The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Are you letting the past or fear of failure hold you back from achieving ultimate business success? Dana White, the relentless CEO behind the UFC, reveals the exact psychological frameworks and savage business tactics required to dominate your industry and build an empire. Dana White is the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the driving force who transformed a $2 million struggling fight promotion into a global sports juggernaut currently valued alongside the world's most elite sports leagues. Now expanding his empire into Power Slap and Zuffa Boxing, White has mastered the brutal mechanics of scaling businesses in highly competitive, chaotic environments. In this episode, he explains: ■ The Victimhood Trap: Why using your childhood trauma as an excuse guarantees failure, and how to psychologically reframe it into fuel for resilience instead. ■ The Loyalty Mandate: How treating business like a literal war requires building a tight-knit team of absolute "killers". ■ Biohacking as an Asset: The radical 12 week protocol of cold plunging, fasting, and targeted supplementation reversed his debilitating sleep apnea and fundamentally rewired his baseline energy for peak performance. ■ The Myth of "Making It": Why true entrepreneurs must become addicted to solving daily chaos to stay ahead of competitors and reach the top of your industry. ■ Weaponizing Your Gut: The exact mindset shift required to take massive risks when everyone else claims your vision is entirely impossible. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:17 What Made Dana White a Fighter 00:04:37 What His Childhood Really Looked Like 00:06:07 How His Relationship With His Dad Changed 00:08:05 Why Dana White Has Always Challenged Authority 00:10:18 What He’s Trying to Teach His Son 00:11:11 Why There’s No Such Thing as a Day Off 00:13:25 How Getting Kicked in the Face by Business Changed Him 00:14:46 Why Nobody Owes You Anything 00:16:06 Why Most People Aren’t Cut Out to Be Entrepreneurs 00:17:45 The Principles That Made the UFC Successful 00:19:55 Why Who You Hire Can Make or Break a Business 00:21:51 The Rare Skills Behind Dana White’s Success 00:27:41 Why He Built a Family Through Business 00:32:09 Why Great Leaders Stay in the Weeds 00:33:22 I Love the Haters 00:35:17 How Extreme Focus Fueled His Success 00:37:29 What Transformed His Energy and Health 00:39:54 Ads 00:39:55 Why You Either Have the Killer Instinct or You Don’t 00:42:01 Why You Have to Be a Savage in Business 00:44:43 Can You Learn the Killer Instinct? 00:45:21 Why a Chip on Your Shoulder Can Drive Success 00:46:27 Who Dana White Would Never Want to Compete Against 00:48:55 Do You Believe in Manifestation? 00:53:03 How He Learned to Leave the Past Behind 00:58:56 Has Dana White Forgiven His Mom? 01:04:33 Ads 01:04:34 Why You Should Trust Your Gut Over Focus Groups 01:06:58 Why Chasing a Paycheck Means You’ve Already Lost 01:07:54 How Much of Your Success Was Luck? 01:11:14 Why You Can’t Be Afraid to Take Risks 01:18:11 What Are You Still Chasing? 01:22:13 The One Last Goal He Has to Accomplish 01:24:40 Why Dana Believes He’ll Win at Boxing Follow Dana White: YouTube - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/Fgajy25 Instagram - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/6pRqwZs Facebook - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/GmEyz0C Twitter/X - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/Ddv4Kda UFC - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/F71pA3 The Diary Of A CEO: ◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK ◼ Shop The Diary Of A CEO collection: https://thediary.com/collections/shop ◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E ◼ Follow Steven - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AGU9QP4 Sponsors: Cometeer - https://cometeer.com/DOAC use code DOAC for $20 off Function Health - https://functionhealth.com/DOAC

