In this engaging conversation, Jay Jeezy shares his journey of personal growth, emphasizing the importance of stepping into one's truth and living with intention. He reflects on his early life experiences, the challenges he faced, and how he transformed a scarcity mindset into one of abundance. Through music, he found a means of self-discovery and healing, while also recognizing the significance of forgiveness and the impact of leadership. Jay emphasizes the value of curiosity, learning, and surrounding oneself with supportive individuals to foster growth and resilience. In this conversation, Jay Jeezy Jenkins shares his profound journey of healing, forgiveness, and personal growth. He reflects on the importance of embracing faith and spirituality, especially through the influence of his grandmother. Jay discusses the challenges he faced in the music industry, including the impact of bootlegging on his success. He emphasizes the significance of leadership, responsibility, and the pain that often accompanies making tough decisions. Ultimately, Jay expresses his desire to leave a lasting legacy by mentoring others and sharing his knowledge and experiences.
Chapters
00:00 Stepping into Your Truth
09:40 Navigating Life's Challenges
20:04 Survival and Growth
28:15 Finding Your Signature
35:48 The Journey of Forgiveness
43:34 Finding Faith and Spirituality
52:26 Overcoming Challenges in the Music Industry
59:42 Navigating Fame and Leadership
01:10:28 Building a Legacy Through Mentorship
01:18:44 The Future: Learning and Giving Back
Mel Robbins is the creator and host of the award-winning The Mel Robbins Podcast, one of the most successful podcasts in the world, and a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She has amassed 28 million followers online and is one of the most respected experts in mindset, life improvement, and behavior change. The Wall Street Journal calls her a “billion-view podcaster” and TIME Magazine says she gives millions of listeners around the globe “a reason to believe in themselves.”
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Gary Vaynerchuk is the Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, CEO of VeeFriends, and a 6x New York Times bestselling author. Outside of his businesses, “GaryVee” has spent the last decade pioneering the practice of building a personal brand online through his original content.
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From humble beginnings to a self-made multimillionaire with over $6 billion to date in global product sales and a starring role on ABC’s newest business reality TV show, Shark Tank, Daymond John is the personification of the American Dream. He continues to set standards of excellence while expanding his interests in fashion, branding, marketing, consulting, entertainment, and beyond. This industry leader, best-selling author, and ground breaking entrepreneurial expert has evolved into a highly sought after business and motivational speaker.—Get sent fresh leadership interviews, articles, stories, and events every Friday at: https://real-leaders.com/subscribe
Dr. Eric Edwards is the CEO & Chairman of Phlow, a B Corporation that helps brilliant minds bring medicines to life through advanced development and manufacturing in America.
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Speaker: Andy Alsop, CEO of The Receptionist
Session Description:Many companies prioritize structure and efficiency to scale, but true growth comes from empowering employees at every level. This session explores how employee supremacy—a model where employees are trusted as the driving force of innovation—can revolutionize your organization. Learn how to balance autonomy with alignment, foster a culture of ownership, and turn decentralized decision-making into a strategic advantage. Perfect for CEOs looking to cultivate high-performing teams, enhance innovation, and sustain long-term growth.
Session Objectives:
🔹 Redefine Employee Supremacy: Shift from top-down control to a model where employees drive meaningful change.
🔹 Implement Practical Models of Empowerment: Equip leaders with frameworks to encourage initiative, creativity, and accountability.
🔹 Master the Balance Between Freedom and Structure: Develop strategies to maintain agility while ensuring operational excellence.
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Speaker: Top Impact Company CEO Aaron Zeper of DMD Systems Recovery, LLC
Session Description:
Most companies looking to scale focus on process, process, process. And while process is important, innovation is mandatory. Discover how to leverage controlled anarchy to drive innovation and scale your business effectively. This session will teach you to balance creativity with structure, align innovation with company values, and transform chaotic ideas into refined processes. Perfect for CEOs looking to stay competitive in dynamic markets and unlock growth potential.
Session Objectives:
Redefine Anarchy for the Modern Business World:
Introduce Practical Models for Controlled Anarchy:
Teach Strategies to Manage and Transition from Anarchy to Order:
Key Takeaways:
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Join Keith Bearden, CEO of Alter Eco Foods, for an inspiring session on how mission-driven companies can scale impact while achieving lasting business success. With a wealth of experience in consumer packaged goods, industrial ingredients, and food services, Keith has mastered the art of turning vision into reality. From building high-performance teams to executing strategic turnarounds, his expertise spans executive leadership, sales, marketing, operations, and finance—making him a powerhouse in the impact business space.
