4 Guests, 4 Gut-Punches: The Best of One Part Lion One Part Lamb

95% of people believe they're completely self-aware. Only 10% actually are, and that gap nearly cost this week's guest his business, his family, and his sanity. On this episode of One Part Lion, One Part Lamb, Stephen sits down with Lucas Sherraden, pastor turned real estate leader turned author of The Uncaged Leader, to unpack the hidden programming running underneath every decision we make. Lucas shares the moment his eighth-grade daughter's question exposed what was really driving his near-collapse in 2008, and the framework he now teaches leaders to help them see what they can't see in themselves. Together, they dig into why "the market" is almost never the real problem, how our own preferences quietly make decisions for us before we're even aware of it, and why the question "who must I become" matters more than "what must I do." It's the Lion and Lamb methodology in action: the strength to lead boldly, paired with the humility to actually look inward. In this episode, we unpack:  — The Harvard study on self-awareness that should unsettle every leader — The basketball gym moment that changed how Lucas saw his own business — The 5-second formula for practicing the pause before you react — The leadership archetypes keeping high-performers caged — How Lucas took a Kansas City brokerage from #6 to #1 in two years Lucas Sherraden is the author of The Uncaged Leader and a former pastor turned real estate leadership coach. Learn more here. If this episode challenged you, follow One Part Lion, One Part Lamb so you don't miss what's next, and if you've got 30 seconds, a quick rating and review helps this show reach more leaders who need to hear it.

George Rivera built a multiple nine-figure business empire, and quietly trained his own son to stop asking him for anything along the way. The world saw the revenue, the exits, the team of 40. What it didn't see was a father who missed 39 of his own son's 40 basketball games, a deathbed confession that became a life sentence, and a business built on a design flaw he didn't know how to name. Stephen Scoggins sits down with George Rivera, a 31-year entrepreneur, founder of the Buy Back Your Time formula, and creator of Founder Dad Dinners, a table where cash-rich, time-poor founders finally take off the mask. George shares the moment he had to decide whether to burn his company down or sell it, the formula he used to buy back his time without losing his edge, and why leading by outcome instead of task changed everything about how he builds teams. His son Leo, host of his own interview podcast, joins the second half of the conversation to talk about presence, confidence, and his goal of helping 50 kids find their voice. This episode is about what happens when the business you built to provide for your family quietly starts costing you the family itself, and what it actually takes to buy your time, and your presence back. Connect with George Rivera: Founder Dad Dinners  | Instagram Follow Stephen Scoggins: Website: https://stephenscoggins.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_scoggins TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephen_scoggins

He believed the mirror told him the truth about who he is, until a mentor showed him it only reflects intentions, not actions. That one idea unravels into a story about intensity, insecurity, and a marriage he nearly let his own "strength" wreck. In this episode, Stephen sits down with Tyler Dickerhoof, bestselling author of The Things We Hide and founder of a leadership movement that's impacted more than 200,000 people. Together they dig into the difference between vulnerability and oversharing, why guilt and shame are not the same thing, and why the goal of personal growth was never to "overcome" your insecurities, it's to recognize them faster. You'll hear:  Why "the mirror is a liar" and what actually tells you the truth about how you're showing up The four walls almost every leader hides behind: intensity, insensitivity, inactivity, and isolation The real difference between healthy vulnerability and oversharing that just burdens someone else The single scariest question a leader can ask their team, and why it works Why most people's core insecurity was planted somewhere between the ages of 8 and 14 If this episode challenges the way you lead, love, or see yourself, follow One Part Lion One Part Lamb so you don't miss next week's conversation, and leave a quick rating or review, it's the fastest way to help more leaders find the show.  Grab Tyler's book, The Things We Hide, wherever books are sold, and learn more about his work at TylerDickerhoof.com 

This week's episode is a mashup of some of the most talked-about moments from recent conversations on One Part Lion One Part Lamb. Host Stephen Scoggins sits down with four guests — Chris Sain, Dana Grant, Adetayo Ibijemilusi, and Buddy Clay — for a collection of stories and hard truths our audience couldn't stop sharing. Chris Sain opens up about staying grounded when nobody knows your name yet, and the simple rule that keeps rewarding yourself from becoming a distraction. Dana Grant explains what grace really means, and why healing requires integrating every version of yourself rather than editing them out. Adetayo Ibijemilusi shares what it was like to have a college degree and three certifications and still be driving for Uber Eats at 2am, and the mentor who told him his struggle was temporary. Buddy Clay talks about the book that changed how he sees ego, and why celebrating someone else's success is the fastest way to let go of your own. Together, these conversations return to the same idea at the heart of the show: you can't become a mature lion and a mature lamb while arrogance, ignorance, impatience, fear, or insecurity are still running the show. For more from Stephen Scoggins, visit stephenscoggins.com.  