Paul Rosolie is a conservationist, author and founder of Jungle Keepers, who has spent years exploring and protecting some of the most remote areas of the Amazon rainforest. In this moment, Paul shares the unbelievable journey that led him deep into the Amazon, where rumours of an uncontacted tribe became something far more real. He shares the emotions when coming face to face with those living separate from the modern world… and what this encounter taught him. Listen to the full episode here! Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/fk52Ml7u85b Apple: https://g2ul0.app.link/heJRtQmv85b Watch the Episodes On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDiaryOfACEO/videos Paul Rosolie: https://www.paulrosolie.com/

What happens when the relentless pursuit of adrenaline leads to losing your soul in the process? Shawn Ryan reveals the hidden psychological toll of ambition, the dark side of psychedelics, and the ultimate price of true alignment. Shawn Ryan is a former U.S. Navy SEAL, CIA contractor, and the creator of The Shawn Ryan Show, one of the most influential and widely watched independent podcasts. After transitioning from elite military service and dangerous covert operations into media, he has built an expansive platform known for raw unfiltered conversations. In this episode, he explains: ■ The Adrenaline Trap: How former elite operators often suffer from severe post-service depression because normal civilian life cannot replicate the neurological highs of combat. ■ The Psychedelic Nightmare: Why an intensive ibogaine treatment designed to optimize his mental state instead opened a terrifying portal to the spiritual realm and severe supernatural oppression. ■ The Cost of Alignment: Genuine personal transformation demands going through a shedding phase, in which you consciously step away from profitable ad deals, social networks, and short term incentives to stay true to your values. ■ The Illusion of the Herd: Authentic, lasting achievement relies entirely on nurturing a unique voice anchored in personal belief, while imitating results in creative paralysis. ■ The Ultimate Priority: Chasing ambition eventually demands sacrificing family time, demonstrating that no amount of business success can make up for absence in your children's lives. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:26 What Made Shawn Ryan? 00:03:38 What Separates a Navy SEAL From the Rest of the Military 00:06:09 What Really Happened During Operation Red Wings 00:08:44 How Becoming a Navy SEAL Changed Him 00:09:54 Are Podcasters Being Compromised by Planted Guests? 00:18:25 Did He Endorse Trump? 00:20:19 Has His Opinion on Trump Changed? 00:21:20 How the Military Feels About Deployment to Iran 00:22:30 Would America Be Better Off If Democrats Had Won? 00:29:19 Why the 2028 Election Matters to Him 00:32:48 Why He Deletes Podcast Episodes 00:37:20 Ads 00:39:47 Why He Moved to Colombia After Contracting 00:39:58 Did He Get Involved With Drug Networks in Colombia? 00:42:04 What Happened With the Police in Colombia? 00:46:49 Was Colombia Enough to Make Him Get Clean? 00:47:46 The Turning Point That Changed Everything 00:49:56 Why Going to Therapy Was So Difficult 00:51:02 Why He Turned to Psychedelic Therapy 00:54:14 What Is Ibogaine and Why Did He Take It? 00:57:16 The Hell He Experienced During Ibogaine 01:00:01 What Happened During His Psychedelic Experience 01:00:59 How That Experience Changed His Life 01:08:23 Ads 01:09:32 What Is an Exorcism and What Actually Happens? 01:11:44 How His Experiences Affected His Family 01:19:23 Had Supernatural Things Happened Before? 01:21:34 What He Thinks About Sponsors Walking Away 01:34:36 What Is Glacier and Why Does It Matter? Follow Shawn Ryan: YouTube: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/DoJWKmI Instagram: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AKYL4qQ X: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/Fofoug4 Glacier App: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/APvONfo - (20% off for the first 3 months) The Diary Of A CEO: ◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK ◼ Shop The Diary Of A CEO collection: https://thediary.com/collections/shop ◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E ◼ Follow Steven - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AGU9QP4 Sponsors: Shopify - https://shopify.com/bartlett Ketone - https://ketone.com/STEVEN for 30% off your subscription order

