The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode 241: Austin Kleon - How To Steal Like An Artist Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of three illustrated books: Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work! His latest release is The Steal Like An Artist Journal: A Notebook For Creative Kleptomaniacs. His work has been translated into over twenty languages and featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. New York Magazine called his work “brilliant,” The Atlantic called him “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet,” and The New Yorkersaid his poems “resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead.” He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. He grew up in Ohio, but now he lives in Austin, Texas. "Reading is so essential to writing... I don't even think about it.  I just always do it." Show Notes: Sustained Excellence = "I wrestle with jealously about others who do better work than me... Until I realize it's very rare to see someone who doesn't deserve it based on how hard they work." The people who sustain excellence are typically the hardest workers over the long term "If you want to do better, work harder." Austin's ritual Write a page a day like Stephen King Little bits of work add up over time When you do something you love, you're always working... It's an endless stream "I try to be a good boss to myself" -- But there is no punching the clock in and out... It's always in Steal Like An Artist Wrote an article titled "10 things I wish I had known when starting out" -- That became the best-selling book The blog post and speech that went with it went viral The Creative Process Daily writing... Eventually show the audience to test if it's useful for them "It's like a factory" Collect Make time to write Gather to longer piece to essay Put it out to the world Collect feedback (live audience sometimes) A daily blog helps the book writing process Collect, synthesize, make, share -- "Stealing & Sharing" Reading is a massive part of the writing process... Must read a lot "Reading is so essential to writing.  I don't even think about it, I just do it." "My job as an author is to point people to things people haven't seen" "Being a leader... You have to be curious... You have to find great stories and examples." -- You must read a lot to do this What advice do you give to others? "You need hobbies... People used to have hobbies, not they have Netflix."  Try to restore something, do work, have a hobby -- It will build creativity The two desks Analog desk -- pens, markers, paper, scissors... Make stuff Digital desk -- computer "Walking is an insanely creative activity" Enjoying captivity -- Be useful on train rides, flights... No wifi The open office plan is a nightmare for an introvert like Austin "You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it. "The number of people doesn't matter as much as the quality of the people who follow you." "Becoming a friend of someone you look up to is one of the best things that could ever happen" Creating great work gives you the opportunity to do this "You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it. Social Media: Read: Steal Like An Artist Follow Austin on Twitter: @austinkleon Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show Todd Henry is the founder of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams be prolific, brilliant and healthy. He regularly speaks and consults with companies about how to develop practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of four books (The Accidental Creative, Louder Than Words, Die Empty, Herding Tigers), speaks internationally on productivity, creativity, leadership and passion for work, and build tools for creative people and teams. In short, he's an arms dealer for the creative revolution.  His latest book is called Herding Tigers: Leading talented, creative people requires a different skill set than the one many management books offer. As a consultant to creative companies, Todd Henry knows firsthand what prevents creative leaders from guiding their teams to success, and in Herding Tigers he provides a bold new blueprint to help you be the leader your team needs. Learn to lead by influence instead of control. Discover how to create a stable culture that empowers your team to take bold creative risks. And learn how to fight to protect the time, energy, and resources they need to do their best work.   "Great leaders have great rituals. Great leaders are connected. Great leaders have set questions they ask when they meet someone for the first time." Show Notes: Sustained Excellence = Great leaders have great rituals Disciplined time to study/reflect Well read Go on walks Great leaders are connected to their network Great leaders have set questions they ask someone when they meet for the first time Todd's rituals Same breakfast everyday, same coffee mug everyday 1 hour of study/read/time to think Writes morning pages (3 full pages long hand) Creating space for yourself Predictable space, a buffer - "I have a ritual of taking a long walk in the middle of my day" -- "It helps me get lost in thought" Set questions to ask when you meet someone "What's the most important thing I should know about you?" What's inspiring you right now?" Cover bands don't change the world Go out and present YOUR ideas to the market place "If you want to have a voice in the market place, you have to have a voice" -- You can't just regurgitate what others say: Take what you learn, synthesize it with your own thoughts and have a voice, a point of view "Your synthesis is what is valuable" Writing The Accidental Creative was hard and lonely Leading Creatives - We assume they get it... No, you must be clear that they do.  