Hard Knocks

Hello and welcome back once again to Hard Knocks! This time we're speaking with Rob Corrao, a man who is not just a business owner, a business founder, but he is also one of the amazing pilots for Angel Flight and tons of other amazing different ways that he donates his time. But one of the key things you should make sure that you listen to is really interesting wisdom never heard anywhere else. Such as, it's not that the 'grass is greener on the other side', but that you aren't spending time watering your own grass. Check this one out.

This time we're talking to Justin Gray, a man who by almost every single factor you could say has lived the American dream. Starting with blue collared work for his dad, to building and selling multiple companies. But we spend time discussing the pieces of wisdom that have driven all of his success and what he's learned from all of his failures. From a near death experience of a bullet missing him by two inches, to him almost accidentally becoming a father. The wisdom that drove everything? “What is your mission and what actually matters to you?”

In this raw episode, we sit down with Jack Hojnar, a wildly successful entrepreneur and longtime friend of John, who rode the dot-com boom, launched companies, and saw them acquired. But true to Hard Knocks style, we dive deep into his struggles—divorce, attempted suicide—and the profound wisdom he gained along the way. From his mantra ‘choose your hard’ to lessons on effectiveness over being right, this episode isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s truly beautiful.

Meet David Avrin—a former a capella singer with “The Diners” who traded harmonies for a global stage, speaking in 28 countries to teach companies how to create brilliant customer experiences. From his roots as the second of six kids with a rocket scientist dad who photographed Mars, to building a life with his wife, three kids, and two cats. David’s journey is packed with hard knocks and challenges us to “live your dash” between the dates on your tombstone.

Our newest episode out now on all platforms 🎙️⁠

Here's our conversation with Perry Marshall, a trailblazer marketing guru now leading the most revolutionary cancer research out there (stage 0 detection).

We talk about the need to be willing to challenge authority, how to find "the bottom of the swamp", the hard (and rewarding) experiences of being an adoptive father, faith, and of course the research his team is doing right now.

"Your #1 job is to find out what your God given formula is"

Want to make sure you never miss an episode? Or don't have time to for a 2+ hour podcast? Join our newsletter Nuggets of Wisdom. Powerful bite-sized insights and a heads-up whenever a new episode drops! https://hardknocks.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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📖 Key points in the episode:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:17 First seminar, 170 MacBooks

00:21:03 His Dad. Challenging Authority

00:26:10 The Itch

00:44:12 Find the bottom of the swamp

00:50:53 Communications theory

00:56:49 The creative process

01:03:28 Evolution 2.0. Fundamental principles

01:23:03 Adopting a child from China

01:42:36 Cancer research

01:54:56 The Science publishing circle jerk

02:07:46 The Facts and future of Cancer

02:19:10 Find your God given formula

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👥 Credits:

Our Guest: Perry Marshall

Hosted By: David Fox and John Fox

Editors: Maggie Fox

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🚀 Links for this Episode:

Perry's website: https://www.perrymarshall.com/

Perry's Cancer Team: https://reversingcancer.org/

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Here's our conversation with Alexandra Watkins, a professional Namer. She's the woman who gave The Wendy's Baconator its name amongst many other well known brands.

We talk about how she got her start (a Match.com date), why people need to stop taking themselves so seriously, prison penpals and a boat mutiny, and why we all need to have more fun and make people smile.

Want to make sure you never miss an episode? Or don't have time to for a 2+ hour podcast? Join our newsletter Nuggets of Wisdom. Powerful bite-sized insights and a heads-up whenever a new episode drops! https://hardknocks.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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📖 Key points in the episode:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:09 Match.com date to professional namer

00:15:39 Why be a namer?

00:21:45 Working at 7/11

00:30:18 Find who is doing what you want to do

00:37:20 Eating JIF during a boat mutiny

00:52:48 Her Mom

00:59:08 Prison penpals

01:10:00 Break the rules. Make people smile

01:21:43 Baconator and her naming process

01:34:26 Advice on writing a book

01:45:20 Elon Musk's baby. Don't take yourself so seriously

01:54:33 Love your name award

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👥 Credits:

Our Guest: Alexandra Watkins

Hosted By: David Fox and John Fox

Editors: Maggie Fox

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Time for another episode of Hard Knocks! This time we have Dennis Yu, one of the most hard working, analytical, knows how to have fun, and well read people I know.

Here's some sneak peeks of things we chat about:

1. His tenacity in going from being bullied as a child for not speaking English well, to reading 8+ hours a day and representing California in the National Spelling Bee. He's also now read over 4500 books

2. The importance of mentorship and how to TRULY teach others by example. Something we've lost in this day and age

3. His goal of creating 1 million jobs in Pakistan by 2027

4. The importance of sharing your gifts with the world

5. How to find a good coach. Spoiler: Make sure you're coachable

Want to make sure you never miss an episode? Don't have time for long videos? Join our list where we keep you up to date and send you compressed versions of pieces of advice our guests share! https://hardknocks.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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📖 Key points in the episode:

Coming Soon!!

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👥 Credits:

Our Guest: Dennis Yu

Hosted By: David Fox and John Fox

Editors: Maggie Fox

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Most of us know Marty for the creation of the music behind Halo, but there's so much more to his story that never gets told...

1. His history being a jingle writer

2. How his entire recording studio burned down to the ground

3. Weaseling his way into working on Riven, and eventually Halo. So much so that eh gained a mascot... The Ytrem (yeah the episode title means something!)

It's all of his stories he shares that gives true meaning to advice like "Don't be afraid" and "What's the worst that could happen?". I'm sure after listening in, those phrases you've heard countless times will have much more meaning and be far more actionable than ever before.

Want to make sure you never miss an episode? Don't have time for long videos? Join our list where we keep you up to date and send you compressed versions of pieces of advice our guests share! https://hardknocks.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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📖 Key points in the episode:

Coming Soon!!

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👥 Credits:

Our Guest: Marty O'Donnell

Hosted By: David Fox and John Fox

Editors: Maggie Fox

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Ever wonder what happens when you mix a restless spirit, a donated kidney, and a dash of mountain man dreams? Find out in our latest Hard Knocks episode featuring the one-and-only Chris Sullivan! We're talking:

1. Chemistry degrees leading to ski slopes (because why not?)

2. How losing an "angry kidney" can make you a happier person

3. Parenting through adversity: Supporting your child's independence during a health crisis

4. The wisdom of "don't sweat the small stuff" and why it matters more than you think

5. Turning restlessness into a superpower: Chris's secret to success in sales and life

6. The art of slowing down to speed up in a fast-paced world

Warning: This episode may cause sudden urges to climb mountains, reassess your priorities, or rethink your definition of success!

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📖 Key points in the episode:

Coming Soon!!

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👥 Credits:

Our Guest: Chris Sullivan

Hosted By: David Fox and John Fox

Editors: Maggie Fox

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