The Inner Entrepreneur

The Inner Mentor Series (2): Listen to This Before You Hit Burnout #169

In this episode of The Inner Mentor Series, Paul explores a powerful but uncomfortable question: how are you measuring success — and is that measurement quietly shaping your life? Through two contrasting entrepreneur stories and his own wake-up moment, he challenges the default scoreboard of money, scale, and status, and invites you to consider a broader definition that includes peace of mind, alignment, health, relationships, and fulfillment. Because you can be winning externally while losing internally — and the scoreboard you choose will ultimately determine the life you live
About the HostPaul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.👉 https://pauljryan.net/
Work With PaulYou can book a discovery call with Paul here:👉 https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan
 
 
 

Life in a U.S. Maximum-Security Prison - Stacey Putka #168

In this episode, Paul sits down with Stacey Putka — and the conversation begins with a line most podcast intros never get to use: they met in prison. Paul shares what it was like entering Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility: handing over his phone and passport, being reduced to a badge number, and feeling that subtle loss of control that incarcerated people live with every day. Together, they unpack the emotional impact of walking into a room full of men serving serious sentences and discovering something unexpectedly human — real presence, eye contact, openness, and a level of vulnerability that challenged every stereotype.
Stacey explains why she founded Breakthrough: because punishment alone doesn’t create healing, accountability, or safer communities. They tackle the hardest question head-on — are some people simply “bad”? — and Stacey offers a deeper framework: holding two truths at once (real harm was done, and real change is possible), while prioritizing accountability and protecting future victims through transformation.
About the Guest
Stacey Poka is the founder and Executive Director of Breakthrough, a U.S.-based nonprofit that delivers transformational programming inside prisons and provides practical, emotional, and community support after release. 
https://timetobreakthrough.org/about-us/
About the Host
Paul Ryan is an eight-figure CEO and the host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, where he explores what’s really going on beneath the surface of success — purpose, identity, values, leadership, and the inner work that shapes the outer results.
https://pauljryan.net/
Work with Paul: Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business around what matters most.
https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Bitesize: The Power of Slow: Why Doing Less Changes Everything | Carl Honoré #167

In this bite-sized  episode, Paul sits down with Carl Honoré, the voice behind the global Slow Movement, to challenge one of modern life’s most damaging assumptions: that faster is always better. Carl reframes “slow” not as laziness or withdrawal from ambition, but as the discipline of finding the right speed for the task at hand. Drawing on neuroscience, culture, and everyday experience, he explains why multitasking is a productivity myth, how monotasking actually leads to better results, and why slowing down improves focus, creativity, relationships, and wellbeing — often while helping us get more done, not less.
The conversation explores how constant acceleration is reshaping our brains, our work, and even our art — from shorter attention spans to the erosion of deep thinking. Carl also shares his own wake-up moment as a parent, the origin story behind In Praise of Slow, and why so many people tell him his work gave them “permission” to slow down. From mindful walking to cultural shifts around technology and boundaries at work, this episode is a powerful reminder that slow isn’t something we need to invent — it’s something we need to reclaim.
About the GuestCarl Honoré is a bestselling author, speaker, and leading advocate of the global Slow Movement. His books, including In Praise of Slow, have been translated into dozens of languages, and his TED Talks have been viewed millions of times worldwide.👉 https://www.carlhonore.com/
About the HostPaul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.👉 https://pauljryan.net/
Work With PaulYou can book a discovery call with Paul here:👉 https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

The Inner Mentor Series (2): The Day I Met the Man I Never Want to Become #166

In this first Inner Mentor Series episode, Paul shares the pivotal experience that quietly reshaped the course of his life. Twenty years ago, despite outward success, he felt trapped in a business and life that drained him—until a last-minute decision to attend a weekend event in London changed everything. What began with skepticism and a firewalk evolved into a far deeper reckoning: a visceral confrontation with the future version of himself he was becoming, one of quiet misery, the other of purpose and fulfillment—Paul made a choice that would demand far more courage than he expected.
 
