Today, my guest is Ryan Hawk. Ryan Hawk is a podcast host, author, keynote speaker, and advisor. Ryan is the host of The Learning Leader Show podcast, and has recorded more 550 episodes over the past 9+ 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, 2021, 2022, and 2023.Ryan is the author of two books, and he joined us today to discuss his latest book, The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of The World's Most Productive Achievers.Ryan candidly shares his journey from someone who wasn't naturally curious or inclined towards learning, to becoming a champion for continuous growth and improvement. We delve into his early days as a football player, where he admits to not being a big reader or mentor seeker. However, everything changed when he landed a sales job at Lexis Nexus and realized he needed to prove himself.Join us for this thought-provoking episode as we dive deep into how continually growing, embracing change, and surrounding ourselves with the right people can lead to remarkable personal and professional success. Ryan shares his journey to becoming less judgmental and approaching people with an open mind.[09.05] Focusing on the process – Starting the conversation, we dive into the importance of believing in the process and widening your horizons.[16.51] Three broad buckets – The build, the fuel, and the chase are the three broad buckets of achieving something in life.[23.20] Quality & quantity – Consistency remains as important as quality and quantity. It builds trust and routines for people.[31.44] Understanding people – We talk about how people can build better relationships by asking questions, listening to people, and being curious.[38.25] Do you read? – Ryan talks about how much value you can gain by simply reading one book.[45.30] Prioritizing – We talk about prioritizing the work we do.[55.14] Learning leader – A learning leader is someone who is constantly learning and striving to get better and improve.[01.03.06] Being reasonable – You can’t see everything in black & white. You have to look very closely to identify what lies beneath. [01.11.35] Are you a flip-flopper – Changing your mind on something is about having the willingness to rethink things to update your thinking.[01.21.27] Being naive – Sometimes being naive is good. If you know the risks or the hardest parts of doing something, you might not decide to do it.Resources Connect with RyanWebsite - learningleader.com/ Instagram - instagram.com/ryanhawk12/ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/ryanhawk12/ Twitter - twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Ryan’s Podcast:The Learning Leader Show with Ryan HawkBook by RyanThe Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of the World's Most Productive AchieversBook by David McCulloughThe Wright BrothersBook by Admiral William H. McRavenThe Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)