazy, crazy. And we actually had somebody that ran the Sahara, Charlie. Anyway, we had some crazy people.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
Robin Arzon, a global fitness leader, 27 marathons and ultra-marathons, two New York Times bestsellers. She's the vice president of fitness programming and head instructor at Peloton and the founder of Swagger Society Media Company. Robin, you discovered your passion for running after a very traumatic experience in New York. Can you take us back in time?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
I guess there's never a limit to the amount of craziness. But tell me, Robin, you then decide to not go the law route and completely change. Can you take us there for a second? Why?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
So how do you reach out out of the blue, completely cold to Peloton? I think that a lot of our listeners, they might have a dream, right? But it scares them. Well, maybe it's not for me, or maybe I don't know, and I don't know anybody. And how can I make it work? How do you reach out?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Peloton VP, Robin Arzón: Surviving a Hostage Crisis and Building a Relentless Fitness Brand | E67
I love energy as a currency because it's true. There's some people that the minute you get in the room, they just suck the air out. And there's people that it's opposite. It's like, it's just so inviting. But you get into Peloton and you do all these things, running, et cetera. Can you share some hard moments and something challenging and how you tackle them?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Wow, this show is going to be incredible. So buckle up, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. But before we get started, I want to ask you for a favor. See, it's really, really important for me to help millions of people elevate their career, fast track to leadership, land dream roles, jump to entrepreneurship, or create portfolio careers.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
So take me there for a second. So a book takes time. God, I'm still, you know, I'm just now finishing my first. So I have so much respect. Meanwhile, like, is there like a nagging? Like, oh my God, should I get a regular job? Or is it just a passion? Because I think You came with the free agent nation in 2001 and then, you know, a whole new mind in 2004.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And I might not be completely accurate, but that's kind of right. But is there like, oh, my God, can I do this? Any dilemmas or no? You're like, oh, my God, I'm living a dream.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Okay, today we have a really special episode, and you'll see why Daniel Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including the latest, The Power of Regret. Daniel's books have won multiple awards, have been translated to 46 languages, oh my God, and have sold millions of copies around the world. Daniel's books are exactly... what you leapers need to hear.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
That is very true. Okay, so then at some point you're starting to research your writing for Drive and you uncover really what motivates people, right? And that becomes this game changer, right? First of all, did you realize that it's going to become a game changer?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Or was it just something that you were passionate about and you understood that sticks and carrots and you have a beautiful TED Talk about it, but this is not the right way to do it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
It is fascinating.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And that becomes this kind of a phenomenal people are coming to you and saying how it's reshaped organizations. And your TED Talk is one of the most, I don't know, seen talks of all times or whatever with many, many millions of views. Why do you think it resonated so much? And did you realize that it's going to make such a big impact?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And that's incredible because if you're looking to reinvent yourself or reinvent your reputation or your career and take yourself to the next level, that is exactly what the books are about. So let's dive in. Daniel, I'm so excited to have you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And I think that's part of why your TED Talk also did so well, right? Because it was so simple to follow. And on the other hand, it's like, how did we get it all wrong, right? Because our instinct is always like, let's give you accolades and pay for it. But that's actually not what motivates people, which I found fascinating as well. Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And sometimes it actually kills creativity.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
If you're feeling stuck, underpaid or unappreciated, or you're simply ready to take your career and life to the next level, I have the perfect solution for you. We have a program that helps you fast track and leap your reputation and career, become the best version of yourself, get the dream role you deserve, move up to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, or even build a portfolio career.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
This program helps hundreds a year and it will help you gain the income, influence, and impact that will transform the second part of your life. Watch our free training today at leapacademy.com slash free hyphen training. The link is in the show notes. Now back to the show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
One question about your book, When, for my audience, this is really relevant because you're exploring basically the science of timing, right? You keep looking for different topics. I love that. Like, it's so fascinating. And this book is more about timing. And sometimes it's timing of a day. Sometimes it's timing throughout a project. And you elaborate really beautifully there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
But one thing I do want to talk about is the tricky middle, right? I think this is really, really interesting because everybody will deal with midpoint slumps. How do you motivate yourself when you really feel like, you know what, that's it, I'm done? And sometimes these are really, really hard. I think a lot of people are talking about the start, but not necessarily the hard middle.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And I love that you did that. So talk to me a little bit about that book and also how do you recover through these midpoints?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Amazing. So I am going to take you back in time. I want to hear a little bit of Daniel the Kid. What sparked that love for writing, for books? What planted that seed?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
That's sad.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
That's a sad research.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
So let's go to your recent book, The Power of Regret. I think normalizing regret is a really interesting thing. And I love how you're talking about looking backwards takes us forward. We see a lot of regret in those people when they're trying to recap their career and trying to think where they made different decisions. Can we talk a little bit about that, Daniel? And what made you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
