To The Top: Inspirational Career Advice

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books. Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done(Portfolio, May 29, 2018) explores, through more than 900 time diaries collected on a single March day, why some busy people feel relaxed about time, while others do not. I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time (Portfolio, 2015) tackles the question of how women combine work and life through an analysis of 1001 days in the lives of women with demanding careers and children at home. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (Portfolio, 2013) profiles prominent people who use time creatively to achieve their goals. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (Portfolio, 2010) argues that time is best approached from the holistic perspective of a week (168 hours) rather than any single day. Laura is also the author of a time management fable, Juliet’s School of Possibilities, which will be released by Portfolio in early 2019. Another nov

A.J. Jacobs is a renowned NYC author, journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help. He is also editor at large at Esquire magazine, a commentator on NPR and a columnist for Mental Floss magazine. He immerses himself in experiences and lives to tell about it. His book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible has over 1,000 reviews on Amazon.  He has given several TED talks, including ones about living biblically, creating a one-world family, and living healthily. He recently published Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey which is about his quest to thank everyone who had something to do with creating his cup of morning coffee including the farmers to the lid manufacturer and everyone in-between. This is a story about gratitude and there are many important lessons through his journey. --- Email comments or questions to me at omaid@omaid.me and join

Mike Grossman has been a CEO in Silicon Valley for over 25 years. He's built companies from the ground up, had successful exits, while having to make potentially compromising decisions.  The stakes were high early on, Mike was in a predicament where the only way an investor fund his company was if he fired his best friend and business partner. At the time, Mike just had a baby and he was living off his savings. These are the kinds of decisions and stories Mike shares during his career.  In this episode we discuss: -The traits of the best leaders -How his mentor helped shape him to become a CEO -Critical decisions he's faced as a CEO in Silicon Valley and more.. --- email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me and sign up for the newsletter for the latest updates at www.omaid.me   

Coach Ron Nash has worked with thousands of people to help them gain clarity and to show them the secret strategies on LinkedIn they need to land a job. He's certified in Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and has been executive recruiting for 20 years. He's also published several books and developed courses to help people maximize LinkedIn and to find their dream job. In this episode we discuss: -How to leverage LinkedIn to network -Coach Ron's six step framework for your career -How to networked on LinkedIn to develop a partnership with Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer --- Sign up for my newsletter for the latest updates and inspirational career advice at omaid.me and email questions/comments to omaid@omaid.me

Calvin Chen is an executive leadership coach who specializes in emotional intelligence for high performance, leadership, and happiness. He used to work for Tony Robbins and then launched his own coaching business. Calvin is a renaissance man. He earned a BS in Bioinformatics from UC San Diego and he has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. His coaching has also yielded a first-round knockout in the UFC. With over ten years of coaching experience and a certification in NLP and other coaching certifications -- Calvin works with professionals to achieve peak performance. In this episode we discuss: -What he's learned from having immigrant parents -Why he decided not to pursue science -How he worked for Tony Robbins -The qualities of the most successful achievers he's coached and more.. --- Email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me and visit www.omaid.me to sign up for the free newsletter for the latest updates

Kirsten is the Chief Marketing Officer at Convey Inc. which is a supply chain software company based in Austin, TX. She was formerly a Gartner analyst where she advised marketing executives across the country. She has held executive roles at Hubspot, Solar Winds, and many other technology companies. Kirsten attended Cornell and earned her MBA from MIT, which is one of the difficult and technical schools in the world. In this episode we discuss: -Why she decided to attend MIT -How she positioned herself to change industries (and you can too) -Habits of high performers -Career advice she'd give to a young professional and more.. --- Questions and comments email omaid@omaid.me and visit www.omaid.me for the latest episodes  

