The Jon Schultz Podcast: The Myth of Overnight Success

Few have the opportunity to "live" a story, but artist, writer, and producer Patti Grabel is doing just that. Producers liked her script about a middle-aged woman who moved to New York after divorce and rediscovered her passion for art but felt it lacked conviction. In her light bulb moment, Patti realized she'd drafted the story she was afraid to live. Once she embraced the script as her playbook...

Few would consider Rick Rieder, Managing Director at BlackRock, “motivationally challenged,” but the sport-loving kid didn’t find direction until his college placed him on academic probation. He decided to stop floating through life. Committing to his studies and finding a path started the ball rolling towards a career that would see Rick become manager of $2.4 trillion in assets. Tune in as Rick...

Entrepreneurs are like farmers, but instead of growing food, they grow ideas into businesses. Wonder CEO Marc Lore loves watching things grow and has a knack for it. He founded Jet.com, which sold to Walmart for $3 billion, and Quidsi.com, which sold to Amazon for $550 million. Learn more about the person behind these successes in today's episode. Marc Lore's grandmother pitched he should be a doc...

Several years ago, you’d find Peter Phillips driving excavators around a construction site. Today he’s one of the masterminds behind the fast-growing Chip City Cookies, a cookie bakery with14 stores and counting. Tune in to learn how this co-founder went from real estate developer to bakery entrepreneur, landing a $10 million investment from Enlightened Hospitality. Peter Phillips jumped right out...

While growing up in New Jersey, Keith Banks knew he wanted to do something big. He just wasn't sure what that would be. Four decades later, Banks is the Vice-Chair & Chief Investment Officer, Pension and Benefits Plan for Bank of America. In today's episode, he reflects on how his working-class roots laid the foundation for success, lessons learned, and the various milestones achieved along th...

Willy Walker, CEO, Walker & Dunlop, had no zero intention of joining the company his grandfather started in 1937. His journey to piloting the family legacy began in Latin America, where Willy worked in corporate finance, started an airline, and other industries. What remained constant was his passion for entrepreneurship and building successful teams. In this episode, Willy shares the insights...

Julia Boorstin Samuelson doesn't believe in happenstance. She knows firsthand how accepting one opportunity can open the door to the next. Being open to new ideas and saying yes is how her career evolved from Fortune Magazine writer to on-air CNBC Senior Correspondent for Media and Technology. As a girl, Julia imagined herself growing up to be a professional ballerina. Her performance experience p...

As a kid, keyboardist David Bryan wanted to be either a rock star or a doctor. He was a pre-med student with a 4.0 GPA when his friend and high school bandmate Jon called with good news. Atlantic Records wanted to sign Bon Jovi. David figured, why not give it a try? Forty years later, the founding member has achieved the rock star dream, having toured the world, sold hundreds of records, and been...

Bob Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, oversees a comprehensive network with 17 hospitals and 36,000 team members. His 30-plus-year career includes significant challenges, such as a merger of equals with Hackensack and Meridian, the Affordable Care Act, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Today ranked as the top CEO transforming healthcare in America by CEO Forum Group, Bob shares ho...

Dan Rowe, CEO, Fransmart, has helped restaurant brands you know and love transform from Mom-and-Pop diners to national franchises. Dan shares how he evolved, reframed what success meant, and found his true purpose in helping others achieve wealth. Today, Dan embraces his achievements, but in the beginning, he struggled with imposter syndrome. How could a college dropout and dishwasher like himself...

Pam Liebman, CEO of Corcoran Group, had an early interest in real estate that ignited a decades-long career. From the beginning, she took the bull by the horns, jumped into figuring out high-stakes real estate, and forged her path. Discover how Pam rose from brand-new real estate agent to CEO of a company achieving $23 billion in sales annually and still growing. When Barbara Corcoran interviewed...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to work in the NFL? Mike Tannenbaum, the founder of The 33rd Team and NFL Front Office Insider for ESPN pulls back the curtain to reveal how he landed his dream job as the former General Manager of the New York Jets. Once you get your foot in the door, keep proving your value, and no one will kick you out. Mike was always the kid with a passion for sports. He s...

