It's a Good Life – Episode S2E276: Beginner's Pluck with Liz Bohannon

Host: Brian Buffini
Guest: Liz Bohannon
Date: March 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an inspiring conversation between Brian Buffini and Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs and author of Beginner’s Pluck. Together, they dive deep into the importance of embracing the "beginner spirit"—seeing challenges and new starts not as setbacks but as essential to entrepreneurial growth and innovation. Liz shares her personal journey, foundational principles from her book, and practical guidance on reigniting curiosity and pluck, even after years of adversity or success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding "Beginner’s Pluck" (01:29–03:11)

• Redefining Beginner’s Luck:
  Liz reframes "beginner's luck" as "beginner's pluck," emphasizing the mindset that beginners bring—energy, creativity, willingness to collaborate, and the courage to try new things.

• Key Principle:
  Being a successful leader isn't just about expertise, but about continually embracing the learning journey.

  Quote:

  “Beginners… are not successful despite their beginner spirit, but partly because of it. Beginners show up with a certain energy and a certain perspective that actually helps them become more successful.”
  — Liz Bohannon (01:35)

2. Re-Beginning After Adversity (03:11–07:23)

• Resilience After Setbacks:
  Brian shares personal stories of overcoming industry lows and economic downturns, stressing the need to “become a re-beginner.”

• Practical Tip:
  Surrounding yourself with energetic, newer people can reignite your own spark.

  Quote:

  “I think as life goes on, we get it knocked out of us. And so there's true beginners listening to us today, but there's people who need to be re-beginners today.”
  — Brian Buffini (03:11)

3. The Power of Your Circle (05:29–09:00)

• Who You Surround Yourself With Matters:
  Liz emphasizes that mindset and perspective are influenced by your environment.
  “Your dream attracts your team.”

• Courage is Contagious:
  Your support network can impact your ability to see opportunities despite challenging circumstances.

  Quote:

  “Courage really is contagious... how we see challenges or opportunities really are influenced by who we're surrounding ourselves with.”
  — Liz Bohannon (07:08)

4. Staying Curious vs. Earned Dogmatism (09:00–12:40)

• Danger of Over-Identifying as the Expert:
  Liz discusses the “hypothesis of earned dogmatism”—the risk that established leaders stifle creativity to protect their status.

• Focus on the Problem, Not Just the Solution:
  Regularly reevaluate if you’re still solving the right problem, not just maintaining outdated solutions.

  Quote:

  “The problem should always be more precious... than the solution. And that is something that beginners do brilliantly.”
  — Liz Bohannon (11:22)

5. Liz’s Journey: From Small Dreams to Global Impact (12:40–23:17)

• Starting Small:
  Liz describes her transition from college idealism to practical action—moving to Uganda with the goal to “make one friend” impacted by the issues she cared about.

  Quote:

  “There’s a difference between being a person of passion and being a person who just has opinions... The Latin root of the word passion is pati, which means ‘to suffer for’.”
  — Liz Bohannon (13:01)

• Embracing Small Beginnings:
  Treating small dreams with seriousness allowed her to start Sseko Designs and scale it globally.

  Quote:

  “You will never walk into a cocktail party and be like, I have this dream of making one friend and impress very many people. But... our small dreams also don’t require millions of dollars. They don’t require specific degrees... There’s not a lot of excuses.”
  — Liz Bohannon (17:20)

6. Married to the Problem, Open with the Solution (19:09–22:38)

• Becoming Obsessed with Solving, Not Methods:
  Liz shares failures (like a chicken farm) and how sandal-making became the breakthrough only because she prioritized the real problem over elegant solutions.

  Quote:

  “You gotta be married to the problem and in an open relationship with the solution.”
  — Liz Bohannon (21:54)

7. Sseko Designs’ Impact Recap (22:38–23:17)

• From Beginnings to Scale:
  The company now supports hundreds of thousands of female scholars in multiple countries and creates dignified jobs for artisans worldwide.

  Quote:

  “We have supported hundred thousands of female scholars not just in Uganda now, but Ethiopia and Guatemala...”
  — Liz Bohannon (22:38)

8. Owning Your Average (24:47–28:18)

• Growth Mentality over “Specialness”:
  Liz debunks the myth that you must be exceptional to achieve great things. Instead, embrace being average and focus on effort, risk-taking, and bouncing back.

  Quote:

  “If you have a mentality that you’re really special and you just need to prove it to people, it’s humiliating...when you don’t have fast success. When you have a growth mentality... what do I have to lose?”
  — Liz Bohannon (27:38)

• Supporting Research:
  Liz cites studies showing that praising effort leads to better performance and more risk-taking than praising innate ability.

9. Holding On to “What Are You Willing to Suffer For?” (28:18–30:20)

• The True Meaning of Passion:
  Aligning your actions with what you’re truly willing to sacrifice for—a consistent theme in both Liz’s and Brian’s stories.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Dreaming Small but Acting Big:
  “It was giving myself permission to dream small but then treat it seriously. That started everything.”
  — Liz Bohannon (18:57)

• Beginner’s Energy at Any Age:
  “It gives you such energy to be around the juice, their entrepreneurial spirit... their approach to technology... we could use a bit of that life.”
  — Brian Buffini (08:37)

• Expert Trap:
  “The more you self identify as an expert... the less creative, the less innovative and ultimately the less effective you become.”
  — Liz Bohannon (09:19)

• On Average and Growth:
  “A lot of people in my generation... grew up believing that... first we had to unlock the belief that we were extraordinary... And then what do you discover? It’s really freaking hard.”
  — Liz Bohannon (24:47)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• What is Beginner’s Pluck? — 01:29
• Becoming a Re-beginner After Adversity — 03:11
• Your Circle & Its Influence — 05:29
• Hypothesis of Earned Dogmatism / Focusing on Problems — 09:00
• The South to Sseko Designs: Liz’s Story — 13:01
• Dream Small, Act Big — 17:20
• Married to the Problem, Open with the Solution — 21:54
• Sseko Designs’ Global Impact — 22:38
• Owning Your Average — 24:47
• Passion is What You’ll Suffer For — 28:18

Lightning Round: Quick-Answer Q&A with Liz (30:20–35:30)

1. Single Best Piece of Advice:
“Do for one what you wish you could do for many.” — Mother Teresa (30:24)

2. One Talent You Wish You Had:
“I wish I was better at languages.” (31:17)

3. Most Instrumental Book:
The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz (31:56)

“It cracked open my imagination for... I think business is actually one of the most powerful tools for making a positive impact.”

4. Movie You Watch on Repeat:
About Time

“It's a beautiful love story... really more about a father and a son... it deals with regret and how we spend our time.” (33:00)

5. What Does the Good Life Mean?
“Using the gifts you’ve been given to make the world, even if it’s just a small corner, a little bit better and brighter, and not doing it alone.” (34:20)

Closing Reflection

Brian and Liz conclude with encouragement for listeners to find and foster their own “beginner’s pluck,” embrace risk and growth, and surround themselves with positive, ambitious people. The episode is rich with practical wisdom for entrepreneurs and anyone on the path of personal or professional growth.

Recommended:

• Book: Beginner’s Pluck by Liz Bohannon
• Event: Peak Experience (featuring Liz as a keynote)