The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 040: John Lee Dumas – Building A Brand From Nothing To Becoming A Millionaire Podcaster This was a fantastic episode with John Lee Dumas.  John is an inspiration to anyone who strives to create something from nothing and thrive.  He started his podcast in September of 2012 and in May he made $525,059 in revenue.  In addition to this, John coaches and mentors others to help them on their podcast journeys.  When I was starting my podcast, John was one of the first people I reached out to in order to learn the craft and get some much needed guidance. John Lee Dumas is the Founder and Host of EntrepreneurOnFire, an award winning Podcast revealing the journey of today's most inspiring Entrepreneurs 7-days a week. With over 1 million unique listens a month, and subscribers in 145 countries, thanks to compelling dialogue with interview sources such as Tim Ferris, Barbara Corcoran, Brian Tracy and Seth Godin, EntrepreneurOnFire generates over $450,000 a month in revenue. Episode 040: John Lee Dumas – Buildin

Episode 039: Nate Holzapfel – One Of The Best Shark Tank Pitches Of All Time | Teaming With Daymond John I love discussing how we can all better serve our customer base.  The best way to create and grow a thriving business is to create customer loyalty.  Nate Holzapfel is an expert at accomplishing this task.  He goes into detail on this topic in this episode. Similarly to innovators such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and even Elizabeth Holmes, Nate dropped out of college to pursue a career in sales. Having sold everything from cars, to insurance in Mexico, to even houses over the phone, Nate Holzapfel became an expert in sales & marketing. In June 2012, he launched Mission Belt Company. The accessory industry has always held a huge portion of the fashion industry, however, no one company had focused solely on belts. In spring of 2013, Nate appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank, pitching the Mission Belt to seek a capital investment. He struck a deal with fashion mogul and branding expert, Daymond John. Nate pit

Episode 038: John Ruhlin – Working The Gratitude Muscle | Strategic Appreciation And Gift Giving This episode was absolutely packed full of action oriented takeaways to help us become better at exercising the gratitude muscle. In addition to this, John truly lives by what he says… He sent me handcrafted custom made knives with this engraving, “Hand crafted for the Ryan and Miranda Hawk Family.”  He also added my Learning Leader Show logo on the knives.  One of the most incredible gifts I’ve ever received! John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in high-level gifting plans to build relationships and acquire new clients. The company was originally founded as a way to market Cutco Cutlery as a high-end corporate gift to companies of all sizes. This partnership with Cutco has allowed the company to become the No. 1 distributor of Cutco in the company’s 60-year history and an active consultant to its executives and leadership. John currently resides just outside of St. Louis wi

Episode 037: Aaron Walker – Success AND Significance – The Importance Of Both | A View From The Top Aaron Walker is a great leader and an even better human being.  I’m very fortunate to now call him a friend.  He truly looks out for others and has some interesting giveaways to all of YOU… The loyal listeners of The Learning Leader Show.  For 19 years and counting, Aaron has taken classes from and has been coached personally by his friend, financial guru, Dave Ramsey. Spiritual mentors David Landrith and Bob Warren have impacted his spiritual life beyond measure. Two other disciplined mastermind groups, 48 Days led by friend Dan Miller and The Torch have played a role in his understanding of how to live a significant, successful life. Aaron incorporates education and learning opportunities into his daily routine, remaining informed of the latest tools and trends available. Businessman and Life Coach, Aaron T. Walker, has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. H

Episode 036: Chris Johnson – “The Relationships You Have Will Define The Quality Of Your Life” | Working with Seth Godin, Ariana Huffington, and Ryan Holiday This episode was absolutely packed full of action oriented takeaways to help us all improve in each of our environments. I love the strategy Chris employs to maintain such a great and giving network… You’ll learn about his 52X group, his 8X group, and his 2X group.  These are new strategies that haven’t been shared before that you can implement today. Chris Johnson is the founder of Simplifilm, a motion graphics and trailer studio for bestselling authors, startups, and Fortune 500 companies. He’s a ceaseless entrepreneur and salesman who has tested his skills at everything from political fundraising, web design and real estate. Since founding Simplifilm in 2010, he’s become a paid advisor to leaders in many fields including New York Times bestselling authors and entrepreneurs and worked for and with the likes of Brad Feld, Ryan Holiday, Robert Greene, Se

