069: Jesse Itzler – Taking Risks, Selling For Millions, Living With A (Navy) SEAL, Married To A Billionaire

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But I've had, Ryan, you know, I've had, they're not
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all wins. I've had losses. I've had products. I've had
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things that I've tried that just haven't, you know, that's
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just flat out haven't worked. And you learn from those
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mistakes and you have to have thick skin and you
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move on. But you have to learn and you have
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to be willing to take that chance. It's way better.
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To me, that's not failing. Like, Coming up with an
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idea or trying something and trying your hardest and it
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doesn't work, that's not failing.
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Are leaders born or are they made? Our host, Ryan Hawke,
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believes that leaders can be made through determined, focused work
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on learning the art and science behind the makeup of
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other successful leaders. Now it's time to inhale knowledge and
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exhale success. You're listening to The Learning Leader Show with
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Ryan Hawke.
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Hey, and welcome to the Learning Leader Show. I am
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Ryan Hawk, absolutely thrilled with tonight's featured leader. He brought
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so much to this podcast. It's with the great Jesse Itzler.
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Jesse is an entrepreneur who co-founded Marquee Jets, eventually sold
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it to Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway. He's a former rapper,
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and he also wrote and sang the Emmy award-winning song,
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I'd Love This Game, for the NBA team. Jesse also
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happens to be the husband of Sarah Blakely, who is
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a billionaire and the creator of Spanx. Incredible. Together, they
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also are part of the ownership group who most recently
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purchased the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. On our really
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fascinating conversation tonight, we discussed his strategy for creating Marquee
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Jets and his unconventional approach to focus groups and how
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they eventually sold the business. Then also, what's it like
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to be married to the billionaire creator of Spanx? How
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do they manage both of their workloads? How do they
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manage the success, the money? We talked a lot about that,
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and I think you'll find Jesse's answers really fascinating. I
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love how down-to-earth he is. And then the mindset and
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thinking differently on your approach to your everyday work. What
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if you were never taught how to do something and
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you just had to figure it out? That's how Jesse
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and Sarah approach their businesses and how they've had so
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much success. He's also the author of a great new
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book called Living with a Seal, which was 31 days
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spent training with the toughest man on the planet. We
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talk a lot about the book in this conversation too.
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Ladies and gentlemen, this one is an absolute treat and
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I'm excited to introduce Jesse Itzler. All right, Jesse. So
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excited to have you here. I know the listeners are,
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this is a huge treat, a listener to Learning Leader Show,
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to have you here with us. I got a quick
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question to get us rolling quickly, and that's around high achievers,
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people who have done big things in their lives, and
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you're obviously one of those guys. You married somebody who's
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done that, and you've spent a lot of time around
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others who are high achievers. And I'm curious as to
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What are a few of the common characteristics that high
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achievers all seem to share?
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Well, I love it. We don't waste any time. We
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get right into the money question.
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Yeah.
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No, it's a great question. What I've found in my
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experience is I think that most people that function at
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a really high level that have been incredibly successful have
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been able to identify the one thing that they're really
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good at and focus on that and put all their
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energy towards that one thing. Not everybody can play shortstop.
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You have to play the right position. It's so hard
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to build a brand in this country, one brand, you know,
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you have to be single focused, let alone do multiple things.
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So I found that the people that I've come across
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in my experience have really been able to identify that
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one passion and the one thing that they're really good
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at and just perfect it and bring it home.
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So between like, who are some people that come to
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mind outside of yourself who, uh, embody those trades and
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that you could say, Oh man, that's somebody that I I'm,
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inspires me. I'm passionate about learning from them and following
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them and really everything that they've accomplished.
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You know, I think it's funny. I think you can
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look at almost all the greats. If you look at
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all the greats, you can look at– I'm a big
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sports guy like you, so I love to use sports analogies.
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If you look at all of the great athletes, they've
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all focused on their craft. If you look at Bill Gates,
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I mean he focused on technology and he was in
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that lane until he shifted his focus into philanthropy and
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became the best in the world at it. But I
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think even– I live it every day because my wife–
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is an incredible marketer I'm surrounded by her and you
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know her brain is wired as such and she spends
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her time really focused on you know her brand and
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marketing and positioning it in a way that there's no
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distractions she's not looking to start something new to do
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something else it's like how can I make this product
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better how can I make my message stronger and clearer
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what are the customers and how can I give it
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to them efficiently and make that product better? It's all,
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you know, all that energy is really put into that
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one product or idea or passion and as a really
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strong driving force.
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So let's dive in now to your backstory here, Jesse,
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and the things that you've accomplished along the way. So
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you I'll let you tell it, but just a brief bio,
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and obviously from my preparation and from just reading about
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you prior to even our mutual friend, Tourney Duff, introducing us,
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which I'm very appreciative for. But you go from a
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guy who's a rapper to a guy who's writing music
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and winning awards for writing music for the NBA and
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other people to then starting and co-founding Marquee Jets. selling
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it to Warren Buffett's company for, I would imagine, hundreds
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of millions of dollars. And then, you know, you are
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a part owner now of the Atlanta Hawks. You run
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hundreds of miles and you had a Navy SEAL live
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with you for 31 days and you wrote a book
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about it. I mean, there's just so many things. I'll
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let you kind of tell your origin story now to
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say how in the world have you accomplished so much
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at still a relatively young age?
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Well, you know, I've always had a very nontraditional approach
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to things and it's brought me great rewards living out
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of the box. I've met some interesting people. I started
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out in the music business when I was in college.
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I went to American University in Washington, D.C. in the
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mid 80s. And I got really into music. And, you know,
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going back to single focus, that was my, there was
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no B plan. I really wanted to have a record deal.
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And I focused on that and signed to a record
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label right when I graduated in Los Angeles, an independent
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label that was very strong and popular at the time
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called Delicious Vinyl. And I spent a couple of years
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in doing, you know, doing the music thing. And the
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best thing that ever happened to me was I didn't
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sell that many records. So it was life's way of
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telling me I was a little bit off course. And
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I stayed in the music business, but I found a
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unique kind of cool niche, marrying two things that I love,
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which was sports and music. And I started doing theme
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songs for professional sports teams. I went to the New
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York Knicks in the early 90s. game presentation was changing
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in the NBA and there was a big focus on entertaining.
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You know, the games are 48 minutes, but fans are
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there for three hours. How do we really entertain them?
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And they started seeing dancers and, you know, the Laker
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girls and the Knicks city dancers, et cetera. And all
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these new things started emerging to entertain fans. So I
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came up with an idea to do a theme song
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for the Knicks, which was called Go New York Go.
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And it It became my calling card because other teams
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would come into Madison Square Garden where 20,000 fans were
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singing this song. We had a video with celebrities, et cetera.
