Ilana
Appearances
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | 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 | Topaz Adizes
Absolutely.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | Topaz Adizes
Ooh, powerful. Tell me more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | Topaz Adizes
That's the intention. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | Topaz Adizes
Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | 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 | Topaz Adizes
Yeah, uh-huh.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | Topaz Adizes
I'm literally writing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Topaz Adizes
I like that. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Topaz Adizes
For you, it's questions.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
If You Want to Have Life-Changing Conversations, Ask These Tough Questions | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
Oh yeah, of course.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
Not them again. Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
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
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
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
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
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
Exactly.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Totally. Yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Obama Foundation President: How to Lead Through the Toughest Moments | David Simas
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
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
Priceless.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Seth Godin: Turning 800 Rejections into a Roadmap for Success
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
A few people?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
Can you share one?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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
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
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
But take me back in time when you started. You started from sports.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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
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
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
But Nick, what was it like for an entrepreneur?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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
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
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
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
Oh, I love that, Nick. So based on everything that you know, what would be like an advice to your younger self?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Bluestone Lane Founder: How Nicholas Stone Is Redefining the U.S. Coffee Culture With Zero Coffee Experience
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
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
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
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
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons
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
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
But he was doing a lot of the sales too, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons
$2,000.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Styling Beyoncé, Cher, and J.Lo: Norma Kamali’s Rise from Losing Her Company to Dressing Icons
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The normal thing, yeah.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life
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
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
Yeah, totally.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
And you have 11, exactly. Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life
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
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
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
Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Michael Hyatt Rebuilt Success Without Sacrificing His Life
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Can you share why Quest?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Okay. Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Tom Bilyeu: How I Proved Everyone Wrong and Built a Billion-Dollar Brand
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
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
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
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
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
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
And I think it was a pretty toxic environment as well.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
I'm not sleeping.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Dr. Rajiv Shah: Working with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and More to Tackle Global Crises
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
What started this?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Craigslist Founder, Craig Newmark: How I Transformed a Simple Email List Into a Billion-Dollar Business
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars
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
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
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
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
When did this love start?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars
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
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
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
It was always there.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars
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
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking Limits: How John Hennessey Turned a Dream into the World’s Fastest Cars
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
You're kidding. Wow.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
I agree.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
Tell me more.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Shit.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It's not much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
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
You're not winning.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Okay.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Grant Cardone: Reinventing at 50 to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Business from Rock Bottom
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Get your book, get your podcast.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
How do you turn pain into power?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power
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
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
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
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
I thought that was incredibly powerful.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Trent Shelton: Your Pain Has a Purpose, Unlock Its Power
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
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
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
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
I don't know what to say. So share a little bit about the beginning, Trent.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth
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.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
LeapCon 2025: Ilana Golan on Taking Bold Risks That Lead to Unstoppable Career Growth
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
So talk to me a little bit about what that looks like.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
I would love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success
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
I love that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success
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
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Emmy Nominee, Bastiano Ferrari: From Broke and Sleeping on Beanbags to Building Hollywood Success
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Who were you?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Steph Curry Enterprise: From Receptionist to Driving Business Success for a Sports Icon | Tiffany Williams
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Am I right, Jeff?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
From LA Dodgers to George Clooney’s Cocktail Hour: How Jeff Krauss Plans Iconic Events
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
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
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
Amy Porterfield: I Quit a Prestigious Job with Tony Robbins and Built a $100M Business
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Right.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Gil Shwed: Building Check Point into a $20B Empire and Defining the Future of Cybersecurity
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
And I think the curiosity is
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Former Zillow CEO, Spencer Rascoff: Leading Billion-Dollar Startups Through Crises
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ilana Golan: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Zone of Genius
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Now I'm crying.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Brandon, thank you guys so much.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How I Lost My Company and Built a $500M Business Instead | Brandon Dawson
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
you
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
20, 25. It sounds like 15, right?
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
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
Oh, I want to hear that.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It was...
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Rosanna Pansino Overcame Dyslexia, Risked Everything, and Built a YouTube Empire
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
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
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
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
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
I don't have it.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All
everything.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How Lacy Garcia Conquered Financial Fear and Transformed Wealth Planning for All
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ilana Golan: 100X Your Personal Brand and Unlock Opportunity
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It's just an instinct.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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
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
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
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
Fulfilled.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
GaryVee: From Earning $2 an Hour to Running a $350M Digital Empire
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
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
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
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
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
Thank you. Thank you.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
Oh, Tony. Oh, amazing.
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
How to Win Investors: The Brutal Truth About Raising Capital | Elizabeth Yin
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
you