I was a broke, university dropout, at 18 I built an industry leading social media marketing company, and at 27 I resigned as CEO. At 28 I co-founded Flight Stor...
Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn Founder: It’s Time To Quit Your Job When You Feel This! Selling LinkedIn For $26 Billion Taught Me This About Life! Trump Is Going To Punish Me!
Reid Hoffman is the Founder of LinkedIn, founding member of Paypal, early investor in Airbnb And Facebook.He is the co-host of the ‘Possible’ Podcast and best-selling author of books such as, ‘Masters of Scale’ and ‘Blitzscaling’.
In this conversation, Reid and Steven discuss topics such as, why passion isn’t enough for success, the truth about the PayPal Mafia’s success, why Reid stepped back from LinkedIn, and how to adapt to an AI world.
00:00 Intro
02:16 How Have You Managed to Be So Successful?
07:34 What Did You Want to Be When You Were Growing Up?
08:46 Why Was Being Born in Stanford Hospital So Relevant to Your Story?
15:27 Self-Awareness as an Entrepreneur
17:38 Should Everyone Try to Be an Entrepreneur?
25:45 How Do I Know If My Business Is Good or Not?
37:06 What Was LinkedIn Like When It First Started?
39:09 Why Were So Many Successful People from the PayPal Mafia?
42:23 The Importance of Sales
49:11 How Important Is Hiring in Business?
55:16 What Are the Different Types of Entrepreneurs?
57:43 Elon Musk’s Approach to Business
01:03:17 Work-Life Balance in Startups
01:08:24 Stepping Back as CEO for LinkedIn
01:12:18 How Does Life Change When You Become a Billionaire?
01:13:58 Political Stance as a Billionaire
01:18:11 Trump’s Redeeming Qualities
01:22:32 The Shift Towards Freedom of Speech
01:25:02 Freedom of Speech as X
01:33:03 What Do You Think Social Media Will Become in the Next Decade?
01:37:58 How Should the Average Person Be Approaching AI?
01:40:12 Is the Gloom Around AI Warranted?
01:50:23 What Should the Everyday Person Be Doing with AI?
01:58:40 How Do We Learn About AI?
02:00:22 Your Early Investment in OpenAI
02:01:45 How Important Is Networking?
02:02:30 Underappreciated Qualities for a Good Entrepreneur
02:05:58 The Qualities You Look for in an Entrepreneur
02:15:21 What Is Happiness to You?
02:19:08 Marriage and Entrepreneurship
02:20:55 Should All Entrepreneurs Be Moving Fast to Build a Company?
02:28:51 How Should You Be Viewing Risk?
02:31:56 How Do We Know When to Quit?
02:34:25 LinkedIn’s Deck
02:37:44 Are You Still Interested in Building Companies?
02:40:17 Are There Any Unchecked Boxes?
02:42:28 Last Guest’s Question
Follow Reid:
Twitter - https://bit.ly/3OVphKO
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3OSw33O
Website - https://bit.ly/3ZP4GxT
Podcast - https://g2ul0.app.link/IqXyrFoeiPb
You can pre-order Reid’s book, ‘Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future’, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/6iAtlcEeiPb
Get your hands on the brand new Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards here: https://appurl.io/iUUJeYn25v
Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACEpisodes
My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACBook
You can purchase the The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards: Second Edition, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb
Follow me:
https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb
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2:52:03
Moment 191: Inside Nike’s Branding Genius: Lessons for Building an Iconic Brand: Greg Hoffman
In this moment, Greg Hofman former CMO of Nike explores how the brand’s bold strategies helped the brand become an iconic global powerhouse. He shares practical lessons on building a strong brand identity, connecting with audiences, and leveraging creativity to drive business success.
Head to https://www.linkedin.com/doac24 to claim your credit.
Watch the Episodes On Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos
Greg: https://www.themodernarena.com/about
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14:24
MrBallen (Former Navy SEAL): I Wasn't Sleeping, I Became A Raging Alcoholic! I Was Disowned By The SEALS! This Will Turn Your Life Around In 2025!
From rock bottom to Navy SEAL, and then to storytelling YouTube star from John Ballen to MrBallen, he reveals what it takes to reimagine your life's path
John Ballen, best known as MrBallen, is a former US Navy SEAL and founder of Ballen Studios. He is the host of the ‘MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories’ and author of the book ‘MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious: The Graphic Stories’.
In this conversation, John and Steven discuss topics such as, the 5 words that transformed John’s life, the benefits of storytelling, why he was disowned by the SEAL’s, and how to turn your life around in 2025.
(00:00) Intro
(02:13) Becoming MrBallen
(10:25) The Self-Awareness to Take Responsibility Changed Me
(15:09) How You React After Making Mistakes Changes Everything
(16:54) What Is the Navy SEALs?
(19:31) How Long Is Navy SEAL Training?
(23:15) The Difference Between Those Who Made It or Not
(27:18) The Mentality of MrBallen Before and After SEAL Training
(30:02) Hitting Rock Bottom
(33:03) Advice for People Who Feel Stuck
(36:33) I Almost Died: Finding Your True Motivation
(39:54) Retiring Due to War PTSD
(45:44) I Was Dishonored by the Navy SEAL Community
(49:26) I Crossed the Line...
(01:01:33) What Happened to Those Nine Hikers
(01:03:45) Advice to Discover What Motivates You
(01:07:09) The Best Things in Life Are on the Other Side of Fear
(01:14:34) Dealing With People Hating What I Love Doing
(01:18:54) Will You Stop Being MrBallen?
