Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is my good friend, David Kidder. David is a serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, advisor to Fortune 500 companies, sought-after speaker, and author of four books, including two New York Times bestsellers, “The Startup Playbook” and “The Intellectual Devotional." David has been a co-founder and CEO of three venture-backed startups, including Clickable, SmartRay, and Bionic, where he is currently a CEO. We are talkin...
Jul 11, 2023•58 min
Welcome to Part 2 of Garrett McNamara, a legendary surfer who owns a world record for the largest wave ever surfed – 100 feet tall – which is the equivalent of the 10-story office building or the height of Niagara Falls. He is the first person ever to ride a wave created by breaking glaciers. Garrett is the author of the book “Hound of the Sea: Wild Man. Wild Waves. Wild Wisdom.” and the star of the fantastic HBO documentary TV series called “100 Foot Wave”. He is also a dedicated philanthropist...
Jul 04, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Welcome to the second part of In Search of Excellence episode featuring Garrett McNamara, a legendary surfer who owns the world record for the largest wave ever surfed, 100 feet tall, which is the equivalent of the 10-story office building or the height of Niagara Falls. He is the first person ever to ride a wave created by breaking glaciers. Garrett is also the author of the book “Hound of the Sea: Wild Man. Wild Waves. Wild Wisdom.” and the star of the fantastic HBO documentary TV series calle...
Jun 27, 2023•42 min
Welcome to the second part of In Search of Excellence episode featuring Ryan Sheckler , one of the greatest skateboarders of all time! Ryan turned pro when he was only 13 and became the youngest gold medalist in X Games history. At 17, he was the star of his own MTV reality show, The Life of Ryan. And in 2008, he created the Sheckler Foundation, whose goal is to support and enrich the lives of children and injured action sports athletes. Tune in to hear about his experience with the reality show...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is Ryan Sheckler, one of the greatest skateboarders of all time! He turned pro when he was only 13 and, in that same year, became the youngest gold medalist in X Games history. At 17, he was the star of his own MTV reality show, The Life of Ryan. And in 2008, he created the Sheckler Foundation, whose goal is to support and enrich the lives of children and injured action sports athletes. Tune in to hear about his beginnings, th...
Jun 13, 2023•42 min
Welcome to Part 2 of an amazing episode of In Search of Excellence, featuring Devon Laratt , a Canadian professional arm wrestler who has won multiple world championships and is one of the best arm wrestlers of all time. He is also a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces. In today’s episode, we talk about the things crucial for success, the importance of preparation, and the ability to accept defeat. You’ll hear about his most important wins and losses, the famous arm wrestlers he fought ag...
Jun 06, 2023•30 min
Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is Devon Larratt, one of the greatest arm wrestlers in the world. Devon is a Canadian professional arm wrestler and a former member of the Canadian Army Forces. He has won multiple world championships and is considered to be one of the best arm wrestlers of all time. He is also a fantastic person and one of the most entertaining and charismatic sports figures! We talk about this very unusual sport, his grandmother who was “the...
May 30, 2023•47 min
Welcome to the second part of our insightful conversation with Mircea Geoana, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Mircea was born and educated in communist Romania, finished his education in the West, and built a successful political and diplomatic career. He was appointed as an ambassador to the U.S.A. and became the youngest ambassador in Romania’s history. He later served as a president of the Romanian Senate, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister. In 2009, he narr...
May 23, 2023•39 min
My guest today is Mircea Geoana , the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, who has had a successful political and diplomatic career for more than three decades. At the age of 36, he was appointed as an ambassador to the U.S. and became the youngest ambassador in Romania’s history. He later served as a president of the Romanian Senate, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister. In 2009, he narrowly lost the elections for the president of Romania when he received 49.6% of the vo...
May 16, 2023•46 min
Work ethic is THE single-biggest determinant of your success. In this epsidoe, learn from how the best in the world refine their work ethic and hear their thoughts on how to achieve true excellence in life and business. What is success? What are the key ingredients to success? How to overcome challenges and stay motivated? How to give back and inspire others? These are just a few of the questions they will answer. Tune in to hear more and grow and thrive on your path to excellence! (00:00) Intro...
