In this 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.

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.

Paul Ryan is an eight-figure CEO, mentor, and host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast. Having built a business that runs with minimal day-to-day involvement, Paul now focuses on helping seasoned entrepreneurs explore the inner game of success — clarity, identity, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and purpose. Through honest conversations with founders, thinkers, and guides, Paul creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.

Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs who are successful on paper but sensing it’s time for a deeper realignment — helping them clarify what’s next and align their life and business around what truly matters.

🔗 Book a discovery call with Paul: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

🌐 Learn more: https://pauljryan.net

In this conversation, Brian Keegan shares the full arc of an entrepreneurial rise and collapse—and the quieter, harder work of rebuilding afterward. He describes the heady years of rapid success in the late ’90s, when everything seemed to turn to gold, followed by the brutal reality of market crashes, 9/11, and a perfect storm that wiped out half the business almost overnight. What followed was receivership, courtrooms, internal conflict, and the kind of personal pressure that strips away ego fast. Brian speaks candidly about how success can distort judgment, how humility often arrives the hard way, and why building wealth and keeping it are two very different skill sets.

Links to full episode:

https://youtu.be/hFqau8F2KHQ?si=nLeipZC1WZ83Il-T

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YAHhLZGfR5rTBLjoMWOvG?si=2Qraye3ESTmgHnl9CCthow

https://coaches.scalingup.com/coaches/brian-keegan

Website: https://pauljryan.net/

Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business to what matters most.

You can book a discovery call with Paul here: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

In this episode, Paul sits down with clinical psychotherapist and author Dr. Colman Noctor to explore what’s really happening beneath the surface of modern mental health—particularly for children, teenagers, and young adults. Drawing on nearly 30 years of clinical experience, Colman explains why anxiety has dominated the last decade, and why loneliness is now emerging as a serious and growing issue. They unpack how technology, the loss of unstructured play, and the erosion of community have left many young people without the foundational social skills previous generations absorbed naturally through everyday connection.

As the conversation deepens, the focus widens beyond young people to society as a whole. Paul and Colman reflect on the loss of village, tribe, and spontaneous human connection—and how work and romantic relationships are now expected to meet needs once spread across community. Colman introduces his concept of “cop on” as the ability to respond proportionately to life, rather than living at emotional extremes, and explains the thinking behind the “4–7 Zone” as a practical framework for emotional regulation and sustainable performance. Together, they explore why fulfillment doesn’t come from constant happiness or relentless ambition, but from returning regularly to the middle—where resilience, connection, and meaning are built.

Dr. Colman Noctor is a clinical psychotherapist who has worked extensively with children, adolescents, and young adults for almost three decades. He is known for his clear, practical approach to mental health—helping people develop emotional regulation, resilience, and perspective in an increasingly extreme and disconnected world. Colman is the author of Cop On: What It Is and Why Your Mental Health Depends on It and The 4–7 Zone, and he writes weekly columns on psychology, parenting, and modern life for the Irish Examiner.

Website: http://colmannoctor.com/

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, Paul explores the inner game of entrepreneurship—purpose, identity, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, and conscious success. Through conversations with founders, thinkers, coaches, and spiritual teachers, he creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.

Website: https://pauljryan.net/

Paul works with seasoned entrepreneurs to clarify what’s next and align their life and business to what matters most.You can book a discovery call with Paul here: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

In this bite-size conversation, Liz Hartke reflects on growing up in a multi-generational entrepreneurial family and how that early exposure shaped her deepest value: family. Liz shares the tension she’s lived firsthand—seeing entrepreneurship used as a powerful vehicle for freedom and presence, but also watching it quietly erode marriages, health, and connection when left unchecked. She opens up about building her own business “for her family,” only to realise she was sacrificing the very relationships she claimed to be doing it for. The result was a slow series of wake-up calls that forced her to question not just what she was building, but how she was building it.

The turning point came when a trusted mentor challenged her during what should have been a celebratory milestone, telling her she was underperforming—not financially, but as a leader and human being. That moment sparked a deeper shift in Liz’s work: moving from pure business strategy to helping founders scale themselves. She explains why leaders are almost always the bottleneck, how growth stalls when inner work is ignored, and why true success comes from building from alignment rather than force. At the heart of the episode is a simple but confronting truth: how you build the thing matters just as much as the thing you build—and if success costs what matters most, it isn’t success at all.