Martin Kihn is an accomplished writer and one of the most in-demand marketing experts in the field of advertising. One of his books was titled House of Lies based on his experience as a management consultant which was turned into a TV show on Showtime and starred Don Cheadle. Marty received his Bachelor's from Yale and his MBA from Colombia. He was also the head writer for the popular MTV show, Pop-up Video. He recently spent the past 5 years as a marketing analyst at Gartner, and he's currently the VP of Research at Dentsu Aegis Network. In this episode we deconstruct many career lessons from Marty's multi-dimensional background. We also discuss: -How to view your career over time -How his first book, House of Lies, became a hit TV show  -How he sold his second book for a half million dollars to Warner Bros -How to avoid burnout and more.. --- For comments or questions please e-mail me at omaid@omaid.me and visit www.omaid.me for the latest episodes  

Michael Mina is an award-winning chef based in San Francisco who has built an empire with over 40 restaurants around the world. He was the executive chef at AQUA from 1993-2002 and his flagship restaurant, MICHAEL MINA is a Michelin two-star establishment. He has been a featured guest chef at the James Beard House numerous times; cooked for three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama; and has been a guest speaker at C.I.A. in Hyde Park and at other culinary institutes in California.            We discuss: How Michael's persistence led to his big break How he was able to get Andre Agassi to become his investment partner The highs of being awarded two Michelin stars and the lows of losing one How he has mentored and partnered Ayesha Curry Advice he has for surrounding yourself with a great team and more.. ---  Email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Ryan Hawk is the host of The Learning Leader Show which is a world class podcast where he's interviewed 250 of the most thoughtful leaders including Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Adam Grant, and Kat Cole.  Ryan currently heads up the Leadership Advisory team at Brixey & Meyer. His background in sales leadership and management make him the perfect guest to discuss how to best transition into a management or leadership position. ----- e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Phil Jones is a world-class sales trainer and best-selling author. He began a career in sales at a young age and eventually developed his own sales training workshop. Fast forward and he's delivered thousands of keynote speeches and published two incredible books. Phil and I dig deep into his book titled "Exactly What to Say" and he provides his insight around other questions I ask such as how to build trust and how to disarm decision makers during the sales process. ---  e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Mario Lopez is currently the host on Extra. He's one of the top hosts in Hollywood. You know him from Saved by the Bell and he's been on Dancing with the Stars.  Mario has had a great career over an extended period of time. In this interview we cover a broad range of topics relating to career, life advice, and fitness tips. ---  e-mail questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Alex Ikonn is an entrepreneur who co-founded Luxy Hair which provides high quality hair extensions. He helped grow the Luxy Hair YouTube channel to one of the most visited channels which has over 421 million views. Alex has the drive and creativity to build beautiful products. He's also the co-founder of Intelligent Change (intelligentchange.com) where he's helped create The 5-Minute Journal which helps you be mindful about planning your day.  He also has a Vlog on YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/AlexIkonn11) where he posts great behind the scenes videos about his business, family, and other things that inspire him. --- e-mail comments or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com    

Ayesha Curry is literally catching on fire. The mompreneur of two has been coined the Martha Stewart for millennials. Following the recent success of her cookbook, The Seasoned Life (available on Amazon), she has a cooking show on The Food Network (Ayesha's Home Kitchen) and recently launched a meal delivery kit service (www.cookhomemade.com). If that wasn't enough, she's opening a new restaurant in San Francisco and launching her own cookware line in Target. How does she do it? Listen to our interview and follow her on Instagram (@ayeshacurry) to find out. --- E-mail questions or comments to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

Ernie Johnson, Jr. is one of sport’s most respected and loved personalities. The three-time Sports Emmy Award winner and host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” has helped audiences break down games and belly laugh for decades. Maybe more impressive than his professional fame and recognition is Ernie’s innate ability to connect with people on a human level. His willingness to discuss topics such as the adoption of his and his wife Cheryl’s children, including their special needs son Michael; the death of his father and best friend, iconic sportscaster and pitcher Ernie Johnson; and his own battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma has endeared him and given hope to millions . We discuss the experiences he's shared in his autobiography Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary.  ---- Send comments or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

