Let Me Save You 25 Years

When you can practice confidence to leverage humility that can temper your stubbornness — the possibilities are endless. This week a true American hero joins the pod to break down this week’s Shawnism: practice stubbornness with confident humility. Travis Mills, just one of five surviving quadruple amputees from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, successful entrepreneur and business owner, and founder of the Travis Mills Foundation, went from sitting in a hospital wondering ‘why’ to being the push behind several successful businesses. Now coming up on his 12-year anniversary of being injured, Travis serves as a true inspiration and the perfect example of practiced humility and confidence. Join us as we discuss: Coping with challenges through humor and resilienceYour life as a reflection of the choices you make Entrepreneurship, work-life balance and building confidence

We can all win together — but not without a conscious effort to connect, grow and perform as a top-tier leader. Are you making decisions that serve the people around you best, or do your decisions serve you? On this episode, Shawn D. Nelson is joined by Ginny Clarke, an expert with decades of experience tapping into the multitude of talent to match the right people with the right positions and developing world-class leadership within her own organization. With her five dimensions of leadership, Ginny chooses to operate from a place without fear, guilt, or shame on the belief that nothing bad can happen and everything happens for a reason. With infinite possibilities for connection and growth with the right leaders and people, Ginny breaks down exactly how you can tap into success as a leader and help your team win — in life and in business. Join us as we discuss: Finding ways to push forward together — why having enemies won’t lead to successStarting with self-awareness, truth and alignmentThe true secret to successGinny’s critical five dimensions of leadership

There is no situation you could land in that can’t be approached with a cool head and a healthy dose of understanding. Life isn’t about what happens to us — it’s all about how we handle it. On this episode of Let Me Save You 25 Years, Shawn D. Nelson is joined by the one and only adventure extraordinaire Marshall Mosher to break down this week’s Shawnism: Stay Cool & Be Kind. Facing perhaps more than his fair share of adversity, Marshall has overcome everything from adventure challenges leaving his life on the line, career and business obstacles that kicked him back to square one and so much more — always coming out on top due to his mindset, gratitude and dedication to pushing forward. Join us as we dive into: One of the most powerful tools for building bonds and personal developmentHow to remain cool, calm and kind, even in the face of major adversityMaking tough situations into great stories: Covid, acquired and closed businesses, and personal challenges Prioritizing gratitude every day, without exception

Everyone says, “be authentic” if you want success. But what really is authenticity? Before you can be authentic, you have to know yourself and your purpose.There is no one better to break down the concept of knowing yourself and your purpose than serial social entrepreneur and best-selling author Miki Agrawal. Miki shares that being yourself isn’t being an echo chamber — it’s about diversifying your experiences and perspectives and being comfortable with arguing your case. Until you’ve experienced and understood a wide range of perspectives from different people, you can’t really know who you are, what your strong beliefs are (and why) and be confident enough to back it up. Join as Shawn D. Nelson and Miki Agrawal talk about:Why building diversity into your experience is more about creating a mosaic than a melting pot (and why this mindset is far more valuable)Learning your deepest truths and building enough confidence to share themHow to determine (or create) your purpose in life and businessSelf-awareness, personal growth and long-term sustainability

You want success? You CAN’T be the smartest person in the room. You shouldn't want to be. When you’re building something great and scalable, you need to surround yourself with people who are better and smarter than you and enable them to do their best work. Until then, you’ll never be able to get a product better than the one in your own brain. One of the world's foremost experts on jobs, careers, hiring, firing, culture building and more Tessa White, the ultimate job doctor joins the pod to break down this week’s Shawnism: Hire better than you, and let them own it. Join us as we break down: Why micromanagement, ego and insecurity are the enemy of great workHow to lead a team to do their best work (and build a winning business)Building a great company-wide listening ecosystem

Life is busy, especially when you’re investing yourself across a lot of avenues. Between business, family, relationships and everything in between, It can be hard to balance everything. But, balance isn’t what you need — prioritization is the key to investing in the right areas of your life. Everything else is dust. Your family, the people you love and the things you really care about — how much of you are they losing to other things? While you can’t cut off all other time investments, you have to embrace prioritization. Joining us is the legendary Montell Jordan, legendary Def Jam Records headliner, musician, songwriter, singer, performer, and producer-gone-church leader was faced with many of these decisions over his career. When life offered him fame and opportunity, he chose to invest in his family and follow his faith and heart — everything else was dust. When you learn to identify (and prioritize) what truly matters, everything else falls into place. Tune in to dive into this week’s Shawnism: everything else is dust.

