Casey Ridley: How a Pre-Med Dropout Built a 55-Store Franchise by 25

Mariane Bekker: Surviving War, Raising a Son With Cerebral Palsy, and Leading 150K Founders

Mariane Bekker made peace with death at 6 years old, lying in a hospital in Lebanon, as bombs dropped around her. Now, she's a successful entrepreneur and tech executive, helping provide opportunities for women in tech, raising her children (one of whom has special needs), and managing to find gratitude and build community through it all - things she learned early on growing up in a war torn country. This episode is filled with hard-earned wisdom that not many of us in the West can claim to have. Find out what it takes to live a life well lived through service, gratitude, and the support system around you to achieve victory through adversity. In This Episode: 0:00 Intro 0:43 How To Balance A LOT Of Responsibility 2:58 "I Made Peace With Death" 10:24 Gratitude In War 16:38 Escaping The War 26:01 A Life Well-Lived Through Service 29:45 How AI Can Serve Us, Not Destroy Us 38:50 How To Emotionally Prepare for Adversity 45:03 Building A Support System Resources: Mariane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianebekker/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianebekker/] Founder's Bay: https://foundersbay.com/ [https://foundersbay.com/] You.com: https://you.com/ [https://you.com/] Siddhartha by Herman Hesse: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q64KQX/ [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q64KQX/]

Rick Thomas: Walking Away at 61, Losing a Son, and Choosing Gratitude

After listening to this conversation, you won't believe what Rick's been through over the past few years. His mindset, his success, his gratitude...all of it speak to a deep, unshakeable framework of truth that he lives his life by. Lessons, principles - a Code - that you can apply to your own life and organization. Rick walked away from the company he built at the age of 61 with no plan. Now he's navigating the most lucrative deal of his career. Rick lost his son to suicide. Now he chooses gratitude. Find out the hard-earned principles and lessons that keep Rick moving forward, in gratitude. In This Episode: 0:00 Intro 0:41 Gratitude 3:23 How To Build Trust 5:03 Preparing For Success 10:26 The A-Ha Moment 13:00 Developing Relational Instinct 17:08 Systematizing Situational Awareness 26:24 Why Sell at 61? 30:41 The Gratitude Choice 34:49 Wisdom That Lasts (No Matter How Crazy The World Gets) 44:21 Challenges Are A FEATURE, Not An Exception 49:52 How To Live In Gratitude Resources: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7LS2ZW/ [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7LS2ZW/] Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-thomas-51909821/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-thomas-51909821/] Rick's Website: https://rt-yd.com/ [https://rt-yd.com/]

Sam Berman: Losing Both Parents and Building What Shouldn't Exist

What Sam Berman has built should have been impossible. Especially after losing both of his parents by the age of 25. School was a nightmare for him, he doesn't have a college degree, and yet he's built a successful business and family, AND lives by an Operator's Code that's stood the test of time. Find out what it takes to get through REAL hardship, how to build a business that actually takes on the founder's mindset and principles, and what good men do when bad things happen. In This Episode: 0:00 Intro 0:47 Developing Leaders 3:50 Principles Learned From Pain 14:08 Operationalizing Personal Excellence 25:46 Sam's Operator's Code 39:53 The Tragedy That Got Men To Pay Attention Resources: LARC: https://www.larc.co/ [https://www.larc.co/] Sam Berman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelberman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelberman/] Email Sam: sam@larc.co Militant Mind by Sam Berman: https://www.larc.co/the-militant-mind [https://www.larc.co/the-militant-mind] It's Your Ship by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446529117 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446529117]

Casey Ridley: How a Pre-Med Dropout Built a 55-Store Franchise by 25

He graduated during the height of COVID. Most people in his generation took the pessimistic route. "It's not fair!" Complaining. Doing nothing. Taking no responsibility. Not Casey Ridley. By 25, he built a 55 store franchise. I wanted to know what made Casey tick in a world where so many of his contemporaries are burdened by entitlement and negativity. We dive deep into the Operator's Code that guides Casey's business and even more importantly, his commitment to service. Let's dive in. In This Episode: 0:00 Intro 1:06 From Surgeon To Supply Chain 3:31 Leadership as Service 7:45 How To Start Franchising 16:45 Evaluating Subordinate Leaders 24:53 Balancing AI + Tech vs Human Value 33:43 Guidance To Pessimistic Young People Resources: Casey Ridley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-ridley/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-ridley/] The Designery: https://thedesignery.com [https://thedesignery.com/]

John Hamilton: From Broke to Tier One Pararescueman to Building Two Companies

John Hamilton "accidentally" ended up pursuing a path in the Air Force that 98% of applicants fail. He said, "perfect". Within a matter of just 6 months, he radically transformed his mindset, and became a Tier 1 operator with multiple deployments. Then, he took his success mindset and applied it to real estate and business. This kind of multi-disciplinary success - while building a family - requires a rock solid Code. One that doesn't buckle under pressure, even though it's been tested in the heat of battle. That's what we'll be learning in today's episode with John Hamilton. The code, the mindset, and the principles, that were forged in battle, but perfected in the marketplace and the family. In This Episode: 0:00 Intro 4:59 Old School Dad Lessons 6:51 98% Fail Rate Mindset 12:06 Special Forces Mindset Difference 14:38 First Deployment and Firefight (Training Lessons) 19:34 Resilience After Tragedy 26:15 Entrepreneurship After The Air Force 31:31 Taking Big Risks 36:58 Instilling These Traits In Your Kids 40:03 Bringing Military Teamwork Into Security 45:55 How Technology Changes Leadership and Client Participation 48:41 The Principles That Don't Shift (No Matter What Changes) 55:35 If You're Stuck? Resources: John Hamilton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hamilton-hkdef/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hamilton-hkdef/] HK Defense Solutions: https://hkdef.com/ [https://hkdef.com/]