Work with Paul: visit: https://pauljryan.net
I work closely with a small number of clients - application required:
👉 https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan
 
About the HostPaul Ryan is an 8-figure CEO, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast. Through the Inner Mentor Series, Paul shares personal stories and hard-won lessons from decades in business and personal development, helping entrepreneurs design lives of clarity, purpose, and fulfillment.
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How Leaders Unknowingly Build Toxic Workplaces - Kyle McDowell #165

What It Really Takes to Change Company Culture - Kyle McDowell #165
In this episode, Paul sits down with leadership author and culture-change advocate Kyle McDowell to unpack a hard truth: many “successful” corporate environments are quietly toxic—and leaders often help create the very dysfunction they later complain about.
Kyle shares how, after decades in senior Fortune-level roles leading tens of thousands of people, he hit a point of apathy, burnout, and personal cost that forced a reckoning. The turning point wasn’t a new strategy—it was a new way of leading: human connection, real accountability, and the courage to stop rewarding fear-based results-at-all-costs leadership.
 
About the Guest
Kyle McDowell is a leadership speaker, consultant, and author of Begin With We, best known for his “10 We’s”—a set of behavioral principles designed to build cultures of accountability, trust, and excellence. 
https://kylemcdowellinc.com/
About the Host
Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster.  https://pauljryan.net/
Work With Paul
You can book a discovery call with Paul here: 👉 https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Bitesize: How Top CEO's Actually Make Decisions - Jack Black #164

In this bite-size conversation, Paul sits down with Jack Black, founder of Mindstore, to explore the real power of thought in entrepreneurship — beyond clichés and “wishful” manifestation. Drawing on nearly 35 years of experience working with business leaders around the world, Jack explains how thoughts either reinforce limiting beliefs or help us grow, adapt, and find solutions under pressure. He challenges the idea that success comes from passive visualisation, arguing instead for disciplined thinking, awareness, and practical mental tools grounded in science.
About the Guest
Jack Black is the founder of Mindstore and a globally recognised expert in the psychology of success, mindset, and performance. 
About the Host
Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster.  https://pauljryan.net/
Work With Paul: Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business around what matters most.
You can book a discovery call with Paul here: 👉 https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

The Confidence Lie Most People Believe - Fred Joyal #163

In this episode, Paul sits down with entrepreneur and author Fred Joyal to challenge one of the biggest myths about confidence: that you need it before you act. Drawing on his journey from painful introversion to building and leading a nationwide business for nearly three decades, Fred explains why boldness isn’t a personality trait — it’s a learnable skill built through action, discomfort, and repetition.
The conversation explores why so many people hesitate to speak up, put themselves forward, or fully express who they are — and how that hesitation quietly limits careers, relationships, and fulfilment. From the confidence crisis facing younger generations to the comfort-seeking traps adults fall into, Fred breaks down why bold action must come first, how small low-stakes courage rewires behaviour, and why the regret people carry later in life is rarely about what they did — but what they never tried.
About the Guest
Fred Joyal is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and author of Boldness: How to Go from Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days. He founded and led a nationwide advertising and referral business for dentists for nearly three decades, serving as CEO for 27 years before its successful exit.
About the Host
Paul Ryan is an eight-figure CEO, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast. Having built a business that runs with minimal day-to-day involvement, Paul now focuses on helping seasoned entrepreneurs explore the inner game of success — clarity, identity, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and purpose. Through honest conversations with founders, thinkers, and guides, Paul creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.
Work With Paul
Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs who are successful on paper but sensing it’s time for a deeper realignment — helping them clarify what’s next and align their life and business around what truly matters.
🔗 Book a discovery call with Paul:https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan
🌐 Learn more:https://pauljryan.net

Bitesize: When Success Disappears Overnight - Brian Keegan #162

In this conversation, Brian Keegan shares the full arc of an entrepreneurial rise and collapse—and the quieter, harder work of rebuilding afterward. He describes the heady years of rapid success in the late ’90s, when everything seemed to turn to gold, followed by the brutal reality of market crashes, 9/11, and a perfect storm that wiped out half the business almost overnight. What followed was receivership, courtrooms, internal conflict, and the kind of personal pressure that strips away ego fast. Brian speaks candidly about how success can distort judgment, how humility often arrives the hard way, and why building wealth and keeping it are two very different skill sets.
 
