Sarah Friar learned about the power of community from an early age. Growing up in Northern Ireland during a time of tremendous violence showed her the importance of finding common ground and taught her how to create resilience from within, both of which are lessons that she continues to live by today. Even in moments of fear and despair, Sarah was able to find her resilience and take risks throughout her career. After checking all the boxes that she thought would lead her to become a partner at ...
Oct 04, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah Friar learned about the power of community from an early age. Growing up in Northern Ireland during a time of tremendous violence showed her the importance of finding common ground and taught her how to create resilience from within, both of which are lessons that she continues to live by today. Even in moments of fear and despair, Sarah was able to find her resilience and take risks throughout her career. After checking all the boxes that she thought would lead her to become a partner at ...
Sep 27, 2022•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ed Mylett spent his early life in a dysfunctional home living with an alcoholic father who would often get into fist fights — at church, in line at the donut store, and even on the freeway. After his dad embarked on his path to sobriety, he soon became Ed’s first example of what it takes to succeed in life. This ultimately led to Ed’s realization that the challenges we overcome, or the parts of our former selves that we were once ashamed of, are the very things that qualify us to contribute and ...
Sep 20, 2022•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ed Mylett spent his early life in a dysfunctional home living with an alcoholic father who would often get into fist fights — at church, in line at the donut store, and even on the freeway. After his dad embarked on his path to sobriety, he soon became Ed’s first example of what it takes to succeed in life. This ultimately led to Ed’s realization that the challenges we overcome, or the parts of our former selves that we were once ashamed of, are the very things that qualify us to contribute and ...
Sep 13, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In celebration of our one-year anniversary, we are revisiting a couple of our early episodes that people loved! In today's episode, Randall Kaplan is joined by global superstar Sharon Stone to discuss what it took for her to achieve excellence in Hollywood as an outsider, how she managed to claw her way back from a crippling brain aneurysm, why being of service goes hand-in-hand with pursuing excellence, and much more. Topics Include: - Growing up dirt poor. - Sharon’s early jobs and experi...
Aug 30, 2022•2 hr 33 min•Transcript available on Metacast In celebration of our one-year anniversary, we are revisiting a couple of our early episodes that people loved! In today's episode, Randall Kaplan is joined by American billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sam Zell to discuss daring to be different, finding and capitalizing on opportunities, what it means to go for greatness, and much more. Topics Include: - How Sam’s parents escaped from Poland prior to Nazi invasion. - What freedom and an opportunity to thrive in the US meant to the...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Apolo Anton Ohno is the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time. Between the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics, Apolo earned eight Olympic medals in short-track speed skating. Even as a child, Apolo’s athletic ability was evident, at the young age of 14, Apolo won his first major speed skating title, after just six months of training. But, despite his incredible talents and drive, Apolo faced setbacks and struggles from managing his mental health, navigating adolescence and his rocky relat...
Aug 02, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast If there is someone who knows the power of hard work, it’s Daymond John . As a young man growing up in the neighborhood of Hollis, Queens, Daymond's entrepreneurial talent took off when he started a clothing line with a $40 budget. At the time, Daymond was hand-sewing hats between his shifts at Red Lobster. And today, Daymond's company, FUBU, has over $6 billion in sales. Daymond is not only one of the most successful fashion icons of his generation but is also a sought-after motivatio...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2002 Caryn Seidman-Becker created and ran a successful hedge fund that ultimately grew to $1.5 billion assets - an amount that was unheard of for a woman to manage at the time. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Caryn - like thousands of other funds - closed her fund. She loved managing money, but decided to do something different - buy an airport-focused biometric-identity company that had raised $90 million and had filed for bankruptcy. She bid $5.87 million at the bankruptcy option, re...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Zoe is an icon in the fashion world. But before Rachel became a household name, she was 25 years old, styling celebrities like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys out of her West Village studio apartment. Rachel continued to make a name for herself as a stylist by putting together some of Hollywood’s most memorable red carpet looks and collaborating on iconic fashion lines. But, when she discovered that she had a unique platform to empower and inspire women from all walks of life, her ...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the historically male-dominated culinary industry, Emmy-award-winning TV personality, celebrity chef, and New York Times best-selling author Giada De Laurentiis has not only helped pave the way for female chefs but has also shined a spotlight on the culinary arts as a whole. Giada has always been a trailblazer: from being the first in her family to graduate from college, to being the only woman in her class at Cordon Bleu in Paris, to being the first female chef to open a restaurant on the La...
