If you could only use one word to describe 2017, it would have to be transformation. From politics to technology to the job market, there have been a lot changes this year.

Here at the EntreLeadership Podcast headquarters, that’s incredible news. We LOVE change—especially when it comes to helping you transform yourself and your business. It’s like former British prime minister Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.”

With that in mind, 2017 was a banner year. Our guests focused on helping you get better in many areas. To make the most of their sage advice, we’re closing out the year with clips from some of our favorite conversations. They were selected based on number of downloads and feedback from our listeners. We hope you enjoy them! Have a wonderful new year!

Seth Godin—Change Your Mind, Change Your Life

The Rundown: Marketing master Seth Godin returns to the podcast for an in-depth conversation on change, from why we avoid it to how you can make it the number one weapon in your arsenal.

Top Takeaway: Change creates an environment where you are not an expert. So if you don’t like the feeling of incompetence, you’ll fight the feeling of change. Getting comfortable with the feeling of being incompetent is one of the most important things you can do.  

Favorite Quote: “The only way to get better is to do things differently.”

Chris Baréz-Brown—Escaping a Life on Autopilot

The Rundown: It’s been estimated that 50% of our time awake is spent on autopilot, leading to a life of missed moments and even less enjoyment at home and at work. Chris Baréz-Brown is on a mission to help us escape that routine. The inspirational speaker, author and business beatnik joins us to share his tips on how to feel more conscious, joyful and inspired, and how to avoid missing what matters most.

Top Takeaway: Want to break the cycle of running a hundred miles per hour all day—spending all of your time putting out fires? Take a walk with someone for 7.5 minutes and talk it up while they listen. It gives you better perspective, insight, ideas and the ability to think differently about the future.

Favorite Quote: “You can’t be a good creative leader unless you are a conscious leader.”

Jocko Willink—The Discipline Advantage

The Rundown: A favorite of our listeners, retired Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink returns to our Top 10 list for the second year in a row. Once upon a time, Willink traveled the world on military missions. These days, as a best-selling author and leadership coach, his work still takes him around the globe but to a much different battlefield. Jocko joins us to share his thoughts on developing leaders.

Top Takeaway: If you want someone to step up into a leadership position, put them in one that’s slightly out of their comfort zone and watch them rise to the occasion. This idea doesn’t just work with your high-potential people; it works with your problem children who aren’t performing or have a negative attitude.

Favorite Quote: “If you’re the easy button for your team, they’re going to get trained and conditioned to use that easy button. They are going to come to you for everything.”

Jon Taffer—Rescue Your Business

The Rundown: When it comes to a struggling business, we’ve heard pretty much every excuse in the book: a terrible economy, a bad location, an overcrowded marketplace. But Jon Taffer isn’t buying it. The no-holds-barred star of Spike TV’s hit show Bar Rescue explains why excuses are the common denominator of all failing businesses—and exactly how to kick them to the curb for good.  

Top Takeaway: You don’t have to spend a fortune with traditional advertising to market your business. All it takes is organization, high standards, an engaged owner and some common sense.

Favorite Quote: “Every failing business has a failing owner.”

David Allen—Getting Strategic With Personal Productivity

The Rundown: If “overwhelmed” seems like the best way to describe your day, listen in. Because the leading authority on personal organization, David Allen, joins us to discuss how to get things done. This best-selling author shares new insights on personal productivity and how you can become more effective, organized and focused, plus how you can plan projects like a pro.

Top Takeaway: You need to get things off your mind so you are free to focus on what you want to focus on. Your head is for developing ideas, not for holding them. Give yourself time to stop and reflect on how you’re doing. Build in a thinking process. Take two hours a week to step back and check the inventory of what’s going on.  

Favorite Quote: “Your head is a crappy office to hold ideas.”

Chris Voss—Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

The Rundown: Former FBI international hostage negotiator Chris Voss joins us to share effective tactics and strategies you can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life and how to solve business communication challenges with these hostage-negotiation techniques.

Top Takeaway: When negotiating, always use the “mirror technique.” Repeating the last three words someone said creates a connection and gives you permission to persuade.

Favorite Quote: “You become the smartest person in the room when you start tapping into other people’s brains.”

Bob Beaudine—The Power of Relationships

The Rundown: Remember the days of going to local events, handing out cards, and hoping to grab some new business? Bob Beaudine believes this kind of networking is not viable anymore because you already know everyone you need to—and it starts with your friends. As CEO of Eastman & Beaudine, Bob manages the nation’s leading executive-search firm in sports/entertainment.

Top Takeaway: Networking is not working for Americans any longer. Your most powerful network is created by simply by interacting with people in your daily life. Focus on doing business with your friends and the rest will take care of itself.

Favorite Quote: “You already know everyone you need to know.”

Ryan Holiday—Battling Ego

The Rundown: Ego is an enemy we all face—wrecking careers, impeding learning, and running companies into the ground. Entrepreneur and best-selling author Ryan Holiday joins us to discuss how to keep your ego in check in this age of “It’s all about me.” This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to succeed.

Top Takeaway:  History is made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who avoided the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition.

Favorite Quote: “Sometimes when everyone tells you you’re wrong, they’re wrong. But often when everyone says, ‘Hey that’s a really bad idea,’ they’re right and you should listen to them. Ego can make you lose the ability to discern good advice from bad advice.”

Simon Sinek—The Number One Question for Success

The Rundown: What’s the one question you need to ask that will propel you, your business and your team to greater heights? Leadership expert and best-selling author Simon Sinek stops by to give the answer, plus he shares lots of additional leadership and business tips.

Top Takeaway: Your why has to be front and center. It’s the thing that inspires people. It’s the thing that will give them their marching orders on how to build the business. As soon as your team knows the why, they’ll instinctively know what decision to make. That’s called scale.

Favorite Quote: “People rise to the occasion. Let them make decisions. Let them own it.”

Mel Robbins—5 Seconds to a Better Life and Business

The Rundown: What if you could become more confident, stop procrastinating, beat fear and uncertainty, story worrying, and feel happier? Mel Robbins says you can change in five seconds, and she’s sharing the tools you need to get started transforming your life.  

Top Takeaway: You can do tricks to outsmart your mind. The moment you have an instinct you should do something but you start to hesitate or feel afraid, use the five-second rule. Start counting backwards 5-4-3-2-1 and then move.  

Favorite Quote: “If you let your emotions kick in as someone is trying to undercut you, you’re not going to be powerful.”

Donald Miller—How to Double Your Revenue

The Rundown: Donald Miller, best-selling author and CEO of StoryBrand, knows your most powerful marketing tool has nothing to do with a big budget. The most effective marketing comes down to one simple thing: the right words.

Top Takeaway: We intuitively know we have to simplify our message. People aren’t as smart as we are in our field of expertise. Most of us are talking over their heads. We have to speak to their actual needs.

Favorite Quote: “The problem is you’re so smart that you have to get a dumb guy to look at your website.” 

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