Walk them through your thought process, what you expect, why you expect it Jocko's principle -- "You own all of it" Brian Koppelman (Creator of Billions) - Leading with influence vs being a micro-manager.  The director must own the show... They must have a compelling vision, point of view. Koppelman must create the space to give the director of each episode that ownership (he owns it all) Creative people need two things Stability - Protect them, give them the space they need, be clear Challenge - Cannot allow boredom These two exist is constant tension, push/pull.  You have to know how/when/why to turn the dial on each "Your entire career, up until you're a manager, you have complete control -- As a manager you must shift from control to influence (it's hard) or the team cannot scale beyond you Your team must understand the WHY behind what you do -- If not they just inherit tactics but don't know why they do it.  It can't scale without knowing the WHY Need to make certain creative people feel ownership of the work Influence is about principle Why is implementation and execution so hard? Leaders struggle with insecurity "Your area of greatest insecurity can inflict the most damage to your organization... It's about ego more than confidence" Why write Herding Tigers? "I wrote the book I wish I had... A lot of people don't have the model of what great leadership is" Here's what it feels like right now: Action Pause Reflection Redirection Action "Cover bands don't change the world.  Find your own voice." Social Media: Read: Herding Tigers Follow Todd on Twitter: @toddhenry Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 239: Dan Pink - The Scientific Secrets Of Perfect Timing (When) Daniel Pink is the author of six provocative books — including his newest, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, to be published in January 2018. His other books include the long-running New York Times bestseller A Whole New Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages.  If you'd like to listen to the first time Dan joined me on The Learning Leader Show, CLICK HERE. Dan's TED Talk on the science of motivation is one of the 10 most-watched TED Talks of all time, with more than 19 million views. His RSA Animate video about the ideas in his book, Drive, has collected more than 14 million views.(from DanPink.com) (Photo Credit - HOW Design) The Learning Leader Show "It's like brick laying.  I show up every day and I hit my word (count) goal.  Day after day after day.  Every day." Show Notes: Dan's book writing process: "It's like 1930's football... One short play at a time." Brick laying, very laborious... Get in office by 8:30 and hit the writing (word count) goal every single day... Day after day after day after day... Write 700 words a day, every da "I show up and hit my number, every single day" Combining research with interesting stories -- work in chunks, have research in a Word doc, and the book in a separate doc. Review, go back and forth Go through the (printed out) research, highlight, underline, review a lot If you do this every day, it adds up Why write about this topic? The topic of When As a writer, you must pick a topic you are VERY interested in... You spend years on the project (research, writing, speeches) "I wrote this book because I wanted to read it" How to know if an idea is worth exploring? "You don't... But when you share it with others, does it create curiosity in them?  Do they ask follow up questions?  If they do, you may be on to something" The 3 stages of our days Peak - Analytical work, smart Trough - The afternoon "Bermuda Triangle" -- A bad time to make decisions Recovery - A creative time Why lunch is the most important meal of the day -- This is a time where you need to leave what you're doing, go outside, go with a friend, disconnect from work, don't look at your phone, need to recharge Breaks are enormously important - Social breaks (with friends) are better than solo breaks Napping for 20 minutes in the afternoon is very helpful Drink a cup of coffee, set you iPhone for an alarm to go off in 23 minutes, lay down with an eye mask.  If you fall asleep in 5 minutes, you get an 18 minute nap, and you wake up and the caffeine starts to kick in Why NBA players who get more "touches" have more success than others... Scientific evidence supports this The importance of endings... How we end things: Energize - More 29, 39, 49 year olds run marathons than any other age.  People want to end on a high note Encode - Evaluate and record experiences - How something ends is very important. Look at Yelp reviews -- People remember the experience for how a meal ended more than anything else Elevate - People prefer rising sequences. Dan's favorite tip:  When sharing good news and bad news, always START with the bad news, and end with the good news We are very intentional about who, what, why... why aren't we intentional about WHEN?  We should be... "We are very intentional about who, what, and why.  