In this bitesize episode, Paul sits down with Stacey Putka for a conversation about life at Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility. 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.

Links to full episode:

https://youtu.be/kiIAbi4h-sE?si=i0ovlqetG-nh-6SK

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6LyZ5vAkKhMov2CawfZTNI?si=gdU4jddpRNGG5U_o16q0SA

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 a mentor, 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://pauljryan.net/

In this episode of The Inner Entrepreneur, Paul sits down with leadership coach, speaker, author, and recovery advocate Dr. Liz Dubois-Erskine to explore the hidden pressures that shape leadership, identity, confidence, and success. Drawing on her work with high-performing leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives, Liz shares why so many capable people feel held back—not by a lack of skill or ambition, but by the stories they carry about who they are allowed to be.

About the guest:

Dr. Liz Dubois-Erskine is a leadership coach, speaker, podcast host, and author focused on helping leaders break through internal barriers that limit their impact. https://drlizdubois.com/

About the host:

Paul Ryan is CEO of Temple Group and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.

pauljryan.net

• Why pressure reveals who we really are
• The difference between authentic leadership and performative leadership
• How insecurity shows up differently for men and women
• The hidden cost of constantly seeking approval
• Why many women struggle with deservingness and self-belief
• Leadership, confidence, and societal conditioning
• The relationship between money, power, and decision-making
• How family systems influence leadership behaviour
• Why successful people often feel held back by invisible ceilings
• The importance of healing old stories and limiting beliefs
• What prevents leaders from stepping fully into their potential
• How authenticity creates stronger leadership and healthier businesses

"Pressure doesn't create character—it reveals it."

"For many women, insecurity feels like protection. For many men, insecurity feels like an obstacle."

"The goal isn't to become fearless. The goal is to move forward anyway."

"Authentic leadership begins when you stop performing and start being yourself."

"The stories that once protected us often become the very things that hold us back."

• Why leadership challenges are often internal rather than external
• How cultural programming shapes confidence and self-worth
• The role that authenticity plays in high-performance leadership
• Why approval-seeking limits growth and decision-making
• How power dynamics influence leadership and relationships
• Practical ways to challenge limiting beliefs and expand your potential
• Why healing old emotional patterns can unlock business growth

If this conversation resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend or colleague. Every share helps us reach more entrepreneurs seeking greater purpose, prosperity, and fulfilment in both business and life.

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-entreprene...

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.

👉 https://pauljryan.net/

You can book a discovery call with Paul here:

https://www.pauljryan

In this episode of The Inner Mentor Series, Paul shares the remarkable story of how, as a young man in his twenties, he won his dream car—a brand-new red Mercedes.

For months he had visualised owning the car. He had a photograph of it pinned to the wall of his tiny office and spent countless hours imagining what it would feel like to drive it. Then, against all odds, he won one.

But what happened next surprised him.

Within days, Paul realised that the Mercedes wasn't what he really wanted.

What he wanted was something much deeper: to become the kind of person who could afford a Mercedes, rather than simply own one by chance.

This episode explores the difference between having and becoming, the power of intention, visualisation, identity, and why the future you create is often shaped by the person you choose to become.

Whether you're building a business, pursuing financial freedom, improving your health, or strengthening your relationships, this conversation offers a simple practice that can help bring greater clarity and focus to the direction of your life.

• The surprising story of winning a brand-new Mercedes in his twenties
• Why owning the car wasn't what Paul really wanted
• The difference between having something and becoming the person capable of creating it
• Why visualisation works differently than most people think
• The role intention plays in shaping your future
• The daily practice Paul has used for years to stay aligned with what matters most
• How to create greater clarity around your goals, aspirations, and future direction
• A simple exercise you can begin today

• Success is often more about identity than achievement.
• The things we chase are frequently symbols of something deeper.
• Visualisation is most powerful when combined with action and personal growth.
• The goal is not simply to have more, but to become more.
• Clarity and intention can dramatically influence the direction of your life.