Are you chasing material success to fill an emotional void from your childhood? Adam Neumann speaks about the psychological lessons and spiritual frameworks that he learned after the most publicized corporate collapse in modern history. Adam Neumann is the visionary entrepreneur who cofounded WeWork, growing it into a $47 billion global empire before stepping down amid unprecedented public scrutiny. He is now partnered with legendary venture firm a16z, and founder of Flow; an innovative residential real estate company designed to solve the modern loneliness epidemic by fostering genuine community. In this episode, he explains: ■ The Ego Trap: How a massive $4.2 billion investment offer in the back of a taxi instantly derailed WeWork's mission, showing rapid financial success can blind founders to their core values. ■ The Foundation of Failure: Why experiencing a traumatic childhood or public business collapse is not a curse, but rather the exact mechanism required to build unbreakable psychological resilience. ■ The Technology Shabbat: Why disconnecting from all electronic devices for 24 hours every week is a necessary practice to break addiction, quiet noise, and discover yourself. ■ The True Measurement of Partners: Why you must evaluate your investors, friends, and life partners solely by how they treat you on your absolute worst day. ■ Influence vs. Control: The counterintuitive leadership principle that true power requires leading from the bottom up. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:11 Growing Up on a Kibbutz 00:03:11 How His Mother’s Behaviour Shaped Him 00:03:58 Why He Struggled at School as a Child 00:09:08 The Childhood Experiences That Left a Lasting Impact 00:13:46 Why He No Longer Sees Trauma the Same Way 00:15:35 Why Money Isn’t His Definition of Success 00:18:40 How Failure Changed His Definition of Success 00:21:48 Why the Idea of “We” Became So Powerful 00:27:20 Why You Have to Dream Bigger Than Feels Possible 00:30:45 What Kept Him Going at His Lowest Point 00:34:24 How to Overcome Self-Doubt 00:34:35 The Self-Doubt Behind Building WeWork 00:43:52 Why Hard Work Still Matters 00:47:13 Ads 00:52:37 What Makes a Great Team Member? 00:54:55 What Happened When He Met Masayoshi Son 00:55:34 How to Build Strong Foundations Before You Scale 01:14:19 Ads 01:15:01 How to Find the Signal in the Noise 01:15:29 Who Should You Listen to When Everyone Has an Opinion? 01:35:09 Why Focus Is Essential for Success 01:51:06 What Went Wrong at WeWork 02:02:30 The Advice From His Wife That Changed His Perspective 02:10:15 The 5 Biggest Lessons He Learned 02:11:25 The Letter Ben Horowitz Sent When Everything Fell Apart 02:12:29 His Final Message to Entrepreneurs Follow Adam Neumann: Adam’s X: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5svUr6b Flow Instagram: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/EyH0BGY Flow TikTok: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/GcyYR7H Flow Linkedin: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/DctJqQ9 Flow YouTube: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/1lIOLPI The Diary Of A CEO: ◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK ◼ Shop The Diary Of A CEO collection: https://thediary.com/collections/shop ◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E ◼ Follow Steven - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AGU9QP4 Sponsors: Wispr - Get 14 days of Wispr Flow for free at https://wisprflow.ai/steven Pipedrive - https://pipedrive.com/CEO

What if the right work-life balance looks completely different at every stage of your life Nicola Kilner is the Co-Founder and CEO of DECIEM, the company behind The Ordinary, one of the world’s most disruptive and successful beauty brands. In this moment, Nicola Kilner reveals what the earliest days of building DECIEM really looked like, why the traditional rules of work-life balance didn’t always apply, and how an intense startup culture helped shape the company it became. She also explains why knowing exactly what you’re not good at can be one of a leader’s greatest strengths and the lesson she learned when the skills that helped build a startup were no longer enough to lead it at scale. Listen to the full episode here! Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/qzeuYcCBF6b Apple: https://g2ul0.app.link/uzyOKKoBF6b Watch the Episodes On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDiaryOfACEO/videos Nicola Kilner: https://theordinary.com/en-gb/about-us/our-founder.html Wayfair - Visit http://Wayfair.com to start your home refresh