Episode #76
E76: Courage Creates Opportunity with Mike Dwyer (Why Some Of Mike Dwyer’s Biggest Setbacks Led To His Best Ideas, And What They Teach Us About Risk, Reinvention and Growth)
Mike Dwyer walked away from a family business, bet his livelihood on straight-commission airplane sales, left a lucrative career at Gulfstream and later mortgaged his home to keep his own company alive. His story starts on the floor of a graphite machine shop in Waterbury, Connecticut, a place he calls “a wonderful place to be from,” where long hours taught him how to work but also convinced him he wanted a very different life. After discovering flying, he took a chance on aviation with only a few hundred hours in the cockpit and no guaranteed paycheck. That leap carried him through Mooney, Cessna and Gulfstream before he decided success still wasn’t enough reason to stand still. He launched Guardian Jet, eventually reaching a moment when the money was gone and he had to tell his small team there would be no more salaries. They stayed. The company survived, grew, and some of its most important ideas came from failures that forced Dwyer to rethink how the business worked. His journey is a reminder that the most interesting lives are rarely built by protecting what you already have. They’re built by knowing when to take the risk, learning when you get knocked down and having the courage to keep going when the safe choice would be much easier. Starring: Michael Newborn (@michaelnewborn) John Ballenger (@john-ballenger53) Guest: Mike Dwyer https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-dwyer-a82a5512/ https://www.guardianjet.com/ Network/Produced by: Seltzer Kings (@seltzerkings) (seltzerkings.com) Theme Music by Saint Josh Listen Here: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/71Uji4fPLsnGEJjeAqomiJ?si=77e3d7bb636c422a Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-second-act-with-michael-and-john/id1707412739 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a6b369bb-36a9-47ab-9f22-1bacfcff6166/the-second-act-with-michael-and-john iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-second-act-with-michae-123242148/ Socials: Website: secondactmovement.com Instagram: @secondactmovement LinkedIn: @secondactmovement Facebook: @secondactmovement YouTube: @secondactmovement Match with your perfect (human) coach: trysam.ai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