Jun 07, 2022•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast From homelessness and the housing crisis to traffic and education, Los Angeles County Mayor Eric Garcetti faces challenging, pressing issues day in and day out. But how did a young kid who grew up in an immigrant family in the San Fernando Valley become the leader and change-maker he is today? All of Eric’s life experiences contribute to his ability to search tirelessly for solutions and lead the Los Angeles community towards a better future. When facing new opportunities, Eric considers the quo...
May 24, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Cuban was born a serial entrepreneur. At age 12, he sold trash bags door to door. By age 16, he had a business selling stamps. During college at Indiana University, he taught disco lessons at sorority houses and opened a popular bar before he turned 21. So how does an average kid growing up in Pittsburgh go on to become a self-made billionaire? For some of us, it may be hard to imagine the person that we know today as Mark Cuban quit a job, was fired from another, had a business that closed...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steve Romick grew up in a tight-knit family in the San Fernando Valley and was very driven from a very young age. Even as a five-year-old, he wasn’t interested in failure and never gave up easily, a personality trait that has carried Steve through his career. Today Steve manages nearly $20 billion in assets and is a managing partner at First Pacific Advisors (FPA), an LA-based money management firm that manages $29 billion. Steve’s passion to succeed, proficiency with numbers, and strong dislike...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sammy Hagar is one of the most prolific artists in the history of Rock and Roll. Playing in bands like Montrose and Van Halen, and with a successful solo career that included the rock anthem “I Can’t Drive 55,” Sammy has had 25 platinum albums and has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. Sammy is also an extremely successful serial entrepreneur and was the first celebrity to create his own tequila brand which he sold more than 20 years ago for nearly $100 million. He is also devoted to gi...
Apr 12, 2022•2 hr 46 min•Transcript available on Metacast The incredible story of Orlando Bravo’s journey from a tuna fishing village in Puerto Rico to the most successful private equity investor in the world, is one of incredibly hard work and a fierce determination to succeed. When Orlando’s childhood dream of becoming a professional tennis player ended, he went to Brown on a tennis scholarship, was terrified he wouldn't succeed, graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the top 2% of his class, and later earned a JD / MBA from Stanford. After not being offer...
Mar 29, 2022•2 hr 37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Trina Spear is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of FIGS, a healthcare apparel and lifestyle brand that has a current value of $4 billion. What has grown into a spectacular success started with a simple idea and question – what if we put as much thought into healthcare apparel as we do with athletic apparel? What if we invented apparel for healthcare professionals by selling fitted, fashionable, cool, and comfortable medical scrubs? Trina and her partner Heather Hasson began working on this idea in 2012...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Rubenstein grew up in a modest, blue-collar home in Northwest Baltimore. He never considered himself a brilliant student or excellent athlete, but he did believe that hard work leads to success. This drive and work ethic paid off, and today, David is a billionaire businessman and a member of the Forbes 400 list. David’s journey has taken him from humble beginnings in Baltimore, MD, to Duke University, Chicago Law School, and a job as a white house staffer, to eventually co-founding one of ...
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by former professional hockey player Jimmy Carson to discuss his early and long-term success in the NHL, his experiences as a first-generation American, his post-professional life as a father and husband, his success after he retired, his views on being part of the biggest trade in sports history, and much more. Topics Include: The influence of Jimmy’s parents and his ancestry. The American Dream and what it meant to Jimmy and his family. The role of mentors in shaping o...
Dec 07, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by serial entrepreneur and media personality Kevin O’Leary . Known to many as Mr. Wonderful on SharkTank, Kevin talks about how his unique life experiences made him the successful entrepreneur and investor he is today. In this episode, Kevin and Randall talk about Kevin’s upbringing and what Kevin learned from his mother about financial independence and investing. Kevin shares stories about the moment he knew he needed to work for himself, the greatest lesson he learned ...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast You probably know Chris Voss as the FBI Hostage Negotiator that wrote the best-selling book Never Split the Difference . What you probably don’t know about Chris is that he grew up an average kid in the Midwest. There was nothing extraordinary about him, he claims. He wasn’t popular, academically gifted, or notably athletic. But there is one thing that sets Chris apart from the rest, and he is well aware of what it is – a commitment to getting better every day. No matter where you are in life, C...