Episode 035: Dr. Catriona Wallace – How To Go Where The Money Is… This was a very interesting conversation with Dr. Catriona Wallace… Catriona has an extremely interesting story to tell about the multiple businesses she runs and how she does it.  She is based out of Australia but also spends a great amount of time in The United States to grow her businesses on a global scale. Catriona is the CEO of three Sydney-based companies, Fifth Quadrant, a Customer Experience Strategy, Design, Research & Analyst firm; Flamingo, a Customer Engagement & Analytics platform software company (www.flamingo.io) and ACA Research, a full service market research firm. In 2014 Catriona was inducted into the Australian Business Women's Hall of Fame, was selected as one of the top Australian female entrepreneurs by Springboard Enterprises and was a Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Telstra Business Women's Awards. Catriona has a Phd in Organisational Behaviour: Leadership. She is a well publishe

Episode 034: Jimmy Hatch – Wounded While Searching For Bowe Bergdahl And Sky Diving With Gabby Giffords I am honored to know Jimmy Hatch.  He truly is an American Hero.  He was wounded while on a search mission for Bowe Bergdahl (the US Soldier who has since been charged with desertion).  This episode was incredible.  To hear the real life stories and the danger that Jimmy has been in to serve our great country is incredibly inspiring.  In July 2009, Jimmy Hatch’s team - part of the Navy's Special Warfare Development Group - was on a search mission in eastern Afghanistan. The warriors landed in the dark and were hit with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades as they made their way across a field. Jimmy was an old hand at this kind of mission. He'd become a SEAL in 1990 and joined his elite unit in 1994, back when there was no war. After six years, he left the unit to teach parachuting. When war broke out, he pushed hard to get back to Virginia Beach. That was in 2004. Now, five years later, Jimmy was a senio

Episode 033: Erik Rydholm – How To Become ESPN’s Most Powerful Producer I am always fascinated to learn about how something great gets created… In addition to that, I love to learn about the day to day process on how that same thing continues to be great and improve on a daily basis.  Erik Rydholm shares the details behind how three great TV shows were created and the work it takes on a daily basis in order to continually improve.  This is an incredible episode of The Learning Leader Show.  Erik is extremely intelligent, engaging, and giving.  I love this episode. Erik Rydholm is Executive Producer of Pardon The Interruption (With Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon), Around The Horn, Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable.  Erik has pioneered the growth of PTI as the program has increased ratings and viewership each year since its inception, and it earned the 2009 Emmy for Outstanding Studio Show. Episode 033: Erik Rydholm – How To Become ESPN’s Most Powerful Producer Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. The

032: Steve Sims – How To Create World Class Experiences | Why Elon Musk Is A Great Learning Leader Steve Sims is one of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.  He leads a life that most people would love to lead. I am very grateful that John Corcoran introduced Steve to me.  This was a fantastic episode where we covered a ton of topics ranging from how Steve creates the best experiences in the world for his clients to how he now is a regular speaker at Harvard!  I promise you will love this episode. Steve Sims is the visionary founder of Bluefish: the world’s first luxury concierge that delivers the highest level of personalized travel, transportation, and cutting-edge entertainment services to corporate executives, celebrities, professional athletes, and other discerning individuals interested in living life to its fullest. Just some of the extraordinary experiences that Steve and his Bluefish team have made possible for his A-list clientele include: Visiting the International Space Statio

Episode 031: Gary Vaynerchuk on Leadership, Self-Awareness, Empathy, and Bill Parcells I originally sent a cold email to Gary roughly 6 months ago asking him to be one of the first guests on my podcast, The Learning Leader Show.  He initially responded and said, “No, I won’t do it as I’m not recording any podcasts now, but maybe you can convince me to do it later.”  Well, six months later (after many emails), Gary and I recorded an incredible episode.  I’m extremely proud of this, and I was especially happy to hear the kind words Gary shared about me and the persistence I showed as well as how I handled a couple scheduling issues we’ve had along the way.  Enjoy this episode with the Great Gary Vaynerchuk! Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, investor, author, public speaker, and an internet personality with millions of follows across multiple social media platforms.  Gary has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, and Time.  He’s appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Ellen. W

