"My mom didn’t care about me winning — she cared about what I was doing to help others."
This week on The Leadership Dance, I’m thrilled to share a conversation with someone whose grounded leadership and sense of perspective have always deeply impressed me — Ryan Nece.
A Super Bowl Champion turned entrepreneur and investor, Ryan’s journey from the NFL to venture capital is filled with hard-earned lessons that extend far beyond the football field. As we talked, I found myself drawing so many parallels between the life of a professional athlete and that of a dancer — the discipline, the resilience, the pursuit of mastery, and the ability to perform under pressure. Both require deep mental preparation, adaptability, and the humility to learn from failure over and over again.
Ryan opens up about the challenges he faced as he transitioned out of professional sports. While he had reached the pinnacle of his football career, moving into the business world meant starting over in many ways. He candidly shares what it felt like to go from the adrenaline of game days to sitting behind a desk, learning the fundamentals of business and investing from the ground up. There were no shortcuts — just like in football, Ryan approached it with the same relentless work ethic: arriving early, staying late, and embracing the discomfort of being a beginner again.
Through that experience, and later as a co-founder of StraightCast Media and the Ryan Nece Foundation, Ryan discovered that true leadership and lasting success weren’t about individual accolades — they were about service, vision, and the people you impact along the way.
And yes — we even have a little fun talking about dancing! You’ll get to hear whether Ryan or his wife, singer Willa Ford, holds the title of "better dancer" in their household. (Spoiler alert: Ryan gives a very gracious answer!)
Here are three powerful takeaways from our conversation:
⭐ Success is measured by how well you bounce back, not by how much you earn.
👉 Leadership means uniting different people toward a shared goal—even when you don’t see eye to eye.
💪 True impact starts with serving others and teaching the next generation to do the same.
Ryan’s story is a reminder that championships and titles eventually fade — but the character you build, the people you lift, and the legacy you leave behind are what truly endure. Tune in now to hear Ryan’s incredible insights!
🎧 Listen or watch Episode 16
Until next time, keep dancing!
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