Ryan Stewman is a high-performance sales coach and trainer who went from spending two stints in federal prison to building a multiple seven figure income.

He is the author of several best-selling books including Kick-Ass, Bulletproof Business, Elevator to the Top, and Hardcore Closer.

Favorite Success Quote

“You gotta take action before you can take over”

Key Points

1. Action not Knowledge Leads to Success

If you have been involved in the personal development world for any appreciable amount of time, then you have inevitably come across the people, shall we call them “Pathological learners” who are voracious consumers of knowledge.

They know all of the latest market trends, are well-versed in the high-performance practices of characters like Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield, and can tell you how to start and grow a business from inception to 7-figures.

And yet, when you look at the results in their lives, what do you find?

Nothing, nada, zilch.

They live in a 400 square foot apartment, are overweight, and in a relationship that looks like something out of a bad soap opera.

Yet they know all this information!

The problem is that they do not apply it. You have to realize that knowledge without action is useless.

Only applied knowledge is power, and if you have spent years devoting your time and energy to learning without taking the proper proportion of action, then it is time to get off your ass, leave the theory on your nightstand, and get in the game.

2.Suffering is a Temporary But Essential Part of Life

When was the last time you experienced suffering? I mean true suffering.

Not the “My dog is sick” or “The 49ers lost their last game”, but real, visceral suffering, the kind that keeps you up at night, deprives you of joy, and makes you question your purpose on this planet.

Perhaps you lost a family member or a friend, underwent a nasty divorce, lost your home, job, and family in bankruptcy, or even suffered from a life-changing disease or injury.

Whatever that suffering was (or is) you need to internalize one of life’s great truths, spoken over a century ago by Abraham Lincoln.

“This too shall pass”

No suffer, no matter how devastating and debilitating it may feel, is permanent. And what is more? It is necessary to build you into the man that you need to become.

I am not telling you that your pain will be easy to bear, but I am telling you that it will be worth it.

3. Ignore the Haters and Embrace the True Players

One of the greatest tragedies of the modern world is that men with unlimited potential and unimaginable abilities allow themselves to be smothered by the advice and criticisms of unambitious, underachieving, and jealous peers.

Every time you go to the office look at the men to your left and to your right.

What do you see?

Do you see men embracing their true potential, taking control of their lives, and creating an incredible future full of freedom and joy?

Or do you see men who have allowed the doubts and misgivings of society, family, and friends to hold them back from their dreams and desires?

On your path to success, you will be faced with many, many, many haters, doubters, and naysayers.

They will tell you it cannot or should not be done only out of their own insecurities and fears.

But if you want to unleash the giant inside of you and reach your full potential, you must ignore these people, whether they are bosses, life-long friends, or even family members.

Only take advice from those who are achieving what you want to achieve, and ignore the rest.

End of discussion.

4. Education not Schooling is What Separates the Winners from the Losers

There is a fallacious belief circulating the modern world that tells all young men the only path to success is through higher education.

And while college can be a great choice for some people, it is not the ultimate road to massive achievement.

I want you to think back to your highschool and college years.

If your experience was anything like mine, then at some point, you inevitably came across two different types of guys: The learner and the hustler.

The learner was someone you would describe as the stereotypical nerd. He was smart, worked hard in classes, and did everything right.

He made good marks, graduated with honors, and probably had several high level job offers waiting for him upon graduation.

The hustler however, is a different breed.

This was the man who spent his days building something that he believed in, working towards his dream, and focusing more on his practical education than his education.

Sure, he still applied himself to his schooling, but, as Mark Twain said he “Never let his schooling get in the way of his education.”

Which of these two men do you think ultimately achieved more? Who became more successful? Who was able to create something that would last and create freedom for themselves and their families?

Hint, it’s not the guy with all A’s.

5. Your Past Does Not Determine Your Future

Imagine, if you will, a man who spent his whole life as a criminal, stealing, lying, and terrorizing his way to “success.”

After being arrested for one of his many crimes and spending nearly half a decade of his life behind bars, he is released back into the world and left with a choice.

He can either allow past decisions, events, and circumstances to determine his future, or he can lift a middle finger to mistakes and decide to create a different life for himself, to rebuild himself, and create a new identity as a man of honor, integrity, and love.

Most people don’t believe that you can ever overcome your past.

And quite frankly, most people are full of shit.

Every single day, you are faced with the same decision as the man above, you can either bend a knee and supplicate yourself to the flaws and mistakes of your past self, or you can start anew and recreate yourself into the kind of man you would be proud to be.

Which decision will you make?

Pirkei Avot—The Misunderstood Masterpiece Ep. 5: Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai and the Creation of Yavneh