Success Story with Scott D. Clary

➡️ Join 321,000 people who read my free weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.scottdclary.com

➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory
Eddie Wilson, known as the "King of Exits," has owned over 140 companies and successfully exited more than 100 of them. He's the founder of the Aspire Tour, one of America's largest business mastermind events, and leads Collective Influence, a private equity firm with holdings across multiple industries. Wilson also created the Empire Operating System, a methodology for scaling and exiting companies. Beyond business, his foundation Impact Others feeds and educates nearly 5,000 children daily and supports anti-slavery initiatives globally.

➡️ Show Links
https://www.instagram.com/eddiewilsonofficial/ 
https://x.com/eddie_wilson3/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiewilsonofficial/ 

➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/  
Huel - https://huel.com/scott (Code: scott)
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)
NetSuite - https://netsuite.com/scottclary/ 
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary

➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:29 – Eddie Wilson’s Origin
10:16 – The Mindset That Makes or Breaks Businesses
11:33 – Learning the Art of Acquisition
14:12 – Operator vs Investor: Mastering Both
16:08 – Why Hiring Is Still Hard at the Top
20:18 – The Truth Behind Eddie’s First Exits
22:19 – Why Timing Changes Everything
26:06 – Sponsor Break
28:38 – The Most Overlooked Acquisition Opportunities
32:15 – Building a Real Community
39:18 – Depression After Success
48:05 – Sponsor Break
49:59 – When Success Feels Empty
53:39 – How Self-Work Changed Eddie as a Founder
54:55 – The Loneliness of Winning
57:17 – Eddie’s Frustration With Young Entrepreneurs
1:05:14 – Why Ego Is the Real Enemy
1:10:36 – Eddie’s Next 10-Year Vision
1:11:25 – Advice to His 20-Year-Old Self
1:17:58 – The One Lesson He’d Teach His Kids

➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory  

In this "Lessons" episode, Ben Nemtin, #1 New York Times bestselling author and co-creator of The Buried Life, breaks down the power of accountability, ownership, and choosing the right partners when pursuing ambitious goals. He shares personal stories from building his bucket list journey with friends, explaining why shared challenges create stronger follow-through than going it alone. Ben also dives into how community and support systems help sustain momentum through fear, failure, and uncertainty, and offers practical advice on finding inspiring peers who raise your standards and expand what you believe is possible.

➡️ Show Links
https://successstorypodcast.com  
YouTube: https://youtu.be/lJYtaZLpclg 
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-nemtin-co-founder-of-the-buried-life-unearthing/id1484783544 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QfuHB2Aq1GaMO1FeaguXY 

➡️ Watch the Podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary

➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory  

In this “Lessons” episode, Bill George, former Medtronic CEO and author of True North, breaks down why authentic leadership rooted in purpose is the only kind that truly scales. He explains how discovering your True North through deep self-awareness helps leaders move beyond external measures of success like money or status and toward lasting fulfillment. Bill also shares why vulnerability, honest feedback, and values-driven decision making build trust inside organizations. Throughout the conversation, he reveals how mission-led leadership helps leaders navigate growth, uncertainty, and crisis in a rapidly changing world.

➡️ Show Links
https://successstorypodcast.com  
YouTube: https://youtu.be/1UgUcB1o-Iw 
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bill-george-businessman-author-harvard-professor-true/id1484783544 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jdGNDRMsSXobhtUvg5OK9 

➡️ Watch the Podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary

➡️ Join 321,000 people who read my free weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.scottdclary.com

 

➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory

Dr. Abraham M. George built a fortune on Wall Street, founding Multinational Computer Models and selling it to Fortune 500 company SunGard Data Systems in 1998. Then he walked away from it all. Armed with a PhD from NYU Stern and decades of finance experience, he returned to India in 1995 and founded Shanti Bhavan—a residential school that takes children from extreme poverty at age four and supports them through college. The model works: 98% graduate college, 97% land jobs at Amazon, Google, and Goldman Sachs, and every single graduate earns more in five years than their parents earn in a lifetime. His parallel work on lead poisoning exposed that 51% of Indian children had toxic blood levels, triggering India's 2000 ban on leaded petrol and protecting hundreds of millions. Featured in Netflix's "Daughters of Destiny," Shanti Bhavan has directly transformed over 15,000 lives—proof that one person's strategic commitment can dismantle generational poverty.

 

➡️ Show Links

https://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Cross-Finding-Purpose-Service/dp/B0F2GK4HW9

https://www.instagram.com/dr_abraham_george/ 

https://www.drabrahamgeorge.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abraham-george-519315274

 

➡️ 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)

Revenued - https://www.revenued.com/ 

NetSuite - https://netsuite.com/scottclary/ 

Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary

 

➡️ Talking Points

00:00 – Intro

01:25 – Did He Get Rich Just to Give It All Away?

06:49 – The Near-Death Moment That Changed His Life

09:28 – When Money Became the Wrong Goal

11:33 – Walking Away From Success to Serve Others

13:22 – Finding Purpose When You Feel Lost

18:57 – Scaling Impact Without Quitting Business

24:25 – Sponsor Break

27:09 – Building a School With No Education Experience

33:24 – A 17-Year Promise to One Child

36:00 – India’s 1,500-Year-Old Caste Crisis

42:35 – How Giving Changed Him

44:58 – The Brutal Reality of Building Shanti Bhavan

48:53 – Can Poverty and the Caste System Be Broken?

51:34 – Sponsor Break

53:27 – Does Shanti Bhavan Actually Work?

56:25 – Why Compassion Isn’t Enough

58:18 – Why He Had to Write Mountains to Cross

1:01:57 – What Makes the Sacrifice Worth It

1:06:15 – The One Lesson He Wants His Kids to Remember

1:07:12 – What He’s Fighting for Now

➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory  

In this "Lessons" episode, Matt Higgins, RSE Ventures CEO and Shark Tank investor, breaks down why defiance—not bitterness—is often the driving force behind extraordinary success. Drawing from his journey as an investor, operator, and author, Matt explains how “burning the boats” and eliminating a safety net sharpens focus, strengthens decision-making, and pushes people to reject mediocrity. He reframes the idea of a chip on your shoulder as healthy defiance rooted in self-belief and self-worth, not anger. The conversation also explores how confronting internal and external obstacles can create sustained momentum without leading to burnout.

➡️ Show Links
https://successstorypodcast.com  
YouTube: https://youtu.be/h9Jr5KyfDfI 
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matt-higgins-ceo-co-founder-of-rse-ventures-burn-the-boats/id1484783544 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ztVvD0sroMczoPizehM5S 

➡️ Watch the Podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary