Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more...

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

Brad Stulberg is the author of Peak Performance, The Passion Paradox, and The Practice of Groundedness. He coaches executives, entrepreneurs, physicians, and athletes. He is also co-creator of The Growth Equation, an online platform dedicated to defining and attaining a more fulfilling and sustainable kind of success.

Notes:

• Build deep community over efficiency and optimization. It takes more time. It has a physical connection and a sense of belonging. Don’t move so fast that you don’t see people.
• Keys to great leadership -- Look at the boundaries and create space for work to unfold. Don’t be the helicopter parent or the micromanager. Don’t neglect them, but ensure they have the space to grow and blossom.
• Move your body to ground your mind - It’s so important to have a physical practice. Make it part of your work. It needs to be in order to support your mental health.
• The Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship. Their MVP leader, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points and helped his team win. But he may have earned even more fans when he was asked during a press conference how he keeps his mind right. His three-part answer, in his own words: “Focusing on the past is ego. Focusing on the future is pride. Focusing on the present is humility.”
• The six principles of groundedness:
  •  Accept where you are to get where you want to go
  • Be present so you can own your attention and energy
  • Be patient and you’ll get there faster
  • Embrace vulnerability to develop genuine strength and confidence
  • Build deep community over efficiency and optimization
  • Move your body to ground your mind
• Trying to be "balanced" does not work. When you care deeply about something it draws you in. That's the point. You don't need to force some kind of proportionate allocation of your life. Aim for the self-awareness to PRIORITIZE and CHOOSE how you spend your time and energy.
• Wherever you are, the goal post is always 10 yards down the field. If you develop a mindset, "If I just do this, or just accomplish that, THEN I'll arrive," you're in for trouble. There is no arriving. The human brain didn't evolve for it. Enjoy the process. Be where you are.
• Everyone wants to be SUCCESSFUL. But few people take the time and energy to define the success they want. As a result, they spend most, if not all, of their lives chasing what society superimposes on them as success. Define your values. Craft a life around them. THAT is success.
• Stress + Rest = Growth. Too much of the former not enough of the latter you get injury, illness, burnout. Too much of the latter, not enough of the former you get complacency, stagnation. This equation is universal. It holds true for individual and organizational growth.
• "Wouldn't this be rad?"
  • The process of striving for ambitious goals is what brings fulfillment.
  • The process is how you live your life.
• "Your addiction to growth might be making you miserable." The human condition is oriented towards more.
• Advice on building a business: Think less about building the business and more about building the life you want to live. Brad limits himself to 15 clients and they only meet on Monday and Friday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are days for creativity, reading, research.
  • Brad optimizes for autonomy and freedom.
• For the over-worked, over-scheduled VP: Find 2 hours a week for deep work. That's a start. Challenge the culture, test assumptions.
• Think of your schedule as a moral document
• Sustain excellence:
  • Wise patience... Step back sometimes
• When making a big decision, adopt the lens of a wise observer, what would your wiser self tell you to do?
•  Stimulus + your response = outcome
• When you feel restless to do something, use that as an alarm. Force yourself to take three deep breaths. What will you regret less? No raising voices...
• Your language shapes how you think and act...
• The Good Enough Mother:
  • Not helicopter
  • Not each and every need
  • Doesn't neglect
  • Gives a safe space to grow and blossom
• For the insecure leader... Approach them with curiosity
• Musicians have intense periods of focused practice. People have breakthroughs when they have been on a sabbatical...
• Embrace vulnerability to develop genuine strength and confidence with others... "The way to build trust is by being vulnerable."
  • Don't be performative. It must be real.
• Build deep community over efficiency and optimization
  • It takes more time to meet in person.
• Brad's tattoo sleeve: Mountains sit through it all. Trees = grounded, the roots support it. We need to tend to our own roots.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more...

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12    https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

Sahil Bloom is a writer who attempts to demystify the world. He's an investor, advisor, and creator. As a pitcher at the University of Stanford, he once gave up a grand slam on ESPN in 2012 and he's still waiting for it to land. Sahil is an angel investor in 25+ startups across the technology landscape. In this capacity, he works directly with entrepreneurs and founders to identify and execute against core value creation initiatives to build scalable, sustainable value for all stakeholders.

Notes:

• Writing makes you better at everything you do. Writing is the best way to expose gaps in your thinking. When you write, you think better.
• The makeup of a great coach - Never too big to do the small things. They push you beyond what you think you’re capable of. Everyone should take a moment and say thank you to someone who has done this for them.
• Learning Circles -- Develop a circle of people to collectively learn with. Push your thinking. I do this with my Learning Leader Circles and it’s some of the most rewarding work I do.
• Why the cheeky Twitter bio? ("Once gave up a home run on ESPN that hasn't landed yet"). "People take themselves too seriously."
• The difference between big public failures and private ones: "I think private failures can shape you more."
• Freshman year at Stanford was a grind... "I thought I was hot shit." "Are you willing to spring when the distance is unknown?"
  • It's all about how you bounce back from failures.
  • "You need to be able to take constructive feedback. You can't crumble."
• Sahil asks, "What do I want to instill in my child?" Let them fail... It's the greatest experience.
• Angel Investing - An individual who provides money to start-ups.
• The "must-have" qualities in a person for Sahil to invest in them: Resilience and Grit. "You're going to get knocked around. They are willing to die before they'll fail."
  • "I'm driven by relationships over data points. I like to ask: Tell me about a time you got your ass kicked..."
  • Sahil invests because he learns so much through the process of it. The intellectual returns make it worth it.
• "Writing is the best way to expose gaps in your thinking. It makes you better at everything you do."
• Be a teacher: "I'm learning alongside you."
• Great storytelling... "It is a built skill."
  • Disney, Pixar... It's a foundational skill. They infuse personality in writing.
• The three biggest keys to storytelling:
  • Elicit an emotional response
  • Novelty - That "Oh wow!" moment
  • Punchy & Concise - "I didn't have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one instead."
• Viral tweet threads - It started in May 2020 for Sahil. He went from a few followers to hundreds of thousands...
• Be "Positive Sum." The world is positive sum. A rising tide lifts all boats. You should genuinely root for others to succeed.
• The makeup of a great coach:
  • In the trenches with the team - never too big to do the small things
  • Willing to challenge you and call you out. They help you get better
  • They push your thinking
• Coach John Beverly (Sahil's high school baseball coach)
  • He was first to suggest that Stanford could be a reality for Sahil ("He was nuts")
  • He had very high expectations
  • He believed in Sahil more than Sahil believed in himself
  • He changed the trajectory of people
• Cognitive bias - High expectations lead to higher performance
  • You need to vocalize your appreciation for those who have pushed your thinking and expected a lot from you
• The power of learning circles:
  • There is push & pull with others
  • Helps you develop circles of friends to collectively learn with and push your thinking

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more...

Full show notes at www. LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is a leading digital CEO and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of leadership experience founding, scaling, and advising companies including Google, Amazon, StubHub, Yodlee, and more. Most recently, Sukhinder served as the leader of StubHub, the premier global consumer ticketing marketplace for live entertainment, which she and her team sold for $4 billion in February 2020. Earlier in her career, Sukhinder built Google’s business throughout Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Notes:

• “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” - Samuel Johnson
  • “We think when we do nothing there is no cost.” That’s not true. There’s a cost to standing still.
• Proximity to opportunity benefits us even more than planning. Sukhinder moved to Silicon Valley in 1997. She rode the tailwind of the Internet and being at the epicenter of it all.
  • Prioritize the WHO before the WHAT.
• As a leader, watch what you validate with your words and actions. Reward the behavior that you want. If you want to promote taking risks, then reward the people who do that. “You get what you create and what you allow.”
• At one point, Sukhinder went to her boss at Google (who worked with Eric Schmidt) and said, “I’m pregnant, I want to keep running international at Google. I need for you to pay for me and my nanny to travel the world business-class. And they said yes.” BIG ASK. 
  • She did the calculus and realized it was a reasonable ask. And they said yes.
• Career path - "My career is not linear, it's cyclical. It has ups and downs. I've made 13 different meaningful choices along the way."
• The myth that there is a linear relationship between risk and reward. Not all choices have an equal amount of upside and downside...
• Sukhinder sas been on the board of Urban Outfitters with Scott Galloway:
  • Should you move to a big city? Should you move to your company's headquarters?
    • Being at the center of the action matters... It helps if you can understand the pulse of HQ
• How to become a smart risk taker?
  • What are our goals, passions, and values?
  • What are we great at?
  • Look for headwinds and tailwinds - (Join a growing company that has momentum)
    • With that said, Sukhinder went to StubHub and there were significant challenges
  • Over-prioritize the WHO over the WHAT
• Why did Sukhinder take the StubHub leadership role?
  • It was a calculated risk
  • She missed running a company of scale
    • They needed entrepreneurial and executive energy
• How do you create an environment for people to take risks?
  • You want people who are "truth-tellers, truth seekers, and authors"
  • Make it safe to take risks -- Reward that behavior.
  • Watch what you validate by your words and actions. Understand the magnitude and the weight of your words. People are always watching how the leader responds, who they commend, what they say...
• How to go for a job that you aren't qualified for?
  • "The next level of learning is going for something you don't know..."
  • To be a CEO, you need depth AND breadth. You need to expand your skillset. This is the path to accelerated learning.
• How do you know when you should leave a job?
  • "I like 3-5 year sprints. Are you having fun? Are you making an impact? If you aren't having fun or making an impact, you'll want to leave."
  • Think about: "Who am I doing this with? Are our values aligned?"
• Why did Sukhinder want to be a CEO?
  • "A little bit of ego"
  • "I was built to lead"
  • "I enjoy being on the hook"
• People who sustain excellence:
  • They surround themselves with other great people.
  • They don't let their ego get in the way.
  • They don't feel threatened by great people.
• Career/Life Advice:
  • "We tend to assume that everything is zero-sum. It's not. Choice is a multiplier of opportunity and we get to control it. Make a choice and get in motion."

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more...

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12      https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

Melissa Urban is the co-founder and CEO of Whole30, and a six-time New York Times bestselling author. She is is a prominent keynote speaker on social media and branding, health trends, and entrepreneurship.

Notes:

• “I’ll Go First” -- As Leaders, it’s on us to do the hard thing first. Be vulnerable first. Trust first. That mindset will serve us well
• “I decided to look for evidence that I was already a healthy person with healthy habits.” and that helped form her identity.
• Whole30 -- The Whole30 is not a diet, a weight-loss plan or quick fix – it’s designed to “change your life,” the founders say, by eliminating cravings, rebalancing hormones, curing digestive issues, improving medical conditions, and boosting energy and immune function.
• "You can think of the Whole30 like pushing the reset button with your health, habits, and relationship with food."
• “For 30 days, you’ll eliminate the foods that scientific literature and our clinical experience have shown to be commonly problematic in one of four areas — cravings and habits, blood sugar regulation and hormones, digestion, and immune system, and inflammation
• “The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy. Those are your options.”
• “You cannot “out-exercise” poor food choices and the resulting hormonal disruption.”
• The diet culture has been beaten into our heads and can make us feel disempowered
  • This helps you take back the power. It's not a diet. Not a quick fix. It helps you figure out what works for you.
• Melissa always buys herself flowers... Take care of yourself first.
• Must-Have leadership qualities in someone Melissa hires:
  • "I hire for talent, not skill."
  • Entrepreneurial spirit -- "I want them to take ownership."
  • Ambitious - "They need to want to grow and learn."
• Sharing pictures on social media that are not airbrushed or edited:
  • "It is me existing in my body. It's not courageous to exist in your body. I shouldn't be seen as brave for posting those pictures."
• Grey Rock - This is how you respond to a narcissist or complainer... Don't react to them pushing buttons. They are trying to get you to react. Don't give them that gift.
• Boundaries are essential life skills - We learn about these in times of crisis. "Clear is kind." Example: "When my parents attempt to parent my child, I have to sometimes tell them that that's my job and they need to stop. That's setting a boundary."
• How to be a great CEO?
  • "I have figured a lot out as I go. It helps to have mentors. I've hired a lot of talented people." It's about surrounding yourself with excellent talent and trusting them to do the job.
• How to have high self-awareness
  • A lot of therapy
  • Self-experimentation
  • Committed to working on empathy
• Life/Career Advice:
  • It's easy to tell someone to follow their passion, but that's not always good advice
  • "Whatever job you do, overdeliver. Do it well."
  • Be known as someone who goes the extra mile.
  • Be kind. Go first. Be vulnerable. Get it done.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more...