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It became a really popular song. I'd say, well, how
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come we don't have this song? Who did this? And
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I created my own little niche in the music business,
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kind of doing sports music. And that grew into a
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bigger business where I was selling– I was basically licensing
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all the songs they were playing at these sports arenas,
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like whether it was Puff Daddy or YMCA or whatever
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the music was. And I put great moments in sports history,
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in the team history. In between each song, it became
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like a musical program and sold it at retail and
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sold a lot of records and ultimately sold that company
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to a public company called SFX. Not to be long-winded,
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but the owner of this company, Bob Silliman at SFX,
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had a share on a private jet. and took a
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liking to my partner and I and invited us on
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a trip. And that's when my life really changed, when
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I went on a private jet for the first time
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in 1998. And my partner and I looked at each
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other and said, how do we do this more often?
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And that led to the idea of Marquee Jet. And
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then from there, it's just meeting interesting people and following
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different passions that I had. I've been fortunate to tap
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my feet, my toe into various businesses and have had
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success in them.
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So you go from, what was that process like at
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Marquee Jet from starting it with your partner to then
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selling it from really from start to finish? What was
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that like? How did it, you know, I know the
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hours worked and the time spent. It's not like, oh,
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it was just simple. You had to grind it out.
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You were working like crazy many, many hours every day
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to build that up. And what was your philosophy and
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strategy towards doing that?
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We did. Well, you know, we knew that we wanted
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to fly on a private plane.
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And we knew that.
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There were really only three ways to do it at
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the time. One was to buy your own airplane, which
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was incredibly expensive and took us out of the picture.
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We couldn't afford that. Two was to do a fraction,
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buy a fraction of a plane, which is also a
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big commitment and a tremendous amount of money. And that
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kind of took us off the list again. Or charter
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an airplane. And there's some inconsistencies at the time and
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some questions about, you know, who's flying the airplane? What
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if the airplane doesn't show up? I mean, all these
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kind of things. And so we knew that there were
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a lot of people like us that probably wanted to
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take two or three vacations a year. And if there
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was an affordable, more affordable way to do it. Would
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probably sign up for something like that. The problem was
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we had to figure out, you know, who can we
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partner with? Who are the airplanes? You know, neither my
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partner and I had any experience in private aviation or
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any aviation. So the first year was really dedicated to learning.
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We had a really... do a deep dive into the
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different airplanes that were available, how these programs worked, what
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would be the best model for customers, what do the
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customers really want, what was important to us, and what
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would be important to others. So the first year was
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really just research and coming up with our plan and
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strategy and then convincing the powers that be at NetJet's
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To allow us to use their fleet to sell 25
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hours of jet time under the name Marquee Jet. So
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that was kind of year one. And then the focus
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shifted into staffing up, hiring our weaknesses, bringing in people
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that could fill in gaps of areas that we didn't
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have an expertise in and focused on building the brand.
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So really, years two through five were predominantly creating buzz,
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getting the word out there, creating PR-able content. We didn't
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have much of an ad budget, so we had to
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create as much hype and buzz and sizzle as we
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could without taking ads out and advertising on TV. And
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all the other jet companies were doing that. So we
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had to get really creative in how we went about
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doing that. And then the last chapter of Marquee Jet
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was really just scaling it. Once we got all the
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kinks out, we had a solid foundation, it was how
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do we really ramp this up and scale it to
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be the number one player in the space.
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Which you guys were able to do, and then you
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sold it, correct?
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We were.
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What was the process like to Berkshire Hathaway? The company,
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that's Warren Buffett's group. What was that like? I mean,
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you hear that name and you're like, wow, I'd love
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to hear what was that process? Was Warren involved personally
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or how did it work?
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You know, it's every entrepreneur's dream, right? Perfect bookend, start
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a business, have some success and sell it to a
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guy like Warren. Our journey, like I said, it was
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always a little bit non-traditional. When we first went in
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and pitched Rich Santulli, who was the CEO of NetJets,
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to allow us to use his fleet, we brought in
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our own focus group. We literally brought in a bunch
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of athletes and young Wall Street guys that explained why
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they would buy 25 hours of flight time, which is
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what we were offering, as opposed to a fraction or
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their own plane. And we were able, through this focus group,
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literally brought in chairs, sat them down. The guys at
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NetJets had no idea what was going on. We were
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scheduled for a meeting of two and literally like 10
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guys show up and one by one start explaining to
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them why a program like what we were trying to
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do would have merit and be interesting. So that spirit
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carried on throughout the whole process all the way really
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until we sold the company. We had partnered with NetJets,
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so they were the obvious exits. we became really ingrained
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in the DNA of their company. There was a lot
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of efficiencies in what we were doing and what they
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had already established. So when it was time to, when
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we got the knock on the door and said that
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they wanted to have a conversation, they were already really
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comfortable with us as individuals. There was a huge trust
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factor that was established. We'd proven ourselves as marketers. We'd
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proven ourselves as a sales organization. So the sale was
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actually relatively fast and easy. Wow.
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It's just an incredible story from start to finish, and
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then you continue on. Meanwhile, from a personal perspective, so
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for the few people listening who don't know, so your
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wife is Sarah Blakely. She bootstrapped her business with $ 5, 000
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to start the company called Spanx. And most, I'm sure
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at least the female listeners know, all know what that is.
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Now she's been on magazine covers that talk about being
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a billionaire and it's just incredible. Her story is really
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inspiring to anybody. I know from going to, as a
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person who sells fax machines to, like I said, bootstrapping
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your business with $ 5, 000 of your own savings account to
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having no other funding, you're the 100% owner and that's
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your wife, man. I mean, I can only imagine the one, the, the, the,
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the amount of pride you must have in, in her
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work and what she's done, but also the, I'm curious
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about how you guys met, you know, where were you
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both at in your businesses when you met? And then
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what's it like now that you both continued to grow,
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to have this immense success? I think it's fair to, to,
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to use that term, even though people have many different
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definitions of success, but, but what's that, what's that like
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with with a wife who's so accomplished and just really incredible.
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Well, it's unbelievable. I mean, I met my wife. She
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was actually a customer of ours at Marquee Jet. And
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we were having a big kind of customer appreciation event
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in Las Vegas that Warren and Bill Gates sponsor. It's
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a big kind of poker tournament for our customers and
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NetJet owners. And we had a very limited amount of
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invitees that we could have here. And so what we
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did is I think we had about 40 of 4,000 customers.
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We were allowed to take 40 and the rest of
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the folks went from NetJets. And each one of our
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sales reps submitted a handful of folks that they thought
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would be a good fit or were great customers or whatever.
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And our Georgia rep sent me an email and said,
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I really think this gal should come and, and included
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a picture of her. And she had a little, she
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had an apple on her head. I was like very intrigued.