May 09, 2023•33 min
My guest today is Craig Newmark – the Founder of the incredibly successful internet marketplace, Craigslist! Craigslist serves 700 cities in 70 countries and has 250 million users a month. In 2018, only four years after formation, Craigslist reached $1 billion in revenue. During the last eight years, Craig Newmark has been one of our country's most active and generous philanthropist. During that time, he has given away more than $200 million. In 2022 alone, he gave away $81 million, which m...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 18 min
My guest today is Mike Tyson , a former heavy-weight boxing champion of the world and one of the greatest boxers of all time. At the age of 20, he became the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold WBA, WBC, and IDF titles and a member of the international boxing Hall of Fame. Mike has appeared in many movies and TV shows. He is the actor and creator of a one-man Broadway show Undisputed Truth, and the author of the best-selling b...
Apr 25, 2023•45 min
My guest today is Mike Tyson , a former heavyweight boxing champion of the world and one of the greatest boxers of all time! At the age of 20, he became the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold WBA, WBC, and IDF titles and a member of the international boxing Hall of Fame. Mike has appeared in many movies and TV shows. He is the actor and creator of a one-man Broadway show Undisputed Truth, and the author of the best-selling bo...
Apr 18, 2023•40 min
Jon Gordon is a best-selling author and an amazing motivational speaker. He has written 27 books including 12 best-sellers and 5 children’s books. The most popular ones are The Energy Bus , The Power of Positive Leadership , Training Camp , Stay Positive , and The Garden . The Energy Bus has sold over 2 million copies and inspired people around the world to change their lives and achieve success. Jon also worked with many Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sport teams, school distri...
Apr 11, 2023•55 min
Jon Gordon is a best-selling author and an amazing motivational speaker. He has written 27 books including 12 best-sellers and 5 children’s books. The most popular ones are The Energy Bus , The Power of Positive Leadership , Training Camp , Stay Positive , and The Garden . The Energy Bus has sold over 2 million copies and inspired people around the world to change their lives and achieve success. Jon also worked with many Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sport teams, school distri...
Apr 04, 2023•47 min
Rodney Jerkins is one of the most successful music producers of all time – he has worked with some of the greatest artists of our time, including Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and many more. He has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won 2 – for the Record of the Year and Best R&B song. He is also an incredible songwriter and musician. His journey to excellence is incredible so tune in to hear more! (00:00)...
Mar 28, 2023•46 min
Rodney Jerkins is one of the most successful music producers of all time – he has worked with some of the greatest artists of our time, including Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and many more. He has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won 2 – for the Record of the Year and Best R&B song. He is also an incredible songwriter and musician. His journey to excellence is incredible so tune in to hear more! (00:00)...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Welcome to Part 2 of my amazing episode of In Search of Excellence featuring Damon West , a man with an astonishing life story. He was a former meth addict and head of an organized crime ring, sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. Today, he is a college professor at the University of Houston, an exceptional motivational speaker, and a best-selling author. His story is one of the most incredible and fascinating stories I’ve ever heard. In this episode, we’ll hear about his prison experience...
Mar 14, 2023•41 min
Damon West is an ex-meth addict and the ex-head of an organized crime ring who was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. Today, he is a college professor at the University of Houston, an exceptional motivational speaker, and a best-selling author. His story is one of the most incredible and fascinating stories I have ever heard – do not miss this episode! (01:56) Introduction to Damon West Grew up in Port Arthur, Texas with supporting parents A black athlete on the front page of a magazine...
Mar 07, 2023•43 min
Cold Calling is one of the best ways to grow as an individual as well as accomplish even your wildest dreams! It requires confidence, composure, and sales skills – all of which are extremely hard to master! In today's competitive marketplace, many salespeople and business owners are relying solely on digital marketing techniques to generate leads and close deals. However, there is still tremendous value in cold calling, even if it seems intimidating or old-fashioned. The very fact that so m...