(01:21:26) What Would Make You Leave MrBallen Behind?
(01:25:49) Finding the Next Thing to Check Off Your List
(01:27:29) Dealing With PTSD and Alcoholism
(01:34:03) Coming to Terms With Everything I Did
(01:36:52) Your Demons and Therapy
(01:38:45) The Only Way to Cope With Your Demons
(01:41:03) Ads
(01:42:07) Reconciling With My Dad
(01:46:02) How to Help Men Experiencing Mental Health Issues
(01:50:30) How to Be a Great Storyteller
Follow John:
Instagram - https://bit.ly/3BjQjbv
Twitter - https://bit.ly/3Bd3evX
MrBallen YouTube - https://bit.ly/4irOnhN
Ballen Studios Website - https://bit.ly/3ZzRv2A
MrBallen Podcast - https://spoti.fi/49xFsY0
You can purchase John’s book, ‘MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious: The Graphic Stories’, here: https://amzn.to/4g7fq0p
🚀The 1% Diary is live - and it won’t be around for long, so act fast! https://bit.ly/1-Diary-Megaphone-ad-reads
Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACEpisodes
My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACBook
Follow me:
https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb
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2:04:15
The Body Language Expert: Stop Using This, It’s Making People Dislike You, So Are These Subtle Mistakes! Your Resting Face Matters & How To Fix It!
What if you were told that there is a secret language that makes up 98% of your communication? Impacting your work, socialising, and romantic life
Vanessa Van Edwards is the founder of ‘Science of People’, which gives people science-backed skills to improve communication and leadership. She is also the bestselling author of ‘Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People’ and ‘Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication’.
In this conversation, Vanessa and Steven discuss topics such as, why your resting face matters, the 3 science-backed tricks for confidence, the best gestures for building trust, and how to spot a liar fast.
00:00 Intro
01:45 The Crucial Role of Cues for Success
03:16 I'm a Recovered Awkward Person
05:07 What's an Ambivert?
07:00 One Word That Can Change the Way People Think
09:11 The Most Fundamental Skill to Invest In
12:13 The Resting B*tch Face Effect
15:33 Do Not Fake Smile!
18:00 The 97 Cues to Be Warm and Competent
21:15 The Formula to a Perfect Conversation
24:09 Science Reveals Why Some People Are Extremely Popular
28:06 Message People Telling Them This...
32:53 The Luck Experiment
34:36 Being Around Successful People Is Contagious
41:26 The Importance of Hand Gestures
43:10 Hand Tricks to Be Liked
53:46 The Scientific Formula to Be More Charismatic
56:19 The Danger Zone of Being Too Warm or Competent
58:16 The Power Cues
1:07:26 How to Spot a Liar
1:14:54 If You've Been Told You're Intimidating, Do This
1:18:09 Don't Let Anyone Use This With You
1:21:16 The 6 Questions to Connect With Someone
1:33:52 Leaning Too Much Towards Someone...
1:38:34 How to Greet Someone
1:49:13 How to Master Messaging
1:54:12 Personal Branding
1:58:32 Improve Your Dating Life With These Tips
2:03:58 Body Language and Brain Connection
2:06:05 Are You Awkward? Watch This
2:09:45 How to Get Someone to Approach You
2:14:39 How to Make Friends as an Adult
2:18:28 AirPods Are Killing Friendships
2:21:48 Ads
2:22:39 How to Spot a Liar (Repeat Topic)
2:28:36 Toxic Relationships
2:31:06 How to Start a Conversation With a Stranger
2:35:32 How to Get Started With All This Knowledge
Follow Vanessa:
Instagram - https://g2ul0.app.link/cm3A7r1O6Ob
Twitter - https://g2ul0.app.link/IVgMiQ3O6Ob
Science of People - https://g2ul0.app.link/5LJ8mO5O6Ob
You can access the images mentioned, here: https://linktr.ee/diaryofaceostudies
You can purchase Vanessa’s book, ‘Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication’, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/HjfkOgZO6Ob
Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACEpisodes
My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACBook
You can purchase the The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards: Second Edition, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb
Follow me:
https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb
Sponsors:
Shopify - https://shopify.com/bartlett
ZOE - http://joinzoe.com with code BARTLETT10 for 10% off
Colgate - https://www.colgate.com/en-gb/colgate-total
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2:44:20
Moment 190: Everything You Definitely Don’t Know About Marketing (But Should), From 4 World Leading Experts!
Why is marketing so important for businesses? In this episode, we've picked the highlights from our conversations with Josh Kaufman, Scott Galloway, Rory Sutherland, Whitney Wolf Herd to bring you the TL;DR on how to succeed at marketing your business.
Head to https://www.linkedin.com/doac24 to claim your credit.
Watch the Episodes On Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos
Josh: https://joshkaufman.net/
Scott: https://www.profgalloway.com/
Rory: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rorysutherland
Whitney: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fwhitney%2F%3Fhl%3Den&is_from_rle
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I was a broke, university dropout, at 18 I built an industry leading social media marketing company, and at 27 I resigned as CEO. At 28 I co-founded Flight Story – a marketing and communications company, and thirdweb - a software platform, making it easy to build web3 applications. I then launched private equity fund, Flight Fund, to accelerate the next generation of European unicorns. During this time I decided to launch 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast with the simple mission of providing an unfiltered journey into the remarkable stories and untold dimensions of the world’s most influential people, experts and thinkers. Thank you for listening.
My New Book: https://g2ul0.app.link/DOAC
IG: https://www.instagram.com/steven
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenbartlett-123
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