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And I immediately typed her, wrote her back in an
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email and I said, don't invite anyone else. And if
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she has friends, they can come too. Um, And we
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got married literally a year later.
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Wow.
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So we met in Vegas. And I think we both
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knew that we would be in each other's movie. But
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we didn't know. I had no idea that I would
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be a co-star or have a starring role in her movie.
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But I knew she would be in my movie. We
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got married, like I said. And it's great. My wife also,
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very unorthodox, incredibly supportive. I always say she's kind of
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50% Einstein and 50% Lucille Ball. And whenever she's in
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the Einstein mode, I have like the best focus group
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or audience on the planet. I can ask her and
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pick her brain on business ideas or work questions or
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challenges or whatever. And whenever she's Lucille Ball, we get
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the crack up.
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I got to believe, you know, I'm very fortunate to
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have a wife who also works in a similar profession
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to me and is somebody who's way smarter than me.
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So it makes my life easier from both personally and professionally. Obviously,
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this is a little bit different, but I got to
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believe you guys are both almost accelerators for each other
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in your business lives as well as obviously the joy
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you bring to each other from a personal perspective.
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We are, but we're really big fans of each other.
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I support Sarah in all the crazy ideas that she has.
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She supports me in all the crazy ideas that I have.
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That really works well. And, you know, when the light
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is shining bright on Sarah, I'm her number one fan.
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And I think, you know, the same for me. If
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I have a project or something that I'm proud of,
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she's my number one fan. We just, you know, we
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try to, we have three kids now. We have three boys,
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all under the age of six. And, you know, we're
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both working. So our time is very valuable, the time
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that we have together as a family. And we just,
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we make it work. We make it work.
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I love it, man. It's an inspiring story, I think,
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for so many people to see all of the things
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that you guys accomplished both before you met and then
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during and certainly right now. So another thing that you've done,
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like I said, you've done so many things that I
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found is really interesting is you invited a Navy SEAL
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to come and live with you guys when you lived
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in New York for 31 days. right and so in
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addition to doing this you also obviously took good notes
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and you wrote a book a great book that I
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appreciate you guys sending me in advance copy called Living
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with a Seal, 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man
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on the Planet. And one of the things I want to,
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before diving into the book, I want to point out.
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So if you look on the cover of the book,
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you have a quote from LeBron James. And then on
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the back, you got quotes from, well, one, your wife,
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and then Coach K, Duke's coach, and then Tom Brady
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and The guy from Body by Jake, Jake Steinfeld. So
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you've got these quotes and endorsements from incredibly high achievers,
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to use a term spoken from earlier. The circle you
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obviously run in is incredible, and it's diverse. So let's
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talk about, first of all, why you decided to have
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one of the toughest, or maybe the toughest man on
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the planet... One, how you found him. I read the story,
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but I'd love for you to tell it. How you
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found him and then two, why you decided to have
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him live with you for a month. Sure.
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Well, I have this thing that I've been doing for
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years where if I see or hear or read about
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a very interesting person. I call them up kind of
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like when you're in kindergarten or grade school and you
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write a note to someone and ask them to check
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a box if they want to be your friend and
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they pass it back. It's sort of what I do
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but with like famous people or really cool people. I
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saw this– I was at a race. It was actually
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a 24-hour marathon. You could do it as a team
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of I think up to six people and I went
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with six friends and And you run one at a time.
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You take turns and run as many miles as you
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can in 24 hours as a team. At this particular race,
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there was a guy like maybe 10 or 15 feet
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away from where we had set up before the race,
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sitting in literally a folding chair with a bottle of
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water and crackers. And we had supplies. It was a
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self-supported vehicle. event so you had to bring your own
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stuff and bring your own supplies and this guy literally
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was just sitting in a chair with a bottle of
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water and crackers and he just looked so determined and
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so focused and had like a look that i'd i'd
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never seen and i'm like i gotta meet that guy
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so during the course of the race i watched him
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run and it was i mean he was like first
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of all he didn't have any teammates he ran the
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whole 24 hours by himself and he was at the
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time he was a really muscular i mean he looked
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like just like a locomotive i mean he was a
401
00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:06.170
machine And I was just– I kept glancing over to
402
00:22:06.210 --> 00:22:08.619
him and keeping tabs on him throughout the race. I
403
00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:11.420
got his bib number and then I just tracked down
404
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his name and I literally just cold called him and said,
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you know, I really want to come. You don't know
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who I am and blah, blah, blah, blah. I said
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I want to get on a plane and meet you.
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And I really wanted to– he had something that I wanted.
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I don't know what it was exactly, but that determination–
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that drive, that grit. I really wanted that in my
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life somehow. So I invited him for 31 days at
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this meeting when I just met him, flew out to
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come live with me. And I don't know, you know,
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the stars were aligned or whatever, but he said, okay,
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under one condition, you know, you have to do everything
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that I tell you to do. And, you know, I
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ended up getting a tremendous amount out of it, not
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just getting in great shape because that was a big,
419
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a big part of it, But also just literally changed
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my life. And I think he got a lot out
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of it. Just getting exposed after 20 years in the
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military to interesting, in his opinion, interesting people. And kind
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of as he was thinking about life after the military,
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I think it was great for him to live with
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us and get a sense of, you know, business, the world, etc.
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And just kind of see new things. So it was
427
00:23:21.349 --> 00:23:24.630
an unbelievable and challenging time.
428
00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:28.359
It's an incredible book. Like I said, I would urge
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00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:32.359
everyone to buy it. This podcast will probably be released
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right around the time it's coming out here in November 2015.
431
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And I was fascinated by, one, the stuff you guys did,
432
00:23:42.089 --> 00:23:46.390
though it's not like it was so hard. I mean,
433
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I don't know. I guess the easiest way to put it,
434
00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:50.619
I mean, I don't need to make it more complicated
435
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than it is. It was just incredible. And I'm curious
436
00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:58.039
as to... the day to day during those 31 days,
437
00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:01.730
like what was going through your mind when he would
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00:24:01.890 --> 00:24:05.150
quietly wake you up while trying not to wake your
439
00:24:05.190 --> 00:24:06.829
wife up and pulling you out of bed to go
440
00:24:06.910 --> 00:24:10.250
for these crazy runs, regardless of the weather, the interval
441
00:24:10.329 --> 00:24:12.970
training that he'd mixed in and say, Jesse, your, your
442
00:24:13.009 --> 00:24:15.890
runs are boring, even though you can run a long distance,
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00:24:15.930 --> 00:24:18.180
we're going to do intervals or whatever it was, he
444
00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:20.200
would change it up on you. I just love to
445
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:24.420
learn more about like your mindset during those days, because
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I got to believe the, I don't know, the, the
447
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buildup of dealing with adversity that had to be one
448
00:24:31.130 --> 00:24:35.170
of the biggest takeaways that, that you, that you, I
449
00:24:35.210 --> 00:24:37.170
don't know, gleaned from that experience.
