The Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset

The episode dives into:

Rebuilding her life after betrayal, divorce, and leaving Australia
Why success, money, and millions of followers couldn't bring fulfillment
Losing your identity in relationships, careers, and achievements
Reconnecting with faith and learning to trust God through uncertainty
Building businesses, growing an online community, and finding authentic influence
The difference between having followers and having real authority
Finding love again, overcoming fear, and redefining determination through consistency

Robbi also shares how her background in dentistry and marketing led her to create a community focused on helping dental professionals grow beyond business success.
This episode is for anyone who's ever had to begin again, questioned their purpose, or realized that the life they've built no longer reflects who they truly are. Because sometimes, finding yourself means having the courage to walk away from everything you thought defined you.

Watch the full episode now on The Determined Society.
 

Connect with Robbi Ann Jan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robbijan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbijan
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RobbiJan
 

Connect with Shawn

pillar.io/theshawnfrench

Subscribe to our newsletter for all updates and heavy doses of DETERMINATION:

https://thedeterminedsociety.com

Subscribe on Apple/Spotify:

Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/determined-society-with-shawn-french-adversity-mindset/id1555922064
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/5kS9tkLGQLcVyRgB3mDznw?si=184c18d1b9d44f53
 

The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of a life built on your own terms.
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when the sport you've dedicated your life to is taken away, and you're forced to discover who you are without it?
In this episode of The Determined Society, Shawn French sits down with Manning Sumner, former Auburn University football player, celebrity performance trainer, and founder of LEGACY Fit and NO DAYS OFF, for a conversation on overcoming adversity, building a fitness business, discipline, leadership, and finding purpose after setbacks.
After suffering serious back injuries that ended his football career, Manning faced an identity crisis that ultimately led him toward a new mission: helping others become stronger. From training elite athletes to building LEGACY Fit into a growing fitness brand, his journey has been anything but easy.
The episode dives into:
Breaking his back, losing football, and rebuilding his identity
Training elite athletes, including Kevin Durant, James Harden, and NFL stars
Building LEGACY Fit from a gym in Wynwood into a growing fitness business
The leadership mistakes that almost cost him his team
Keeping his business moving through the COVID-19 shutdowns
Why community and consistency matter more than workout trends
The real meaning of NO DAYS OFF, his perspective on 75 Hard, and why progress doesn't require perfection
Manning also shares how fatherhood, faith, and the people around him have changed his understanding of success, responsibility, and what it means to lead.
This episode is for athletes, entrepreneurs, parents, and anyone who's ever had to start over. Because determination isn't about never falling behind. It's about choosing to move forward, even when life doesn't go according to plan.
Connect with Shawn
pillar.io/theshawnfrench
Subscribe to our newsletter for all updates and heavy doses of DETERMINATION:
https://thedeterminedsociety.com
Subscribe on Apple/Spotify:
Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/determined-society-with-shawn-french-adversity-mindset/id1555922064
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/5kS9tkLGQLcVyRgB3mDznw?si=184c18d1b9d44f53

The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of a life built on your own terms.
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when a successful real estate entrepreneur receives an 85-year federal prison sentence, loses his freedom, and has to rebuild everything from the ground up?
In this episode of The Determined Society, Shawn French sits down with Mark Shapiro, real estate investor, founder of Shapiro Capital and Shapiro University, for an unforgettable conversation on wealth, federal prison, faith, redemption, second chances, and the determination to start over.
Mark shares how his mother's influence helped him enter real estate while still in college, eventually building a substantial investment business before a securities fraud conviction changed his life. After spending years in federal prison, receiving presidential clemency, and returning home with almost nothing, he found his way back into real estate, closing a 372-unit apartment deal just six months after his release.
The episode dives into:
- Building a real estate portfolio while still in college
- The federal conviction, 85-year sentence, and reality of prison life
- Finding purpose through faith and teaching fellow inmates
- The presidential commutation that gave him a second chance
- Rebuilding through multifamily real estate investing and Shapiro Capital
- The influence of Robert G. Allen and creative real estate financing
- Why true determination means seeing beyond your circumstances
This conversation goes far beyond real estate and financial success. It's about losing your freedom, finding purpose in the darkest circumstances, and discovering that your past does not have to define your future.
If you've ever felt like life has taken everything from you, this episode is a reminder that the next chapter can still be built through faith, discipline, and the refusal to give up.
Watch the full episode now on The Determined Society.
Connect with Shawn
pillar.io/theshawnfrench
Subscribe to our newsletter for all updates and heavy doses of DETERMINATION:
https://thedeterminedsociety.com
Subscribe on Apple/Spotify:
Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/determined-society-with-shawn-french-adversity-mindset/id1555922064
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/5kS9tkLGQLcVyRgB3mDznw?si=184c18d1b9d44f53

