I’ve always prided myself on being intentional—living dialed in. My days are structured, I try to be a good husband and father, and I spend a lot of time writing about how to juggle work, family, and fitness. But lately, I’ve been sitting with a question: What would happen if I stopped optimizing? If I […]| Ryan Stephens
Recently I ran a little experiment on myself. I wanted to see if I could uncover the quiet, underlying belief that shapes my decisions—especially the ones that matter most. To do it, I borrowed a prompt designed for deep self-investigation. Here it is: Play the role of a skilled psychological investigator. Your goal is to […]| Ryan Stephens
Learn 22 timeless mentorship lessons from top leaders — practical advice you can use to grow your career and guide others.| Ryan Stephens
Join thousands of driven professionals committed to leveling up across career, family, fitness, and personal growth. Get practical insights delivered straight to your inbox: As featured in: Want the…| Ryan Stephens
Explore Graham Duncan’s “The Playing Field” and learn how top performers master their game, evolve over time, and play for the long term.| Ryan Stephens
Learn the 8 habits of highly creative communities from David Ogilvy’s The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness, including courage, curiosity, and persistence.| Ryan Stephens
Are you feeling stuck and not sure what to do? Do you feel like you have potential but are not living up to it? It’s all too easy for young people, especially in today’s fast-moving world, to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available and start questioning whether they will ever reach their […] The post Unlocking Your Full Potential: A Practical Guide to Personal Growth appeared first on Ryan Stephens.| Ryan Stephens
On September 19th, 2023, one of the greatest collegiate cowboys and rodeo coaches of all time, Sonny Sikes, passed away. He was my grandfather. The next day, the following words poured out of me: I knew the days were numbered so we took the kids to visit. It was pure chaos, so I took them […] The post Rest in Peace, Papa (Sonny Sikes Tribute) appeared first on Ryan Stephens.| Ryan Stephens
L.N. “Sonny” Sikes is one of the pioneers of the National College Rodeo Association. He is one of the most renown collegiate rodeo coaches (Sam Houston State University) to ever grace the sport. He has taught and mentored countless students throughout his career. Additionally, he is a phenomenal husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend. […] The post Sonny Sikes appeared first on Ryan Stephens.| Ryan Stephens
As a leader, who is always trying to learn and improve, one of the things I’ve always tried to do is hire the best, most competent people and then get out of their way. Of course, you always want to be there for your team. You want to share your experiences, talk through things, let […] The post Leadership Bottlenecks appeared first on Ryan Stephens.| Ryan Stephens
This post offers 3 questions you can ask yourself to combat negative thinking. We all encounter negative thoughts from time to time. The key is to prevent them from causing a downward spiral. Any time you’re experiencing negative thoughts, try this exercise on for size. First, get out a sheet of paper, fold it in […] The post 3 Questions to Combat Negative Thinking appeared first on Ryan Stephens.| Ryan Stephens