Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing)

Oz Pearlman first witnessed magic when he was 13 years old. He was blown away by a magician’s tricks on a cruise ship. Oz saw the magician perform one night, then another, and another, until he went back home and started buying books and videos about the craft. Over the years, his focus went beyond sleight of hand magic and into mentalism, learning from the legends in the field while also creating...

Josh Peck rose to fame when he was a teenager starring in the Nickelodeon hit show Drake & Josh. Despite living his dream of being an actor, Josh struggled with low confidence that took over his life, which ultimately manifested in struggles with body image and substance use. What Josh learned about himself in his darkest moments led him to launch a flourishing career as an actor in TV and movies...

As a senior in college and an All-American athlete, Lewis Howes had it all, until he received some life-changing news. The night before a big football game, Lewis’s father got into a car accident that left him in a traumatic coma. When his Dad could no longer guide him, Lewis started seeking new mentors. He began reaching out to highly-accomplished people asking them about the stories of their suc...

When Ashley Stahl graduated college during the 2008 recession, she couldn’t get a job and was sleeping on her parent’s couch. She eventually landed a job at the Pentagon by contacting her college, requesting a list of alumni that were living in Washington D.C., and cold-calling every person on the list, asking for help in finding work in counter-terrorism. This was the first of many scrappy method...

After climbing the ranks of the high finance ladder, Codie Sanchez felt lost. She was no longer in charge of her day-to-day life, despite her years of schooling and hard work. She decided to take the insights she gained to build her own portfolio of what she calls “boring businesses.” Now, she's out to help others do the same and is quickly becoming one of the biggest female business influencers i...

When Wim Hof was 35, his wife, who suffered from schizophrenia, committed suicide. He then had to raise four young children by himself with no money. His only escape from daily agony was submerging himself in ice water. There, he discovered the physical and mental healing power of ice water. Since then, Wim has revolutionized the way we view the body’s capacity to heal itself using all-natural tec...

Ken Okazaki first got the bug for producing videos when he was a teenager. Years later, he went into the event business where his job was to “get butts in seats.” Every day, he was surrounded by crew, equipment, sets, and gear. Ken decided to pivot and focus on the video marketing part of the business by starting his own video marketing company. In this episode, Ken will teach you the skills you n...

During the dawn of the Internet, Jason Fladlien started experimenting with online business. Since then, he’s built up an impressive resume including selling over $500M worth of products and services using webinars and releasing the best-selling book One to Many: The Secret to Webinar Success. Jason also co-founded Rapid Crush, where he delivered and executed the most successful affiliate product l...

Jason Fladlien started his career in the most unusual way - as a rapping monk. Even though rap was his passion, he got to a point where he couldn’t sell his records. After he started studying marketing, Jason fell in love with creating information products that helped people solve problems. Today, Jason is widely known as the quarter-billion-dollar webinar man. In Part 1 of this episode, Jason wil...

Growing up in a small town in the countryside of Brazil, Carolina Reis was always fascinated with “the code of life.” While studying stem cell biology and tissue engineering, Carolina sought for a way to use her knowledge to build a scalable, sustainable company. After relocating to Silicon Valley, Carolina and three other scientists united in their passion to develop solutions to prolong human he...

Kim Scott has made an impressive name for herself in Silicon Valley as a business leader and tech executive. After a few failed startups, Kim started working at Google, where her boss was the infamous Sheryl Sandberg. After Sheryl gave her some tough love, Kim decided to write Radical Candor to teach bosses and employees how to improve their leadership while providing guidance that helps others gr...

As a child, Ed Mylett carried a lot of internalized shame. His father was an alcoholic, he was riddled with anxiety, and his classmates bullied him for being too skinny. When Ed was 15, his dad got sober, which taught Ed that people can change their lives at any time. Now, Ed is considered one of the best speakers and mindset coaches in the world. In this episode of YAPClassic, Hala and Ed chat ab...

Neil Patel was always thinking about what he could do to become financially successful, but as a teenager without a college degree, he couldn’t get a high-paying job. To solve this problem, Neil Patel created his first company, a job site called AdviceMonkey, at just 16 years old. Neil learned the vitality of SEO and online marketing, and since then, he has launched digital marketing agencies arou...

