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To The Top: Inspirational Career Advice

We interview authors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to share their blueprints for success so we can apply those best practices.
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To The Top: Inspirational Career Advice
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Now displaying: 2022
Dec 9, 2022

Jim Irsay has been involved with the Indianapolis Colts for nearly his entire life. He took ownership of the franchise in 1997 after his father's passing. He's known as one of the most eccentric and outspoken owners, and notably open about his own life and struggles. Outside of football, he's invested over $100 million in historical artifacts and memorabilia in areas like music, pop culture, and American history. He's taking a portion of his collection on tour throughout the country and displaying them for the public to view, for free. In this special interview we discuss:

-His fascination for collecting things like Jerry Garcia's Tiger Guiter ($957K purchase)

-The most important lesson he learned from Steve Jobs

-What advice he'd give for staying cool under pressure in order to pivot and move forward without panicking and more..

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Visit www.omaid.me for the latest updates and please consider leaving a review!

Dec 4, 2022

Latasha James is a marketing expert, digital creator, and coach. She's built an audience on YouTube with nearly 135K subscribers where she creates videos to help entrepreneurs to scale their business and leverage social media. She also hosts The Freelance Friday Podcast, facilitates a mastermind group (Freelance Friday Club), and has developed several online courses like the Social Media Management Toolbox.

Visit her site: https://latashajames.com

Things we discuss:

-What really prevents people from creating content online

-How she's grown and shifted her business from services based to digital

-An important question she asks herself before she publishes content

-How reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield impacted her creativity

-Guardrails she's implemented to show up as the best version of herself at home and work and more..

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Please consider leaving a review and visit www.omaid.me for updates

Nov 28, 2022

Eric Fleet is the founder of the premium and sustainable clothing brand named Threads 4 Thought. He grew up watching his father in the apparel business and after university he launched the sustainable clothing brand that also benefited from a stroke of luck. Their initial t-shirt designs were politically contreversial and struck a chord with celeberities like Gwen Stefani and Paris Hilton who were wearing them. Over the years, the clothing line and brand has expanded into many retailers like Nordstrom. They've thrived from making stylish clothing comfortable, sustainable, and accessible. 

In this interview we discuss:

-How Eric created his own luck getting celeberities to wear their t-shirts 

-How he navigated the most difficult business decision

-The importance of having perspective during tough times in your career and more..

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visit www.omaid.me for the latest updates

Nov 20, 2022

Ryan Hawk is the host of The Learning Leader Show. He has recorded more than 475 episodes over the past 7 years. Forbes called The Learning Leader Show“the most dynamic leadership podcast around.” Inc Magazine said, “it’s one of the 5 podcasts to make you a smarter leader.” Apple named it an “all-time best seller” in 2020 and 2021.

Ryan is the author of Welcome to Management: How To Grow From Top Performer To Excellent LeaderBook Authority named it to its 100 Best Management Audiobooks of all time (#25). Forbes called it, “the best leadership book of 2020.” Ryan’s second book is called The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of The World’s Most Productive Achievers.

When he's not recording podcasts, he focuses on helping leaders to become more effective through his Leadership Circles, his online school (The Learning Leader Academy), and delivering keynote speeches to audiences and organizations around the world.

In this episode we discuss:

-Why it's important to follow your genuine curiousity

-How interviewing 500 leaders made him a better leader and father

-The keys to publishing 500 episodes consistently every week without fail

-Episode recommendations for new managers

-How involuntary hardship can help you develop resilience, and more..

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Check out www.omaid.me for the latest updates and please consider leaving a review!

Nov 13, 2022

Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna published a great sales book that can help sales and marketing teams address customer indecision. Combined with mining over 2 million recorded sales calls and studying human behavior, they provide prescriptive advice that you can complement whatever sales methodology you use today. Matthew Dixon was also author of popular book, The Challenger Sale.

In this episode we discuss:

-The JOLT method and how you can apply it

-The concept of the omission bias

-Common pitfalls of most salespeople

-Death by one thousand papercuts (eroding your trust) and more

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visit www.omaid.me to contact me and for the latest updates

Nov 5, 2022

Joe Moglia is the former CEO of TD Ameritrade and he spent nearly two decades at Merrill Lynch in leadership positions. He is also the former head football coach of a Division I school, Coastal Carolina. His coaching career spanned on and off from 1968 through 2018 and he earned a head coaching record of 56-22.

