Rob Riggle on Choosing the Harder Path

The Playbook With David Meltzer

David Meltzer, Entrepreneur.com

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.9 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s episode, I sit down with Rob Riggle, a Marine Corps veteran turned actor, comedian, writer, and producer whose career spans from Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show to blockbuster films. Rob shares how his time in the Marines built the discipline, resilience, and fear-conquering mindset that have shaped every chapter of his life. We talk about the realities of chasing opportunities, why action matters more than shortcuts, and how giving yourself permission to fail is the real key to growth. Rob’s stories, from stand-up’s nerve-wracking beginnings to life’s unexpected detours, offer a candid reminder that hard work and consistency win every time.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to office hours. I'm David Meltzer, live here at the Sirius XM Studio in the win in Las Vegas.
0:05.8	And we have this amazing energy going today with Kyle Matthews, Sean Dill and Bucky O'Neills, our anchorman.
0:13.1	Speaking of anchorman, we can see that poster behind him, but this is one of our amazing heroes.
0:19.0	He's a United States vet, a U u.s marine but most people know
0:23.1	him as an actor writer producer director and an amazing comedian uh but i'll tell you as great as he is
0:29.4	at everything he does uh he's even a better friend and that's what means the most to me uh he truly
0:36.7	goes out of his way for all the people he cares about and shows up for people
0:42.5	that he doesn't even know.
0:44.2	Rob Riggle, welcome back to office hours.
0:47.6	Hey, man.
0:48.5	That's a great intro.
0:49.6	I need you to follow me around all day.
0:51.7	No problem.
0:53.6	If my stomach did hurt from laughing all day, I would.
0:57.9	You're farther along in the success than a lot of people in your industry.
1:03.2	And one of the things with the new media world is that there's a lot of opportunity
1:10.1	because of these type of shows and your own podcast
1:14.3	and you don't have to wait for TriStar or Legacy or Legendary to call you for the big roles
1:21.7	anymore. We can do just by and by picking and choosing things that are aligned with maybe where we
1:27.2	want to be our divine
1:28.4	direction and I'm sure you're overloaded with different options and opportunities.
1:34.0	I know your podcast is called Riggles Picks.
	...

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