We aren't intentional about WHEN.  We should be." Social Media: Read: When - The Scientific Secrets Of Perfect Timing See why over 396,000 people follow Dan on Twitter: @DanielPink Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show Episode 238: Neil Pasricha - Why Action Creates Motivation: 1,000 Awesome Things Neil Pasricha is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Happiness Equation and The Book of Awesome series, which has been published in ten countries, spent over five years on bestseller lists, and sold over a million copies. Neil is a Harvard MBA, one of the most popular TED speakers of all time, and after ten years heading Leadership Development at Walmart he now serves as Director of The Institute for Global Happiness. He has dedicated the past fifteen years of his life to developing leaders, creating global programs inside the world’s largest companies and speaking to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. "Most think motivation leads to action... No, motivation doesn't cause action... Action creates motivation." Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: C -- Clarity - Clear, succinct, memorable O -- Optimism -- "Find the good in everything" P -- Patience -- Delaying decision making until the last possible moment The quality can improve if "we let the tension live" Empower others - "Parkinson's Law" - Work rises to the time needed to complete it. "I don't want to fight the customer."  -- Thinking about everything from their perspective. Wal-Mart Being a Harvard Business School graduate "Chase the companies that don't come to Harvard to recruit.  You'll learn more." -- Why Neil went to Wal-Mart Neil's 30 second pitch to why someone should hire him for a leadership role when he was very young "I had to be artificially confident" His pitch -- 3 quick questions Do you value internal promotions? What's the #1 program you've seen? Would you be interested in topics of developing leaders at Harvard? Get their email address and follow up None of the companies were hiring when he was leaving school... Neil had to "create a job" within companies to get hired Brene Brown - "If you go through life trying to find confirmation you don't belong, you'll find it." 2008 - The world was falling apart, his marriage ended, his best friend committed suicide.. He started the blog, 1,000 Awesome Things Won a webby award for best blog in the world Wrote The Book Of Awesome He moved to NYC... Didn't know anyone, lived alone He was going through pain while starting the awesome things blog.  Focused on three things: Make the blog public - hold him accountable Use a countdown - From 1,000 to 1 -- Helped him know it was going to end at some point Finite - There is light at the end of the tunnel "Most think motivation leads to action. Not true. Action creates motivation." The importance of consistency - Neil's idea was not unique, but doing it everyday made him different from most "Try to be receptive of other people's ideas" -- Helps you "notice things" "Your questions are fantastic.  I'm not surprised." Working on deadlines -- Neil wrote for a newspaper for four years.  Helped with this skill "I believe in consistency" Actionable advice: You have three, 56 hour buckets of your week.  They are: 56 Hours - Sleep 56 Hours - Work/Job 56 Hours - What are you spending this time on? You can do whatever you want... The happiness equation - Work/Life balance fulcrum -- Flywheel Taking his side hustle and making it his full time job -- "I should have done it sooner." "If you go through life trying to find confirmation that you don't belong, you'll find it." -- Brene Brown Social Media: Read: The Happiness Equation - Want Nothing + Do Everything = Have Anything Follow Neil on Twitter: @NeilPasricha Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show Episode 237: AJ Jacobs - The Power of Irrational Confidence (Life As An Experiment) A.J. Jacobs is an author, journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help.  He is also editor at large at Esquire magazine, a commentator on NPR and a columnist for Mental Floss magazine. He is currently helping to build a family tree of the entire world and holding the biggest family reunion ever in 2015. In addition to his books, Jacobs written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and New York magazine. He has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, Conan and The Colbert Report.  He has given several TED talks, including ones about living biblically, creating a one-world family, and living healthily. "It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting." Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: Self delusion -- Optimism helps you do incredible things.  Acting "as if" "It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting." Great curiosity -- "I'm curious about everything... Even things that don't interest me." Why he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica Why the "good ole days" actually sucked -- Studying this made him very grateful for being alive today The practice of radical honesty and how it got him in trouble -- He was forced to tell the full truth at all times Can be good or bad Gratitude -- Common among the greatest achievers -- be thankful for everything. "When you're grateful for something as small as the elevator door opening, you're much happier." It's All Relative -- Building a world family true.  