Ryan Hawk is the host of The Learning Leader Show, which Forbes called "the most dynamic leadership podcast out there." Ryan has interviewed hundreds of best-selling authors and world-renowned corporate, athletic, and military leaders; his show has millions of listeners. Ryan speaks regularly at Fortune 500 companies and works with teams and players in the NFL and NBA. A lifelong student of leadership, Ryan draws on his experience as a former professional quarterback, empirical evidence, and expert insights from his many interviews, and personifies continuous improvement and sustained excellence. In this episode, we discuss his excellent new book, 'The Price of Becoming: The Compounding Practices of High Performance'.

​Jim Murphy is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller 'Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life', which explores how to quiet the mind and perform when it matters most. 'Inner Excellence' is a mental toughness manual that shot from obscurity to the #1 New York Times bestseller list overnight after an NFL star, A J Brown, was caught reading it on the sidelines of a playoff game. Brown said reading is a regular part of his game-day routine, helping him refocus, keep his mind calm, and stay grounded during high-pressure moments. Jim Murphy has now become one of the most sought-after high-performance coaches on the planet. 
 

Jenn Donahue is a warrior. On the battlefield, in business, and in the fight against self-doubt. A retired U.S. Navy Commodore, she commanded thousands of troops across multiple deployments, including overseeing the construction of a bridge across the Euphrates River during the Iraq War and leading an 800-person battalion in Afghanistan. We discuss 'Becoming the Warrior', her book on learning to overcome the internal roadblocks that impede our success and how we can harness inner strength, silence our self-doubt, and live with and/or silence our internal voices. After decades of commanding teams and making high-stakes decisions, she brings fascinating insights to this conversation.

​The legendary Mike McCastle. Inspired by Greek mythology and the 12 labours of Hercules, Mike has achieved a world record by doing 5,804 pull-ups in a day, pulled a 5,000-pound truck across the Mojave Desert in summer, climbed a rope to the equivalent height of Mount Everest in a gym, broke a world record in an ice bath, and recently, the former US Navy SEAL pushed his body beyond every limit, covering more than 4 miles with walking lunges, breaking two world records in the process. We kick off season 7 with the Hercules theme, and as a way to help us realign and reset, this rewind with Mike is an opportunity to remind ourselves of his approach to life, recap his journey, and inspire you to tackle your own 12 labours in 2026.

​Dr. Paul Taylor is a psychophysiologist, host of the popular 'Hardiness' podcast, and the award-winning author of the book 'Death by Comfort'. Paul has also recently completed his PhD in applied psychology. In this conversation, we discuss his new book, 'The Hardiness Effect', and explore his research on how to boost our psychological and physiological hardiness and cognitive fitness. Paul is very evidence- and fact-based, blending academia with real-world experience, grounded in his background as a former Royal British Navy Air Crew Officer trained in anti-submarine warfare, helicopter search and rescue, and combat survival. His work also draws on the Stoics and many other great philosophers of the past.