When Paul Getter was unemployed and looking for a sustainable income stream, he stumbled upon the then-hidden power of Facebook as a marketing tool. Despite having no formal education in marketing, he dedicated himself to becoming a master at internet marketing. Paul has now spent over one billion dollars running ads and campaigns for his clients and regularly works with A-list clients like Grant...

Traditional work methods are no longer effective in the American workforce. Because of the pandemic, the surge in remote work, and economic instability, employees are feeling unmotivated and constrained creatively. To solve this problem, thought leader and best-selling author Seth Godin is on the search for significance. In this episode, Seth is back on YAP to discuss key topics from his newest bo...

As a child, Dr. Maya Shankar was on track to become a violin prodigy. She studied under one of the world's top violinists. However, her dreams were shattered when she tore several tendons in her hand at 15 years old. She was told she'd never be able to play the violin ever again, so she was forced to learn who she is beyond her identity as a musician. A few years later, she stumbled across a book...

Since she was a young girl, Marie Forleo has been a “multi-passionate entrepreneur.” She always had a multitude of interests, from hip-hop to spirituality to psychology. After attempting to find happiness at a string of corporate jobs, Marie realized that her combination of interests and skills was a strength, not a liability. She gave up the security of her 9-5 to become a life coach. Now, she ha...

When Marisa Peer’s previous partner was diagnosed with prostate cancer, his doctor said he would “try” his best to eliminate the cancer. That wasn’t good enough for Marisa, so she took him to the top prostate cancer specialist in Europe, who told her partner, “I’m going to make you better. You’ll live until you’re 92.” That subtle shift from uncertainty to certainty made a huge impact on Marisa’s...

When an injury forced former Miami Dolphins linebacker Steve Shull to change his game, he pivoted into finance and real estate. After he read the book Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, Steve completely transformed his coaching company and redesigned his programs from scratch. Since then, Steve and Chris have been working together to help real estate agents save their time and energy. In th...

From ages 26 to 32, John Lee Dumas went through what he calls his ‘six years of struggle.’ Fresh out of the military and bewildered with what to do with his life, he dropped out of law school and quit his corporate finance job after only one year. When he turned 32, he launched Entrepreneurs on Fire, the first daily entrepreneurship podcast, which skyrocketed him to success. In this episode of YAP...

As the son of an ex-policeman turned intelligence (CSIS) officer, Scott D. Clary was a complete novice in the world of entrepreneurship. By leveraging his natural charisma and love for technology, he was able to build up his brand and become a success story. In Part 2 of Scott’s episode, we’ll break down Scott’s ultimate sales strategies and the tactics he uses to build rapport with potential pros...

Marisa Peer had a lonely childhood: her father was always at work and her mother was sick and unfulfilled, attempting suicide several times. Through growing up in that environment, she learned two crucial lessons: every child takes on a specific role, and it is the interpretation of what happens to us that shapes us. She used these lessons to fuel her career as a therapist and eventually become on...

As the son of an ex-policeman turned intelligence (CSIS) officer, Scott D. Clary was a complete novice in the world of entrepreneurship. By leveraging his natural charisma and love for technology, he was able to build up his brand and become a success story. In Part 1 of Scott’s episode, we’ll unpack his career journey and early entrepreneurial endeavors. Scott will share his insight about side hu...

Hala Taha has always had a strong work ethic and a desire to change the world, but when she worked in the radio industry, she was often seen for just her looks. When she decided to change her personal brand to focus on the intellectual value she has to offer the world, she turned to the one place all the other intellectual professionals were hanging out: LinkedIn. Within a year, she reached 60k Li...

When Ramit Sethi graduated from high school, he built a system to apply for 60+ scholarships that earned him a full ride to Stanford University. But when he got his first scholarship check, he invested it in the stock market and lost it all. That’s when he decided to change his money mindset and learn the secrets of money-making. Today, Ramit helps a worldwide community of people who want to creat...