Yanni Hufnagel, Founder of Lemon Perfect, is on a mission to help make America healthier. Learn why the former collegiate basketball coach decided to shift his passion for building teams from the courts into the beverage industry. Listen to how he evolved from a cut basketball player into a collegiate coach and now CEO of a fast-growing business. Yanni remembers as a kid playing under the covers a...

Today Frank Sorrentino frequents board rooms as ConnectOne Bank's CEO, but three decades ago, you would find him on a construction site laying brick. A fourth-generation Italian-American and mason, Frank is proud of his roots. His hands-on experience brings a unique perspective that continues to shape his approach as a financial industry executive. In this podcast, Frank talks about watching his g...

David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group and author of his newest book “How to Invest”, is one of the world's most accomplished individuals. But the root of who he is starts with his humble upbringing as the only child of two blue-collar parents in Baltimore. His aspirations were not to become wealthy but to work hard and make something of himself. Listen to David's invaluable lessons...

David Meltzer, co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, was essentially handed the world, only to lose it all. The Variety Sports Humanitarian of Year wasn’t always a humble person; he learned from the school of hard knocks how chasing the wrong goals can impact every aspect of your life. David’s first career goal started with good intentions: to make enough money to buy his mom a house and car. As one o...

Becoming a fighter pilot is a career many young kids dream of doing, but only a select few achieve. Joel "Thor" Neeb did earn his place flying some of the world's fastest aircraft, but that's not his true legacy. His world perspective shifted when he was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare type of stage 4 cancer. From 18 months to live to thriving a decade later, Joel's new mission is to inspire...

Actor Steve Schirripa, known for his role in the HBO drama The Sopranos, grew up during the 1960s in a Brooklyn community. He had no theater aspirations when he attended Brooklyn College or when he moved to Las Vegas, where his first job was delivering pizzas. In fact, he didn’t start thinking about an acting career until he was in his 40s. Tune in for the fascinating journey from growing up on we...

Not everyone likes moving goal posts, but for Henry Schuck, CEO of ZoomInfo, it’s how he operates. He believes there is more potential than what he has previously accomplished; as Henry achieves a benchmark, he moves the goal post. This mindset is how ZoomInfo grew from his dorm room into a multi-billion dollar company employing around 3,000 people. Henry’s career started as a door-to-door newspap...

Not many people become professional athletes, and even fewer do it in their 30s, an age when most athletes begin considering retiring. Dede Griesbauer did exactly that, pivoting from a successful financial career on Wall Street to become a world-record-holding athlete and a three-time Ironman winner. Dede has always been a sporty kid but never saw herself as a standout athlete. She had to walk ont...

If you have any concerns about our current financial markets, you need to hear from David Barse, CEO and Founder of XOUT Capital. With over 30 years of experience in the markets, including 25 years as a CEO for a firm with $31 billion assets under management, David has experienced two significant financial crashes firsthand, making the current his third. His advice will help you weather the days a...

Remember Jones is a label-defying music artist who embraces risk. It did take some time to foster the confidence he needed to become a recording artist and performer. Remember shares his journey from cabaret performer to three albums and leading a band in this podcast. Growing up in an environment surrounded by music lovers, Remember started performing at 12 years old. He was naturally drawn to a...

You may know Bob Burg as the author of the popular Go-Giver series, but in this podcast, you'll get to know the man behind the best-selling series. He struggled right out of college to find his footing. The ups and downs plus experience teaching himself the ropes of selling inspired what would become a phenomenal speaking career and the Go-Giver books. When it comes to selling, giving, and influen...

Howard Lindzon, Co-Founder of StockTwits, is perpetually curious and, in some ways, fearless. In this episode, Howard takes us from his early stockbroker days to his most recent projects. Take his countless lessons learned to inform your investing and entrepreneurship goals. Howard's career began during the savings and loan crisis in the 1990s. A cold call led to one of his first successes, invest...

Ray Leonard, Jr., is the son of one of boxing's legends, Sugar Ray Leonard, but he knew boxing wasn't for him. Ray set out to make his impact, starting with redefining what success meant to him. It's a definition he's re-written several times in his career as he found his path to living his authentic self. Today he is a CEO and motivational speaker. What motivates Ray is his need to leave a positi...