The Personal Success Podcast with Ryan Watts

Ryan Watts
  • 5.0 (13)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Weekly

We explore the paths to living authentically, finding fulfillment, and defining success on your own terms.

  1. 8h ago

    #202- It's Not a Team Problem. It's a You Problem. || Arthur Adams Jr.

    What happens to your team the day you're no longer there? Arthur L. Adams Jr. grew up in inner-city Detroit and rose to senior executive at a publicly traded Fortune 200 company, leading an $8 billion portfolio as SVP of Sales and Marketing at CSX. By every outside measure he was winning. Then an employee he deeply valued resigned, and the root cause was Arthur. In this conversation, Ryan Watts and Arthur talk about the moment that turned him toward servant leadership, the honest feedback he went looking for afterward, and the question that reshaped how he led: would people applaud or grieve the day he walked out the door? Arthur shares the morning routine that keeps him grounded, the hard year that ended his corporate career and strengthened his self-trust, and why he believes culture problems are always leadership problems. He also explains why his #1 Amazon bestselling book, Servant Leaders Finish First, is built as a 52-week journey instead of seven quick steps. In this episode: The resignation that became Arthur's watershed moment Discipline, authenticity, connectivity, and levity: his four elements of effective leadership How skip-level meetings can reduce the isolation at the top Where servant leadership breaks down under quarterly-earnings pressure Why a seven-figure milestone left him feeling empty The difference between a beloved leader and one people are glad to see go Connect with Arthur: Book: Servant Leaders Finish First on Amazon LinkedIn: Arthur L. Adams Jr. Listen and subscribe to The Personal Success Podcast: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com

    #202- It's Not a Team Problem. It's a You Problem. || Arthur Adams Jr.

  2. 2d ago

    #201- Leading With Heart Without Giving Your Power Away | Dr. Karen Weaver & Adrea Peters

    Leading with heart is not leading soft. Dr. Karen Weaver and Adrea Peters, co-authors of Heart Frequency, make the case that the answers we keep searching for outside ourselves are already inside, and that reaching outward for them is a quiet way of handing over our own power. Karen is a writer and publisher in Australia and a mother of six. Adrea lives in Vermont and leads large-scale healthcare technology projects. One lives in flow, the other in checklists, and their book is built on that difference. We talk about why so many people retreat right before the breakthrough, why Adrea says feelings come before thoughts, and what she does when someone on her team starts picking apart the plan. Her answer surprised me: she welcomes it, because it usually means that person does not feel heard. I also share more than I planned to about turning forty, finishing the list, and realizing I did not know where to look for myself. If you lead well and still feel the weight of it, start with the leadership conversation at 52:08. In this conversation Why two opposite temperaments wrote one book Story structure as a map for a life, and why we avoid the messy middle Micro, meso and macro: self-awareness, relationships, and belonging Why we look outside ourselves when it gets uncomfortable inside Struggle, breakthrough, and breaking wide open Feelings before thoughts, and what to do when a meeting triggers you Leading with heart in a high-stress industry Whether it gets mistaken for softness, and why "because I said so" no longer works About the guests Dr. Karen Weaver is a writer and publisher based in Australia who has been writing and publishing books since 2010. Adrea Peters is a writer, speaker, and teacher based in Vermont who leads large projects in healthcare information technology. Heart Frequency: The Science of Using Your Internal Guidance System to Create an Extraordinary Life (Muse Oracle Press) publishes 7 November 2026, with a launch in New York. Connect with Karen and Adrea Book, events and contact: https://heartfrequency.com Connect with Ryan Watts The Personal Success Podcast: https://thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com Ryan Watts Coaching: https://www.ryanwattscoaching.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwattsmba

    #201- Leading With Heart Without Giving Your Power Away | Dr. Karen Weaver & Adrea Peters