Some of the topics we discuss:

-How having children early in his life impacted his career

-What kind of father his children think of him as

-How he navigated some of the toughest decisions in his career

-How to improve how you show up in high pressure situations

-What he did to stay on track as a CEO and head football coach

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visit www.omaid.me for the latest updates

Oct 30, 2022

Joey pointer, CEO of Fleet Feet, shares his story about how he grew up on a tobacco farm, landed at job at Ernst & Young in finance, and took a leap of faith to join a startup shoe retailer named Fleet Feet based in Sacramento which has grown to over 250+ stores. In this episode we discuss:

-Lessons Joey learned from his parents growing up on a tobacco farm

-How he navigated the leap of faith from the consulting firm to Fleet Feet

-Innovation and investments they've made into the brand that have led to its growth

-What he does to show up as the best version of himself at work and at home, and more..

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Oct 23, 2022

Carla Harris is a force of nature who has advised and motivated companies around the world. She is a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley and she earned her economics degree and MBA from Harvard. In 2013, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. In addition to being a popular public speaker and gospel recording artist, Carla has authored several books including Lead to Win -- which is an important guide for the modern leader which we unpack in this conversation. 

In this episode we discuss:

-Advice for someone thinking about taking the journey of leadership

-How to surround yourself with people you trust

-Why the best leaders are active listeners

-Why it's important to "call a thing a thing"


Get the latest updates at www.omaid.me

Oct 9, 2022

Guy Raz is the greatest podcaster of our generation. 3.5 million people tune in to every episode of How I Built This where he interviews amazing founders to tell their story. He was widely known as the face of NPR and now is the founder and CEO of Built-It Productions. Guy also hosts Wisdom From the Top and The Great Creators. In this episode we discusss:

-Advice he'd give someone early on in their career about how things could change. Guy was a foreign correspondent for years and things completely changed when he had a perceived failure in his career.

-Cultivating self-awareness and being a good parent

-Preparation and whether or not there's such a thing as over-preparing and more


Sign up for my newsletter at www.omaid.me

 

Sep 25, 2022

Jay Shetty is widely known for his inspiring videos which have been seen by over 7B people on YouTube. Jay shares the wisdom he learned living as a monk to help others find their purpose. He hosts the #1 health podcast called On Purpose and we unpack his best-selling book, Think Like a Monk. 

In this episode we discuss:

-The importance of appreciating the journey vs the reward

-Why humility is the elixir of the ego

-How to cultivate more self-awareness, and more..


If you enjoyed this episode please consider leaving a review!

Aug 22, 2022

Dr. Michael Breus is the leading authority in the field of sleep. He is a clinical psychologist with more than two decades of experience in his field. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In 2021, Reader’s Digest named him the best sleep specialist in the state of California. He's also published four books on the subject of sleep.

In this episode we discuss:

-Why catching up on sleep is a myth

-The 5 tablestakes to do in order to get good, quality sleep

-Why understanding your chronotype can help you get better sleep and more.

Check out The Sleep Doctor's website here and take the sleep quiz to understand your chronotype here


Please consider leaving a review of the show! Subscribe to my newsletter for the latest updates here.

Aug 15, 2022

Liz Fosslien's illustrations have made a significant impact on how many view emotions at work and in life. Her superpower is being able to illustrate these emotions in what appears to be a simple drawing which affects millions of people.

She's the best-selling author of No Hard Feelings which was about emotions at work, and her new book is titled Big Feelings which touches on both work and life.

Here is a link to one of my favorite illustrations about measuring success.

In this episode we discuss:

-myths about uncertainty like 'just be resilient'

-what happens when we suppress anger too long

-ways to avoid burnout before it's too late and more..


Subscribe to my newsletter for the latest updates at www.omaid.me

Aug 6, 2022

In 1990 when NASA launched the $1.5 billion Hubble Telescope into space, they did so with a faulty mirror that took blurry images. They tasked Story Musgrave to lead a team to fix it. What made him the best person to lead the mission? Because Story was a lifelong learner and his range of experience allowed him to view problems through a unique lens.

Story was an electrician, mathemetician, computer programmer, mechanic, pilot, trauma surgeon, and an astronaut who helped design space suits and the Hubble Telescope. He earned six academic degrees and became the only astronaut to have flown aboard all five Space Shuttles. 

In this episode, we deconstruct his life and career to learn the most important lessons.  