The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of a life built on your own terms.
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it take to challenge conventional wisdom, risk everything, build a $200 million company, and still have the determination to start over at 73?
In this episode of The Determined Society, Shawn French sits down with Mark Sisson, founder of Primal Kitchen and Mark’s Daily Apple, bestselling author of The Primal Blueprint and Born to Walk, and co-founder of Peluva, for a conversation on entrepreneurship, health, longevity, failure, discipline, and the courage to trust your convictions.
Mark shares how his pursuit of elite athletic performance compromised his health, leading him to question conventional nutrition and exercise advice. From failed businesses and public criticism to risking his home on Primal Kitchen and eventually selling the company to Kraft Heinz for $200 million, his journey was built through years of setbacks, reinvention, and determination.
The episode dives into:
Why being extremely fit doesn't always mean being healthy
Challenging conventional nutrition advice, including paleo, keto, and the Primal Blueprint
The failures, financial risks, and decisions behind Primal Kitchen’s $200M sale
Why Mark believes walking, foot strength, and proper footwear are essential to longevity
Starting Peluva with his son and learning to lead by letting go
Overcoming fear of failure, embracing discomfort, and finding purpose at 73
Why determination matters more than motivation
This episode is for entrepreneurs, athletes, health enthusiasts, and anyone afraid to pursue an idea because others think it's crazy. Mark's story is a reminder that failure doesn't have to be the end of your journey. Sometimes it's the beginning of everything that comes next.
Watch the full episode now on The Determined Society.
Connect with Shawn
pillar.io/theshawnfrench
Subscribe to our newsletter for all updates and heavy doses of DETERMINATION:
https://thedeterminedsociety.com
Subscribe on Apple/Spotify:
Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/determined-society-with-shawn-french-adversity-mindset/id1555922064
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/5kS9tkLGQLcVyRgB3mDznw?si=184c18d1b9d44f53

The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of a life built on your own terms.
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Determined Society, Shawn French sits down with Nick Ayala, entrepreneur, co-founder of Platform One, and author of Capital Is the Game, for a raw conversation on business, discipline, fatherhood, integrity, raising capital, and what it really means to stay solid when life tests you.
Nick shares how growing up in Boca Raton showed him both sides of life: sleeping on a mattress in a one-bedroom apartment with his father while living across the street from extreme wealth. That contrast shaped the way he studied people, money, opportunity, and success.
The episode dives into:
• Growing up with financial struggle while being surrounded by wealth
• Learning how to study successful people from a young age
• Why Nick refuses to live with a victim mentality
• The golf injury that forced him to face a new identity
• Transitioning from sports into business
• Building and selling companies
• Doing nearly $100 million a year on the insurance side
• The truth about insurance, leads, chargebacks, and ego in the industry
• Walking away from a business situation he says he could not support morally
• Facing lawsuits, sleepless nights, and pressure without compromising integrity
• Why most founders are not ready to raise money
• What it means to be a steward of someone else’s capital
• How private equity, family offices, and high-net-worth investors think
• Why relationships matter more than transactions in business
• Lessons from doing business in Dubai and the UAE
• Fatherhood, discipline, marriage, and raising mentally strong kids
• Protecting your energy and choosing who gets access to your mind
• Why waking up early creates an advantage most people never use
• What determination really means in business, family, and life
This conversation goes beyond business and capital. It is about becoming mentally strong, building discipline, choosing responsibility over excuses, protecting your name, leading your family, and learning how to operate in rooms where the biggest deals are built on trust.
Watch the full episode now on The Determined Society.

Connect with Nick Ayala
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickJamesAyala/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickjayala
Website: https://nickjayala.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN5GSbKmGzZJZKNYe9vLnJQ
Connect with Shawn
pillar.io/theshawnfrench
Subscribe to our newsletter for all updates and heavy doses of DETERMINATION:
https://thedeterminedsociety.com
Subscribe on Apple/Spotify:
Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/determined-society-with-shawn-french-adversity-mindset/id1555922064
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/5kS9tkLGQLcVyRgB3mDznw?si=184c18d1b9d44f53

The Determined Society is hosted by Shawn French — a show for people who refuse to quit. Every episode goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the real stories behind resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of a life built on your own terms.
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all others.. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.