Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey

Episode 15: Napster Co-Founder Jordan Ritter on the True Meaning of Success

Release Date: November 24, 2025
Guests: Tim Storey (Host), Jordan Ritter (Guest)

Episode Overview

This episode of Miracle Mentality features Jordan Ritter, tech entrepreneur and Napster co-founder, in a candid and wide-ranging conversation with Tim Storey. The discussion moves beyond the surface of technological innovation and financial success, turning inward to explore resilience, personal growth, the value of relationships, and the lessons of self-discovery. It delves into the behind-the-scenes truths of Napster’s creation and collapse, but ultimately, the focus is on redefining what it means to succeed, lead, and love—in business, family, and life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jordan’s Early Life and Educational Journey

[01:31 – 07:05]

• Childhood Move: Grew up in Northridge, California, before moving to Texas at age 2 due to his parents’ divorce.
• High School Experience: Identified as a “band nerd” and International Baccalaureate (IB) student, highlighting early passion for music and education.

  “I fancied myself to be a musician as a career…I just loved playing music.” — Jordan ([03:20])

• Educational Drive: Credits his mother for advocating for his enrollment in gifted academic programs.
• Resilience and Confidence: Candidly shares the emotional challenges and turbulence of his teenage years, living far from school, and the impact of familial estrangement.

  “I kept surviving and I kept succeeding and I kept living. And so at some point, you build this myth that you are invincible.” — Jordan ([07:45])

• Innate vs. Learned Resilience: Explains how both his physical and emotional resilience were forged from necessity and experience on a farm.
• Tim Storey’s Framework: Tim reframes this as the tension between “recovery” from past pain and “discovery” of new potential.

  “If you’re not careful, you’ll get so caught up in the recovery zone that you’ll miss your discovery zone.” — Tim ([09:39])

The Story of Napster

[11:30 – 17:57]

• Napster’s Birth: Jordan joined the Napster team at age 19 after a small but formative success with a security startup, bringing the technical skills and boldness of youth.

  “We were just nerds sleeping under our desks.” — Jordan ([14:16])

• Cultural Context: Recalls how the late ‘90s tech world did not yet idolize engineers and start-ups as rockstars.

  “At the time that we were doing Napster, engineers were not yet considered rock stars…We were still a couple years prior to that.” — Jordan ([15:09])

• Real Impact vs. Perception: Despite Napster’s massive cultural impact, Jordan emphasizes that it was not a financial windfall—the lawsuits and music industry backlash meant “no one really made a ton of money off it.” ([16:45])
• First Taste of Success: His “success” from a buyout was $25,000—life-changing for a farm kid, but modest by Silicon Valley standards.

  “Making 25k after a year and a half’s worth of work was actually really awesome.” — Jordan ([18:36])

• Financial Wisdom: Shares a strategy he learned about “selling a little bit every month” to manage stock options and entrepreneurial income for long-term security. ([19:31])

Redefining Success: Money, Identity, and the True Rewards

[22:04 – 26:09]

• Money is Not Identity: Despite accumulating wealth, Jordan rejects the notion that money defines him.

  “That’s not my identity. Like I don’t ever tell anyone that.” — Jordan ([22:04])

• Relief over Excess: The main emotional result of achieving financial ease was relief, not indulgence—more sleep, more energy, time for self-improvement, and real relationships.

  “Those were always at the top of my list. And those were never things you could buy with money.” — Jordan ([24:13])

• Using Wealth Intentionally: Jordan used his resources to invest in others, gather new experiences, and expand his enjoyment of life “not by going overboard but by enabling the life I wanted.” ([25:24])

Leading with Love, Self-Acceptance, and Motivation

[26:09 – 33:46]

• Foundation of Love and Service: Traces his values to a mix of childhood pain and deliberate emotional work (including therapy and personal development seminars):

  “The thing that came out of that was… really learning how to love myself.” — Jordan ([27:43])

• Self-Acceptance: Recognizes the importance of fully embracing both strengths and flaws for healthy relationships with oneself and others.
• The “I Suck, Now What?” Mindset: Tim and Jordan agree that true greatness includes feeling “undone” or struggling with self-doubt even at the height of success.

