Dr. Benjamin Ritter, founder of Live for Yourself (LFY) Consulting and award-winning author of "Becoming Fearless," is an international leadership and career coach, Sr. Talent Management Consultant, Top LinkedIn Voice, global speaker, and host of The Executive, and the Live Fearlessly Podcasts.
Ben has coached over 500 leaders with a strong focus on senior-level executives across multiple industries and geographic regions, within organizations that varied in scale from 50 to over 250,000 employees and have included names such as Amazon, Coursera, DoorDash, Google, Fiserv, Northwestern, Mayo Clinic, Pinterest, Yelp, and more.
Ben’s passions include working with Better for You CPG organizations, small business founders and minority-owned companies, for which he offers pro-bono coaching services.
Ben possesses a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership with focus on value congruence and job satisfaction, an MBA in entrepreneurial management, and an MPH in health policy administration.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Ben now resides in Austin, Texas, with his partner, Tiffany, Squirt, a “rebel in a shell” turtle, Elwood, a scruffy rescue pup, and Sima, the kitty queen of their kingdom.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN:
(00:03) Michael Gardon introduces Dr. Benjamin Ritter, emphasizing the theme of breaking and rebuilding to create desired futures.
(02:26) Dr. Ritter shares his transformative journey from feeling lost during his college years to finding his path.
(04:53) Discussion on how Dr. Ritter redirected his focus from a failed soccer career to personal and professional development.
(06:59) Dr. Ritter talks about his social experiments and building confidence through overcoming public interaction fears.
(09:28) He explains how these experiences helped him develop key leadership skills and charisma.
(11:46) Reflects on specific challenging social interactions that were crucial for his growth.
(14:09) Dr. Ritter discusses the various jobs and experiences that led to opportunities like working at Lollapalooza.
(18:57) How a chance encounter in a bar led to a significant career opportunity in men's coaching.
(21:17) Talks about the rocky start to his professional life and the pivot towards entrepreneurship.
(23:37) Discusses his return to healthcare and subsequent evolution into a leadership development role.
(28:24) Transition to full-time coaching and leadership development, supplemented by his doctoral studies.
(30:43) Leveraging personal interests in health to mentor CPG companies and invest in health ventures.
(32:58) Recaps his varied career paths and details a nearly missed opportunity with the CDC.
(34:54) Discusses his book "Becoming Fearless" and emphasizes taking control of one's career path.
(37:09) Explains his coaching philosophy and the importance of self-leadership.
(39:35) Helping clients achieve career fulfillment by aligning personal motivations with professional goals.
(41:31) The necessity of clarity in professional branding and understanding oneself.
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BOOKS AND RESOURCES
- Listen to Dr Benjamin's podcasts: The Executive and Live Fearlessly
- Live for Yourself Consulting: Dr. Ritter's consulting firm where he offers coaching and leadership development services
- Read Dr Benjamin Ritter's book: Becoming Fearless: 65 Strategies to Journey from Self-Doubt to Self-Mastery
- "Reframing" by Richard Bandler - A book that discusses how to reframe one's own thoughts and beliefs, which was transformative for Dr. Ritter.
- "ImPro" by Keith Johnstone - The first book written on improvisational theater, which discusses the different masks people wear and helped Dr. Ritter quiet his mind and immerse himself in environments.
- Connect with Dr Benjamin Ritter on LinkedIn and his website.
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