School of Hard Knocks Podcast

John Morgan is one of America’s most feared lawyers—and for good reason. Founder of Morgan & Morgan, the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., he turned a family tragedy into a $2 billion empire. From taking down Disney after his brother’s accident to battling Coca-Cola, Big Pharma, and Fortune 500 giants, Morgan built a reputation as the lawyer corporations fear the most. In this episode,...

Brant is a ninth-grade dropout who went from sleeping in a garage and mowing lawns for $23 an hour to risking it all on oil wells, losing millions, getting sued, and still refusing to quit. That same obsession and grit turned his failures into fuel, and today he’s built multi-million-dollar companies in oil, real estate, and beyond, chasing a nine-figure future. In this raw and unfiltered conversa...

Abdulla Kudrath went from broke immigrant to empire builder through sheer discipline, radical self-responsibility, and an unshakable mindset. From poverty to launching 14 companies across multiple industries, Abdulla has become a doctor, actor, world traveler, and founder of his own medical facilities. In this episode, he reveals how extreme ownership transformed his life, why excuses are deadly,...

Joshua Crisp went from sleeping on an air mattress in his family’s one-bedroom apartment, working for $7.25 an hour, and eating ramen every day to making $11.3 million in a single day. With only a 9th grade education, no degree, no connections, he refused to settle for mediocrity. Through sacrifice, obsession, and an all‑in mindset, he turned bath bombs into a best‑selling product, built a digital...

Anne Mahlum risked it all. Her last $175,000, no investors, no backup plan, just pure belief. Before Solidcore, she was broke, alone, and leading a nonprofit for the homeless, fueled by the trauma of growing up with an addicted father. But she turned pain into purpose, and that purpose into a $90 million empire. Today, with a net worth of $110 million, Anne is living proof that excuses don’t build...

He was poor, went broke, and still made $90K on his first deal. By 28, John Devaney bought a brokerage firm and turned it into a money-printing machine: $5M in year one, $25M in year two, $45M in year three. At the peak, his firm was making $110M in pure profit. Then 2008 wiped him out. He lost over $200M… and came back swinging. In this episode, John breaks down how he rebuilt from zero, launched...

Alli Webb is one of the most unexpected and badass entrepreneurs in the beauty world. What started as a side hustle blowdrying hair for cheap quickly turned into a nationwide movement. With zero outside funding and a deep desire to feel alive again, she launched Drybar—a blowout-only salon that exploded across the U.S. and eventually sold for $255 million. In this raw and powerful episode, Alli op...

Eric Adams was beaten by police as a child so badly he peed blood for days. He grew up in fear of eviction, struggled with dyslexia, and felt invisible in a broken system. But instead of running from it, he joined the NYPD to change it from within. Today, he runs America’s largest city. In this raw conversation, Eric shares how trauma shaped his purpose, why he chose discipline over anger, and wha...

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Khalil Rafati is one of the most brutally honest and spiritually grounded entrepreneurs you’ll ever hear from. After surviving heroin addiction, homelessness, and years of childhood abuse, he made a pact with God to become rich and honor his dying mother. Through relentless work and spiritual transformation, he built SunLife Organics into a $34 million smoothie empire rooted in healing and purpose...

Edward Connors is one of the most powerful and unpredictable figures the fitness world has ever seen. Before reshaping the industry, he fought in the Vietnam War, where he claims to have killed over 600 enemy soldiers. It’s a dark chapter he rarely speaks about, but it forged the fearless mentality that would later redefine bodybuilding forever. After the war, Ed joined a raw, underground gym in V...

Karlton Dennis is one of the most strategic and unconventional entrepreneurs you’ll ever hear about. After walking away from a future in professional sports, he found himself broke, working odd jobs as a personal trainer and wine salesman. But everything changed when he discovered the world of tax strategy, and realized that the fastest way to build wealth isn’t just making money, it’s learning ho...

Edwin Arroyave is one of the most inspiring and resilient entrepreneurs you’ll ever hear about. Growing up in extreme poverty, Edwin slept in a windowless room infested with cockroaches and often went without food at the end of the month. By age 15, he became the head of his household, taking on adult responsibilities far beyond his years. Against all odds, Edwin built a massively successful busin...