How we are related.  How he is related to President Barack Obama... It helps with perspective and tolerance... We're more tolerant of people we are related to The Global Family Reunion event Why his experiments drive his wife crazy -- The year of living biblically -- Why it was so hard to follow the exact words of the Bible Harvard studies -- If we share DNA, people are more open to help one another Why we need to get out of the echo chamber Typical day -- stretch, treadmill desk, write and walk at the same time, walking keeps him alert Importance of "walks with wife" -- raises serotonin Batching activities -- Phone calls It's lonely as a writer... AJ needs to speak with other creatives often: "I need to bounce ideas of of others in between the alone time" Doing "Skype" lunches.  He eats lunch with friends over Skype Best advice he's heard: From George Clooney -- "When I get up to bat, I don't think Am I going to hit a home run? I think, where will I hit this home run?" -- The importance of irrational confidence.  Delusional optimism is helpful. Stage presence (when speaking) -- Why you "owe it to the audience" to think "you're the baddest dude on the planet" and will deliver for THEM "When I got up to bat, I didn't think, "Am I going to hit a home run?" I thought, "Where will this home run go?" -- George Clooney on the importance of self confidence Social Media: Read: It's All Relative Follow AJ on Twitter: @ajjacobs Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 236: Brian Scudamore - CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK: How To Scale A Business Brian started his business in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 18, and later went on to franchise 1-800-GOT-JUNK? as a way to expand operations. Today, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has 1000 trucks on the road throughout some 180 locations in Canada, the United States, and Australia. Brian has received wide recognition in the media and business community. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has celebrated appearances on the highly-acclaimed Undercover Boss Canada, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, CNN, ABC Nightline, the Today Show, The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, and the View. His story has been told in Fortune Magazine, Business Week, New York Times, Huffington Post, and Wall Street Journal, to name a few. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is currently the starring junk removal attraction on the hit A&E reality show, Hoarders. Brian has brought his entrepreneurial success story to many conference stages, including the Fortune Small Business Magazine’s national conference. A strong believer in personal and professional development, Brian graduated from MIT's four-year Birthing of Giants program, and has subsequently completed several years of MIT’s BOG’s alumni program, Gathering of Titans. He is also a participant in a nine-year executive education program at Harvard University through YPO Presidents’ University. (from 1800gotjunk.com) The Learning Leader Show "I don't know if you can live the full potential if it's a side hustle. You need to give maximum effort." Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: Focus - All in, not a side hustle Faith - Belief in self, clear vision Effort - Discipline Why we all need an "MBA" -- A "Mentor Board of Advisors" Fred DeLuca -- Subway founder - He never took his eye off the prize. He struggled and kept going. 32 stores in 12 years. Are entrepreneurs born or made? Brian started a carwash as a kid.  He sold candy in his dorm room Creativity as a Dad -- Always build things with your kids and watch them grow together (ie. a garden) Why did he start 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Needed money for college... Initially called it "The Rubbish Boys" Brian learned more about running a business from actually doing it than he did in school The amazing story of Brian's dad "falling out of his chair" when he told me he was leaving school to run the business full time "It couldn't be a side hustle."  The need for maximum effort to be successful How Brian views opportunities And where he thinks of new ideas to create more businesses The importance of going on walks Meeting outdoors in Vancouver -- "Get your muscles moving" Morning routine -- Get up at 5:55 Power hour Focus on self Exercise Study French, Italian (other languages) Spend moments learning before the kids wake up Side hustle -- "I don't know if you can live the full potential if it's a side hustle. You need to give it full effort. Imagine the possibility if they quit their job" Philosophy on sales? Mentor Jack Daly -- "Ask questions and listen" How he got his first 100 customers "I have the best job in the world for me" Brian's hiring process Why he fired his entire team of 11 at one point -- They didn't have the right attitude "Everyone must pass the beer and bbq test" -- "You have to want to have a beer and eat bbq with them" "I want friendly, ambitious, passionate, optimistic people." "Hire for attitude, train for skill" Brian is the "culture" interviewer Cameron Herold -- Best man in his wedding, previous business partner.  Brian shares why he had to fire him. "You cannot have 2 "fire, ready, aim" type of people." The process of making mistakes on his path to hiring the right team The need for Erik Church as the COO -- He is an executor.  