How to Become the Person Success Requires with Ryan Hawk

Ryan Hawk and Heather Monahan provide powerful examples of how setbacks can be transformed into foundations for future growth, drawing on trusted relationships and personal agency to not only endure rejection but thrive.

Facing Challenges: Lean On Trusted Relationships to Rebuild Confidence After Defeat

Ryan Hawk recounts growing up in a sports-centered, competitive family in Ohio, carving a path to college football. As a quarterback at Miami University, he was benched in favor of Ben Roethlisberger after a game against the University of Iowa—a pivotal and crushing moment, as Ryan had always been a starter. The loss of his starting position was a major blow to his confidence and self-image. In response, Ryan turned to his parents, two brothers, and high school football coach for support. Their encouragement reminded him of his worth and potential, helping him regain a sense of belonging at the Division I level and inspiring him to find a new opportunity to continue his football journey.

Heather Monahan faced professional rejection at age 43, unexpectedly fired from her role as chief revenue officer due to nepotism after the CEO’s daughter assumed control. With an 18-month non-compete and her career at a crossroads, Heather reached out to her network with a vulnerable social media post. The support she received opened doors, landing her on the Elvis Duran show, where the host’s confidence in her future as an author inspired her to pivot toward writing and public speaking. Rather than accept the firing as a final defeat, Heather used her relationships and determination to redefine her path.

Viewing Setbacks as Redirections Maintains Agency and Opens Alternative Paths To Success

While Ryan was forced to leave Miami University, he continued his collegiate career at Ohio University, ultimately earning the starting quarterback role and being elected team captain. Though his football career did not end with a storybook run of victories, the redirection led to further opportunities in the Arena Football League and briefly in the Canadian Football League. Ryan stresses that being benched could have been a permanent setback, but with the support and a willingness to take alternative routes, he was able to realize his goals and grow as a leader.

Heather views her termination not as simple rejection, but as divine redirection. She believes setbacks are opportunities to be led toward one’s true purpose. Her firing prompted the vulnerability that launched her speaking and writing career, something she now regards as a powerfu ...

Strategic networking and persistent outreach transform rejections into opportunities, while exceptional service creates a ripple effect of new connections. Ryan Hawk and Heather Monahan’s experiences highlight the importance of resilience, authenticity, and relationship-building in business development and podcasting.

Sales Professionals Should See Rejections As "Not yet" Instead of "No" and Build a Strong Rejection Muscle By Reaching Out To Prospects

Ryan's Lexis Nexus Cold Calling Career

Ryan Hawk’s first job was at Lexis Nexus, a cold-calling sales position where he reached out to prospects using a competitor’s product and attempted to convince them to switch. He regularly encountered hang-ups, ignored emails, and direct requests to stop contact. This constant rejection helped him develop a strong “rejection muscle,” crucial for anyone working in sales or networking.

He Uses Rejection Muscle For Guest Acquisition By Cold Emailing, Respectful Follow-Ups, and CRM Tools For Tracking Contacts

Ryan’s approach to rejection in sales now fuels his podcast guest acquisition. He habitually cold-emails potential guests and employs respectful follow-ups if initially ignored or refused. Ryan uses his calendar and CRM tools to track contacts and ensure systematic, thoughtful outreach. He treats every “no” as a “not yet,” maintaining persistence while respecting boundaries. He applies this philosophy to his own interactions and appreciates PR professionals who do the same, noting that repeat, respectful follow-ups can turn initial rejections into future opportunities. Heather Monahan adds that consistent follow-up from her PR person allowed her to seize missed opportunities, emphasizing the value of persistence on both sides of the relationship.

Persistent, Genuine Outreach to High-Profile Contacts Yields Opportunities

Respectful and Strategic: Ryan's Admired Outreach to Doris Kearns Goodwin

Ryan illustrates his persistent yet considerate strategy in his pursuit of presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin as a podcast guest. He combined multiple methods: FedExing a letter to her address, calling her assistant Beth, leaving voicemails, and sending emails. His genuine admiration and respectful communication mean that neither Doris nor Beth took offense, and the ongoing dialogue nearly resulted in a scheduled recording.

Heather's Message to a Wine Company Co-founder Led To a Podcast Introduction to Gary Vee

Heather Monahan secured Gary Vee as her first podcast guest by strategically reaching out to his wine business co-founder. Spotting an opportunity via a Google alert, Heather messaged the co-founder on LinkedIn, offering genuine assistance based on her experience in the wine industry. After a helpful phone conversation, the co-founder reciprocated by introducing her to Gary ...

