To The Top: Inspirational Career Advice

Martin Kihn is an accomplished writer and one of the most in-demand marketing experts in the field of advertising. One of his books was titled House of Lies based on his experience as a management consultant which was turned into a TV show on Showtime and starred Don Cheadle. Marty received his Bachelor's from Yale and his MBA from Colombia. He was also the head writer for the popular MTV show, Pop-up Video. He recently spent the past 5 years as a marketing analyst at Gartner, and he's currently the VP of Research at Dentsu Aegis Network. In this episode we deconstruct many career lessons from Marty's multi-dimensional background. We also discuss: -How to view your career over time -How his first book, House of Lies, became a hit TV show  -How he sold his second book for a half million dollars to Warner Bros -How to avoid burnout and more.. --- For comments or questions please e-mail me at omaid@omaid.me and visit www.omaid.me for the latest episodes  

Michael Mina is an award-winning chef based in San Francisco who has built an empire with over 40 restaurants around the world. He was the executive chef at AQUA from 1993-2002 and his flagship restaurant, MICHAEL MINA is a Michelin two-star establishment. He has been a featured guest chef at the James Beard House numerous times; cooked for three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama; and has been a guest speaker at C.I.A. in Hyde Park and at other culinary institutes in California.            We discuss: How Michael's persistence led to his big break How he was able to get Andre Agassi to become his investment partner The highs of being awarded two Michelin stars and the lows of losing one How he has mentored and partnered Ayesha Curry Advice he has for surrounding yourself with a great team and more.. ---  Email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Ryan Hawk is the host of The Learning Leader Show which is a world class podcast where he's interviewed 250 of the most thoughtful leaders including Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Adam Grant, and Kat Cole.  Ryan currently heads up the Leadership Advisory team at Brixey & Meyer. His background in sales leadership and management make him the perfect guest to discuss how to best transition into a management or leadership position. ----- e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Phil Jones is a world-class sales trainer and best-selling author. He began a career in sales at a young age and eventually developed his own sales training workshop. Fast forward and he's delivered thousands of keynote speeches and published two incredible books. Phil and I dig deep into his book titled "Exactly What to Say" and he provides his insight around other questions I ask such as how to build trust and how to disarm decision makers during the sales process. ---  e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Mario Lopez is currently the host on Extra. He's one of the top hosts in Hollywood. You know him from Saved by the Bell and he's been on Dancing with the Stars.  Mario has had a great career over an extended period of time. In this interview we cover a broad range of topics relating to career, life advice, and fitness tips. ---  e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Alex Ikonn is an entrepreneur who co-founded Luxy Hair which provides high quality hair extensions. He helped grow the Luxy Hair YouTube channel to one of the most visited channels which has over 421 million views. Alex has the drive and creativity to build beautiful products. He's also the co-founder of Intelligent Change (intelligentchange.com) where he's helped create The 5-Minute Journal which helps you be mindful about planning your day.  He also has a Vlog on YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/AlexIkonn11) where he posts great behind the scenes videos about his business, family, and other things that inspire him. --- e-mail comments or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com    

Ayesha Curry is literally catching on fire. The mompreneur of two has been coined the Martha Stewart for millennials. Following the recent success of her cookbook, The Seasoned Life (available on Amazon), she has a cooking show on The Food Network (Ayesha's Home Kitchen) and recently launched a meal delivery kit service (www.cookhomemade.com). If that wasn't enough, she's opening a new restaurant in San Francisco and launching her own cookware line in Target. How does she do it? Listen to our interview and follow her on Instagram (@ayeshacurry) to find out. --- E-mail questions or comments to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

Ernie Johnson, Jr. is one of sport’s most respected and loved personalities. The three-time Sports Emmy Award winner and host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” has helped audiences break down games and belly laugh for decades. Maybe more impressive than his professional fame and recognition is Ernie’s innate ability to connect with people on a human level. His willingness to discuss topics such as the adoption of his and his wife Cheryl’s children, including their special needs son Michael; the death of his father and best friend, iconic sportscaster and pitcher Ernie Johnson; and his own battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma has endeared him and given hope to millions . We discuss the experiences he's shared in his autobiography Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary.  ---- Send comments or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

This is a special episode where Ryan Hawk, the host of The Learning Leader Show, interviews one of my favorite authors, John Kralik. His book, A Simple Act of Gratitude, greatly impacted my life. John was going through a turbulent time in his life and it's about the story of how he began to notice the things in his life he should have been thankful for. I loved this interview so much that I wanted to share it on my podcast. Not only does John share his story, but I liked how Ryan helps us put the power of gratitude into practice. I highly recommend getting a copy of the book on Amazon, it's actually the book I gift the most to the guests on my podcast. I interviewed John myself a couple of years ago and I wrote an article about how his book impacted my life. I've shared a link to the article below: https://www.forbes.com/sites/omaidhomayun/2015/09/13/how-this-simple-act-of-gratitude-can-impact-your-life/#61d0f24c5c3e Check out Ryan's other interviews at http://learningleader.com/ ---- Send feedback or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

A groundbreaking approach to succeeding in business and life, using the science of resourcefulness We often think the key to success and satisfaction is to get more: more money, time, and possessions; bigger budgets, job titles, and teams; and additional resources for our professional and personal goals. It turns out we’re wrong. Using captivating stories to illustrate research in psychology and management, Rice University professor Scott Sonenshein examines why some people and organizations succeed with so little, while others fail with so much. ----- Email questions or comments to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com