This is a special episode where Ryan Hawk, the host of The Learning Leader Show, interviews one of my favorite authors, John Kralik. His book, A Simple Act of Gratitude, greatly impacted my life. John was going through a turbulent time in his life and it's about the story of how he began to notice the things in his life he should have been thankful for. I loved this interview so much that I wanted to share it on my podcast. Not only does John share his story, but I liked how Ryan helps us put the power of gratitude into practice. I highly recommend getting a copy of the book on Amazon, it's actually the book I gift the most to the guests on my podcast. I interviewed John myself a couple of years ago and I wrote an article about how his book impacted my life. I've shared a link to the article below: https://www.forbes.com/sites/omaidhomayun/2015/09/13/how-this-simple-act-of-gratitude-can-impact-your-life/#61d0f24c5c3e Check out Ryan's other interviews at http://learningleader.com/ ---- Send feedback or questi

A groundbreaking approach to succeeding in business and life, using the science of resourcefulness We often think the key to success and satisfaction is to get more: more money, time, and possessions; bigger budgets, job titles, and teams; and additional resources for our professional and personal goals. It turns out we’re wrong. Using captivating stories to illustrate research in psychology and management, Rice University professor Scott Sonenshein examines why some people and organizations succeed with so little, while others fail with so much. ----- Email questions or comments to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

A mainstay in feature films and television, Dany Garcia (@DanyGarciaCo) has quickly become a powerhouse in Hollywood. As CEO and founder of The Garcia Companies, a talent and media management company, she oversees talent such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Henry Cavill. In addition, she serves as co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions with producing partner, Dwayne Johnson. As Johnson’s producing partner, Dany has worked unwaveringly to create his multi-billion-dollar box office, constantly generating opportunities that elevate all aspects of his career—as an actor, producer and businessman. She has produced television shows such as Ballers on HBO and the upcoming Baywatch film starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. --- E-mail comments or questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

Ryan Estis has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former chief strategy officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency NAS, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. As a keynote speaker, Ryan is known for his innovative ideas on leading change, improving sales effectiveness and preparing for the future of work. He was recently recognized as one of “the best keynote speakers ever heard” by Meetings & Conventions magazine alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Colin Powell and Mike Ditka. Check out Ryan's work at www.ryanestis.com --- Get updates about new podcast episodes by subscribing to the newsletter at www.howtofindajobin10days.com and e-mail questions to tothetoppodcast@gmail.com

Stephen Chen (@petnostics) is the founder of Petnostics, a company that makes a line of at-home urine tests for pets to make healthy living easier for pets and their families. They've extended their product line to include tests for other chronic conditions. Stephen, a Harvard MBA graduate, pitched his company on Shark Tank and landed $300,000 from Laurie Grenier and Kevin O'Leary in exchange for a 20% stake in his company. Check out their amazing products at www.petnostics.com In this episode we cover: -How he accidentally tried out for Shark Tank -The value he received from his Harvard MBA -Most valuable lessons from bootstrapping his company, and more.. --- Get updates about new podcast episodes by subscribing to the newsletter at www.howtofindajobin10days.com and e-mail questions to job10days@gmail.com    

Oren Klaff is the author of Pitch Anything which is a book that uses neuroscience to help position new ideas. Klaff is an investment banker by trade and he's used this methodology to raise over $400 million from financial institutions. Whether you're selling ideas to investors, pitching a client for new business, or even negotiating for a higher salary, Pitch Anything will transform the way you position your ideas. According to Klaff, creating and presenting a great pitch isn't an art--it's a simple science. Applying the latest findings in the field of neuroeconomics, while sharing eye-opening stories of his method in action, Klaff describes how the brain makes decisions and responds to pitches. With this information, you'll remain in complete control of every stage of the pitch process.   --- Get updates about new podcast episodes by subscribing to the newsletter at www.howtofindajobin10days.com and e-mail questions to job10days@gmail.com