  3. Oct 28

    #200 - 10,000 One-to-Ones Later: Why Most People Never Ask With Clay Hicks

    Most networking stays transactional because nobody tests the relationship. Clay Hicks, founder of H7 Network and a word-of-mouth marketing specialist, has spent close to 10,000 one-to-one meetings learning how trust actually forms. His answer is simple: trust is earned when help moves in both directions, and it can start in the very first conversation. Ryan and Clay talk about the Connect, Serve, Ask framework, why Clay went 2,500 meetings before he started asking for anything, and how H7 grew from 17 people in one room to groups across 22 states, all by word of mouth. Clay also shares what it was like to lose everything as a young entrepreneur and start over as a single father, and why moving from lone wolf to real relationships changed what felt possible. In this episode What Connect, Serve, Ask means and why it speeds up trust Why showing up every week builds credibility but not trust Redefining success as having champions who open doors The eight people out of nearly 10,000 who declined help Why people skip the ask, and why asking is a form of service "Ask rambling" and why serving requires clarifying questions Reading the room and bringing three asks to every meeting How one salesperson built 50 to 60 percent of his business through relationships Connect with Clay LinkedIn: Clay Hicks (look for the fedora): https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonrhicks/  H7 Network: H7Network.com Subscribe to The Personal Success Podcast for more conversations about success on your own terms: thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com

    #200 - 10,000 One-to-Ones Later: Why Most People Never Ask With Clay Hicks

  4. Oct 26

    #199 - "This Fits”: What One Mother Knew All Along

    Dr. Diana Sorrentino is a social psychologist and behavioral analyst, the author of Transgender Families, and the host of the Paradoxes of Gender podcast, which she says now reaches listeners in 210 countries. She’s also an affirmed woman who began her own transition in 1990. In this conversation, Ryan steps into the student chair. Dr. Sorrentino explains how she understands gender identity forming before birth, why she sees so many parents stuck in their own fear, and what changes when a family finally has something solid to stand on. She shares the room of 40 strangers that ended decades of hiding, the distraught father who found her after a workshop, and the dinner where her Irish Catholic mother told her, “This fits.” This is not a political conversation. It’s a human one. In this episode: Why she says parents’ own fears often block acceptance more than fear for their child The question she asks skeptics: “How do you know you’re male?” What parents are actually grieving when their child still stands in front of them Why some families hold together and others fracture, and where chosen family comes in What happens to a spouse when a partner transitions The training gap she sees in medical and behavioral health care Find Dr. Sorrentino at paradoxesofgender.com and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-diana-sorrentino-ph-d-1b64781a4/  Subscribe to The Personal Success Podcast for more conversations about success on your own terms: thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com

    #199 - "This Fits”: What One Mother Knew All Along

  5. Oct 21

    #198 - Burnout vs. Misalignment: Leadership Lessons from Coach Rizwani

    Coach Rizwani spent a couple of decades in corporate leadership, including time at a Fortune 50 company, before burnout pushed him to leave. A second burnout, years later in a business he helped build, pushed him to rebuild his work around purpose. He is now the founder of Sahara Supplements, which he describes as the first halal-certified sports nutrition company in North America, and he coaches leaders on health and wellness. In this conversation with Ryan Watts, he explains how he told the difference between a hard stretch and a real misalignment, and why six months of new morning and evening routines did not fix it. You will hear: Why "keep pushing through the wall" stopped making sense once he had kids What he told himself the week before he knew he had to leave How he defines discipline: what you say no to Why environment, including the people around you, decides whether consistency holds How he built a bootstrapped, self-funded company that avoids debt and interest Why he chose to manufacture in Canada and stack third-party testing and certifications How his definition of success moved from net worth to impact Which international market he enjoyed most, and why  Sahara Supplements Sahara Supplements store: https://saharasupplements.com. I opened it, and it is the official site Listed on the official Sahara site (I didn't open these) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saharasupplements/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@saharasupplements Ryan Watts (host):  https://ryanwattscoaching.com/thepersonalsuccesspodcast  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwattsmba   Listener offer: Coach Rizwani is offering listeners 10% off the entire Sahara Supplements store. If this conversation raised a question about your own leadership, follow The Personal Success Podcast for more conversations like it.

