Ex-corporate operators don’t fail because they’re dumb.They fail because they try to play entrepreneurship like a safe promotion instead of a thousand-run swing of the bat.

In this episode of Second Life Leader, I sit down with Roger Martin—former pharma COO who walked away at 46 from the “sharp suit + stock options” life to wake up on a Monday with no salary, no benefits, and no safety net. Since then he’s co-founded RockBox Fitness, Beam Light Sauna, and ThriveMore Autopilot, and he’s brutally honest about what it actually takes to survive that transition.

We get into:

* Why survival is wildly underrated as a business strategy—and why just staying in the game longer than everyone else becomes a superpower.

* How to think about exponential learning as your real edge (not your idea, not your funding).

* The difference between pulling the slot machine lever and building offers that can hit “thousand-run” grand slams.

* Why most management jobs are going to be eaten by AI agents—and what that means for your next decade if you’re still hiding in middle management.

* Corporate as a paid training ground vs. a life sentence, and how to know when you’ve shifted from learning to just turning the crank.

* The conversations we’re having with our kids about college, creative careers, and being broke on purpose while you chase something real.

* Roger’s simple, ruthless advice to his son chasing music—and to any founder on the edge of quitting.

If you’re in your own second act—post-layoff, post-burnout, post-“this can’t be my legacy”—this one is a mirror and a map.

Connect with Roger:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/realrogermartin/

www.realrogermartin.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dougutberg.com