They are a great yin and yang Take a sheet of paper and write down what you enjoy doing and what you're good at.  Also write what you don't like doing and you're bad it.  Find the person to fill those gaps.  Erik does that for Brian How to handle disagreements? Birthing of giants - MIT -- Annual learning, monthly call The importance of being a lifelong learner, be curious, ask questions Book to read, The E-Myth by Michael Gerber "I hire friendly, ambitious, passionate, optimistic people. Hire for attitude, train for skill." Social Media: Brian's website: o2ebrands.com Follow Brian on Twitter: @BrianScudamore  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 235: Dr. Gay Hendricks - How To Make The Big Leap Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., has been a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and bodymind therapies for more than 45 years. After earning his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Stanford, Gay served as professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado for 21 years. He has written more than 40 books, including bestsellers such as Five Wishes, The Big Leap and Conscious Loving (co-authored with his co-author and mate for more than 35 years, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks), both used as a primary text in universities around the world. In 2003, Gay co-founded The Spiritual Cinema Circle,which distributes inspirational movies and conscious entertainment to subscribers in 70+ countries. Gay has offered seminars worldwide and appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including OPRAH, CNN, CNBC, 48 HOURS and others. In addition to his work with The Hendricks Institute, Gay is currently continuing his new mystery series that began with The First Rule Of Ten Episode 235: Dr. Gay Hendricks - How To Make The Big Leap Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "The money became an effortless byproduct of doing what I love" Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: Openness to learning Great listener They do not waste time being defensive The makeup of insecure people who won't learn = Fear. A bug --> You poke it, it curls towards the center.  They are scared.  We have the same nervous system from many years ago Must acknowledge the fears -- "Don't try to out argue them or "out-facts" them" "Speak to your shared fears" when scared The 4 things we do when scared: Fight Runaway Freeze Space out Fear tries to take us out of the moment His story of going on the Oprah show -- "Being on Oprah was like having 10 shots of espresso" What is the upper limit problem? A point in success/happiness -- if you go past the point of it, you do something to knock yourself down.  Fears keep people locked in certain zones The 4 Operating Zones Zone of incompetence Zone of competence Zone of excellence Zone of Genius Most love to do? "Living full time in the zone of genius" Why you should start with "10 minutes of what you most love to do" -- Then continually bump that time up Making the leap -- Freedom, pressure. Stand up, walk your talk.  So rewarding, but can you make money? "The money became an effortless byproduct of doing what I love" Walk quietly and with passion... Auspicious things happen Life rewards expression of true genius Early 90's, Gay spent 30% of time in his genius zone, then 50%, then 70%, now 90% of time is spent in his zone of genius His zone of genius? "Be a model of creativity.  Explain complicated things in a simple way." Oprah called it "Learning to love yourself" Creativity - Conscious loving ever after -- How to access more creativity? Every day after 50 is a choice between creativity and stagnation. Move, play, create new ideas.  At age 65, Gay started lifting weights.  Must keep moving your body He wrote his first mystery novel at age 65 (Wow!) He just sold the mystery series to Netflix to turn it into a television series It's never too late to start accessing new paths of creativity Put your mind on how to create more Learning Leader = "Commitment to learn from the moment" "Life rewards expression of true genius."  Social Media: Read: The Big Leap Follow Gay on Twitter: @GayHendricks Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show "As the leader, you are responsible for EVERYTHING that happens in your organization." Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: Humility Constantly looking to improve Learning Willing and able to take criticism Incredible story of a mutiny within the ranks because of a platoon commander's ego Way Of The Warrior Kid - The message for children Be humble Don't give up Work hard Ramadi -- The epicenter, insurgency in Iraq The confusion/fog of war A firefight... Between friendly forces: Who's at fault? Jocko took ownership - "As the leader, I'm responsible for everything that happens on that field. It wasn't your fault, it's mine." "If you make a mistake, you must own it." Owning the mistakes created confidence and trust with Jocko's boss How do you handle a bad boss? Make them look good Ask for feedback, advice, ask for their approval, build them up Isn't that manipulation? "Yes..." "It's not just what you preach, it's what you tolerate." Decentralized command -- Empowering junior leaders to make important decisions. Front line leaders must be empowered. Why? Speed Being empowered as a quarterback to call an audible -- Why this was an optimal way for us to attack a defense and ultimately win games. The coaches needed to trust and empower me to do this Are leaders born or made? Characteristics of great leaders? They take complex things and simplify them They are articulate They are loud (seems strange, but it's true for military leaders and a quarterback) How much can you learn?  