I wasn’t born with status.
I grew up in a town of 900 people buried in the woods of Upstate New York — the kind of place where you left your doors unlocked because the criminals lived in town, and even they didn’t steal from each other.
This wasn’t exactly an opportunity-rich environment.
By age 12, I was already plotting my escape. Not from people — but from desperation. And back then, I believed one thing:
Money was freedom.
So, I did something no one else was willing to do.
Every Thursday morning, I’d wake up at 5:00 AM — before school, before sunrise, before anyone else was moving.
Why Thursday?
Recycling day.
I’d haul two oversized 50-gallon trash bags and walk house to house, rummaging through blue bins, pulling out any bottle or can with a 5-cent deposit. One hour, two bags — 30 bucks in cash.
It was dirty work. Zero status.
Neighbors yelled. Kids called me “Garbage Boy.” Friends bailed.
But I didn’t care. Because I wasn’t chasing status — I was chasing leverage.
That was the first lesson I ever learned in business:
You can play the status game, or you can play to win.
Most people want to “look successful.”
I’d rather be so unreasonable they can’t ignore me.
Eventually, the jeers stopped.
The same neighbors who mocked me started saving cans.
And the same kids who clowned me started hanging around — because I always had cash in my pocket.
I didn’t earn respect by fitting in.
I earned it by executing.
Chief Growth Officer of Linqura — an agentic AI platform helping the insurance industry recapture $10B in new premiums.
Founder of Finding Peak — a platform and performance lab for high-achievers who want more than clichés.
Host of The Ryan Hanley Show — 300+ episodes with some of the sharpest operators, thinkers, and creators on the planet.
Former founder/CEO of Rogue Risk — built, scaled, and sold from scratch. The hard way.
TEDx speaker. 400+ keynotes. Creator. Writer. Angel investor. Golf junkie. Little League coach.
And most people suck at telling theirs.
In a world drunk on algorithms, I teach leaders to speak with power, position with precision, and sell with soul.
I’m a Christian. A Stoic. A believer that God gave you talents — and expects you to use them.
The only thing status ever built was resentment.
You want impact? Start before you’re ready. Stay after it’s hard. Play your own damn game.
I help leaders lead — better, bolder, and without apology.
Because if you want to win in business, you need more than a playbook — you need command presence. The kind that’s forged through pressure, failure, and earned perspective.
Here’s how I help:
Lead yourself, or lose everything.
Most people are waiting to be chosen. Leaders choose themselves — and take the hits that come with it. I coach founders, executives, and creators on how to build personal sovereignty, emotional resilience, and mental toughness.
This isn’t about confidence hacks. It’s about how you carry yourself in the fire.
Execution is identity.
You don’t rise to the level of your goals — you fall to the level of your systems. I help high-performers install the habits, feedback loops, and operating rhythms that move the needle. This is elite performance at the intersection of business, health, and legacy.
People buy leadership, not logos.
Your story is your leverage. Your reputation is your distribution. I help you clarify your message, position your offer, and build a brand that feels inevitable — not because you chased trends, but because you built something real.
I’ve sat in every seat at the table: founder, operator, speaker, investor, coach.
And here’s what I know:
People don’t follow logos. They follow leaders.
Leaders who do the work. Who tell the truth. Who show the hell up.
That’s who I am.
That’s who I build for.
Welcome to my world.
Let’s make something unreasonable.
This is the way.
Hanley
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