Grateful Leaders Foster Sustainable Careers and Better Opportunities

Ryan Hawk shares the story of Adam Sandler’s early career to illustrate how gratitude lays the foundation for positive relationships, confidence, and authentic leadership. As a student at NYU acting school, Sandler’s professor told him over a beer that acting was not for him and predicted a career of misery and no roles if Sandler persisted. Despite these doubts, Sandler forged ahead, ultimately earning great success in Hollywood. Years later, instead of harboring resentment, Sandler introduced that same professor to his friends in a bar with gratitude, saying, “This guy was the only professor nice enough to buy me a beer when I was in college.” Hawk notes that Sandler is known within the industry for being fun, grateful, and building strong, lasting relationships.

Heather Monahan points out that even the most successful people, like Sandler, encounter doubters but do not have to let others’ limiting beliefs define or derail them. The story highlights that while motivation from doubters can fuel short-term effort, lasting career satisfaction comes from gratitude and creating positive narratives. Hawk likens this approach to running on “clean fuel”—focusing on gratitude is a healthier and more fulfilling way to live and work.

Gratitude Practices Like Weekly Thank-You Notes and Immediate Appreciation Rewire the Brain to Find Good Qualities In People

Hawk draws from both science and experience, emphasizing structured gratitude practices such as writing three thank-you notes every Thursday, known as “Thankful Thursdays.” He encourages people to express appreciation immediately, whether by text, call, email, or note, whenever a positive thought about someone occurs. This habit conditions the mind to seek out and notice the good in others, ultimately building optimism and encouraging collaboration.

Expressing regular appreciation ensures others feel valued and fosters a more positive, collaborative environment. Hawk underscores that this kind of ongoing gratitude is a practical action anyone can adopt to enhance their relationships and team dynamics.

Foundations of Career Success: Easygoing, Kind, Pleasant, Curious, Helpful, Competent, Excellent

A central tenet from Hawk is the importance of being someone others genuinely want to work with. He points out that, regardless of short-term success, difficult or pessimistic colleagues are avoided in the long run. Traits like kindness, generosity, curiosity, hard work, and being a great teammate are foundational for a successful career. Hawk notes that grateful people tend to smile more, exude confidence, maintain optimism, and display upbeat attitudes, all of which make them desirable partners and collaborators.

This dynamic is reflected in professi ...

Applying Compounding Principles From Finance To Personal Development

Ryan Hawk embraces the principle of compounding, often cited in finance by Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett, and applies it to personal growth. He emphasizes that consistently committing to small, positive habits over time—much like consistent investing grows wealth—builds the foundation for sustained achievement. Hawk references his own journey as a demonstration that compounding effort, as discussed in his concept "the Price Of Becoming," is crucial for realizing goals and creating the life you want.

Starting Projects May Be Imperfect, but Commitment to Improvement Builds Momentum and Attracts Opportunities

Both Ryan Hawk and Heather Monahan highlight how beginning any new project is naturally awkward and imperfect, but commitment to improvement leads to significant results and opportunities. Hawk admits that when he launched The Learning Leader Show in 2015, he viewed it as a "selfish endeavor"—his own personal leadership PhD program. Listening back to his earliest episodes, he cringes at his lack of experience but acknowledges the necessity of starting before being fully prepared. By sticking with it and improving episode by episode, Hawk’s podcast grew into a top global business podcast with millions of listeners over 12 years. Momentum from this ongoing improvement brought invitations for speaking, coaching, and work with leadership teams.

Heather Monahan shares a similar experience: her nerves led to an awkward first interview with Gary Vee. When she looks back at that episode, she remembers how unnatural and uneasy it felt. Yet, after persistent practice and “putting in the reps,” her subsequent appearance on Gary Vee's show was much more polished and enjoyable. Monahan’s story affirms that doing the work, repeatedly, is what truly works for improvement.

Build Confidence: Choose Challenges, Keep Commitments, Exceed Standards

Ryan Hawk offers a practical framework for building confidence: repeatedly choose to challenge yourself, keep the commitments you make, and aim to exceed expected standards. He advocates actively seeking out opportunities to learn new skills, showing up consistently to practice and workouts, and choosing the extra work that others avoid. Hawk notes that lessons from high school athletics are relevant for life at large because they demonstrate how consistent, compounded effort leads to meaningful improvement and self-assurance.

Books, Podcasts, and Knowledge-Sharing Projects Clarify By Organizing and Articulating Thoughts, Creating Value For Others and Deepening Understanding

Hawk’s approach to books, podcasts, and similar projects shows that clarifying and organizing thoughts for an audience deepens his own understanding and can provide lifelong v ...