Darren Prince - Agent to Magic Johnson & Muhammad Ali | Why Success Made Me Sicker
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Darren Prince is an American sports and celebrity agent who built a multi-million-dollar empire representing icons like Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Hulk Hogan, and Charlie Sheen—after starting his first company at 14 and selling it for a million bucks by 20. Behind the success, he battled a 24-year opioid addiction that nearly destroyed him, even while orchestrating the legendary 2002 reconciliation between Ali and Joe Frazier, two of boxing's greatest rivals. Now over 17 years sober, he's become a fierce advocate for recovery, speaking globally about mental health and addiction while running the Aiming High Foundation, where 100% of proceeds fund treatment for those fighting the same demons he conquered.
➡️ Show Links
https://www.instagram.com/agent_dp/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenprince1/
https://officialdarrenprince.com/
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/
ShipStation - https://www.shipstation.com/ (Code: SuccessStory)
Square - https://square.com/go/success
SurveyMonkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/scott
Monarch Money - https://www.monarchmoney.com (Code: Success)
Claude - https://claude.ai/success
Huel - https://huel.com/scott (Code: scott)
NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary
➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:27 – “Best Version of My Messed-Up Self”
03:18 – The Dark Side of Early Success
11:53 – Obsession: Gift and Curse
14:44 – Chasing Money Young — and Losing It
18:56 – Sponsor Break
21:43 – Surviving Life’s Early Collisions
32:40 – How the 12 Steps Rebuilt Him
40:27 – Why We Turn to Substances
45:09 – Sponsor Break
47:39 – Why the Successful Must Give Back
51:08 – “The Opposite of Addiction Is Connection.”
55:57 – The Danger of Isolation
1:07:51 – Childhood Trauma’s Lifelong Impact
1:13:02 – His Final Message to Anyone Struggling
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Vishal Virani - Rocket.new Founder | The Future Of AI Software Development Belongs to Non-Coders
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Vishal Virani is a serial entrepreneur and AI product innovator who co-founded Rocket.new (formerly DhiWise), scaling it to 400,000+ users across 180 countries and $4.5M ARR in just 16 weeks—attracting a $15M seed round from Salesforce Ventures, Accel, and Together Fund. Operating from Surat, India, his vibe-coding platform has generated 500,000+ applications and serves users from Meta, PayPal, KPMG, and PwC. Previously, he won Product Hunt's Golden Kitty Award for Best Developer Tool and built a 40,000+ developer community around DhiWise.
➡️ Show Links
https://x.com/Vishalvirani91
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishalvirani/
https://www.rocket.new/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=successstory&utm_campaign=founderstory
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/
ShipStation - https://www.shipstation.com/ (Code: SuccessStory)
Square - https://square.com/go/success
SurveyMonkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/scott
Monarch Money - https://www.monarchmoney.com (Code: Success)
Claude - https://claude.ai/success
Huel - https://huel.com/scott (Code: scott)
NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary
➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:23 – Why Vishal Chose Tech
04:45 – Building in Surat Anyway
12:03 – Pushing Through the Unknown
18:49 – When to Jump Into Entrepreneurship
26:22 – Sponsor Break
29:10 – Consumption vs. Application
32:54 – What Rocket Really Solves
42:26 – The First Demo Obsession
47:46 – Is Rocket Slow on Purpose?
50:53 – Speed vs. Depth in AI
56:59 – Sponsor Break
59:30 – Why AI Doesn’t Reduce Mental Load
1:01:49 – Is AI Replacing Humans?
1:07:18 – The Future Software Team
1:10:48 – Where Hallucinations Start
1:14:41 – AI One Year From Now
1:16:21 – Rocket: Luck or Hard Work?
1:18:07 – What Sustainable Business Really Means
1:19:46 – A Beginner’s Mental Model
1:22:56 – Advice to My 20-Year-Old Self
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Barak Swarttz - YouTuber & Activist | The Truth About Israel They Don't Want You to Know
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Barak Swarttz is an American-Israeli elite performance coach, speaker, and content creator with a 225K YouTube following who has trained over 20 NBA and WNBA players, including Israeli stars Deni Avdija and Omri Caspi. Forged through career-ending injuries including a torn ACL and fractured vertebrae, his "Gain Resilience In Time" (GRIT) philosophy embodies the mental fortitude that defines his advocacy work. Reaching millions monthly, Barak uses his platform to deliver what academics praise as one of the most nuanced perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leveraging basketball as a universal language to bridge cultural divides, combat antisemitism, and inspire truth-driven dialogue across college campuses and global audiences.
