The Ryan Leak Podcast - Falling In Love With Boring

Episode Date: August 4, 2025

In this episode, Ryan explores the underrated power of boring. He breaks down how NBA players, elite entrepreneurs, and even happy couples all rely on boring routines to achieve extraordinary results. While most people chase what’s flashy and exciting, Ryan makes the case that consistency, the kind that feels repetitive and unglamorous, is actually the secret to success. From vending machines to funeral homes, from writing talks to managing budgets, Ryan shares how embracing boring is what unlocks the life everyone wants.Text “podcast” to 469-809-1201 to get weekly encouraging texts from Ryan.

Welcome to the Ryan League podcast, my friends. We keep things short, sweet, and inspiring. I've got a short nugget of motivation today that I believe is going to add value to your life. Today's episode might just be the most unsexy motivational message you're ever going to hear because we are calling it. falling in love with boring. Yes, I want you to fall in love with boring. Now, here's the deal. I know that I'm supposed to help you learn the sexy stuff. Yep, I'm supposed to teach you how to grow your social media presence or build a brand that gets noticed. And yes, it is true. I do have quite a fun career. I do get to travel the world. I get to speak on some big stages. I get to make an impact on people's lives every single day. It is incredibly rewarding.

But behind the scenes of that very rewarding fun career is a bunch of boring stuff that nobody else wants to do. I write custom talks for clients. I sit in airport terminals for. for hours. I manage a company budget. I reply to emails. I prep slide decks. I follow up with clients. I edit talks that most people would think are already good enough. I sit through meetings about taxes and trademarks. Like, this is not glamorous, but it is all very necessary. And so what I've learned is this is that there's something powerful about boring. Because boring is where your consistency lives.

Boring is where your excellence gets refined. Boring is actually what makes the fun stuff actually possible. Like, I don't know if you've ever noticed people in life who are uber successful that you meet in real life. I'm not talking about people online. I'm talking about people you meet in real life. I'm talking about real successful people that drive Toyota Camry's and wear Wrangler jeans. And it's like you're a multi-mic, like you're the person.

Like these people aren't flashy. And here's what I've learned. If you really want to win in your health, if you really want to win in your relationships, if you really want to win in your career, you've got to fall in love with boring. I have met many successful people. And I'm going to give you a bunch of different varieties of successful people that I've met and the boring behind the scenes that they have. NBA players I know, NFL players, I know. They work out two to three to four times a day.

Same drills, same reps, same gym. They'll shoot until their arms fall off. They'll lift until they can't feel their legs anymore. And guess what? It's boring. You think about the fittest people that I know. They eat right. And they don't just eat right.

They meal prep every Sunday. And they eat the same thing every single day. Chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes, no spice, no sugar. Just boring. No crumble cookies. No tiffs treats. No strawberry milkshake. Boring.

If you think about even the most successful businesses in the world, they're boring laundromats, storage units, bending machines, trash routes, HVAC services. Nobody's lining up to make a TikTok about a commercial air filter. But those companies, they print money. But they're boring. In fact, I was speaking for a Fortune 1st, 100 company, one of the biggest in the world. I had never even heard of this company before

until they invited me to speak. And the reason I've never heard of this company before is because they have zero commercials. The reason they have zero commercials is because they make circuit breakers. They make truck transmissions. They make backup generators. They make power distribution units. They make the grip on golf clubs. Everything that they they make. It's not flashy. It's not trending, but it's essential. They literally keep the lights on for the world. And it's boring. And that boring has built a global empire. Let me tell you about an event that I attended where there were a bunch of successful people there that were there to donate to a nonprofit organization. If you ever get an opportunity to go to one of these

events you can, you know, ask people, hey, what do you do? You know, you're just kind of making small and at this event where I was the least successful person in the room, I'll just put it that way, okay? When I began to ask people what they do, not one of them said, I'm an influencer. I ain't wrong with being an influence. I'm just, I'm just letting you know the room that I was in. They, they weren't influencers. Not one of them was selling a seven-step program. In fact, none of them were even trying to impress me. One guy I met, he owned 300 vending machines. This guy makes seven figures a year of people who forget to pack snacks.

Another guy, he owned a porter potty company. Yeah, he literally makes millions in crap. And that's literal. One couple I was talking to, they owned parking lots. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it. They just charge people not to move. I said, okay, so what's the maintenance like on this? They said, I don't know, we paint lines every couple of years.

That's about it. Oh, one family I met, they own funeral homes. Yeah, yeah. And unfortunately, that business, it's steady. And the reason it's steady is because people keep dying. I know it's morbid. I know it's awkward, but it's also boring. and it actually pays them a lot.

I mean, you even just think about people that have really great relationships, people that have a really great marriage. The things that they do are boring. Therapy's boring. Staying connected on the smallest of things, this would never make a reality TV show. In fact, some of the have. happiest couples that I know. They're not viral on Instagram. They're not doing candlelit,

rooftop dinners every week. What they do is they go on a walk every night and hold hands. Same route, same neighborhood, just talking, laughing, debriefing the day, no drama, just boring. But here's what they have that everyone else is chasing. Peace. Trust. trust consistency. And so I have to wonder if a lot of us in the process of trying to grow anything, whether that's growing our leadership or growing our relationships or growing a business or growing in our career, is the minute it gets boring, we check out. But I would like to submit that maybe boring isn't the enemy.

That maybe boring is the secret. There's a line from James Clear that I love. And he says this. He says most people need to get more excited about doing the same things every day. I'll say it again. Most people need to get more excited about doing the same things every day. And here's the thing. When I look at my own life, I think the best results I've ever gotten have come from the most boring routines. Fighting early in the morning. Going to the gym when I didn't feel like it. reading or listening to books when no one's watching answering emails before they pile up. Nothing exciting.

But I actually think that's where the breakthrough truly lives. And so your challenge for today in this week is to not chase fun and chase excitement. I would encourage you to chase consistency. You do not need more drama. Perhaps you need more discipline. You don't need a bigger dream. Perhaps you just need a better routine. I want you to fall in love with boring

because I believe boring is what will get you results. My friends, thank you so much for listening to the Ryan League podcast today. If today's episode inspired you or added value to your life in any way, don't keep it to yourself, share it with a friend. And hey, it would mean the world to me if you would take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. I also send out an encouraging text every single week if you want to subscribe to those text messages, you can text the word podcast to the number 469, 809-1-201. You'll start getting encouraging text for me. Until next time, have a phenomenal day.