450
00:24:37.970 --> 00:24:41.170
Yeah. I mean, you know, again, initially I just really
451
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wanted to get in great shape. I really wanted to
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get in great shape. So when I, when he was
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waking me up, I kept reminding myself, this is what
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I signed.
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00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:49.299
Weren't you already in great shape though? I mean, you
456
00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:52.019
were a long distance runner, you know, you do it.
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You know, I was in great shape, but I found
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00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:58.009
myself in a routine. I was doing the same kind
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of thing every day. I was having a hard time
460
00:25:00.930 --> 00:25:04.670
really honestly motivating myself beyond a five or six mile
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run and the pushups I was doing or whatever. I
462
00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:09.720
was in pretty good shape, but I wasn't getting better.
463
00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:12.940
I was getting frustrated that I wasn't getting better. I
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was also scheduling all my runs. I think like so
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many of us, we say, okay, I'm going to work
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out in the morning. Then if we say, you know what,
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I'm not going to do it in the morning, we
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go through the day and we just don't do it.
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Then we start to feel guilty and You know, so
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many of my friends are like, oh, I'll do it tomorrow.
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I just can't motivate in the morning. And they get
472
00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:32.000
mad that they they put it in their book, their
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to do list for the day and they didn't do it.
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And he taught me that, you know, he really opened
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up my eyes to a whole new style. First of all,
476
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it was a completely unorthodox approach. There was no rhyme
477
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or reason to a lot of the stuff that we did.
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I mean, one day he took a boulder, literally cracked
479
00:25:51.329 --> 00:25:53.519
a hole in a frozen lake and made me jump in.
480
00:25:53.970 --> 00:25:56.240
So some of it was physical, but a lot of
481
00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:58.319
it was mental. So I think, you know, one of
482
00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:01.240
the biggest lessons that I learned was we all have
483
00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:05.619
a reserve tank. And with his approach, which again was
484
00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:09.420
very no rhyme or reason, he really forced me into
485
00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.039
discovering what I have in my reserve tank. And I
486
00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:14.799
think one of the quotes that he used to say,
487
00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:18.099
I love it, it still sticks with me today, is
488
00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:20.420
he would say, Jesse, when you're done, when you think
489
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.730
you're done, you're only 40% done. And he would take
490
00:26:24.769 --> 00:26:27.670
me there. He would challenge me and take me to
491
00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:31.369
exhaustion and then prove to me that he was right. Mentally,
492
00:26:31.410 --> 00:26:33.910
I'd be like, you know what? I'm not really done.
493
00:26:33.930 --> 00:26:36.569
I just want to be done. And there's a big
494
00:26:36.589 --> 00:26:39.150
difference between wanting to be done and how far you
495
00:26:39.190 --> 00:26:41.750
can really push yourself when you tap into your reserve tank.
496
00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:47.059
And what's funny is these little mini lessons were starting
497
00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.920
to translate into my everyday life. At work, I would
498
00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:52.759
go a little bit earlier. I would stay and proofread
499
00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:54.720
something maybe an extra couple of times that I wouldn't
500
00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:58.700
have in the past. I would do a couple of
501
00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:01.019
different versions of something when I could have in the
502
00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:03.460
past maybe say, oh, this is good enough. And it
503
00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:09.009
just became really about going that extra mile, getting uncomfortable,
504
00:27:09.069 --> 00:27:10.869
doing what I didn't want to do in the past.
505
00:27:11.490 --> 00:27:14.009
And that was every single day.
506
00:27:14.869 --> 00:27:16.190
That's incredible.
507
00:27:16.490 --> 00:27:17.650
Sometimes at 4 in the morning.
508
00:27:17.710 --> 00:27:20.210
Yeah, man. I love that. You answered what was going
509
00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:22.009
to be my follow-up was how it's helped you in
510
00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:26.960
your regular daily life, your professional life, personal life. So
511
00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:30.549
I'm curious. You mentioned this. But I talk a lot
512
00:27:30.589 --> 00:27:33.369
about comfort zone with people. I'm fascinated by this. I
513
00:27:33.410 --> 00:27:35.609
think it's a great thing for us to talk about
514
00:27:35.670 --> 00:27:39.410
because all of us have had moments and a lot
515
00:27:39.430 --> 00:27:41.789
of people listening have had moments or maybe they're currently
516
00:27:41.849 --> 00:27:47.019
having one to where it's so simple to stay comfortable.
517
00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:52.519
People get comfortable in that zone. And the high achievers
518
00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:55.680
I've been around and talked to, been fortunate enough to
519
00:27:55.740 --> 00:28:03.019
meet through this podcast, get very comfortable being uncomfortable, leaping
520
00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:06.240
outside of their comfort zone, doing things intentionally that they
521
00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:08.799
know is going to be, walking up to somebody in
522
00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:10.900
an elevator, instead of turning around and facing the door,
523
00:28:10.940 --> 00:28:13.109
they face the person and they talk to them directly.
524
00:28:13.349 --> 00:28:16.410
Little things, but things like that that make, force people
525
00:28:16.849 --> 00:28:20.049
to do unconventional things, like you've said you've done your
526
00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:22.150
whole life, your wife has done her whole life. But
527
00:28:22.170 --> 00:28:25.009
I'd love to hear from you, one, that your thought
528
00:28:25.049 --> 00:28:27.930
process on comfort zone, as well as the importance of
529
00:28:28.069 --> 00:28:29.089
leaping outside of it.
530
00:28:29.910 --> 00:28:32.369
Yeah, I mean, I think we've all been taught, you know,
531
00:28:32.430 --> 00:28:36.809
routine is good, right? Getting good habits, getting a good routine.
532
00:28:36.829 --> 00:28:39.150
You hear that all the time. And routine is good,
533
00:28:39.190 --> 00:28:42.170
but routine can also be a rut. And I think it's,
534
00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:45.369
you know, what Seal taught me was it's really almost
535
00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:49.190
impossible to get better when you're in your comfort zone
536
00:28:49.289 --> 00:28:52.670
and you're just doing the same routine. And, you know,
537
00:28:52.690 --> 00:28:54.839
he would challenge me every day. And it doesn't have
538
00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:56.660
to be, oh, I want to hire a Navy SEAL.