Links to full episode:
https://youtu.be/hFqau8F2KHQ?si=nLeipZC1WZ83Il-T
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YAHhLZGfR5rTBLjoMWOvG?si=2Qraye3ESTmgHnl9CCthow
 
About the Guest
https://coaches.scalingup.com/coaches/brian-keegan
About the Host
Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, Paul explores the inner game of entrepreneurship—purpose, identity, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and conscious success. Through conversations with founders, thinkers, coaches, and spiritual teachers, he creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.
Website:https://pauljryan.net/
Work With Paul
Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business to what matters most.
You can book a discovery call with Paul here:https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Why Are We So Lonely - Dr Colman Noctor #161

In this episode, Paul sits down with clinical psychotherapist and author Dr. Colman Noctor to explore what’s really happening beneath the surface of modern mental health—particularly for children, teenagers, and young adults. Drawing on nearly 30 years of clinical experience, Colman explains why anxiety has dominated the last decade, and why loneliness is now emerging as a serious and growing issue. They unpack how technology, the loss of unstructured play, and the erosion of community have left many young people without the foundational social skills previous generations absorbed naturally through everyday connection.
As the conversation deepens, the focus widens beyond young people to society as a whole. Paul and Colman reflect on the loss of village, tribe, and spontaneous human connection—and how work and romantic relationships are now expected to meet needs once spread across community. Colman introduces his concept of “cop on” as the ability to respond proportionately to life, rather than living at emotional extremes, and explains the thinking behind the “4–7 Zone” as a practical framework for emotional regulation and sustainable performance. Together, they explore why fulfillment doesn’t come from constant happiness or relentless ambition, but from returning regularly to the middle—where resilience, connection, and meaning are built.
About the Guest
Dr. Colman Noctor is a clinical psychotherapist who has worked extensively with children, adolescents, and young adults for almost three decades. He is known for his clear, practical approach to mental health—helping people develop emotional regulation, resilience, and perspective in an increasingly extreme and disconnected world. Colman is the author of Cop On: What It Is and Why Your Mental Health Depends on It and The 4–7 Zone, and he writes weekly columns on psychology, parenting, and modern life for the Irish Examiner.
Website:http://colmannoctor.com/
About the Host
Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, Paul explores the inner game of entrepreneurship—purpose, identity, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and conscious success. Through conversations with founders, thinkers, coaches, and spiritual teachers, he creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.
Website:https://pauljryan.net/
 
Work With Paul
Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business to what matters most.You can book a discovery call with Paul here:https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan
 

What If Your Business Is Destroying Your Family? Liz Hartke #160

In this bite-size conversation, Liz Hartke reflects on growing up in a multi-generational entrepreneurial family and how that early exposure shaped her deepest value: family. Liz shares the tension she’s lived firsthand—seeing entrepreneurship used as a powerful vehicle for freedom and presence, but also watching it quietly erode marriages, health, and connection when left unchecked. She opens up about building her own business “for her family,” only to realise she was sacrificing the very relationships she claimed to be doing it for. The result was a slow series of wake-up calls that forced her to question not just what she was building, but how she was building it.
The turning point came when a trusted mentor challenged her during what should have been a celebratory milestone, telling her she was underperforming—not financially, but as a leader and human being. That moment sparked a deeper shift in Liz’s work: moving from pure business strategy to helping founders scale themselves. She explains why leaders are almost always the bottleneck, how growth stalls when inner work is ignored, and why true success comes from building from alignment rather than force. At the heart of the episode is a simple but confronting truth: how you build the thing matters just as much as the thing you build—and if success costs what matters most, it isn’t success at all.
 
Links to Full Episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/33dqQXojyAo7LvfjApkXnO?si=PJitbnC6RCmGe57_uhJ1CA
https://youtu.be/DiDBpPfTQR4?si=2U10r97LbggNNykS