👋 Welcome to a 🔓 free edition 🔓 of Ruckus Makers — the newsletter for bold school leaders who Do School Different. Each week we drop fresh content across our signature styles:
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MEH → The Onion meets Education. What could go wrong?
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What started as a frustrating Sunday afternoon mistake in a tiny Chicago apartment turned into a million-download podcast that changed everything.
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Ten years ago, I almost quit before I even started. I lost my first interview recording and nearly gave up on the whole podcasting dream.
Instead, I chose myself and launched anyway. Now the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast ranks in the top 0.5% worldwide.
Here are the 10 game-changing lessons I've learned from a decade of creating, serving school leaders, and building something that matters.
TIMESTAMPS
00:01 - The story begins: September 2nd, 2015
02:23 - The lost recording disaster that almost ended it all
04:08 - Choose yourself: The moment everything changed
06:29 - Lesson 1: Most overnight successes take 10+ years
08:50 - Lesson 2: Be an original (Purple Cow principle)
11:13 - Lesson 3: Fire yourself to scale
13:37 - Lesson 4: The one question that changes everything
15:47 - Lesson 5: Look for leverage in everything you do
17:22 - Lesson 6: Take action, then improve
19:15 - Lesson 7: Fear vs Adventure - you choose
21:08 - Lesson 8: Choose your pain - discipline or regret
23:45 - Lesson 9: Success won't make you happy
25:30 - Lesson 10: Love is the center of everything