Todd Johnson is one of the most inspiring and unshakable entrepreneurs you’ll ever come across. Raised in deep poverty and surviving off food stamps, Todd spent his childhood feeling hopeless, until a divine encounter at a pizza shop changed his life forever. That moment sparked an unbreakable faith and a mission to never be broke again. Starting with zero dollars, Todd went on to build a multi-mi...

Michael Franzese is one of the most fascinating and legendary figures to ever walk away from the mob and live to tell the tale. As a former Capo for the Colombo crime family in New York, Michael was once making millions per week and was considered one of the most powerful mobsters of his time. Today, he’s a best-selling author, speaker, and mentor who has completely transformed his life and now de...

Dean Graziosi is a multiple New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur, and investor. He has started or played a major role in over 14 successful companies that have changed lives all around the world. His mission for over 20 years has been to deliver self-education to those seeking transformation, fulfillment, and success outside the traditional education path. In this podcast Dean talks ab...

Jeremy Miner is the Founder and CEO of 7th Level. During his 17yr sales career, he was recognized in the direct selling industry as the #45th highest earning producer out of more than 108 million salespeople, selling ANYTHING worldwide - Jeremy's earnings as a commission-only sales rep were in the multiple 7-figures, every year. In this podcast Jeremy talks about how anyone can become successful i...

Ryan Serhant is the Founder and CEO of SERHANT a vertically-integrated mega brokerage comprising an in-house film studio, education arm, marketing division, and technology platform. He's also a bestselling author, producer, and star of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York and Sell It Like Serhant. In this podcast Ryan talks about his journey into real estate, the key factors of his success and...

Chris Watters is the Founder and CEO of Watters International Realty, a real estate company that does over 9 figures a year in revenue. Chris first got into entrepreneurship at a young age where he started out mowing lawns during college, after this period Chris pursued multiple entrepreneurial ventures ranging from the bar/hospitality to real estate. In this podcast Chris takes us through his jou...

Todd Nepola is the CEO and Founder of Current Capital Group, a commercial real estate investing and property management company. Todd started out as a stockbroker in the 90's and at the age of 25 he invested everything he owned into his first commercial real estate property. After Todd acquired his first property he was hooked and went on to buy hundreds of millions worth of commercial real estate...

James Keyes served as the Global President and CEO of 7-Eleven from 2000-2005 as well as Chairman and CEO of Blockbuster from 2007-2011. This podcast is a true example of an American success story where James came from humble beginnings but through sheer hard work and perseverance he was able to create a name for himself and work his way up the corporate ladder and become CEO of two Fortune 500 co...

Josh Snow is the founder and CEO of one of the fastest growing teeth whitening and oral care brands, Snow. They do over 9 figures a year in revenue and are in multiple retail chains such as Nordstrom Rack and CVS. Josh has an inspirational story of coming from humble beginnings where he was riding the city bus to finding his passion in entrepreneurship at an early age, selling his first company at...

Andy Elliott is the founder and CEO of the fastest-growing sales and leadership training company in the world, The Elliott Group. Training over 600,000 professionals and 11,000+ companies across the globe, Andy is revolutionizing how salespeople influence, persuade, overcome objections, negotiate, close, market, and brand. Before starting The Elliott Group, Andy broke the record in the US for the...

Onyi Odunukwe is a commercial real estate developer and investor as well as the Founder and CEO of a rapidly growing tanning salon company called "Glo" which has 75+ locations. He breaks down how he got into entrepreneurship, how he scaled his business around from a struggling tanning salon into a national chain, tips for new entrepreneurs and more. This podcast is full of gems on how anyone can g...

Paul Hedrick is the founder of the famous western boot brand "Tecovas." He takes us all the way back to the early stages of Tecovas, explaining how the business got started, why he decided to become an entrepreneur, how he scaled the business, and the various obstacles he had to overcome along the way. Tecovas was the first cowboy boot company to adopt a direct-to-consumer model by selling online....