Links to Full Episode:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/33dqQXojyAo7LvfjApkXnO?si=PJitbnC6RCmGe57_uhJ1CA

https://youtu.be/DiDBpPfTQR4?si=2U10r97LbggNNykS

In this episode, Paul sits down with video strategist and content systems builder Danny Delvecchio to explore why so many capable, confident founders freeze the moment a camera is switched on. Danny explains why video triggers a different psychological response than live conversation, how comparison and fear of judgement distort self-expression, and why people often believe they have “nothing valuable to say” despite years of experience and results. Together, they unpack the illusion that video requires performance, polish, or influencer status, and why that belief disconnects people from their natural authority.

The conversation re-frames video not as marketing or self-promotion, but as relationship-building at scale. Danny outlines why conversational video builds trust faster than any form of advertising, how showing up consistently allows the right clients to self-select, and why a small, relevant audience is far more powerful than mass visibility. Paul and Danny also explore the importance of filtering—using content to attract people you genuinely want to work with and repel those you don’t. The episode closes with practical guidance on where founders should start, how little equipment is actually needed, and a simple 30-day practice to build confidence on camera. At its core, this is a conversation about permission—permission to be human, to learn in public, and to let your real voice do the work.

About the Guest — Danny Delvecchio Danny Delvecchio is a video strategist and founder focused on helping founders and B2B service providers grow through conversational, trust-based content. He specialises in turning everyday client conversations into high-impact video without performance pressure or influencer tactics. Danny is also the creator of Content On Easy Mode, a platform designed to help business owners generate effective content directly from real conversations with clients.

Find Danny: contentoneasymode.com LinkedIn: Danny Delvecchio

About the Host — Paul Ryan Paul Ryan is an entrepreneur, 8-figure business owner, mentor, podcaster, and creator of the 1-Hour CEO and Life Code programs. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, Paul explores the inner game of success—helping founders and leaders build meaningful, aligned lives without sacrificing health, relationships, or self.

Work With Paul If you’re ready to build a business and life that’s aligned, intentional, and deeply fulfilling, explore The Life Code and The 1-Hour CEO — mentoring, frameworks, and tools for high-performing entrepreneurs seeking peace, purpose, and freedom alongside success.

Book a Discovery Call with Paul: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Connect with the host: pauljryan.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/

In this bite-sized episode, Paul sits down with transformation coach and Inner Matrix founder Joey Klein for a deep exploration of emotions, conditioning, and what real personal change actually requires. Joey challenges the idea that emotions like anger, anxiety, grief, or sadness are problems to be fixed. Instead, he explains that emotions are natural and necessary—but our reactions to them are learned, conditioned, and trainable. The conversation unpacks how our nervous system defaults to familiar emotional patterns, even when they’re painful, simply because they’re known.

Together, Paul and Joey explore why genuine change feels uncomfortable, why insight alone doesn’t lead to transformation, and why emotional mastery is closer to training a martial art than having a breakthrough moment. Through analogies ranging from skiing to sport to meditation practice, they highlight a core truth: transformation can happen quickly, but mastery takes time, repetition, and discipline. The episode also touches on relationships, fulfilment, and why inner training is the foundation for success in business, leadership, and life—without it, even the best tools and tactics fall flat.

Link to full episode:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ctU80Jis7Jyh2s6PdHXIW?si=aF5Z0O9mRGGgaVWutSO6w

About the Guest — Joey Klein Joey Klein is the founder of Inner Matrix Systems and a leading teacher in emotional mastery, nervous system regulation, and inner training. With over two decades of experience working with entrepreneurs, elite performers, and couples, Joey has helped tens of thousands of people recondition emotional patterns that limit fulfilment, performance, and connection. He is the author of Inner Matrix and Relationship Alchemy, where he distils the core habits that destroy—and strengthen—human relationships.

Find Joey: innermatrixsystems.com

About the Host — Paul Ryan Paul Ryan is an entrepreneur, 8-figure business owner, mentor, podcaster, and creator of the 1-Hour CEO and Life Code programs. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, Paul explores the inner game of success—helping founders and leaders build meaningful, aligned lives without sacrificing health, relationships, or self.

Work With Paul If you’re ready to build a business and life that’s aligned, intentional, and deeply fulfilling, explore The Life Code and The 1-Hour CEO — mentoring, frameworks, and tools for high-performing entrepreneurs seeking peace, purpose, and freedom alongside success.

Book a Discovery Call with Paul: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Connect with the host: Pauljryan.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/

In this episode, Paul sits down with former Navy pilot and entrepreneur Mike Brown to redefine what “wealth” actually means—beyond money, status, and the endless chase for more. Mike shares how a wildly successful business exit didn’t deliver the happiness he expected, and how an “all-in” investment mistake later (losing $100k per month) forced him into a deep personal debrief: how did I get here, and what does a rich life really look like?

