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by Ryan Berman
Ryan Berman talks to thought leaders from around the globe in business, sports and entertainment to uncover what it means to be courageous in today's world.
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What happens when you reach the top of the mountain and realize there’s still more of yourself to discover? Ahmet Bozer spent 25 years at The Coca-Cola Company, eventually becoming President of Coca-Cola International, overseeing operations across more than 200 countries and roughly $80 billion in retail revenue. But his next chapter turned inward. In this conversation with Ryan, Ahmet shares what leading across vastly different cultures taught him about the things people have in common, how he learned to reset after difficult moments rather than carry them into the next meeting, and why the most important person any leader will ever learn to lead is themselves. They also dig into the idea behind his new book, Soulgery, and why Ahmet believes our thoughts, emotions, and everyday patterns can either trap our potential or help unlock it.
Suffer from achievement addiction? It’s a real thing. When accomplishment becomes the drug and slowing down feels threatening because it forces you to sit with yourself you might be in it. Mandy Balak knows the feeling. She was succeeding on the outside while quietly running on empty. As a three-time founder, she led a growing team, and collected plenty of accolades all while navigating the loss of her father, and a pattern of pushing through everything alone. Now, as President of The Gathering and author of new book Chasing Enough, Mandy is challenging high achievers to rethink what sustainable success looks like. In this conversation with Ryan, she opens up about how childhood patterns can quietly follow us into our careers, and the wake-up call that finally forced her to stop and look inward. Mandy also breaks down the difference between a “chasing leader” and a “choosing leader,” and the simple question that can reveal what’s really driving you.
This week, Ryan Berman is turning the Courageous Podcast toward a different kind of challenge: raising courageous kids. Fresh off a back-to-school appearance on KTLA, Ryan shares the full segment and expands on why curiosity can be one of the best ways to help kids navigate fear, anxiety, and unfamiliar situations. He talks about resisting the urge to rescue kids from discomfort, building confidence through small acts of courage, and the simple formula he tries to follow as a dad: attention + belief. Plus, Ryan shares why courage is a muscle kids can strengthen over time and a simple question for every parent to consider: when you walk into the room, are your kids gaining energy from you?
Dr. Shirley M. Collado knows firsthand how transformative an education can be. The daughter of Dominican immigrants who grew up in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood, she became the first in her family to attend college and eventually made history as the first Dominican American to serve as president of a four-year college in the United States. Now, as President and CEO of College Track, she’s taking on an even bigger challenge: making sure a student’s zip code, family income, or access to resources doesn’t determine how far their talent can take them. In this conversation, Ryan and Shirley unpack College Track’s 10-year commitment to first-generation students and the unlikely partnerships helping bring that mission to life, from Kevin Durant and his mother Wanda to the Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank. They also wrestle with a much bigger question about the future of higher education and why America has struggled to tell a compelling story about its value.
Jackie Plaza knows a thing or two about betting on yourself. She left a successful career in Los Angeles for a new opportunity in San Diego, stepped into the challenge of helping reshape perceptions of one of the world’s most recognizable theme parks, and discovered that taking risks gets a little easier once you’ve survived a few that didn’t work out. Today, as VP Marketingand Sales at SeaWorldSan Diego, Jackie is bringing that same willingness to experiment to a brand with more than 60 years of history. In their conversation, Ryan and Jackie talk about the freedom that comes from getting comfortable with failure, why the best leaders know when to call an audible, and what happened when a seemingly crazy idea for a hip-hop and R&B concert series became a massive hit. Jackie also shares the side of SeaWorld she didn’t fully understand until she joined the company, including its decades of animal rescue work and the experience of releasing rehabilitated animals back into the wild.
Ania Smith learned early that you can’t control everything that happens to you, but you can be intentional about what you do next. After moving from Poland to South Dakota at 12 without speaking English, she developed a curiosity and adaptability that would eventually take her to companies including Airbnb, Uber Eats, Walmart, and now Taskrabbit, where she serves as CEO. In this conversation with Ryan, Ania talks about the difference between reacting to change and choosing it for yourself, and why asking better questions has given her the confidence to keep making big moves. She also opens up about taking her family on a gap year in Argentina and the surprisingly simple framework she and her husband use to balance two ambitious careers with raising three kids. Plus, Ania shares what she’s learned from more than a decade building marketplaces, how AI could transform the way we hire people to help in our homes, and why staying close to Taskers remains deeply personal to her.
Everyone wants change to be easier. Ryan Berman thinks that's exactly the wrong goal. In this solo episode, Ryan challenges the growing belief that transformation should be effortless and makes the case that the strongest teams don't avoid friction—they create the right kind of it. Ryan explains why hard conversations are the real starting point of change, why leaders should stop trying to eliminate discomfort, and how alignment, belief, and clarity create the foundation for lasting transformation. He also shares the question every team should be asking, why "believe again" became one of Courageous' earliest rallying cries, and the mindset shift that can help leaders stop waiting for change and start creating it.
Elle McCarthy is drawn to transformation. It's the thread that connects everything she does, from challenging outdated ways of thinking to helping some of the world's biggest brands—including Ford, PayPal, EA, and now McAfee—reinvent themselves from the inside out. In this conversation with Ryan, Elle shares why real change starts by getting people to believe in what's possible, why the strongest brands are built long before a campaign ever launches, and how a little "chaos magic" has helped shape her approach to leadership. They also discuss building trust during times of change, the lessons motherhood has taught her about leading others, and the personal promise she's made to stay true to the values that first drew her into marketing.
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Ryan Berman talks to thought leaders from around the globe in business, sports and entertainment to uncover what it means to be courageous in today's world.
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