Ryan Hawk, Host of Learning Leader Podcast
Today, my guest is Ryan Hawk, Host of the Learning Leader Show Podcast where he has interviewed 650+ of the world’s most influential leaders: Jim Collins, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, Tony Robbins, James Clear, Ryan Holiday, Kat Cole, John Maxwell, Jocko Willink, Susan Cain, Ramit Sethi, Kirk Herbstreit, JJ Redick, Coach John Calipari, Admiral William McRaven, Liz Wiseman, George Raveling, Tom Peters, Daniel Pink, Patrick Lencioni, John Mackey, Robert Greene, General Stanley McChrystal and Seth Godin.
The Learning Leader Show has been named an Apple Podcast “Best-Seller” for the past four years and regularly ranks as the #1 Business Podcast in the world. It earns millions of downloads per year.
Now, as a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and host of The Learning Leader Show, Ryan travels the globe teaching the world’s largest companies, universities, and associations about personal excellence, leadership, storytelling, sales, teamwork, and more.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Ryan spent his earlier years playing sports. He earned a college scholarship to play quarterback at Miami University where he got beat out for the starting QB job by Ben Roethlisberger. He finished his career as Ohio University’s quarterback and team captain. He then spent 12 years in Corporate America where he rose to the level of Vice President of Sales of a multi-billion dollar company. He now spends his time preparing for his next podcast guest, working with leadership teams, and sharing what he’s learned on stages all over the world.
In this candid conversation with Ryan, he discusses his unique path to entrepreneurship and the universal traits he has discovered among the world’s most successful leaders.
1. The “Backdoor Entrepreneur” and a Custom PhD. Ryan spent 12 years working in corporate sales while simultaneously earning his MBA, but he found the rigid, traditional classroom structure uninspiring. To learn on his own terms, he essentially created a custom leadership PhD program by launching a podcast where he could interview the experts he wanted as his professors. Describing himself as naturally “very risk-averse,” Ryan never intended to leave his corporate job; he only made the leap into full-time entrepreneurship once the market demanded it by consistently paying for his speaking and coaching services.
2. The CTG Pillars of Leadership. Ryan views leadership as “the art of getting people to want to do what must be done,” a philosophy he often discusses with business expert Jim Collins. After hosting over 700 conversations with high achievers, Ryan notes that leaders who sustain excellence share three aspirational traits, which he calls “CTG”:
- Curious: They are intellectually curious, ask great follow-up questions, and are exceptional listeners.
- Tough: They are highly resilient and constantly pushing their edges, a mindset Ryan learned from a former Navy SEAL guest.
- Grateful: They maintain optimism and have the ability to turn life’s roughest moments into key learnings.
3. Doing the Work for the Right Reasons. When aspiring podcasters ask Ryan for advice, he is quick to warn them against starting a show just to land book deals, clients, or speaking gigs. Because the podcasting landscape is so crowded and challenging, those who are strictly outcome-driven usually quit. The secret to staying power, Ryan explains, is realizing that “the actual work is the win”. You have to genuinely love the process of having deep conversations for it to be sustainable.
4. Living the Dream Scenario. Today, Ryan ’s podcast serves as the “home base” for a thriving business that includes writing books—such as his upcoming release, The Price of Becoming—keynote speaking, and managing a team of executive coaches. When asked about his future goals, Ryan says he is already living his dream scenario: he wants to continue exactly what he is doing, helping companies and executives navigate the “constant daily fist fight” of getting just a little bit better every day.
