#87 What Wrestling Teaches You In Business | Tom Ryan
Podcast: The David Guttman PodcastPublished On: Tue Aug 11 2026
Description: Ohio State head wrestling coach Tom Ryan, the man who brought the Buckeyes their first national title, sat down with me and hit me with a claim I couldn't shake: hand him almost any seventh grader, and if that kid fully commits, he'll be winning 75% of the time by his senior year. We got into the system behind that, from the "marbles in a jar" principle to walking on at Iowa when Dan Gable didn't even know his name. But the part that stayed with me was how a man nothing in wrestling could break found his way through the hardest loss a parent can face, and the "chosen suffering" philosophy that carried him. Learn what Wharton Business School will never teach you! Sign up for the ANTI-MBA today: https://bit.ly/46vct60 Click here to order your personalized poster!: https://bit.ly/46J08MS Connect with Tom Ryan Website: https://bit.ly/4wnppWD Instagram: https://bit.ly/4wkPzJG Facebook: https://bit.ly/4wkPB4g X: https://bit.ly/4g34WQN LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4wip0og Timestamps 00:00 - Intro of Show 01:23 - Meeting at Iowa wrestling camp, 1983 05:04 - Cut from basketball, finding wrestling 08:38 - Jay Robinson and 120 workouts in 30 days 09:35 - Why wrestling rewards preparation 10:43 - The marbles-in-a-jar principle 11:35 - Leaving a full ride at Syracuse 17:28 - Walking on at Iowa, Gable, the Steiners 22:13 - First head job at Hofstra, two scholarships 26:31 - Why great coaches were great wrestlers 29:21 - The three C's: competence, connection, character 31:32 - Losing his five-year-old son 35:41 - Ohio State as a new beginning 45:35 - Wrestling as training for business and life 50:07 - Recruiting: green flags and red flags 52:20 - Logan Stieber and emotional control 55:06 - Writing "Chosen Suffering" 1:00:07 - Suffering as a synonym for love 1:04:07 - The research behind his faith 1:11:22 - Competing with a hand sewn shut Watch the “David Guttman Podcast” every Tuesday at 8 AM EST on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4wpqfCN Connect with David Guttman Website: https://bit.ly/4v6rnKm Instagram: https://bit.ly/4v2ALyr TikTok: https://bit.ly/4gP3hjI Facebook: https://bit.ly/4y2VZze X: https://bit.ly/4v3Xfza LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4awQRJv SUBSCRIBE TO: https://www.youtube.com/@RealDaveGuttman Download the “David Guttman Podcast” on all your favorite podcast platforms: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3VE3fzV Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3VLzm0v
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