Nov 02, 2021•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by professional NHL hockey player and Olympic athlete Bobby Ryan . They discuss how, at age 10, Bobby and his family lived in hiding under an assumed name for years after his father tried to murder his mother and escaped bail, Bobby’s rise to becoming an NHL All-Star, his battle with alcoholism, his views on why you need to eliminate the takers in your life, and much more. Topics Include: Separating great athletes from elite athletes. Excelling at hockey from an early ag...
Oct 19, 2021•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by Ben Sherwood to discuss what is missing from the conversations and books on excellence. They discuss pursuing your dreams when the odds are overwhelmingly against you, the murder of journalist David Kaplan while Ben was sitting next to him in a car during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, canceling the hit sitcom Roseanne in 2018 when he was in charge of ABC Television, moving from coast to coast several times to pursue professional opportunities balances against perso...
Sep 21, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by award-winning journalist Lara Logan to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, the importance of critical thinking, the pursuit of truth in the age of misinformation, the courage to speak your mind even when it’s unpopular, the fear of reporting from dangerous war zones in times of conflict in locations around the world, the experience of being a sexual assault and rape victim, today’s current events which she calls the “fight of our lifetime,” and much more. Topics Includ...
Sep 14, 2021•2 hr 47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by Strauss Zelnick to discuss his role as an executive leader in the world of entertainment and media. They discuss what to prioritize when starting a new career, sacrificing security to pursue your dreams, the value of work ethic and grit in the marketplace, and much more. Topics Include: Why your salary shouldn’t be your top priority when starting a new career. The detriments of modern helicopter parenting. Cultivating the skill of deep listening. The significance of e...
Sep 07, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by Anthony Scaramucci to discuss rising through the ranks of global finance as a blue-collar kid from Long Island, balancing the pursuit of our dreams with our personal obligations, what he learned from his 11-day stint as the White House Communications Director for President Trump in July 2017, and much more. Topics Include: Growing up in a blue-collar family. Anthony’s early jobs and entrepreneurial aspirations. Failing the Bar Exam. Lessons learned from being hired an...
Aug 31, 2021•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does it take to become one of the most iconic and successful venture capitalists of all time? How does a commitment to freedom and trust empower us to think big and drive progress? Meet Tim Draper . An early investor in Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, Space X, Twitter, Robinhood, Coinbase, and other industry-disrupting companies, Tim began his venture capital journey at age 27 and never looked back. In this episode, Tim breaks down for listeners why thinking for yourself will be the most valuable sk...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by Brad Keywell to discuss what it takes to achieve excellence at the highest level as an entrepreneur. In this episode, Brad shares with listeners how to out-work and out-hustle the competition, why he channels his entrepreneurial drive into disrupting industries, how he grew Groupon from 124 employees to 5,100 employees in a single calendar year, and much more. Topics Include: Brad’s five keys to success. Brad’s early business ventures, including a greeting card busine...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by global superstar Sharon Stone to discuss what it took for her to achieve excellence in Hollywood as an outsider, how she managed to claw her way back from a crippling brain aneurysm, why being of service goes hand-in-hand with pursuing excellence, and much more. Topics Include: Growing up dirt poor. Sharon’s early jobs and experiences as a model. Challenges as a woman and an outsider in Hollywood. The need to constantly prove yourself as a woman. Setting clear goals a...
Aug 10, 2021•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Randall Kaplan is joined by Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury to discuss going all-in on your dreams, dealing with setbacks, dedicating yourself to your craft, cultivating the "work ethic is everything" mindset on our path to excellence, and much more. Topics Include: Following through and finishing what you start. The relationship between integrity, punctuality, and excellence. The power of work ethic to carry us through losses. Harnessing inspiration from elite performers....
Aug 10, 2021•2 hr 40 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
