289. Financial Success at 21 Brought Him Little Satisfaction

Ryan Magdziarz

He’d won a scholarship and made it into the private high school of his dreams. At 13, he was nervous and shy but hardworking, and he was settling in. Then one morning he awakened to hear his father shouting into the phone, “What do you mean you’re not coming back?”

Ryan Magdziarz is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and founder of Winning International, which he scaled to seven figures at the age of 21. Ryan’s company helps coaches take their business to seven figures and beyond, creating an amazing impact on many people’s lives. He’s on a personal mission to donate over one billion dollars to a charitable organization within his lifetime and aims to inspire others towards the act of giving back.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

After struggling with his parents’ divorce in his early high school days—disillusioned and even losing his self-image as an achiever—he experienced a dramatic turn-around. He explored affiliate marketing, testing products and services that addressed teenage angst, including fitness, dating and acne. “But I was mainly the one helping other people market their products. It was less about the passion behind the product and more about trying to figure out if there was an opportunity to do something in life other than the normal pathway. Obviously, I identified myself as quite different and I wanted to do something more and find something unique.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

As his high school years were winding down, Ryan became passionate about golf, playing it before and after school, “Basically all the time.” At the club he met Dave, a man who became a mentor to him. “Dave was into personal development, which I didn’t know much about at this point. One day, he turned around to me and said, “Ryan, if you shoot this target score today, I’m gonna buy you an iPod for your birthday.” To Ryan, this was huge. “Bring it on, Dave. I’m gonna smash this!” He hit the target. “But the really cool thing was, Dave had loaded the iPod up with Tony Robbins recordings. I had no idea who Tony Robbins was, but every day on the way to golf in the mornings and at night, I would listen to Tony and be inspired. I was even listening to his health messages. I started taking carrots and cucumbers to school, as opposed to eating unhealthy. I had a complete turn-around, which was really cool.” He was firmly set on a path of personal development.

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“At 21, I had a team of eight in a digital agency, which we’d built up to be really cranking it. I was thinking, I’m not feeling any fulfillment at all. I know that I’m growing and hitting my growth need. But I’m not hitting my contribution need. I know I’m not on the right path. Usually what I would do when I hit a barrier or road block is I’d pause and reverse-engineer the outcome that I wanted. So, in this stage I wanted a fulfilled life, so I thought, what better way to get there than to go to the end of my life. I went right to the end and wrote out my own eulogy with everything I wanted to be remembered for. The success just did not matter at all. It was purely about the impact that I’d made on other people’s lives.”