539
00:28:57.019 --> 00:28:58.640
You know, some days we would just take a different
540
00:28:58.680 --> 00:29:02.650
route to work. Some days we would just out of
541
00:29:02.690 --> 00:29:04.789
nowhere say, instead of doing our workouts in the morning,
542
00:29:04.809 --> 00:29:06.309
we're going to do them at night. It was just
543
00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:08.970
breaking up the routine and breaking up what I was
544
00:29:09.089 --> 00:29:12.390
used to doing and forcing me to look at the
545
00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:15.710
world differently. And when you do that, you find that
546
00:29:15.750 --> 00:29:18.470
you open up your eyes to a whole world of
547
00:29:18.509 --> 00:29:23.670
other possibilities. And that's really important. And it's hard to
548
00:29:23.710 --> 00:29:26.470
be successful without being a risk taker. I think if
549
00:29:26.490 --> 00:29:30.470
you were to ask any great entrepreneur, The best example
550
00:29:30.490 --> 00:29:33.930
is probably Richard Branson and guys like that. you know,
551
00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:37.470
they're all risk risk takers and you can't be a
552
00:29:37.509 --> 00:29:39.589
risk taker if you're, if you're living in a comfort zone,
553
00:29:39.730 --> 00:29:42.690
in your comfort zone. So, you know, that was definitely
554
00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:45.900
a big takeaway for me. And sometimes it's very hard
555
00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:49.779
to get out of that, that space, but the rewards
556
00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:51.519
are incredible once you do.
557
00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:54.779
Yeah. I got a question for you to, to, let's
558
00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:57.839
try to relate this to some of the people who
559
00:29:57.880 --> 00:30:01.329
are listening. And so, The listeners are actually a very
560
00:30:01.390 --> 00:30:04.690
diverse group, but I'll just pinpoint one. Let's say for
561
00:30:04.710 --> 00:30:08.450
the sake of this conversation, let's say a listener is
562
00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:14.420
a 29-year-old who was selling fax machines. You have someone
563
00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:17.039
in your family who's done that. Your wife, obviously, was
564
00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:21.319
selling fax machines as she started her business. And let's
565
00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:24.119
say there's somebody who's a 29-year-old selling fax machines, but
566
00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:27.140
they have an idea– They have some thoughts, but they,
567
00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:29.240
they happen to be married with kids and have a
568
00:30:29.309 --> 00:30:31.670
mortgage and a spouse and they make pretty good money.
569
00:30:31.690 --> 00:30:34.529
They're not super rich, but they make good enough money
570
00:30:34.569 --> 00:30:37.869
to live comfortably. They're certainly not paycheck to paycheck or
571
00:30:37.890 --> 00:30:41.750
anything like that, but they feel like they have an
572
00:30:41.809 --> 00:30:43.730
idea or they could do something bigger. They could have
573
00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:46.970
a bigger impact on the world, but they also realize
574
00:30:47.009 --> 00:30:48.730
on the other side of their brain, they're saying, yeah,
575
00:30:48.750 --> 00:30:51.170
but I got this good job and I make good
576
00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:53.049
money and I got to pay the mortgage and take
577
00:30:53.089 --> 00:30:56.720
care of my spouse and kids. If you talk to
578
00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:59.059
those people, what's the advice you would give them? What's
579
00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:01.599
some of the things they could do to potentially, and
580
00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.250
they say, Jesse, I love what you've been able to do.
581
00:31:04.269 --> 00:31:06.450
I love what Sarah's been able to do. What would
582
00:31:06.490 --> 00:31:07.910
your advice be to them?
583
00:31:08.750 --> 00:31:11.210
Well, a couple of things. First, I think you have
584
00:31:11.250 --> 00:31:15.410
to trust your gut. A lot of times you might
585
00:31:15.430 --> 00:31:17.420
think you have a great idea, and this has happened
586
00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:21.880
to me, and the enthusiasm and the excitement around that
587
00:31:22.730 --> 00:31:24.970
Lest you maybe get into something that in your gut says,
588
00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:28.819
you know what, I'm not 100% sure. You have to
589
00:31:28.859 --> 00:31:31.859
be 100% sure most of the time that you're going
590
00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:34.259
in the right direction to start something. And your gut
591
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.690
usually is very honest. So that's always been a good
592
00:31:37.730 --> 00:31:44.750
guiding light for me. For your 29-year-old selling fax machines,
593
00:31:45.109 --> 00:31:47.539
they have the benefit of youth. And when you're young,
594
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.259
it's the best time to take chances and take risks
595
00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.319
because you can recover. Very hard if you have kids
596
00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:55.190
and you're in your 50s and you've had a job
597
00:31:55.230 --> 00:31:57.329
for a certain amount of years and you're set in
598
00:31:57.349 --> 00:32:01.519
your ways. it's a different conversation. But at 29, you
599
00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:04.720
have the freedom and the ability to take chances because
600
00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:06.259
you have the time to get back on your feet
601
00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:09.519
if it doesn't work and recover. And I also think
602
00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:12.640
that a lot of times in listening to your facts
603
00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:17.200
person example, we're taught how to do something one way.
604
00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:22.559
And we're told by our boss or through our training program,
605
00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:23.779
this is the best way to do it. This is
606
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:27.569
the best way to have a icebreaker conversation or whatever,
607
00:32:27.670 --> 00:32:29.450
and sometimes it's good to just take a step back
608
00:32:29.490 --> 00:32:32.029
and say, you know what? If no one taught me
609
00:32:32.069 --> 00:32:33.869
how to do this, if no one ever told me
610
00:32:33.930 --> 00:32:36.130
how to do my job, how would I do it?
611
00:32:36.970 --> 00:32:39.900
And a lot of times you get better results when
612
00:32:40.140 --> 00:32:43.019
you do something like that. So sometimes it's a big
613
00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:45.460
advantage to not, to having not, I think for my wife,
614
00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:48.509
having not gone to business school and never taken a,
615
00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:51.099
you know, had never taken a business class in her life,
616
00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:53.740
she was able to kind of almost take a Kermit
617
00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:57.480
the Frog approach and to business like okay and look
618
00:32:57.559 --> 00:32:59.289
at it in a way like I can't afford to
619
00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:01.589
advertise so I have to get really creative with my
620
00:33:01.650 --> 00:33:04.809
packaging and have bold packaging and I can't afford to
621
00:33:04.869 --> 00:33:07.190
do you know the way that this guy did it
622
00:33:07.210 --> 00:33:09.049
I have to do it this way and all those
623
00:33:09.109 --> 00:33:13.289
different things forced her to differentiate herself early and was
624
00:33:13.349 --> 00:33:14.880
a big part of her success.
625
00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:19.450
You mentioned earlier about failure, though, about times you've potentially
626
00:33:19.529 --> 00:33:22.589
messed up or your gut wasn't all the way there.
627
00:33:22.769 --> 00:33:26.619
Can you share a story or a time about bouncing
628
00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:29.180
back from adversity or a time when you just flat
629
00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:31.829
out been wrong and what you learned from it?
