Let’s Go Win! An interview with Author and Coach JM Ryerson
A high-energy discussion with the author, coach, and entrepreneur JM Ryerson on The UNCAGED Show to talk about best practices in leadership, vulnerability, and teamwork. This is an edited excerpt from our discussion.
Bant Breen:
JM is the Co-founder and CEO of Let’s Go Win. He’s a published author of several books that explore mindset coaching, leadership development, executive coaching, and life coaching. Today he’s going to coach us on how to live and work better. So, JM, with that set up tell us a little bit about yourself and your career.
JM Ryerson:
Yes, well a couple of years ago I wrote a book that was originally meant for my kids. The book, Let’s Go Win was all about taking lessons from my mentors, my parents, my grandparents, authors that I’d read, and condensing them. I was urged by friends and editors to share the book with a wider audience and so I decided to publish it. Sharing that book and the lessons learned just kind of launched us on this path. I get so much from working with people on their mindset and on them leading their best lives. Our goal is to inspire people to live their best lives. That’s why we exist today. And it’s a goal I know, we can never fully accomplish. But that excites me and gets me going every single day to do my best to do that.
Bant Breen:
That’s great. I think we all strive for living our best lives, especially, coming off of a year where we were certainly not living our best lives. But tell me more about how you guys do what you do.
JM Ryerson:
Well, traditionally, I’m on stages, and we’re talking to people, however, the stages have changed. And so now it’s the podcast platform. Also, writing is something that I didn’t know I really loved. But it’s something that whether it’s a blog weekly, or it’s doing the books, I found a lot of joy doing. And here’s why. When I give a book, article, or blog that I wrote to someone and they say, you know, this really spoke to me, that’s awesome because I wanted somebody to speak to me at certain points in my life.
So right now, it’s really the podcast, it’s the blogs, I do have an online course that’s going to be launched, but it’s a lot of coaching. As much as I want to give people a hug in person, right now it’s a virtual hug.
Bant Breen:
So JM when you’re working as a coach are those engagements one on one? Are you working via an enterprise? How does that function?
JM Ryerson:
It’s both. I have one on one coaching but I truly love working with teams. Sometimes the two come together. I’m working with a pro golfer right now. And you would think that’s an individual sport. But he has a team around him, a swing coach, a caddy, a trainer, me. So he has a team that has to work together and move in the proper direction so that he can perform to the very best of his ability. So I do both, one on one and team coaching, but I do really prefer working with teams. There’s something about the team dynamic when you can get a group of people rowing in the same direction, it’s amazing what can be accomplished.
Bant Breen:
We are living in this moment where coaching is getting adopted by enterprises literally around the world. What is it that they’re these companies are seeing now? Why is it so important for business today?
JM Ryerson:
Well, I think it’s always been important. Everyone needs a coach. So let’s take Michael Jordan, for instance, he always had a coach his entire career. Mike Trout, one of the best baseball players has a swing coach. Why? Because when we look in the mirror, we don’t necessarily have the best reflection. I don’t know exactly why the explosion of interest in coaching, but I think people realize if they take coaching seriously they can really expand their businesses, they can get better personally. So it all starts with you. We need to personally develop ourselves so that we can help develop other people. But it does start with developing ourselves first. And I think executives finally said, If I can have somebody call me on my stuff, or keep me accountable, or make my life that much more simple, how much more effective can I be for my company, for my family. So I’m not sure why the explosion, but I’m really happy to see it out there. And the one thing I would say to the audience, don’t work with anyone that doesn’t have a coach themselves. That is 100%. If they don’t have a coach, I wouldn’t work with them. I have many coaches that I look up to that I feed off of because I want them to give me feedback as well.
Bant Breen:
Let’s change gears. I would imagine that people probably needed you more than ever before over the last year. It’s been a bumpy one for many folks. What have been your experiences over this last year? And where have you found glimmers of hope?
JM Ryerson:
Many of us this past year would wake up and the first thing we would do is turn on the news and there was so much negativity. And so what I really talked to a lot of the people about in coaching sessions was who’s running your agenda right now, is it CNN, CNBC, Fox, Facebook, Instagram? Is it them running your agenda, or are you running your agenda? And that doesn’t mean put your head in the sand and not be aware of the world. That means make sure you’re intentional about who’s running your agenda. I simplify it for people because we have a busy enough world. Let’s simplify your daily routine, your morning routine so that you can show up as the very best version of yourself. And then as you want to bring news or social media or whatever into your world, that’s cool. But let’s make sure we’re starting off the right way.
Bant Breen:
What do you think is the major barrier for people when they start to work with a coach?
JM Ryerson:
A three-letter word, ego. That’s where you start. And literally, are you open to real feedback? People will say, hey, critique me, give me that criticism. But are you really giving me permission? I am not in the hourly game. I’m in the outcome game. I really want to help people achieve their goal, but that’s going to mean we’re gonna put ego aside, we are going to step in, you’re giving me permission to hold you accountable to call you on your stuff. So that’s where I start with everybody. Are you giving me permission? Yes or no? And then we go from there.
Bant Breen:
You’ve been writing quite a bit. Tell us about the latest book.
JM Ryerson:
Yeah, so Champions Daily Playbook is the most recent. I would be remiss if I said it’s a book because it’s only 11 or 12 pages. The reason I wrote such a short piece is that if I give you a book, the studies show, it’s likely that you’re not going to read the entirety of the book. However, I have a much greater chance of you reading the first 11 pages and then using it. I don’t want it to feel like work to you, I want it to feel like play. I want you to see the Playbook as something that is helping you perform every single day. You do a little bit in the morning, a little bit in the evening. And by the end of the 90 days, you’ve created habits that perhaps are supporting your goal.
Bant Breen:
As you’re thinking forward with your business and your plans, what does the future look like for you and your enterprise?
JM Ryerson:
Every single day that I get to work with somebody, and they achieve their goals, it literally fills my bucket, it’s overflowing. So the future is very bright, you know, the world will open back up, and I will be able to give everyone a big hug. And I can’t wait for that day. But in the meantime, I’m gonna keep using these platforms going to get this message out because I want everybody to live their best life. That is the goal.