➡️ Show Links
https://www.instagram.com/otherbarak/
https://x.com/otherbarak/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barakswarttz/
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/
ShipStation - https://www.shipstation.com/ (Code: SuccessStory)
Square - https://square.com/go/success
SurveyMonkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/scott
Monarch Money - https://www.monarchmoney.com (Code: Success)
Claude - https://claude.ai/success
Incogni - https://incogni.com/success (Code: Success)
Huel - https://huel.com/scott (Code: scott)
NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary
➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:39 – What Burak Really Does
02:54 – Basketball Meets Advocacy
14:45 – Is Social Media Dividing Us?
21:42 – Burak’s Origins
27:12 – Walking Away from Basketball
33:38 – Moving to Israel Without Serving
44:47 – Sponsor Break
47:31 – Changing Minds on Israel
59:20 – Does the World Hate Israel?
1:16:50 – The Genocide Question
1:32:34 – Why Israel Gets Zero Empathy
1:54:57 – Sponsor Break
1:57:28 – How Self-Work Changed His Debates
2:27:33 – Why Politics Defines Identity
2:35:22 – Burak’s Source of Optimism
2:42:12 – Conflict Before Global Change
2:50:20 – The One Lesson for His Future Kids
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2:55:31
Lessons - The #1 Thing Great Mentors Do Differently | Scott Miller - 6x Bestselling Author
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In this "Lessons" episode, Scott Miller, 6x bestselling author, breaks down the true essence of mentorship and why the best mentors lead with humility, openness, and lived experience. He explores how real guidance comes from sharing failures as honestly as successes, why clear intent and boundaries make mentor-mentee relationships stronger, and how wisdom—not authority—creates meaningful growth. Miller also highlights the importance of seeking different mentors for different areas of life, using their perspectives to reveal blind spots, expand thinking, and accelerate your personal and professional development.
➡️ Show Links
https://successstorypodcast.com
YouTube: https://youtu.be/YacYPqNDYz0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scott-miller-author-speaker-evp-at-franklin-covey-a/id1484783544
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cOqso85pyJb11MVxCDkDn
➡️ Watch the Podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary
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Lessons - How to Scale by Hiring People Smarter Than You | Charlie Feng - Serial Entrepreneur
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In this "Lessons" episode, Charlie Feng, serial entrepreneur and early-stage advisor, breaks down what it truly takes to move a company from zero to one and build the foundation for long-term scale. He explains why product-market fit is never static, how founders can use focused experiments to distinguish real demand from paid traction, and why early customer economics matter more than long-term hypotheticals. Charlie also dives into the importance of founder-market fit, describing how a team’s skills, interests, and worldview shape the product they ultimately create. Finally, he shares his framework for hiring people smarter than you—leaders who complement your strengths, align with your mission, and eventually make you redundant so the company can grow beyond its founders
➡️ Show Links
https://successstorypodcast.com
YouTube: https://youtu.be/CeNNFvo-K90
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/charlie-feng-co-founder-of-clearco-growing-your/id1484783544
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/51kGkrhESRr372Eb6Aoqtr
➡️ Watch the Podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary
Welcome to the Success Story Podcast, hosted by entrepreneur, business executive, author, educator & speaker, Scott D. Clary (@scottdclary). On this podcast, you'll find interviews, Q&A, keynote presentations & conversations on sales, marketing, business, startups and entrepreneurship. Scott will discuss some of the lessons he's learned over his own career, as well as have candid interviews with execs, celebrities, notable figures and politicians. All who have achieved success through both wins and losses, to learn more about their life, their ideas and insights. He sits down with leaders and mentors and unpacks their story to help pass those lessons onto others through both experiences and tactical strategy for business professionals, entrepreneurs and everyone in between. To get more of the Success Story podcast, go to www.successstorypodcast.com.
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