Don’t be a cover band — play your own original music. Proudly. If it’s truly original, unique and interesting, you’ll appear larger than life, even when your resources are meager. It all starts with this week’s Shawnism: Talk Big; Work Small.You can be and become whatever you want — it just takes figuring out something in the universe you are good at or finding a pattern in the universe no one else sees. This is what legendary author and marketing master David Meerman Scott says. From big promises to small actions, like being active and engaged on social media and leveraging AI for productivity and ideation, you have to find the balance between bold talk and humble work.When you embrace BOLDNESS and set a title, or goal, or commit to an original mindset and talk BIG, then put in the small work to bring it to life, you can build a life (and career) that sets you apart and puts you on the path to ultimate fulfillment.

There are a few universal principles that set successful founders and entrepreneurs apart from those who fail, and no one’s talking about them. One of those superpowers successful entrepreneurs ALL have in common? The ability to THRIVE in uncertainty. On this episode, actor and writer Lukas Gage, a Hollywood hot commodity who plays roles in your favorite shows today — White Lotus, Euphoria, You, and so much more — joins to break down this Shawnism: Embrace Uncertainty.Lukas shares how he has had to get comfortable with the unknown, including the uncertainty that comes from saying ‘no’. He shares the importance of betting on yourself — even when it means declining opportunities that promise high-payouts when they don’t feel aligned.Listen as Lukas and Shawn break down what is means to get comfortable with uncertainty and how you can embrace practices and mindsets that allow you to thrive, even when things aren’t clear.

The nastiest, gnarliest physical, mental, emotional things we face are really quite simple: QUIT or KEEP GOING.Both are viable and reasonable options, and both should be used at certain times in our lives. You have to start with a strong WHY. Why are you doing this? Your purpose is the main thing that will drive the decision to stop or keep going. For deeper insight into this topic, we welcome the Founder and CEO of Spartan, Joe De Sena, who talks about an important lesson to him: If you don't want to do it, you have to do it. Joe helps us understand the power of knowing when to embrace challenges and keep pushing forward, and when it's acceptable to quit.

Whether you’re responding to a life-altering mistake or a life-changing success, you need to keep this week’s Shawnism in mind: IT’S YOUR FAULT.Sure, there are often outside factors or other people that contribute to our decisions and their consequences. But, as Shawn and today’s guest discuss, there’s always room for more accountability—and that’s the not-so-secret ingredient to positive change and personal growth.Reality TV star and entrepreneur Jax Taylor (Vanderpump Rules) joins us this week and opens up about his journey from top of the world to rock bottom and back again. Jax doesn’t hold back from honestly reflecting on (and owning up to) his mistakes and behavior that led to his public fall from grace. But one thing that really makes Jax stand out is his commitment to the hard work and hard decisions that go into true and lasting growth.Shawn and Jax talk about the value of the RIGHT advice from the RIGHT people—and how anyone from your closest loved ones to a podcaster or author you’ve never met can save you from setting yourself back on your personal journey or having to start from the beginning. They also discuss why it’s so vital (though never easy) to balance and prioritize so many different important areas of your life, despite societal pressure to focus on things like finances and success. And, of course, throughout the conversation, they discuss how much control YOU have along the way—no matter what you’re responding to or what journey you’re on.

Experts are important- we need people who are so immersed, so focused on one thing that they know it inside and out. BUT there are times when they can be too much in it and the vision narrows, instead of expanding to the possibilities..So this is when you need to MIND THE EXPERTS- know when to disregard them and move ahead anyway.We have a true expert in a super tricky field this week to weigh in on this topic. Dan Abrams is the CEO and Founder of Abrams Media, host of Dan Abrams Live on NewsNation, host of On Patrol: Live on Reelz, Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent for ABC News, host of SiriusXM radio’s The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law, and host and executive producer of Court Cam and Taking the Stand on A&E Network. He is also the author of numerous New York Times bestselling books on overlooked trials in history. Shawn and Dan talk about media bias- and how we can recognize it and seek out the diverse perspectives we so desperately need now. They also get into what makes effective leadership (they agree humility is key) and reflect on past experiences about learning from experience and … some mistakes.You don’t want to miss this episode- because if you always follow the expert advice, you may miss you big opportunity. (And we would not have Lovesac as it is today). This Shawnism can get tricky but it is important: MIND THE EXPERTS.