In this episode of The Inner Entrepreneur, Paul chats with Bron Watson about resilience, healing, adversity, and the life-changing lessons that emerged from two cancer diagnoses.

Bron Watson is a nurse educator, entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of The Serenity Project.

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.

👉 https://pauljryan.net/

You can book a discovery call with Paul here:

👉 https://www.pauljryan.net/

• Bron's journey through breast cancer and incurable blood cancer
• The hidden cost of hustle culture
• Why entrepreneurs ignore their intuition
• Resilience versus relentlessness
• The importance of rest for healing and wellbeing
• Learning to live with uncertainty
• The power of "Let It Be"
• Navigating fear without falling into it
• Becoming the CEO of your own health
• The connection between mindset and healing
• Why gratitude and grief can coexist
• Finding serenity in the face of adversity
• Building a life aligned with what truly matters
• Creating The Serenity Project and its mission

In this bitesize 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.

Work With Paul

Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs helping them clarify what’s next and align their life and business around what truly matters.

🔗 Book a discovery call with Paul: https://pauljryan.net

In this Inner Mentor episode, Paul reflects on a remarkable true story of courage and sacrifice. When skydiving instructor Dave Hartsock realised that a catastrophic parachute failure would end in disaster, he made a split-second decision to place himself between his student and the ground, absorbing the full impact and leaving himself paralysed. Years later, when asked if he would do it again, his answer was simple: "Absolutely."

But this episode is not really about skydiving. It is about the quieter forms of self-sacrifice that many of us make every day. Paul explores how people often abandon their own dreams, intuition, values, and desires in order to gain approval, avoid disappointment, or live up to the expectations of others. While most of us will never be called upon to make a heroic life-or-death sacrifice, many spend years sacrificing themselves in far less visible ways.

Drawing on lessons from philosophy, personal development, and his own life experience, Paul challenges the belief that putting yourself first is selfish. Instead, he explores the difference between selfishness and self-care, and argues that the greatest service we can offer the world is to become the fullest expression of who we truly are. This episode is a reminder to trust your own inner voice, honour your values, and have the courage to live your life according to your own truth.

• The difference between self-sacrifice and self-abandonment.
• Why seeking approval often pulls us away from our authentic path.
• The distinction between selfishness and healthy self-care.
• How living according to your values serves both yourself and others.
• Why other people's opinions should not dictate the direction of your life.
• The courage required to trust your intuition and follow your own path.
• Dr. John Demartini's "Law of Lesser Pissers" and what it teaches about decision-making.
• Why becoming fully yourself may be the greatest contribution you can make.

"The greatest contribution you can make isn't becoming somebody else. It's becoming fully yourself."

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.

👉 https://pauljryan.net/

You can book a discovery call with Paul here:

https://www.pauljryan.net/

In this episode of The Inner Entrepreneur, Paul chats with David Homan to explore what it really means to be a "super connector" and why relationships—not transactions—are often the hidden force behind opportunity, fulfilment, and success.

Drawing from his own journey of arriving in New York with no influential network and building a global community spanning thousands of people across dozens of countries, David shares how generosity, curiosity, vulnerability, and trust can transform both business and life.

David Homan is a composer, classical pianist, entrepreneur, speaker, and author of Orchestrating Connection. He is the founder of a global community of connectors spanning multiple countries and industries, helping people build meaningful relationships rooted in trust, generosity, and service.

About the Host

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast.

👉 https://pauljryan.net/

You can book a discovery call with Paul here:

👉 https://www.pauljryan.net/

• What a "Super Connector" really is
• Why networking often fails
• Building trust before asking for anything
• The difference between community and transactions
• How introverts can become powerful connectors
• Grief, vulnerability, and authentic leadership
• Why generosity creates opportunity
• The hidden value of introductions
• Parenting, legacy, and showing up for those who matter most
• How to build meaningful relationships in business and life