A note that said "sorry, mom." A voice that said "it's not your time." That's where this conversation starts. My guest today is Adetayo Ibijemilusi — founder of the 1% University, where he teaches AWS Cloud Engineering, personal branding, and sales to help people escape the 9-to-5 and build six-figure consulting businesses. But before any of that, Adetayo survived a suicide attempt, dropped out of college, and drove Uber Eats at 2am with a degree and three certifications and nothing to show for them. We talk about the moment his mentor saw something in him he couldn't see in himself. About the word "leverage" and how it rearranged everything he thought he knew about wealth. About scaling a business from $45K to $489K a year — and eventually to $200-300K a month at a 74% profit margin — not by hustling harder, but by getting aligned before he tried to accelerate. This one goes to some real places: shame, faith, the wrong game we're all taught to play, and what it costs to walk away from it. What we get into:  Why "go to school, get a job" might be the wrong game, and how to tell The one word wealthy people live by that almost nobody teaches you How to actually choose a mentor — and the difference between vibes and proof Why alignment has to come before acceleration, in business and in life The word he received that stopped him cold: "I've called you to be a David, but you've been leading like a Saul" Why AI isn't taking jobs — it's exposing who refused to learn How to job stack the right way, ethically, to multiply your income If you've ever felt the weight of a life that looks fine on paper but doesn't feel true, this conversation is for YOU. Connect with Adetayo Ibijemilusi: Instagram: instagram.com/tayolusi LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tayoibijemilusi Website: apexedu.io Follow me: stephenscoggins.com | @stephen_scoggins One Part Lion, One Part Lamb.

She spent years building a record-breaking, multi-million dollar business while the man she trusted most was quietly poisoning her. The world saw the awards, the income, the beautiful home. What it didn't see was 80 pounds of unprocessed grief, a staph infection eating away her legs, and a truth she wasn't allowed to say out loud. What she rebuilt after that truth finally broke open will change how you think about faith, ego, and what you're actually carrying for other people. Dana Grant is the bestselling author of Truth Within the Lie and co-founder of Cauliflower Foods, where she set unbreakable sales records and built a multi-million dollar business — all while privately battling addiction, medical betrayal, and a marriage built on a hidden truth. After her world collapsed in public, she did the deepest healing work of her life, rebuilt her relationship with her daughters, and now teaches leaders how to operate from soul instead of ego. This conversation is about what happens when the life you built on the outside stops matching what's true on the inside, and what it actually takes to let the mask down. In this episode: Why so many faith-led leaders perform integrity instead of living it, and how to spot it in yourself The difference between being married to the process and married to the outcome How imposter syndrome can build a record-breaking business and still leave you feeling like a fraud Why self-sabotage is often anger at yourself wearing someone else's name The real difference between ego and soul, and why most leaders confuse the two Why you don't need anyone else's blueprint, only your own How to rebuild trust with the people you love after years of hiding the truth Connect with Dana Grant: Website: https://danagrant.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealdanagrant/ Follow Stephen Scoggins: Website: https://stephenscoggins.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_scoggins TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephen_scoggins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephenscoggins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenscoggins #LeadershipThroughCrisis #FaithAndBusiness #EntrepreneurMindset #ImposterSyndrome #SelfSabotage #PersonalDevelopment #WomenInLeadership #TrustWithinTheLie #OvercomingAdversity #MindsetMatters #FaithForwardLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #OnePartLionOnePartLamb

