Pushing Past Autopilot (ft. Ryan Leak)

Mic Drop

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1y ago 47:22

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Pushing Past Autopilot (ft. Ryan Leak)

How one of the world’s most successful speakers lives intentionally

OPENING QUOTE:

“I grew up in the church, and saw my dad. We had this small African-American church in the suburbs of Chicago, and I just saw the impact my dad had on a community of people and I thought, man, what if we could do this all the time? What if we could do this, not just Sundays, but what if we could add value to people's lives all week long?”

-Ryan Leak

GUEST BIO:

Who has the audacity to propose to the love of his life, then ask her to marry him the very same day as the proposal? The incredible Ryan Leak not only secretly planned a blowout wedding, but is one of the most inspiring and successful keynote speakers on the planet. He is the best-selling author of two books, Chasing Failure and Leveling Up. He's the CEO of a leadership development firm that trains over 15,000 leaders each year. Most importantly, he's married to his best friend Amanda and is the proud assistant coach for his son's basketball team.

Links:

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[13:47] - Sharing Your Failures

The courage to be vulnerable onstage

A mentor once told Ryan, “If you talk about your weaknesses, you’ll never run out of content.” He’s taken that to heart in his career — and helped others talk about their own weaknesses and failures. The result is that he’s helped thousands of people come to not only accept failure, but embrace it as a necessary and thrilling part of their journey toward greatness and personal success.

[14:48] - The Role of Humor

Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh

Ryan is keenly aware of the power of humor. It does much more than just entertain an audience. It breaks down barriers between audience and speaker. It allows you to communicate profound truths in a disarming way. It allows you to be authentic about your own shortcomings while also acknowledging the often funny — and tragic — ways the world works. All this adds up to more engaging, powerful, and impactful speeches, no matter your topic, approach, or audience.

[17:22] - Take Control of the Plane

What it means to push past autopilot

Many speakers — and successful people in all careers — begin to rely on their instincts and experience to guide them. They come up with an idea, it feels right, it seems to work, and so they keep using it again and again. But Ryan advises that this can often lead you to become stuck. You don’t want to change, or plainly assess your own performance for potential weaknesses.

But the key to success like Ryan’s is to always have your hands on the wheel, turning here and there to keep yourself on the right path — even if those adjustments can be painful for the ego at times.

[29:23] - Generosity is Everything

Give everything and you’ll have everything

Ryan recounts a CEO who approached him after a speech, telling him: “You’re pretty special.” Why? Because he “give[s] a shit about people.”

What seems like such a simple trait makes all the difference. Ryan discusses how he makes it his goal at every event to be as lowkey and un-demanding as possible, to the point of ordering his own food at times even when the client offers to do it for him. He believes in being generous when it’s easy and it’s not easy, and he’s found that it’s blessed his life and career in ways he never could have imagined.

[35:27] - Studying the Greats

Taking bits and pieces to make yourself

As a student of basketball to the point of having had the chance to work out with an NBA team, Ryan recognizes the value in studying the greats. Even though he may not seem to have much in common with the likes of Gary Vee, he recognizes that there’s value in studying other speakers — no matter how different they may seem. Then he can identify their strengths and incorporate them into his own approach.

RESOURCES:

[2:01] Chasing Failure & Leveling Up
[20:28] The Surprise Wedding

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ABOUT MIC DROP:

Hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter it’s starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is sponsored by ImpactEleven.

Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOST:

Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He believes passionately that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.

Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.

Today, Josh serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession with greasy pizza.

Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com