630
00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:34.440
Yeah, I mentioned earlier, you know, I had a record
631
00:33:34.460 --> 00:33:37.099
deal at a young age and I thought, oh my gosh,
632
00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:39.740
I signed to a record company. I had a video
633
00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:42.119
on MTV. I thought it was just kind of lock
634
00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:44.339
city that I was going to sell a zillion albums
635
00:33:44.980 --> 00:33:48.339
and be on a beach at 25. And that didn't
636
00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:50.640
happen at all. You know, I think once I went
637
00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:53.960
through my family and friends and my contact list and
638
00:33:54.460 --> 00:33:56.480
some others that maybe liked the song, you know, I
639
00:33:56.500 --> 00:33:58.920
didn't sell that many records. And at the time, I
640
00:33:58.940 --> 00:34:01.680
was incredibly disappointed. I didn't get picked up for a
641
00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:04.829
new album and I had to start all over really
642
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:08.570
basically at 25 with no money and no job and
643
00:34:08.590 --> 00:34:10.250
no direction. I had to kind of figure it out
644
00:34:10.289 --> 00:34:13.289
for myself. But that was a great lesson for me
645
00:34:13.750 --> 00:34:16.889
because it forced me to do just what I was
646
00:34:16.929 --> 00:34:18.849
just talking about. It forced me to really kind of
647
00:34:18.929 --> 00:34:21.590
relook at my path, figure out what I thought I
648
00:34:21.650 --> 00:34:23.630
was good at and what I wanted to spend my
649
00:34:23.710 --> 00:34:27.130
time doing. And I took a risk. I took a
650
00:34:27.190 --> 00:34:30.070
risk with this with the Nick song and getting into
651
00:34:30.090 --> 00:34:32.940
the sports music business because no one was doing it.
652
00:34:33.349 --> 00:34:35.230
And some people said it would never work and it
653
00:34:35.269 --> 00:34:38.090
ended up working out great for me. So, you know,
654
00:34:38.110 --> 00:34:42.889
sometimes failure is, is the universe's way of just kind
655
00:34:42.929 --> 00:34:44.599
of nudging you a little bit and saying, you know what,
656
00:34:44.619 --> 00:34:46.579
you're just a little bit off course. And if you
657
00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:49.679
change this and change that and get back on course,
658
00:34:49.739 --> 00:34:52.340
it could work out. And that's what's happened. That's what's
659
00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:54.820
happened to me. But I've had Ryan, you know, I've had,
660
00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:59.039
they're not all wins. I've had losses. I've had, products
661
00:34:59.099 --> 00:35:01.800
I've had, things that I've tried that just haven't, you know,
662
00:35:01.820 --> 00:35:05.039
that's just flat out haven't worked. And you learn from
663
00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:08.519
those mistakes and you have to have thick skin and
664
00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:10.360
you move on. But you have to learn and you
665
00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:14.019
have to be willing to take that chance. It's way better.
666
00:35:14.260 --> 00:35:17.119
To me, that's not failing. Like coming up with an
667
00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:19.800
idea or trying something and trying your hardest and it
668
00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:23.710
doesn't work. That's not failing. Failing would have been saying,
669
00:35:24.139 --> 00:35:25.789
I'm too scared. I don't want to do it. I'm
670
00:35:25.829 --> 00:35:28.989
not doing it. And going to work where it's something
671
00:35:29.010 --> 00:35:31.769
that you're not happy with because you're too scared to
672
00:35:31.809 --> 00:35:35.809
try something that you believe in or have passion for.
673
00:35:35.829 --> 00:35:40.000
I love it, man. And the other end of that spectrum,
674
00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:42.159
and so I think it's healthy and it's good to
675
00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:45.579
talk about times we've failed. But the other end of
676
00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:50.300
it is when you're deemed a success. And in your case,
677
00:35:50.550 --> 00:35:53.829
you obviously are in that category. You've got awards and
678
00:35:54.309 --> 00:35:58.079
multiple different areas of your life. Your wife is a billionaire.
679
00:35:58.179 --> 00:36:01.019
It's pretty incredible to say that. How have you guys
680
00:36:01.099 --> 00:36:04.360
managed to handle success? Success and money can change people
681
00:36:04.420 --> 00:36:08.559
at times. It can reveal character flaws at times. How
682
00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:10.619
do you guys handle this? I mean, this is an
683
00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:13.260
ongoing thing. I mean, you guys are both worth a
684
00:36:13.329 --> 00:36:16.150
bunch of money, which we've seen what that can do
685
00:36:16.190 --> 00:36:20.489
to relationships. You're both still working hard to continue to
686
00:36:20.849 --> 00:36:23.090
do great work. You're obviously now a new owner of
687
00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:26.119
The Atlanta Hawks, which is a whole other thing to
688
00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:29.420
add to your plate. I'd love to hear how you
689
00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:33.329
guys specifically think about this, what you guys talk about
690
00:36:33.349 --> 00:36:37.070
to ensure that It doesn't come crumbling down as it
691
00:36:37.110 --> 00:36:38.690
does for others at times.
692
00:36:39.289 --> 00:36:41.150
Yeah. Well, I think there's a great quote in my book.
693
00:36:42.610 --> 00:36:45.489
And that's that money is a great magnifying glass. And
694
00:36:45.530 --> 00:36:49.349
if you are a great person before you had money,
695
00:36:49.449 --> 00:36:51.469
once you have money, you become even a better person.
696
00:36:51.570 --> 00:36:53.949
And if you are a generous person, you become even
697
00:36:54.090 --> 00:36:56.690
more generous with money. But if you are an asshole,
698
00:36:57.090 --> 00:37:00.190
you become a bigger asshole. And I really believe that.
699
00:37:00.590 --> 00:37:03.449
And for me and I would say for Sarah too,
700
00:37:03.489 --> 00:37:06.969
but she can speak for herself. My relationship with money
701
00:37:06.989 --> 00:37:10.619
is– I mean look. It's great to have. It's fun
702
00:37:10.659 --> 00:37:13.579
to make. It's fun to spend. It's fun to give away.
703
00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:17.650
It's fun to spoil your family and people closest to you.
704
00:37:17.670 --> 00:37:23.340
I mean it's– that's the greatest joy for me. is
705
00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:26.679
having the luxury to spoil the people closest to me.
706
00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:30.190
And that's really the focus. I mean, my relationship with
707
00:37:30.230 --> 00:37:34.710
money isn't one that I'm not chasing. I've never been
708
00:37:34.909 --> 00:37:37.309
someone that chased it. I've always been, if I can
709
00:37:37.329 --> 00:37:40.230
run six miles and have fruit in the morning and
710
00:37:40.250 --> 00:37:45.260
brown rice at night, I'm good. And I feel like
711
00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:48.300
I'm still like that. I mean, I still pretty much...
712
00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:54.360
have that same kind of philosophy day to day. So yeah, no,
713
00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:56.429
I think it's just a bunch of sneakers.