    #198 - Burnout vs. Misalignment: Leadership Lessons from Coach Rizwani

  6. Oct 19

    #196 - What Nervous System Regulation Really Means for Leaders

    Many leaders were taught that regulating yourself means staying calm. Lisa Danahy offers a different definition: regulation means moving your state to match what the moment needs, which sometimes means raising your energy instead of lowering it. Lisa is the founder of Create Calm Inc., owner of Radiant Child Yoga, a yoga therapist, educator and author of Creating Calm in Your Classroom. She spent 15 years in law firm management before running an early childhood program for twenty years. In this conversation, Ryan and Lisa explore: Why our language falls short of what the body experiences What nervous system regulation actually is, and what people misunderstand about their own behavior The difference between changing a state and changing a stage Co-regulation at home and at work, and why a leader's state reaches the room before their words Lisa's three part sequence for a tense room: read, attune and dissipate Simple breath and movement a leader can use at the start of a meeting Resilience as early noticing rather than endurance What self suppression costs a leader, and why accountability and vulnerability matter Mentioned in this episode: The Awakened Brain by Lisa Miller, Ph.D.; Chase Hughes, whose work Ryan is currently reading; Internal Family Systems. Connect with Lisa: createcalm.org If this conversation was useful, subscribe to The Personal Success Podcast so you do not miss the next one: thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com

    #196 - What Nervous System Regulation Really Means for Leaders

  7. Oct 19

    #197 - Becoming the Boss You Always Wished You Had | Susie Gidseg

    Most of us can name the boss who changed everything. The one who saw us, asked real questions, and fought for us. Fewer of us stop to ask what it would take to become that person for someone else. Susie Gidseg spent years as an actress and theater director, running companies on passion and gas money, before moving into corporate marketing in tech. She became a leader overnight, two weeks before COVID, with no roadmap. Her new book, BOSS: Becoming the Leader You Always Wished You Had, is the guide she wished someone had handed her. Ryan and Susie talk about why so many people are promoted into leadership without wanting it, what she learned when her team started challenging her, how she led through workforce reductions and then lived through two of her own, and the quiet pull every caring leader feels to be liked. In this episode:- Why one leader who sees you can change your career and your sense of yourself- The two paths people take into leadership, and why it matters- Why a team that challenges you is a sign of safety, not failure- What nurturing a team looks like on an ordinary Tuesday- Leading through layoffs with care, and rebuilding after being laid off twice- Wanting to be liked versus making the right call- The say-do ratio and two practical habits for first-time managers- Why you should never lose yourself in a job Get the book:BOSS: Becoming the Leader You Always Wished You Hadhttps://a.co/d/07Y4C0m5  Follow The Personal Success Podcast for more conversations on success, leadership, and the choices behind both.https://thepersonalsuccesspodcast.com

    #197 - Becoming the Boss You Always Wished You Had | Susie Gidseg

  8. Oct 14

    #195 - Why Recognition Beats Money: Dave Williams on What People Want From a Leader

    A family business paid bonuses of 20,000 pounds and staff still complained. Dave Williams asked the directors one question: is money really the motivator? The room went silent. Dave Williams is a UK-based master coach, keynote speaker, and two-time #1 bestselling author of Confidence for Life!: 23 Proven Strategies to Improve YOUR Confidence, for Greater Success! He took his first management role at 18 and has spent forty years leading teams and troubleshooting organizations. In this conversation with Ryan Watts, Dave explains why most people want recognition more than money, why the most negative letter in the alphabet is T, and why leadership sits at the center of every performance problem. He walks through his Management M.A.S.T.E.R.Y. framework and shares the personal loss that rebuilt his approach to coaching. In this episode:- Why being busy is not the same as being productive- The client who waited 50 years to hear "I'm proud of you"- The question that silenced a boardroom about bonuses- How "can't" becomes the most expensive limiting belief- What he learned as an 18-year-old manager- Why knowing your team is the first leadership skill- The one sentence Dave would put in every manager's office Content note: between roughly 53 and 55 minutes, Dave speaks about bereavement and a period when he nearly took his own life. If you are struggling, in the US you can call or text 988. In the UK, Samaritans are available on 116 123. Connect with Dave Williams:Website: https://davewilliamscoaching.comManagement M.A.S.T.E.R.Y. University: https://managementmasteryuniversity.comBook, Confidence for Life! (Amazon US): https://us.amazon.com/Confidence-Life-Strategies-Improve-Greater/dp/B0B4GPFFP2LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/davewilliamscoaching Connect with Ryan Watts:Website: https://ryanwattscoaching.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwattsmba Follow The Personal Success Podcast so you never miss a new conversation.

    #195 - Why Recognition Beats Money: Dave Williams on What People Want From a Leader
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We explore the paths to living authentically, finding fulfillment, and defining success on your own terms.

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