You must detach emotion, and be decisive. Why wake up at 4:30 am? "It is time for me to own, it's before everyone else is awake" Favorite part of work? - Podcasting and working with companies How has Jocko created this lifestyle? -- Many years of consistent, sustained work "Discipline Equals Freedom." His discipline for many years has helped him create a lifestyle that he loves "It's not just what you preach. It's what you tolerate."   Social Media: Read: Extreme Ownership See why over 150,000 people follow Jocko on Twitter: @jockowillink Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 233: Gretchen Rubin - How To Be Happy Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold almost three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages. Fast Company named Gretchen Rubin to its list of Most Creative People in Business, and she’s a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100. She’s been interviewed by Oprah, eaten dinner with Daniel Kahneman, and walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama. Gretchen Rubin started her career in law and was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters. The Learning Leader Show "What do I want from my life? I want to be happy. How can I be happier?" Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: They are self aware They are happy and healthy and figured themselves out Better Than Before -- How to create great habits "I can't have a little.  I either have none or a lot."  -- Needed to abstain from things like that (sugar) Think -- "What do I want from my life?" "I want to be happy..." She then went to the library to study. Did a deep dive on happiness What are the keys to happiness? Every month (for a year), she created a theme for the month: 3-5 concrete resolutions she could measure to make herself happier Aim higher -- "Enjoying the fun of failure" -- Starting a blog. Initially worrying that nobody would read it. "It's okay to fail." How can you buy happiness? How to be grateful for what you have... Both experiences and possessions Bill Gates takes "think weeks" -- Why we all should do this Warren Buffett can buy anything he wants... But he cannot buy time Gretchen describes her typical day The Four Tendencies (Personality Profiles) -- How you respond to expectations Upholders - Respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expecations Questioners - Question all expectations; they meet an expectation only if they believe it's justified, so in effect they respond only to inner expectations Obligers - Respond readily to outer expectations but struggle to meet inner expectations Rebels - Resist all expectations, outer and inner alike A live role play between Gretchen and me describing which tendency we inhibit and why we are different Questioner vs Upholder - An upholder wants to always follow the rules (Gretchen)... A questioner (me) thinks differently Gretchen's advice - Get clarity on who you are, your personality profile, and how you respond to expectations Questioner - Why are you doing this? Know who, what when, why? Obliger - Go beyond. Let's both commit. Find outer accountability. Take action Rebel - Freedom, choice. "I want my voice heard."Influence change Social Media: Read: The Four Tendencies See why over 135,000 people follow Gretchen on Twitter: @gretchenrubin Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 232: It's Time To Go ALL IN (With Doug Meyer & Greg Meredith) "Here's the issue:If you're going to pursue a low odds game, the reality is that at some point the odds will go to zero if you don't commit fully. You're never going to get across that chasm if you're going to keep yourself tethered to one side but that doesn't mean taking an unfounded leap into the wild beyond." Jim Collins gave me that advice on Episode #216 here On The Learning Leader Show. I've fired a lot of bullets over the past three years building this show and this platform while working a full time job at a big international corporation. The purpose of this episode is to announce that I have left my full time job to pursue my passion... My love: This show, this platform, this work, on a full time basis. It's time for me to go All In. The featured leaders tonight are two of my business partners (and friends), Doug Meyer and Greg Meredith.  Doug Meyer is one of the founding partners of Brixey & Meyer.  In his role as Managing Director, Doug serves as a trusted business advisor to Business Owners, CEOs, CFOs and Boards of Advisors, driving value and accountability.  Greg Meredith runs Brixey & Meyer’s Business Advisory Services team, which helps clients with strategic planning, project management, sales strategy, business process and system optimization and more.  I am bringing The Learning Leader brand to Brixey & Meyer full time to run the Leadership Advisory Services team.  In addition to the podcast, I'll be focused on helping clients be more effective leaders, managers, and coaches.  