  “My answer to that was, I suck. And I love myself still. Indisputably. I still love myself.” — Jordan ([32:08])

Legacy, Fatherhood, and Life’s Meaning in the Present

[35:14 – 38:25]

• Pride in Parenthood: Jordan’s main excitement in this life stage is fathering his two young sons—being present, patient, and loving is his primary mission.

  “If I come home and…I haven’t had a chance to see them …I get a pang in my heart. I’m like, dang it, I really wanted to see him…It is one of my favorite things.” — Jordan ([35:53])

• Teaching Resilience: He purposely lets his sons make mistakes and learn on their own, reflecting his belief in the growth that comes from adversity.
• Tim’s Validation: Tim affirms the spiritual and practical blessing of “keeping your priorities straight,” referencing his own theological background and Covey’s principles. ([37:19])

Embracing Calling, Challenge, and the Future

[38:13 – 41:10]

• Responding to the World’s Needs: Jordan feels most “motivated, curious, and sometimes anxious” about life’s big callings, but always trusts his ability to “figure it out.”
• Stages of Life: Drawing on Tim’s life-stage framework, Jordan observes that each decade brings profound changes and new motivations—and that “even in my worst failures, I have recovered.”

  “Excitement and curiosity mixed with moments of panic and anxiety moderated by…always being able to figure it out.” — Jordan ([40:33])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Surviving and Building Confidence:

  “I built this myth that you are invincible…As a young man, you kind of think that way…We don’t often say that out loud, but we do think that way.” — Jordan ([07:45]/[11:22])

• On Lasting Value:

  “Love, kindness, friendship…those were always at the top of my list. And those were never things you could buy with money.” — Jordan ([24:13])

• On Self-Love and Acceptance:

  “Part of being a whole person was accepting the whole you, the good and the bad, and integrating it all and learning to live with it.” — Jordan ([28:26])

• On Relationship with Success:

  “Success is never a straight line.” — Jordan ([21:01])

• On Mental Health & Growth:

  “I suck. And I love myself still. Indisputably.” — Jordan ([32:08])

• On Family, Legacy, and Joy:

  “It is no longer about correcting my own childhood experience anymore. I long to connect with these boys and teach them.” — Jordan ([36:38])

Segment Timestamps of Interest

• Jordan’s High School & Band Life: [02:39] – [05:12]
• Honest Discussion on Confidence & Family Struggles: [06:31] – [11:22]
• Creation & Culture of Napster: [11:44] – [16:45]
• First ‘Success’—Money and Lessons Learned: [17:57] – [21:04]
• Money, Identity, and What Matters: [22:04] – [26:09]
• Therapy, Self-Acceptance, and the Journey to Self-Love: [27:23] – [32:08]
• The Paradox of Success and Self-Doubt: [32:08] – [33:46]
• Fatherhood and Meaning in the Current Stage of Life: [35:14] – [38:25]
• Facing Life's Big Callings: [38:13] – [41:10]
• Reflections and Closing Sentiments: [41:17] – [42:48]

Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is deeply personal, candid, and reflective. Tim Storey maintains his encouraging, motivational style. Jordan Ritter is forthright, authentic, occasionally humorous, and earnestly philosophical—always returning to the importance of relationships, growth, and humility. The episode leans far beyond tech entrepreneurship to illuminate the universal journey of self-worth, love, and living with intention.

Conclusion

Listeners are left with the sense that miracle mentality isn’t about dramatic external wins, but about the quiet, repeatable work of self-acceptance, resilience, leading with love, and a willingness to keep growing—no matter how “successful” you become. As Tim closes, “You may not be what you want to be, but thank God you’re not what you used to be.” The extraordinary, this episode suggests, often hides inside the ordinary human work of becoming whole.