Ryan Stewman is a high-performance sales coach and trainer who went from spending two stints in federal prison to building a multiple seven figure income.

He is the author of several best-selling books including Kick-Ass, Bulletproof Business, Elevator to the Top, and Hardcore Closer. You can learn more and connect with Ryan at hardcorecloser.com

Favorite Success Quote

“You must take action before you can take over.”

Key Points

1. Knowledge is Only Power if You Take Action 

You often hear the phrase “Knowledge is Power”.

This simply isn’t true.

In and of itself, knowledge is useless.

Knowledge doesn’t do anything. It can’t add money to your bank account. It can’t make you ripped. It can’t help you find the woman of your dreams. It can’t do a damn thing.

As the (in)famous entrepreneur and investor Derek Sivers said:

If [more]information was the answer we’d all be billionaires with six packs.

But we aren’t and it isn’t.

Knowledge is only power if it’s applied.

It’s only worth a damn if you use it.

It only matters when you leverage your knowledge to take massively informed action towards achieving the life of your dreams.

2. Everything But Death is Temporary 

Everything in life is temporary.

Good and bad.

All of the pains, frustrations, and heartaches will eventually end.

All of the success that you are enjoying will one day grind to a halt.

Everything in your life will end.

And this is a beautiful thing.

Because life is temporary and fleeting, like the cliche feather in the wind, everything falls into place.

When you are struggling you know that your struggles are temporary.

When you are at the top, you take the time to savor the moment because you know that it will end.

Keep perspective on your life, the good and the bad, by always remembering that “This too shall pass”.

3. Your Past Doesn’t Matter 

This year alone, Ryan’s company will generate more multi-millions of dollars in revenue.

Which illustrates a very important lesson…

Your past doesn’t fucking matter.

Who you were yesterday has no bearing on who you are today and Ryan is living proof of this.

At 19, Ryan was strung out on every drug that you can imagine and dealing full time to make ends meet.

He was eventually busted by the feds and sent to federal prison for several years.

When he was released, he dove into the world of sales and eventually, was making so much money in real estate that he was again targeted by the police who thought he was still selling drugs.

They raided his house and found zero evidence of any drug possession, use, or trafficking. In order to save face, they arrested for felon possession of a firearm (which resided in a legal grey zone).

He was sentenced to prison again except this time, his then-wife stole all of his assets and left him for the man with whom she’d been having an affair.

Talk about a mess, right?

Upon his second release, Ryan dove into the world of sales again taking special care to keep his nose clean and, in the last two years, has grown his sales coaching business from $0 to multimillions in revenue.

If a convicted felon and former junky who lost everything can rise from the ashes and rebuild his life to the top then so can you.

So cut the excuses and quit using your past as a crutch.

You are capable of achieving anything that you desire.

But you have to overcome your excuses and hustle.

4. It’s All Sales 

In life and business, you must become a master of sales.

I know that the word conjures up images of sleazy used car dealers and snake oil peddlers but let me assure you, everything that you do is sales.

Want to meet the woman of your dreams and convince her to marry you? That’s sales.

Want to get funding for your new startup? That’s sales.

Want to convince your kids that it’s important to read personal growth books and regularly exercise? That’s sales.

Want to get your boss to give you a raise or move forward with one of your ideas? You guess it! Sales.

Everything that you do is sales or, to put it in less cringy terminology, influence.

If you lack this skill then your quality of life and success will suffer.

If you can master it then the world is your oyster.

5. Take Massive Action. Fast

Although I’ve already mentioned the importance of taking massive action in this article, it’s a point worth repeating.

Experience is the best teacher and there is no book or course that can serve as a shortcut for rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty.

Your goal in business and life should be to acquire the MVIR or ‘minimum viable information required’ to take action on your next step.

I’m not recommending that you simply take action without a plan or system to support you.

I am saying that you should take action as soon as you have a concrete next step.

You know what you need to do to improve your body, boost your income, or improve your love life. So go and do it.

Once you’ve taken action, collect the MVIR for the next step and take action again.

Information is important.

But in a world where more than 2.5 million blog posts are published each day, information can also be a massive obstacle.