This is done through: consulting projects, 1 on 1 coaching, leadership circles (Mastermind groups), creating written content (book and articles online), and much more.  I could not be more excited to get started!  "Following your genuine intellectual curiosity is a better foundation for a career than following whatever is making money right now." - Naval Ravikant Show Notes: 3:06 - My career, what I've done, why I haven't named the companies I've worked for, who has supported this, who hasn't. 5:05 - Why I'm making this move to do it full time, the first lunch I had with Doug, the impact that lunch had on me, how long this has been in the works, advice that was given to me... The phone call I made to my wife Miranda after that meeting informing her of what I wanted to do... 6:40 - The exercise that Doug and I did -- "Write down everything you love to do... And write down the things people have paid for.  Let's build the business based on that information." -- The dream job scenario 8:03 Doug sharing why Brixey & Meyer is different from other firms and why... - The values: Having fun, providing value, passionate, driver of change, accountability, responsibility to the people of the firm 10:01 Doug sharing how The Learning Leader Show has positively impacted his life 11:48 - Greg describing The Business Advisory Practice he leads at Brixey & Meyer 12:07 - How Brixey & Meyer evolves and adapts -- Taking it to another level 13:02 - Why I decided to leave my job as VP of Sales at a large international company 14:09 - Finding a way to love what you do everyday 14:44 - “Following your genuine intellectual curiosity is a better foundation for a career than following whatever is making money right now.” - Naval Ravikant 16:24 - The scary part about making this change -- Side hustle to full time job creates a lot of pressure 16:56 - The incredible support from all of the people at Brixey & Meyer 17:47 - Why I'm motivated by people who believe in me... And my desire to prove them right 18:52 - "You're work is going to fill a large part of your life... And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs 19:34 - The biggest challenge for Doug (managing my expectations) 20:25 - Doug describing that this was an opportunistic hire... Not something they were looking for, but why it was a no brainer when the opportunity arose 21:52 - The day to day actions - Helping leaders be more effective. Keynote speeches, leadership circles (Mastermind groups), Consulting projects, producing podcasts, creating content (books, online courses/articles), and much more 25:18 - Doug and Greg describing their current leadership circles and why they've been so effective (and will continue to be) 27:53 - The power in the peer to peer learning model that is created from Leadership Circles 29:22 - Rapid fire questions (for Ryan): Dream guest? Elon Musk Favorite thing to do with my daughters? Coach their sports teams Learn more from success or failure? I remember my failures more, but I try to learn from both success and failure Most impactful book in the last 12 months? The Wright Brothers by David McCullough Favorite episode? #078 With Kat Cole 33:13 - Rapid fire questions (for Doug): Favorite episode of The Learning Leader Show? #200 With Keith Hawk & AJ Hawk Smartest person in the Meyer family? daughter, Jocelyn Meyer Are you a Visionary or Integrator? Tough question. People think of him more as an integrator Best Advice: From Bill Matthews - "I was frustrated with team members." And Bill said, "Doug, it's not them, it's you." 36:37 - How will you define success? "Success is fun. I want this to be fun. We are going to add value and be agile." 38:38 - The phone call I made to Doug when he thought I was turning him down... 39:06 Why 99 out of 100 people would not have left the corporate job to do this?  Doug's thoughts... And why I did. 40:35 - Defining your personal hedgehog 41:46 - The unique qualities I will bring to this role -- What's different from books or articles 45:54 - How I define the makeup of a great leader... The qualities they possess 48:43 - “The path to fulfillment in life, to emotional satisfaction, is to find what really excites you and channel your all into it.” - Rich Roll 49:01 - Doug describing his beliefs: Energy, Passion, Fun 49:26 - Why Doug wanted me to be part of his business -- Natural curiosity, thought provoking questions, attitude, helping others 51:06 - What's most important -- To find your WHO 51:47 - The story Doug shared that created an emotional and powerful moment... And convinced me to say, "Yes, I am doing this, I want to work with a guy with this much integrity, honesty, and love." 55:28 - Doug's excitement to unleash the potential for what we can do 56:45 - Acknowledging how instrumental Greg has been in the growth of The Learning Leader brand over the last three years. His honest feedback and mentor-ship has been monumental 58:28 - One of my favorite artists, Tom Petty said "It's time to move on, it's time to get going. What lies ahead I have no way of knowing... But under my feet, baby, grass is growing, it's time to move on, it's time to get going." "You're work is going to fill a large part of your life... And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs Social Media: Send Email: Ryan@LearningLeader.com Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why