714
00:37:56.789 --> 00:37:58.530
Yeah, I know. I can just sense that, you know,
715
00:37:58.570 --> 00:38:00.849
and I, even in the correspondence leading up to this, just,
716
00:38:00.909 --> 00:38:03.550
just an immense, uh, I don't know the right word
717
00:38:03.650 --> 00:38:06.849
down to earthness, uh, in you. And it just, I
718
00:38:06.869 --> 00:38:09.130
could just feel that. And, and, you know, I've been
719
00:38:09.170 --> 00:38:11.340
fortunate to talk to a lot of different people, varying
720
00:38:11.380 --> 00:38:15.019
levels of achievements and success. And you don't always see that,
721
00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:17.219
you know, I think at the times you see people
722
00:38:17.260 --> 00:38:19.849
who have let some of that, get to them, whether
723
00:38:20.150 --> 00:38:22.920
it's the exposure, it's the money, it's both, whatever it
724
00:38:22.929 --> 00:38:25.920
may be. And so it's refreshing and it's nice to
725
00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:30.480
see it really, I can sense just saying, hey, it's great.
726
00:38:30.539 --> 00:38:32.380
And I'm not going to deny that it's not great.
727
00:38:32.780 --> 00:38:36.880
Another guy, Todd Wagner, he started broadcast.com with Mark Cuban.
728
00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:39.280
And Todd's a guy who I've been fortunate to get
729
00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:41.010
to know. And he's a guest here on the show.
730
00:38:41.070 --> 00:38:44.699
And He's the same way. He's a guy that I've
731
00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:46.139
been fortunate to go to his house and he has
732
00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:48.199
this immense pride in the home he's been able to
733
00:38:48.260 --> 00:38:51.809
build for his family. It's gigantic and it's awesome. It
734
00:38:51.869 --> 00:38:56.250
wasn't bragging. He's proud. He worked hard for it. I
735
00:38:56.289 --> 00:38:57.389
have a great appreciation.
736
00:38:57.409 --> 00:38:57.829
It was a journey.
737
00:38:57.889 --> 00:38:58.090
I put.
738
00:39:02.300 --> 00:39:05.860
Tons of time and tons of sacrifice and hours. And
739
00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:08.099
I loved it all. I love, you know, every minute
740
00:39:08.139 --> 00:39:10.900
of it. But I have a great appreciation for where
741
00:39:10.940 --> 00:39:13.139
I came from and, you know, what I had. My
742
00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:17.500
dad owned the plumbing supply house in Mineola, Long Island. And,
743
00:39:17.719 --> 00:39:20.989
you know, worked six and a half days, long days. And,
744
00:39:21.210 --> 00:39:23.829
you know, we grew up. We used to drive. We
745
00:39:23.849 --> 00:39:26.210
never flew. We drove to our trips down to Florida.
746
00:39:26.230 --> 00:39:28.739
I have a strong appreciation for.
747
00:39:30.619 --> 00:39:33.400
Where I you know just the journey and I remember
748
00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:36.449
when I bought I bought a home my first home
749
00:39:36.909 --> 00:39:39.929
I just remember sitting outside and had a pool and
750
00:39:39.949 --> 00:39:41.869
I was like I All I wanted was I wanted
751
00:39:41.889 --> 00:39:43.889
to have a pool and I wanted to have like
752
00:39:43.949 --> 00:39:46.849
a little place where I'm a big fruit guy where
753
00:39:46.889 --> 00:39:48.750
I could grow like fruits and vegetables. Like if I
754
00:39:48.789 --> 00:39:53.699
could do that and run, man, and take a vacation, jackpot.
755
00:39:54.239 --> 00:39:56.960
I just remember sitting out there on the steps like
756
00:39:57.019 --> 00:39:58.820
looking at my pool and I had no furniture in
757
00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:01.000
the house yet. I was just like– I would go
758
00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:04.260
out every day and just be like, I cannot believe this.
759
00:40:04.619 --> 00:40:09.210
I can't believe it, man. So I have a real
760
00:40:09.250 --> 00:40:15.380
strong appreciation– For me, just try to treat people great.
761
00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:17.119
Nothing's really changed.
762
00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:20.230
I love it, man. It's cool. Jesse, this has been awesome.
763
00:40:20.250 --> 00:40:23.449
I got one more question for you. First, I'd like
764
00:40:23.469 --> 00:40:26.530
to say I'm just very appreciative of your investment of
765
00:40:26.670 --> 00:40:30.139
time because that's one of the most valuable things we
766
00:40:30.340 --> 00:40:32.719
all have, probably the most valuable thing. I really appreciate that.
767
00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:35.420
This show, it's called The Learning Leader Show for a reason.
768
00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:40.090
It's all about my fascination with the art and science
769
00:40:40.130 --> 00:40:44.869
of leadership, as well as the fact that the best,
770
00:40:45.210 --> 00:40:49.710
highest achievers are constantly striving to get better. They're constantly
771
00:40:49.889 --> 00:40:52.969
learning and trying to seek out, like you said, you
772
00:40:53.349 --> 00:40:55.769
want to seek out these interesting people and you'll cold
773
00:40:55.829 --> 00:40:57.809
call them. And that's kind of some of the things
774
00:40:57.829 --> 00:41:00.570
I try to do, just send a cold email or
775
00:41:00.869 --> 00:41:03.809
find ways to get in touch with people. And that's
776
00:41:03.849 --> 00:41:06.340
how we're fortunate enough to meet. And so Like I said,
777
00:41:06.380 --> 00:41:08.599
I love studying the art and science of it. I
778
00:41:08.679 --> 00:41:11.679
love what it means to be intentional with your actions,
779
00:41:12.179 --> 00:41:16.219
to consistently think about how can I learn more, how
780
00:41:16.260 --> 00:41:18.920
can I get better, and how can I potentially inspire
781
00:41:19.099 --> 00:41:21.480
others to do the same thing. And so that's why
782
00:41:21.539 --> 00:41:23.699
I share this podcast with people. So I'd love to
783
00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:27.730
hear from you. When you hear the phrase learning leader,
784
00:41:28.170 --> 00:41:30.710
what's the very first thing that pops into your mind?
785
00:41:30.730 --> 00:41:32.230
Hmm.
786
00:41:34.090 --> 00:41:38.699
It's a good question. I'm very curious to hear what
787
00:41:38.780 --> 00:41:41.239
other people have said when you've asked them this question.