Feb 28, 2023•35 min
In today's episode I’ll be the one being interviewed! I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Spencer Lodge , host of The Spencer Lodge Podcast. Spencer is a leading sales trainer in Dubai and across the Middle East known for interviewing some of the most amazing guests ranging from Tony Robbins, Marisa Peer, a NASA astronaut, and so much more. In this episode you’ll learn all about my upbringing, some of my earliest achievements, and my career path. From my early days as a failed lawy...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 10 min
The episode today is a special one – I took the best segments about Extreme Preparation to highlight the importance of using preparation as the key to our success. Extreme Preparation was the most important determinant of my success, as it was for all my guests – they out-prepared their competition by always being the most prepared person in the room! As you can see, Extreme Preparation is something very close to my heart – it has opened doors that were closed and even closed doors that would’ve...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Tony Fadell is an amazing and successful engineer, entrepreneur, and investor. He is the father of the iPod, co-creator of the iPhone, founder and former CEO of Nest Thermostat, and the founder of Future Shape, a global investment and advisory company. In 2014, Tony Fadell was one of the Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. He is also a NY Times bestselling author with his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Work . It’s a true pleasure to have Tony on our show a...
Feb 07, 2023•29 min
Tony Fadell is an amazing and successful engineer, entrepreneur, and investor. He is the father of the iPod, co-creator of the iPhone, founder and former CEO of Nest Thermostat, and the founder of Future Shape, a global investment and advisory company. In 2014, Tony Fadell was one of the Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. He is also a NY Times bestselling author with his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Work . It’s a true pleasure to have Tony on our show a...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Brian Lee is a rock-star serial entrepreneur and incredibly successful venture capitalist. He is also a great philanthropist dedicated to leaving and impact and giving back to the community. He is a co-founder and ex-CEO of LegalZoom, a co-founder and ex-CEO of ShoeDazzle, a co-founder and ex-CEO of the Art of Sport, co-founder and current CEO of Arena Club, and co-founder of the incredibly successful venture capital firm, BAM ventures. Brian Lee is also an amazing person, dear friend, and a men...
Jan 24, 2023•46 min
Brian Lee is a rock-star serial entrepreneur and incredibly successful venture capitalist. He is also a great philanthropist dedicated to leaving and impact and giving back to the community. He is a co-founder and ex-CEO of LegalZoom, a co-founder and ex-CEO of ShoeDazzle, a co-founder and ex-CEO of the Art of Sport, co-founder and current CEO of Arena Club, and co-founder of the incredibly successful venture capital firm, BAM ventures. Brian Lee is also an amazing person, dear friend, and a men...
Jan 17, 2023•35 min
Since he was a child, Colin O’Brady dreamt of becoming an Olympian, but when a terrible accident burned 22% of his body, doctors told him he would never walk normally again. Luckily for Colin, he didn’t believe in being “realistic”, so 18 months later he won the Chicago triathlon, and a year after that he represented Team USA at the 2010 World Triathlon Championships. Through intense focus, intuition, and a possibility-focused mindset, Colin has continued to shatter world records at groundbreaki...
Jan 10, 2023•40 min
Since he was a child, Colin O’Brady dreamt of becoming an Olympian, but when a terrible accident burned 22% of his body, doctors told him he would never walk normally again. Luckily for Colin, he didn’t believe in being “realistic”, so 18 months later he won the Chicago triathlon, and a year after that he represented Team USA at the 2010 World Triathlon Championships. Through intense focus, intuition, and a possibility-focused mindset, Colin has continued to shatter world records at groundbreaki...
Jan 03, 2023•40 min
Bob Pittman desperately needed $10 for his first flying lesson but was turned down for a job at a retail store and another at Piggly Wiggly. Refusing to take no for an answer, he walked into his local radio station and managed to snag a position that paid $1.65 an hour – never imagining that this perseverance would set him up to become not only a pilot, but the co-founder and former CEO of MTV Networks, COO of AOL Time Warner, CEO of Six Flags, CEO of Century 21, and a co-founder and CEO of iHea...
Dec 27, 2022•40 min
Bob Pittman desperately needed $10 for his first flying lesson but was turned down for a job at a retail store and another at Piggly Wiggly. Refusing to take no for an answer, he walked into his local radio station and managed to snag a position that paid $1.65 an hour – never imagining that this perseverance would set him up to become not only a pilot, but the co-founder and former CEO of MTV Networks, COO of AOL Time Warner, CEO of Six Flags, CEO of Century 21, and a co-founder and CEO of iHea...
Dec 20, 2022•36 min