In this session, Keith will share:
✅ The keys to balancing purpose and profit in the competitive food industry
✅ Lessons from leading domestic and international business operations
✅ How to navigate challenges in manufacturing, sustainability, and growth
✅ Strategies for creating high-impact, high-performance teams
✅ Insights from his leadership journey at Alter Eco Foods
Whether you're an entrepreneur, executive, or investor looking to make a real difference, this session will leave you with actionable strategies to drive meaningful impact while ensuring business resilience. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from a leader who has successfully built and scaled mission-driven brands in an ever-evolving global marketplace.
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Employee ownership isn’t just a trend—it’s a powerful strategy to drive growth, build alignment, and leave a lasting legacy. Darin Anderson, Chairman & CEO of Salas O’Brien, shares the company’s journey from single owner to closely held ownership, to an ESOP, and finally to a thriving direct ownership model with 90% employee participation. This session delivers actionable strategies to implement ownership models, engage teams, and create sustainable, employee-centric organizations that deliver exceptional results.
Session Objectives:
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Discover how Dan Green, CEO and co-founder of Helpsy, transformed his Wall Street expertise into a mission to keep clothes out of landfills while creating meaningful, impactful jobs. Learn how Helpsy’s unique model blends second-chance employment, incentive pay, and employee ownership to align efforts, inspire hard work, and foster accountability. Gain insights from Dan on overcoming challenges in building a purpose-driven company and why passion is key to driving lasting impact in business and sustainability.
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Speaker: Top Impact Company CEO Brandon Schwertner of Priority Power
Session Description:
Power demand is intensifying at a rate never seen before from emerging industries like AI. What is the balance in meeting this demand and underlying decarbonization goals? What does the world of energy look like decades into the future?
Session Objectives:
Are you a LinkedIn Lunatic? On this episode, Kevin explores the underground of reddit which exposes the satirical humor of linkedin.
Also, do you work on Saturday's? Perhaps you're fed up by today's hustle culture. Two takes on this.
If you're still reading this perhaps you're curious about how to fire people. Kevin shares his experience in how to do it quick.
What do you do when you're working overtime doing someone else's job that you're not getting paid for?
You're an entrepreneur who has so many ideas but you don't know where to focus.. where do you spend your time?
You've just been appointed CEO but you're not ready.. what now?
In this episode, Kevin combs Reddit for a poor examples of leadership and finds an example that will make you never want to present again!
By looking at criticism as a constructive learning tool, we can grow and mature in our roles.
In 2025 the Real Leaders Podcast shifts to focus on community questions and content tailored to our community to support real people with real work/life questions.
If you're looking to become a better leader for a better world, subscribe to RL+ to get direct access to the practitioners in Real Leaders magazine online, subscribe here:
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Ankur Edkie is the Co-Founder & CEO of Murf AI, an early-stage funded start-up working on simplifying voice audio and making high-quality voice overs accessible to everyone, using artificial intelligence.
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Apply for the The 2025 Real Leaders Impact Awards: https://real-leaders.com/top-impact-companies-2025/
Palash Soni is the CEO of Goldcast, an AI-powered B2B Video Campaign Platform that transforms marketing by putting video and events at the heart of the customer journey.
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Read the Magazine and Join the Community for Impact: https://real-leaders.com
Apply for the The 2025 Real Leaders Impact Awards: https://real-leaders.com/top-impact-companies-2025/
Dr. Artika Tyner is the CEO & Founder of Planting People Growing Justice, an organization that is set on building strong communities by developing leaders and empowering them to discover their own leadership potential in order to make an impact in the world.
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Read the Magazine and Join the Community for Impact: https://real-leaders.com
Apply for the The 2025 Real Leaders Impact Awards: https://real-leaders.com/top-impact-companies-2025/
Peggy Shell is the CEO & Founder of Creative Alignments, a recruiting company that partners with quickly growing companies in consumer products and technology that are using their business as a force for good by creating people-focused cultures, commitment to DEI, or impact-focused products or services.
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Read the Magazine and Join the Community for Impact: https://real-leaders.com
Apply for the The 2025 Real Leaders Impact Awards: https://real-leaders.com/top-impact-companies-2025/
Keith Bearden is the CEO of Alter Eco Foods, a chocolate-centric, sustainability-directed food company that takes healthy indulgence to a new level. Alter Eco is dedicated to spreading social justice and environmental regeneration while creating a new category of enlightened indulgences.
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Read the Magazine and Join the Community for Impact: https://real-leaders.com
Apply for the The 2025 Real Leaders Impact Awards: https://real-leaders.com/top-impact-companies-2025/