Episode 030: Keith Hawk – Being An Effective Business Leader Is A Lot Like Being A Great Dad This episode was very special to me as I had the opportunity to record a phenomenal episode with the greatest learning leader I’ve ever known.  This is a really special Father’s Day episode.  There are a ton of actionable takeaways for all of YOU:  The great listeners and friends of The Learning Leader Show… Keith is a 35-year veteran sales professional and sales leader.  Over the course of his career he has developed a rich understanding of what it takes to be a successful sales professional.  For over 15 years he's led one of America's greatest sales organizations, at LexisNexis.  He continues in a customer focused role to this day at that global organization, speaking to customer groups around the world on the topic of solving business problems with the solutions offered by his firm.  In addition, he continues to lecture regularly on topics such as leadership, selling to executives, and his personal favorite:  the

Episode 029: Dave Carroll – How To Create A Movement Through Storytelling (United Breaks Guitars) Known as a master storyteller, Dave Carroll’s incredible talent was introduced to millions when his 2009 anthem ‘United Breaks Guitars’ became a worldwide sensation. The song chronicled his experience in the customer service process with United Airlines. His creative use of social media to share that message as an Independent Musician, has reached over 150 million people. As the #1 most watched YouTube Music Video in the world in July 2009, United Breaks Guitars has been called ‘one of the most important [videos] in Google’s history,’ and became a metaphor for change and innovation. Dave Carroll and United Breaks Guitars are now recognized as ‘household names.’ United Breaks Guitars won the 2009 Music Nova Scotia Video of the Year Award and Dave Carroll was award the 2009 Music Nova Scotia Digital Artist of the Year. Dave was also nominated for the 2010 ECMA for Entertainer of the Year. Episode 029: Dave Carroll

Episode 028: Jeff Goins – The Art of Work… Be A Little Bit Uncomfortable Everyday Jeff Goins’ latest book, “The Art of Work” is a powerful piece of literature that combines inspiring stories and how they can apply to all of our daily lives.  His book has morphed into a full blown movement.    Originally from Chicago, Jeff moved to Nashville after graduating from college and spending a year traveling with a band. In college, he studied Spanish and Religion and spent part of his Junior year in Spain, which unlocked a passion for travel, writing, and making a difference in the world. After a year of letter-writing and long-distance phone calls, he moved to Tennessee to “see about a girl.” In 2008, he married her. Now, he lives with his wife Ashley, their son Aiden, and their dog Lyric just outside of Nashville. He’s the former Communications Director for Adventures in Missions, a nonprofit organization, and spends his time writing books and trying to take over the Internet. He’s written and guest-blogged for ove

Episode 027: John Corcoran – How To Be As Charismatic As President Bill Clinton John Corcoran is one of the most giving human beings I’ve ever met.  Prior to us recording this episode, John consistently went out of his way to introduce me to other inspiring leaders… Since we recorded he has introduced me to many more extremely intelligent learning leaders.  I am so grateful to John and so fortunate to call him a friend.  This was a fantastic episode where we covered a ton of topics ranging from hearing world leaders argue in the white house to the best way to tell someone thank you.  I promise you will get a lot out of this episode. John Corcoran has worked in Hollywood, written speeches for President Bill Clinton and lost his job when Arnold Schwarzenegger became the Governator. Even though he's lived in California most of his life, he is the world's worst surfer, although he does speak Valley Girl fluently. His day job is working with small business owners and entrepreneurs as a lawyer and business advisor.

Episode 026: Ben Greenfield – How To Become Super Human and Hack Your Environment… This episode was absolutely packed full of action oriented takeaways to help us all “hack our environments.” I always take notes while recording these podcasts… With that said, I’ve never written down as much as I did with this episode.  Ben shared a number of different tips to help us all live a better, more meaningful life.  Ben Greenfield’s mission is to show you how to get your body performing at peak capacity, with maximum fat burning efficiency and ideal hormonal and health status, in the safest and fastest way possible. Rather than pounding you with complex workout videos and difficult diets, Ben will instead teach you how to achieve your goals by optimizing lifestyle parameters that go way beyond simply “exercise and healthy eating. You’ll learn about fat burning efficiency zones, gut health, mental performance, maximizing recovery, boosting libido, and enhancing every possible aspect of your body – rather than just wo