What does it actually cost to win at work while slowly losing everything that matters most? I've been sitting with that question since this conversation ended. My guest today, Josh Kosnick, was at the absolute peak of his career, leading a firm of 250 people, hitting every metric, checking every box, and in one morning at a Marriott, it was gone. A fabricated lawsuit from someone he mentored. A company he loved that chose the easy way out. And a drive home where he had to pull over and fall apart in a parking lot because his whole world had just collapsed. But here's what got me. It wasn't the betrayal that broke him open. It was going down to his basement months later, opening boxes of trophies and accolades, and realizing, none of it meant anything. His marriage, his kids, his faith, his health, all still intact. Everything else? Just stuff. That moment is where the LQ Blueprint was born. And honestly, this framework might be the most practical, honest roadmap for high-achieving men that I've ever heard laid out in a single conversation. We go deep on why your priorities are probably in the wrong order, what it really means to lead yourself before you lead anyone else, the difference between being kind and being nice, why vulnerability isn't weakness, it's actually your strongest leadership tool, and the question that stopped me cold: are you chasing your wife the way you're chasing your goals? I PROMISE you, you need to hear Josh's story. Listen all the way through. The framework at the end alone is worth it. Connect with Josh Kosnick: Book: The Kairos Code, Amazon & Barnes & Noble Website: https://joshkosnick.com/ Follow Stephen: Website → stephenscoggins.com Instagram → @stephen_scoggins TikTok → @stephen_scoggins Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. It takes 30 seconds and it genuinely helps us reach more people who are ready to do the work! 

He was 33, healthy, building a mental health company from scratch, and a routine mole check came back stage three cancer. Four years later, it came back stage four. What he built in the middle of that will change how you think about leadership, faith, and what you're actually standing on. Buddy Clay is the founder of New Hope Institute, a multi-seven-figure mental health and addiction recovery organization, and he built it while battling cancer twice, delivering his daughter on his kitchen floor two weeks before opening his doors, and learning to lead a team through the most vulnerable season of his life. After corporate norms, health crises, and moments of pure overwhelm, he chose to stop performing and start leading from the truth of his story. This conversation is about what it actually looks like to lead through the fire, build with faith, and come out on the other side more whole than when you went in. If you're scaling a business while carrying something heavy, wondering if your team can survive without you, or just trying to stay anchored when nothing feels stable, this one is going to shift something in you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why minimizing your first crisis almost guarantees a bigger one, and what to do differently when the storm first hits How a stage four cancer diagnosis forced Buddy to stop being the bottleneck and finally build a team that runs without him The difference between motivational speaking and real authority, and why the people you lead can always tell which one you are What stress does to cancer, cortisol, and your company at the same time, and why "pushing through" is often the most dangerous choice Why identity isn't something you find, it's something you surrender to, and how crisis strips away the performance to reveal who you actually are How to show up for your team when you don't have the answers, don't have the energy, and aren't sure of the outcome The three steps Buddy uses to lead through any crisis: authenticity, boundaries, and building the foundation before the storm arrives Connect with Buddy Clay: Website: buddyclay.com Follow Stephen Scoggins: Website: stephenscoggins.com Instagram & TikTok: @stephen_scoggins One Part Lion One Part Lamb with Stephen Scoggins is available every week wherever you listen to podcasts. If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

She asked his credit score on the first date. He showed up thinking it was a date, she showed up with a five-year plan. What happened next built an empire. Dedric and Krystal Polite are the husband-and-wife real estate powerhouse and stars of the hit show 50/50 Flip. After corporate layoffs, betrayal from business partners, and building from nothing, they turned their relationship into a multi-million dollar brand, without losing their marriage in the process. This conversation is about what it actually looks like to be equally yoked, build with intention, and create something that outlives you. In this episode: Why Krystal made entrepreneurship a non-negotiable on the very first date How a layoff two months into dating became the turning point that launched their first business Why most people stay stuck — and it's not strategy How paying for mentorship collapses a 10-year learning curve to 6 months How they define clear roles without stepping on each other as partners or spouses Why Dedric says "the inner me is the enemy" — and how personal development unlocks every level of business growth What it really takes to build a legacy that outlives you If you're building alongside a partner, battling the fear of investing in yourself, or wondering if your business can survive your relationship, this one will shift something in you. Connect with Dedric & Krystal: Instagram: @bepoliteproperties | Website: www.dedricandkrystal.com Follow Stephen Scoggins: Instagram: @stephen_scoggins | Website: stephenscoggins.com

Chris Sain built a million-subscriber community and retired at 37, starting with just $250 a month. No inheritance. No silver spoon. Just consistency, faith, and a refusal to run in the victim Olympics. In this episode, Stephen and Chris go beyond the tactics and into the real conversation behind wealth, the mindset traps, the biblical principles, the emotional discipline required, and why being generous can sometimes do more harm than good. What you'll take away: - Why 80% of pro athletes go broke 3–5 years after their playing career ends - How to start building real wealth with whatever you have right now - The asset classes Chris is investing in for the next 5 years (AI, quantum computing & more) - The dangerous downside of generosity nobody talks about - Why stewardship always has to come before abundance Find Chris: chrissain.com | @chris_sain Find Stephen: stephenscoggins.com | @stephen_scoggins