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Subscribe to my newsletter for the latest updates at www.omaid.me

 

Jul 31, 2022

An enrolled member of the Ottawa Tribe of Michigan, D.J. was born to impoverished teenage parents. He went from sleeping in a drawer for the first three months of his life to becoming a proud graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a decorated Air Force captain, a renowned member of the tribal community, a bestselling author, and a revered motivational speaker. A true warrior, who is successful in both business and life, he credits these personal triumphs to traditional teachings and ceremony as well as his service as a military officer.

D.J. and I discuss his new book, The Warrior Within, and the stories and principals he shares often rooted in Native American culture and wisdom.

In this episode we discuss:

-The sigificance of your 'medicine bag' in Native American culture and how you can use it

-Why sometimes the biggest challenge to seeing our vision come true are because of the people closest to us

-The importance of creating your own war cry, how to keep your fire lit, and more..


email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Jul 24, 2022

Andy Dunn co-founded the e-commerce driven menswear brand Bonobos in 2007 and served as CEO through its 2017 acquisition by Walmart. While business was booming, Andy struggled to manage his mental illness until he hit rock bottom which resulted in a night of mayhem. Andy opens up in his riveting memoir, Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind, which intersects entrepreneurship and mental health. 

One of the major inflection points at Bonobos was the tense relationship with his co-founder, Brian Spaly. In his book and in this interview we discuss what he would have done differently and how their relationship materialized. 

We also discuss how people can begin to open up to their friends and loved ones about issues like depression, bi-polar disorder, and other mental illnesses. Also, how we can become better noticing those around us who may need help. This was one of the most important books I've read, I highly recommend the Audible because Andy reads it himself.


send comments or questions to omaid@omaid.me

May 14, 2022
Ryan Hawk is a leadership advisor, author, and podcast host of The Learning Leader Show where he's interviewed 500 of the world's greatest leaders. 

His second book, The Pursuit of Excellence, distills the behaviors he's learned from his guests and life experiences in order to live an excellent life.

In this episode we discuss:

-How he wants his daughters to remember what kind of father he was

-Which podcast guests of his he would select to run a potential company of his

-Unpacking my favorite behaviours from his book and more..


email me at omaid@omaid.me with any questions or comments

Mar 22, 2022
Troy Sicotte is the President of Mountain Hardwear, a premium apparel and equipment brand designed for mountaineering, camping, and outdoor activities. They are owned by Columbia Sportswear. Troy's career has interesected with music, automotive, and retail industries. He shares stories from touring with his band and how that led him through his journey at companies like Audi and The North Face. Troy also shares the importance of leading with trust.

In this episode we cover:

-How Troy views trust as a leader 

-How working in multiple industries has helped shape his professional experience

-How he approaches building great teams like putting together an amazing band

-How to strike work/life balance and more..


email questions to omaid@omaid.me

Jan 22, 2022
Jay Williams was a prolific college basketball player at Duke where he played for the legendary Coach K. He was drafted #2 in the NBA Draft to the Chicago Bulls. A tragic motorcycle accident ended his career early -- and Jay found himself bed ridden for months with a shattered pelvis and torn ligaments. He drove himself to regain his strength and developed mental resilience. His memoir is titled, Life Is Not an Accident. Jay became an analyst for ESPN and now he's one of the most regarded voices in sports and pop culture. In his new NPR podcast, The Limits with Jay Williams, he uncovers the blueprints from some of the most known and unknown figures in sports, business, and entertainment. 

In this episode we cover:

-Who Jay was when he wrote his book

-His preparation process for a great interview

-How to strike work/life balance and more..


email questions to omaid@omaid.me

Jan 3, 2022

Gihan is a tinkerer who began making his own gear at the age of 13. He's had a knack for problem solving for efficiency through the lens of science. He's the co-founder and president of an innovative apparel brand, Ministry of Supply, where they produce high quality clothing engineered to be both comfortable and presentable. He earned his chemical engineering degree from MIT and was recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2015. In 2018 he cycled across America wearing a Ministry of Supply Nasa-derived polo shirt. Gihan holds several patents and Fast Company recognized MOS as one of the most innovative companies in 2021. 

In this episode we discuss:

-How his parents nurtured his curiosity

-How he approaches habit stacking to be super efficient

-Why you should think of vacations as fueling vs rest

-How he prepared for his Ted Talk and more..

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Send questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

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