What made you even start this kind of a book?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Is there something specific that comes to mind when you think about it?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Do you feel there's a difference between little regrets that you can just look back and learn from versus the scary regret of getting to the end of your life and having massive regret over your life? Like, is there a difference?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And you do talk about foundation, boldness, moral connection. Can you elaborate just a little bit? Because you're right, there's such different types of regrets.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And this podcast is all about enabling this for millions of people to see a map of what it actually takes for big leaders to reach success. So subscribe and download so you never miss it. Plus, it really, really helps me continue to bring amazing guests. Okay, so let's dive in.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I mean, the listeners will have all sorts of regrets, right? But I think that I made the wrong choices. I put myself in an industry that I can't remove myself from. I jumped to entrepreneurship and now I'm broke. It's interesting even if I look at it from the lens of Leap Academy is how many people have small regrets or big regrets around decisions that they made or lack of decision.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I think this is also something beautiful that you say in the book Actually, lack of decision almost is more common than making a decision.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And it could be anything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And what do you tell them? Like, what do you tell them? So once you find that regret, because again, you say you're first of all, just talking about or recognizing that it's something that you wish is the first step. But after that, what do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I had this amazing idea and I didn't go after it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I'm a failure. Yeah, exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
What are you gonna do next? Right, exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And I love that you said that, right? Because the clarity will also come from action, right? So when you get into that momentum. I agree with that completely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
And I think the other thing is just normalizing regret, right? Being able to look in the mirror, say it out loud. The one thing that I thought when I was listening to that, and again, it depends how you look at regret and if it's a little more raw, I think it's easier to talk about things from the scars and from the wounds, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
So I think when something is like right now in the middle of hurting really, really bad, sometimes it's really, really hard to talk about it. So I think that was the one thing that I was like, oh, how do I help somebody when it's like bleeding right now?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
This is not the right time. It's not the right time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Anyway, Daniel, I definitely want everybody to listen to this book. Maybe just before we end, I do have a curiosity question. Now you have the book out, you're marketing the book. First of all, do you notice a difference between needing to market it now versus a decade ago?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
It's always. Okay. So how do you then, first of all, motivate yourself to then write another book? Like, does it ever get like, oh my God, not again? Or is it then you just fall in love with another idea and you're like, I can't wait to write about that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Interesting why they have such a beautiful library system.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
But it's a beautiful gig. I love that, Daniel. What would you want? And by the way, for people who are seeing us on YouTube, like it's really beautiful to see all those books and all the things. So you're in a really beautiful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
You're in a really beautiful spot here. So I wish everybody a garage like this. But Daniel, what would be something that you wish somebody told you earlier in your career that would have helped you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Oh, my God. I think what you just said, Daniel, is actually so, so, so important to everybody listening because so many times they're not taking action because of what society thinks, what people will think, what family will say, what their friends will say. And I think that's the biggest stopper that we see.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
That's when they wake up with regret.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Ties into your book right up there. Daniel, thank you so much. I could probably talk to you for hours. So thank you. Well, thank you, Alana.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. If you did, please share it with friends. Now, also, if you're feeling stuck or simply want more from your own career, watch this 30-minute free training at leapacademy.com slash training. That's leapacademy.com slash training. See you in the next episode of the Leap Academy with Ilana Golan Show.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Incredible. I did not know that. But then you actually went to something very, very different to study in college. You graduated Northern University in linguistics, and then you went to Yale Law School. First of all, why law? But I think at really early age, you realize that this is not it, right? This is not the thing. So tell us a little bit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
That was my life. I had three choices. It was two, and then engineering came. I could be a doctor or a lawyer, or then if, you know.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Daniel Pink is the author of five New York Time bestsellers, including the latest, The Power of Regret. Daniel's books have won multiple awards, have been translated to 46 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Before that, what sparked that love for politics? Was there a specific moment?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
So all throughout college.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I won't talk about today, but yes, but was there like a specific moment in practicing law or starting to understand that this is going to be your life? Was there a specific moment that you said, okay, this is not going to be my future? Is there something specific?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Right. But you're basically seeing what you're going to need to do as an intern or whatever. And you're like, this is just not going to be it in law school.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I love that metaphor. So you decide to go to politics and somehow you land a dream opportunity to be speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. Like, how the heck did that happen, Daniel?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I'm not bullshitting.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
I agree a thousand percent. We call it the zone of genius. And I think it's exactly it. Like somehow that power of words, storytelling, persuasion, impact that creates somehow that gelled with you. And it almost looks like all those pieces, like the linguistics, the libraries, like everything came together to create that magic, essentially. So you're writing these speeches about
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
But at some point you decide that politics is not your thing. It's not going to be the thing. Tell us a little bit about that time.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
So once you find that regret, what do you do?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Incredible. Was it scary, Daniel? Do you remember? I didn't actually find it very scary.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
All right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Power of Regret: Daniel Pink on The Unexpected Tool to Unlock Your Greatest Success | E101
Well, sometimes when we're young, we do these things and we don't even realize that it should have been scary. Or maybe sometimes we don't even realize how hard it's going to be.