Luck isn’t what it seems. You don’t sit back and receive it passively - you go out, live your life a certain way, make choices and DO things (sometimes many things) that position you to MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK. You need to get to where the opportunity is and be ready for it. This week we welcome to the pod a social media phenomenon: London Lazerson, Viral Creator of Londonlaz, and someone who has proven it can be done. He has a massive following on social media- an astounding 9.5 million followers on Tiktok. London creates fun, entertaining, bold and creative content that includes all kinds of cool superhuman feats. Here is a living breathing example of this week’s Shawnism.Shawn and London banter about striving for a mix of effort and luck- how they make their own luck through hard work, networking, and strategic decision-making, BUT both also acknowledge the unpredictable and fortuitous elements that contribute to their achievements. If you are any type of creative - especially a content creator - you will want to hear how London keeps a beginner mindset and leans hard into perseverance. This isn’t just manifesting luck. This is work too - so get out there and put this Shawnism into practice: MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK.

Fun is essential. You can be the worker bee, head down- getting it done- but not only will you be missing out on the FUN, you may just miss the mark entirely. All work and no play? It may cost you your business. That is the Shawnism this week: PLAY ALONG THE WAY.This week we have a modern day business TITAN: John Mackey, Founder of Whole Foods Market. He revolutionized retail and grocery while starting multiple movements in health and wellness, organic foods, conscious operations and many facets of positive movements in business and culture. Basically, Whole Foods Market revolutionized the way we do business. He is the co-author of Conscious Capitalism and is in the midst of starting a new venture on wellness, Love.Life.John and Shawn talk about playful attitudes and their profound impact in creating work culture (hear about meetings that have fun “top secret” missions), the importance of authenticity, how a holistic approach to health helps spur creative problem solving, and SO much more. Trust us, you want to be a fly on the wall for this conversation full of delightful stories and practical advice.Do you want to make your dreams a reality in an increasingly competitive world? You can just work- make the work fun and PLAY ALONG THE WAY,

If you really want to do something- anything!- and you want to be great, you’ve got to work in EVERY seam and crack because it's a competitive world and there's a TON to get done.That’s the ESSENTIAL Shawnism for you this week from Shawn D. Nelson, host of Let Me Save You 25 Years: work in the seams and cracks. This is for everyone who wants to excel in what they are doing- from building a business to simply getting to the top of your game. Shawn has built his career and company working these spaces. It’s more than the hustle, it’s the creativity to work the spaces that others pass over.We have the ultimate influencer, from a family of influencers, joining Shawn to tell you how he does it. Marc D’Amelio, Chief Executive Officer of D'Amelio Brands LLC, a serial entrepreneur with a full footwear line, apparel, snack brand, and media empire, AND an influencer himself, shares how he has kept momentum and staying power over decades to build an iconic brand and a life full of joy.Marc and Shawn talk about finding those truly unique opportunities in business (they involve lots of risk!), what makes a TikTok trend, why results over hours worked is the goal and so much more. Marc did not get to where he is today without working in the seams & cracks and finding opportunities in these unlikely corners.Do you want to make your dreams a reality in an increasingly competitive world? Then make sure you work in the seams and cracks. Go on…. get in there!

Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson is back for a brand new episode with a brand new Shawnism: Keep One Hand On the Now and One Hand On the Next. Shawn knows all too well the importance of following this lesson—because there was a time when he didn’t, and he paid for it.This week, we’re joined by Kara Goldin, the Founder of Hint, Inc. and one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in a very crowded beverage industry. Throughout her journey from working in magazine circulation to a CEO in an entirely different industry, Kara has exemplified how to balance focusing on present challenges and keeping an eye out for future opportunities. Because of this, she has so many great stories that illustrate how far a little (or a LOT) of resilience and initiative can take you.From a buyer discontinuing their business with Hint and another one immediately stepping up to buy the resulting overrun, to an incredible (but challenging) opportunity presenting itself during the pandemic, Kara’s success with Hint pairs perfectly with this week’s Shawnism.Kara and Shawn also talk about the importance of challenging industry norms and conventional wisdom (just because you hire trusted experts doesn’t mean you ALWAYS have to trust them), and unexpected sources of inspiration—from other industries to worst-case scenario brainstorming sessions.It can be easy to get bogged down by day-to-day operations at the expense of future opportunities (or vice versa), but as you’ll see from Kara and Shawn’s conversation, achieving balance is not only possible, it’s NECESSARY to bring your business, career or craft to that next level.

Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson is back with a Shawnism that could be what gets you ahead in your business or personal journey: GRIT. You’re not the most talented one in the room? Talent can only go so far without having GRIT.This week’s guest, Mr. Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski himself, talks about his own journey to success with hard work and consistency. From being a 4X NFL Superbowl champion to his own entrepreneurial business ventures, Gronk talks about the many lessons he learned on the way when it comes to playing the long game. Rob is not only successful in his NFL career, but gives back through Gronk Nation Youth Foundation helping kids stay actively involved in school and sports by providing grants to sports programs inspiring kids to follow their dreams and living a happy, successful life.From learning lessons the hard way and learning when to say no, Gronk shares some of his own personal experiences with working hard and bettering himself. He also draws inspiration from other elite athletes who have overcome the odds and outworked others through having GRIT and consistently showing up even when they didn’t want to.Hear how success is made with those who work hard, have consistency, in other words, have GRIT.

Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson has a fresh Shawnism this week… DRUM ROLL... a powerful reminder that “There Is Always A Way”.Urban Meyer, the legendary powerhouse in the world of football coaching, joins us on the show to dive into the nitty-gritty of creating high-performance teams, the importance of leadership, and the relentless pursuit of success, while simultaneously emphasizing the vital importance of prioritizing family over professional achievements.He encourages us to be interested in solutions, not the problem, and more importantly, ask yourself the BIG, yet simple question: “Are you the hardest working person on your team?”Hear some incredible stories and insights from Urban Meyer's career, covering everything from setting high standards, to the real impact of maintaining work-life balance and navigating mental health in high-pressure environments.This episode is a trove of wisdom for entrepreneurs and leaders looking to achieve greatness while maintaining balance and purpose. The mindset of a true champion: There Is Always A Way.

“Push Yourself Out of the Nest” - this is a critical concept for anyone who wants to do anything even remotely great. This bias for action is Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson’s next Shawnism - embrace that discomfort! It’s part of the learning process even if that first flight is a bust.Shawn talks to one of his favorite authors Daniel Pink, who penned five New York Times bestsellers (some of them #1 bestsellers), including his latest, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His entire body of work has loads of insights on miscalculation, risk management, and valuable decision-making tools, such as opportunity costs and the "tie goes to the runner" heuristic. We think we have to figure things out, and then take action. When in fact, action is a form of figuring things out. Let’s be honest — we learn more by doing than we do by contemplating. Planning is overrated and doing is underrated. You learn to fly real fast when you just take the leap: PUSH YOURSELF OUT OF THE NEST!

Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson has another Shawnism — this one may seem obvious, but you have to be very intentional to embody it: “Be An Insatiable Learner.” Real advice from a legendary fashion designer who knows this better than most: Be curious, seek out mentors, never be afraid to admit that you don’t know something, remember that no one person can do everything on their own, find what you love and apply it to your work, and last but not least — It's okay to be bossy. That’s straight from the mind of one of the most influential designers Stacey Bendet, the Founder, CEO and Creative Director of alice + olivia. Stacey's insatiable curiosity is what sets her apart as an entrepreneur. She constantly seeks to learn about new fabrics, techniques, and topics FAR beyond fashion. From her passion for product quality, to her unique approach to building a brand that embraces inclusivity and makes women feel confident and seen — she is always learning how to perfect everything she touches.Shawn and Stacey trade stories about embracing curiosity and what real continuous learning entails, how Stacey built a strong brand and fostered team collaboration, and how she balances work and wellness.Learning is something that truly never stops, but you need to remind yourself of this constantly. You can get comfortable at a certain level and think things won’t change — but they ALWAYS do. This means you need to constantly be pivoting to the change around you (while holding tight to your values) and BE AN INSATIABLE LEARNER!Additional link: Lovesac x alice + olivia https://www.lovesac.com/citysac-cover-lovesac-x-alice-olivia-sassy-stace.html

Let Me Save You 25 Years’ Host Shawn D. Nelson has a Shawnism this week that EVERYONE can use to get to the next level of their professional and personal journey. This is one you cannot afford to miss: “Be What You Will Be. Not What You Are.” This is not simply ‘fake it till you make it.” Why fake it when you can BE that person NOW. Adopt the mentality of that person you aspire to be — Get there by being the person you want to become. Don’t be the person you are…BE the person you WANT to become!Alex Costa, Influencer, Digital Content Creator, and Co-Founder of Forte Series went from gamer to guru with an insane following of OVER 7 Million followers. He did this by embodying and shaping what he wanted to become, pivoting when needed, and learning how to swim great distances. He joins Shawn on the pod to talk about building a platform before a product and the four critical concepts for success that he lives by.Shawn was the CEO of the best not-bean bag company in the world- before he really was that person. He took an aspiration and made it a reality- by being who he wanted to be. Living in the skin of who you aspire to be, helps you to think like that person, dress like that person, operate like that person- BE that person.Our self-image is the number one determining factor of what actually happens- so harness that power and use it!