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

Matthew Dicks is a Bestselling author, a professional storyteller, and a teacher. He is a 52-time Moth StorySLAM winner & a 7-time GrandSLAM champion. He’s recognized as one of the greatest storytellers in the world.

Notes:

• Every great story is about a five-second moment of our life. The purpose of every great story is to bring a singular moment of transformation and realization to the greatest clarity possible.
  • "Let me tell you about my vacation to Europe" is not the beginning of a story, despite what many seem to believe. This is merely an attempt to review the itinerary of your previous vacation
  • But if someone said, "While I was in Europe, I met a taxi driver who changed the way I think about my parents forever," that is potentially a great story.
• “People are not attracted to people who do easy things. They are attracted to people who do hard things. It’s hard to be vulnerable. That takes courage. And that’s why we are drawn to it.”
  • Being vulnerable opens people up.
• The beginning and end of a story:
  • Beginning - Promise that what I'm going to say is worth your time
  • End - The fulfillment of that process
• How to put a great story together?
  • Start at the end... The five-second moment. "What are you aiming at?" You have to know that to craft the beginning.
    • Use a thesis statement -- "I used to be... and I realized..."
• Jurassic Park is not a movie about dinosaurs. It's about love.
• How to open a story:
  • Try to start your story with forward movement whenever possible. DON'T start by setting expectations (“This is hilarious, “you need to hear this,” “you’re not going to believe this.”)
• Requirements of a personal story:
  • Change - your story must reflect change over time. It can’t simply be a series of remarkable events. Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes.
  • Your story only -  not that of others
  • The dinner table test - Be human
• Homework for life — 5 minutes at the end of each day. “If I had to tell a story from today — a 5-minute story onstage about something that took place over the course of this day. What would it be?
  • Homework for life slows time down...
• Humor -- It keeps your audience’s attention. “The goal is not to tell a funny story. The goal is to tell a story that moves an audience emotionally.”
• “A written story is like a lake. Readers can step in and out of the water at their leisure, and the water always remains the same. An oral story is like a river. It is a constantly flowing torrent of words.” -- “To keep your listener from stepping out of your river of words to make meaning, simplification is essential. Starting as close to the end as possible helps to make this happen.”
• During a talk at a school in Brazil, Matt was asked why he shares so much of himself? (Writing novels, stories, teaching, blog posts, podcasts). And he thought for a while and then said, “I think I’m trying to get the attention of a mother who never paid me any attention and is now dead and a father who left me as a boy and never came home.”
• Your first job as a speaker (at home, on stage, or at work) is to be entertaining...
• Advice: When you graduate college, it's the end of your assessed learning. What do you want to study next? It will be on you to track. It won't be assessed by others... What do you want to learn next?