Episode 025: Mike Michalowicz – Why You Should Put Profit First… This was a very interesting conversation with Mike Michalowicz… Mike has had some very great moments and some low moments… Including a heartbreaking story about telling his family he went broke.  The response from his daughter in particular was incredible.  You’ll want to hear Mike tell this story… By his 35th birthday MIKE MICHALOWICZ (pronounced mi-‘kal-o-wits) had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became an angel investor… and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Among other innovative strategies, Mike created the “Profit First Formula”, a way for businesses to ensure profitability from their very next deposit forward. Mike is now running his third million dollar venture, is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert;

Episode 024: Natalie Jill – How To Be Healthy, Happy, and Fit… And How Natalie Maintains Great Abs Year Round This was an extremely enjoyable episode for me.  Natalie Jill is a very intelligent leader who has a fantastic understanding of the human body.  I promise you will have more knowledge about your body after listening to this episode.  This is episode is great for anyone who wants to learn more about the specific activities (lifestyle eating and exercise) to be healthy, happy, and fit. Natalie Jill helps millions of people become the healthier versions of themselves… In her words: I DECIDED to fix things. I put everything I knew into play- from goal setting, to vision boards, to eating unprocessed foods, positive thinking and getting negatives OUT of my life. I did NOT starve myself. I didn’t try any fad “quick fixes”, I didn’t do dangerous diet pills and I didn’t do unhealthy calorie restrictions…I used a FORMULA.” Episode 024: Natalie Jill – How To Be Healthy, Happy, and Fit Subscribe on iTunes or Sti

Episode 023: AJ Hawk – Why Does This Show Exist? What Does The Future Hold? One of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had doing this podcast.  My brother AJ and I discuss why I am doing this podcast.  AJ has no fear to ask me anything and dives deep into my “Why” and we discuss how this show will progress… From The “About Me” page on www.LearningLeaderShow.com Leaders are learners. The best leaders never stop working to make themselves better. As Kobe Bryant once said, “There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.” That’s really why the Learning Leader Show exists. To come together to understand the journey successful leaders are on so that we can better understand our own. This Show is full of stories told by world class leaders. Personal stories of successes, failures and lessons learned along the way. Our guests come from diverse backgrounds—some are best-selling authors, others are genius entrepreneurs and one even made a million dollars wearing t-shirts for a year. M

Episode 022: Steve Scott – How To Earn $50,000/Month Self-Publishing on Amazon I love learning about people with fascinating lifestyles… Steve leads an incredibly interesting life.  I also enjoyed learning about his daily routine and the process for creating successful books. Steve lives the kind of life that Tim Ferriss describes in The 4 Hour Work Week.  Striving to do the activities that he wants… In Steve’s case that involves a lot of traveling, writing, and running! Episode 022: Steve Scott – How To Earn $50,000/Month Self-Publishing on Amazon Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. The Learning Leader Show “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” – John Wooden Some Questions I Ask: How much money do you make? What is your writing process? What are your daily routines? What is your best-selling book? How did you decide to do this as your life’s work? In This Episode, You Will Learn: $65,000 is the biggest income he’s earned in a month How to focus on “habit stacking” Why Steve disagrees w

Episode 021: Kare Anderson – How To Become An Opportunity Maker I would like to thank Dorie Clark for introducing me to Kare.  Both Dorie and Kare are such great givers… Always trying to help others and they’ve done so much for me.   I was fascinated with this conversation with Kare.  She is incredibly intelligent and is a very deep thinker.  It was a joy to get her to put some of those thoughts on tape for this great podcast episode. This is episode is great for anyone who wants to become an opportunity maker. Kare Anderson is an Emmy-winning former NBC and Wall Street Journal reporter, now connective behavior speaker and columnist for Forbes and Huffington Post. Anderson’s TED talk on The Web of Humanity: Becoming an Opportunity Maker has attracted over 1.3 million views. Her clients are as diverse as Salesforce, Novartis, S.F. Giants and The Skoll Foundation. Episode 021: Kare Anderson – How To Become An Opportunity Maker Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. The Learning Leader Show “A learning leader