788
00:41:42.860 --> 00:41:46.940
I have a real thirst for inspiration. So I love
789
00:41:47.019 --> 00:41:51.360
reading about motivational– listening to motivational speakers. I love reading,
790
00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:55.409
following podcasts like yours, Ryan. When I walk, I walk
791
00:41:55.469 --> 00:41:58.090
every morning. So I just think it's someone that has
792
00:41:58.110 --> 00:42:04.730
a thirst to learn more about best practices and what
793
00:42:04.789 --> 00:42:07.320
others have done just to get better. I think it's
794
00:42:07.500 --> 00:42:12.260
always about leading by example and just trying to constantly
795
00:42:12.320 --> 00:42:13.619
challenge yourself to get better.
796
00:42:15.059 --> 00:42:17.139
I love it, man, especially the leading by action part,
797
00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:21.840
especially you as a dad and a spouse, because kids,
798
00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:24.579
they're going to watch what you do far more than
799
00:42:24.659 --> 00:42:27.550
listen to what you say. And all of us parents
800
00:42:27.590 --> 00:42:29.969
listening know that. And so that's why it means a
801
00:42:30.030 --> 00:42:33.329
lot to me to hear you say that. I completely agree.
802
00:42:33.369 --> 00:42:37.340
And I think the action aspect of leading is so vital,
803
00:42:37.440 --> 00:42:40.440
even for people who are natural introverts and have had
804
00:42:40.460 --> 00:42:43.340
to kind of understand that there's more ways than to
805
00:42:43.380 --> 00:42:47.389
be the rowdy, loud guy that you can lead through action.
806
00:42:47.449 --> 00:42:49.710
And in a lot of cases, it's a more powerful
807
00:42:50.289 --> 00:42:51.929
way to be a leader.
808
00:42:52.670 --> 00:42:55.369
Absolutely. My mother used to hit me with the silent treatment.
809
00:42:57.570 --> 00:43:00.130
It was way more effective than some of my friends
810
00:43:00.190 --> 00:43:02.949
and parents that would time out and screaming. My mom
811
00:43:02.969 --> 00:43:05.239
would just look at me, and I knew.
812
00:43:06.380 --> 00:43:06.619
Yeah.
813
00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:07.940
Not to take it any further.
814
00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:11.869
Love it, man. All right, Jesse. Again, I'm so appreciative
815
00:43:11.949 --> 00:43:14.230
of your time investment here on the Learning Leader Show.
816
00:43:14.269 --> 00:43:18.090
It's been great. Where can you, if people want to
817
00:43:18.130 --> 00:43:20.380
learn more about you, read more, buy the book, where
818
00:43:20.420 --> 00:43:22.420
should they go online? Sure.
819
00:43:22.519 --> 00:43:26.300
So I have a website, thehuntv.com. 100 mile man, the
820
00:43:26.340 --> 00:43:29.980
number 100 mile man.com. And the book living with a
821
00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:35.110
seal is available on, at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, uh,
822
00:43:35.239 --> 00:43:39.500
indie bound.org or, you know, anywhere basically online and, and
823
00:43:39.739 --> 00:43:44.360
traditional and independent book retailers. So I'm really excited about it.
824
00:43:44.599 --> 00:43:46.920
Like I said, I told you Ryan before, when we
825
00:43:46.960 --> 00:43:50.070
were speaking, it's kind of part training manual, part memoir.
826
00:43:50.110 --> 00:43:53.500
It's got a lot of business tidbits. It's got, you know,
827
00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:55.239
some of my favorite stories, how I got a record
828
00:43:55.260 --> 00:43:57.039
deal and some of, some of the ways that I
829
00:43:57.059 --> 00:43:59.179
was able to get my foot in the door and
830
00:43:59.199 --> 00:44:01.269
kind of figure it out later, which I've kind of
831
00:44:01.289 --> 00:44:06.010
been my life story, um, are baked into these 31
832
00:44:06.010 --> 00:44:12.050
days of living with this, uh, amazing, inspiring, motivating American
833
00:44:12.090 --> 00:44:15.230
hero really, uh, that moved in with my wife and I. Yeah.
834
00:44:15.789 --> 00:44:17.710
I'd encourage everyone to go, to go get it and
835
00:44:17.750 --> 00:44:22.420
read it. It's, um, Well, it's funny, too. It's entertaining.
836
00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:26.219
It's inspirational. It kind of covers, it checks so many boxes.
837
00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:28.010
And I don't like to say that lightly because a
838
00:44:28.050 --> 00:44:29.670
lot of people recommend books like, hey, go get it.
839
00:44:29.690 --> 00:44:33.250
But I really mean it when I say to check
840
00:44:33.269 --> 00:44:36.170
it out because you'll be better off for doing so.
841
00:44:36.750 --> 00:44:38.789
And like I said, I'm appreciative you guys sent me
842
00:44:38.889 --> 00:44:41.289
one so I could check it out. And I loved it.
843
00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:45.940
Something I will be rereading, obviously. But again, Jesse, hey man,
844
00:44:46.260 --> 00:44:50.110
thanks again for your time. I definitely want to continue
845
00:44:50.130 --> 00:44:52.869
this dialogue as we both progress on our journeys because
846
00:44:53.130 --> 00:44:55.349
I'm fascinated by what you've been able to do both
847
00:44:55.429 --> 00:44:58.769
on a personal and professional level. And that's very important
848
00:44:58.809 --> 00:45:01.500
to me and I think to a lot of leaders
849
00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:02.880
out there who are listening.
850
00:45:04.190 --> 00:45:06.719
I appreciate it. And next time when I see you
851
00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:09.840
in person, I want you to throw me some down
852
00:45:09.880 --> 00:45:10.179
and outs.
853
00:45:10.780 --> 00:45:13.059
Anytime, man. It would be my pleasure.
854
00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:14.219
Perfect.
855
00:45:14.420 --> 00:45:14.909
All right, man.
856
00:45:14.929 --> 00:45:15.610
Ryan, thanks, man.
857
00:45:15.650 --> 00:45:16.119
Keep it up.
858
00:45:16.309 --> 00:45:16.750
Keep it up.
859
00:45:16.889 --> 00:45:17.630
Appreciate it. Thanks, Jesse.
860
00:45:17.670 --> 00:45:17.750
Okay.
861
00:45:18.090 --> 00:45:18.289
Bye.
862
00:45:19.659 --> 00:45:22.119
This episode of The Learning Leader Show is over, but
863
00:45:22.139 --> 00:45:24.309
we have plenty more to keep you locked in until
864
00:45:24.369 --> 00:45:28.869
next time. Head over to learningleadershow.com for more information and
865
00:45:28.909 --> 00:45:33.489
to request your favorite entrepreneur, CEO, world-class athlete, or anyone
866
00:45:33.550 --> 00:45:36.199
else that inspires you. You can also talk to Ryan
867
00:45:36.219 --> 00:45:39.539
directly by reaching out to him on Twitter at RyanHawk12.
868
00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:42.139
Thanks again, and we'll see you next time on The
869
00:45:42.179 --> 00:45:43.019
Learning Leader Show.