Together, they explore the entrepreneur’s “never enough” story, the fear of losing your edge through inner healing, and why true wealth is ultimately about freedom—health, relationships, time, mind, and soul. The conversation also touches privilege with real honesty, including the stark contrast between visiting a prison and then stepping into a life of extraordinary abundance—and what that reveals about freedom, choices, and the starting hands we’re dealt.

Key discussion points:

• Why a big exit can trigger an existential crisis instead of relief • “Never enough” as the hidden operating system behind high achievement • The difference between pain vs. suffering—and why it matters • Achievement = love: how early conditioning can fuel success (and later suffering) • The fear of “losing your edge” if you heal—dirty fuel vs. clean fuel • Why entrepreneurs pursue money but are really pursuing freedom • Mike’s 5 pillars of freedom: health, relationships, time, mind, and soul • Why time is the only non-renewable resource—and how money is meant to serve it • The trap of being “wealthy on paper” while having no liquidity or peace • “If I can’t access it, it’s not real money”: liquidity as optionality • Defining your “enough number”: escape loss, stability, and escape velocity • The ideal day/week exercise—and why most people are closer than they think • Privilege, perspective, and what prison reveals about freedom and circumstance • Why the richest lives are often built through simplicity, connection, and service • Why “retirement” is the wrong word—and what work-optional really means

About the Guest — Mike Brown

Mike Brown is a former Navy pilot and entrepreneur who now helps founders and high achievers build what he calls “unbreakable wealth”—a richer definition of success rooted in freedom, alignment, and inner wellbeing. After selling his company in 2019, Mike’s own post-exit challenges led him into deep study, coaching, and inner work—shaping his framework around values, presence, service, and financial clarity. He writes a long-form weekly newsletter on what makes a rich life and hosts the Money Stories podcast, where he explores money, meaning, and fulfilment with successful founders.

Find Mike: unbreakablewealth.com Twitter/X & Instagram: @mbrownco

About the host:

Paul Ryan is an entrepreneur, 8-figure business owner, mentor, podcaster and creator of the 1-Hour CEO and Life Code programs. As a CEO, Paul brings deep real-world experience of what it takes to succeed in business without losing yourself in the process.

Work With Paul

If you’re ready to build a business and life that’s aligned, intentional, and deeply fulfilling, explore The Life Code and The 1-Hour CEO — mentoring, frameworks, and tools for high-performing entrepreneurs who want peace, purpose, and freedom alongside success.

📞 Book a Discovery Call with Paul: https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Connect with the host: Pauljryan.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/

This bite-size conversation challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in modern life: that we work hard now so we can finally start living later. Derek Coburn argues that the traditional idea of retirement—grinding for decades and then stopping abruptly at a fixed age—is not only outdated, but often damaging. Many people sacrifice time with family, health, and meaning in pursuit of a future that may never deliver the fulfillment they expect.

Instead, Derek re-frames the conversation around designing a life you wouldn’t want to retire from. By extending how long we stay engaged in meaningful work—often in lighter, more flexible ways—we reduce financial pressure, reclaim time in the present, and preserve the sense of purpose and connection that so many people lose after stepping away from work entirely. The deeper message is clear: happiness isn’t something you chase directly. It’s a by-product of contribution, meaning, and staying engaged with life—on your own terms.

About the Guest

Derek Coburn is a financial advisor, speaker, and the author of Retire Retirement. With more than 25 years of experience advising clients, Derek challenges conventional thinking around money, work, and retirement. His work focuses on helping people design lives centered on meaning, contribution, and flexibility—rather than deferring fulfillment to some distant future. Derek is also known for his work on happiness versus meaning, and the psychological impact of purpose on long-term well-being.

About the Host

Paul Ryan is a CEO, 8-figure business owner, mentor, and podcaster. As host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, he explores the inner game of entrepreneurship—purpose, identity, emotional intelligence, well-being, and conscious success. Through conversations with founders, thinkers, coaches, and spiritual teachers, Paul creates space for deeper reflection on what it really means to live and lead well, beyond metrics and money.

Work With Paul

If you're ready to build a business and life that’s aligned, intentional, and deeply fulfilling, explore The Life Code and The One-Hour CEO — coaching and tools for high-performing entrepreneurs. https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan

Connect with the host: www.pauljryan.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/