The Ryan Leak Podcast

Episode: The Pressure of Success
Host: Ryan Leak
Date: September 1, 2025

Overview

In this heartfelt and insightful episode, Ryan Leak explores the often-overlooked side of achievement: the intense pressure that arrives after you've "made it." Drawing on both personal experience and fresh research from his team, Ryan candidly addresses the unique and multiplying stresses successful people face. This episode invites listeners to reconsider what true success means—and how to protect your peace while navigating increasing demands from others and from yourself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hidden Weight of Success

• Personal Growth and Visibility

  • Ryan opens by sharing the spike in his own public profile—growing from 70k to half a million Instagram followers in a year ([00:38]).
  • “I'd be lying to you if I told you that I don't feel the pressure that comes with that kind of growth...I'd be lying to you if I told you that pressure doesn't come from more listeners.” – Ryan Leak ([00:48])

• Shifting from Coaching to Research

  • Ryan discusses his company's pivot toward becoming a research institute focused on storytelling with data ([01:28]).

2. Research on Stress & “Stresser”

• Introduction to Angela and Her Studies

  • Angela, a soon-to-be PhD, joins Ryan’s team and provides critical insights into the pressures faced by high achievers.
  • The team’s research: Surveying thousands nationwide about stress and the pressure of success ([02:12]).

• Real People’s Descriptions of Stress

  • “It feels like being unable to concentrate on anything but thinking about everything at the same time.” – Survey respondent ([02:48])
  • “The feeling that things are going to fall apart.” ([03:06])
  • "It can kill you. It causes some people to overeat and others not to eat at all." ([03:43])
  • "Too many demands, too little time."
  • “Stress feels like drowning in responsibilities while everyone around you expects you to swim.” ([04:25])

• Ryan’s Reflection:

  • “You could become so successful that you can afford to eat anywhere in the world, but you've got so much pressure to remain successful that you can't even eat. Wild.” ([03:54])

3. When Success Multiplies Pressure

• Expectation Increases, Never Relaxes
  • “Success is supposed to be exciting, but sometimes it's exhausting…People think once you make it, the pressure stops, but that's when it actually starts to multiply.” ([04:51])
  • The more you achieve, the more people want from you: your time, your energy, your “magic.”
• Social Example
  • “Have you ever noticed that nobody asked the gal with a small following on social media for branding advice? But mess around and go viral…your inbox will be full of people who want to get a cup of coffee to pick your brain.” ([05:30])
  • The relentless nature of demands once you’re seen as “a winner.”

4. The Concept of “Stresser”

• Angela’s Coined Term:
  • “She calls it stressure. Yeah, Stressure. S T R E S S U R E, stressure. It's what you get from success when you've got pressure and stress. It's when you finally get what you dreamed of. But now it feels like it's dreaming of taking you out.” ([06:50])
• Chasing The Next Win
  • “It's not just the pressure to win. It's the pressure to win again.” ([07:28])
  • Examples: Bestselling authors, viral video creators, big business wins, and even parenting—all lead to “one-up” pressures. ([07:38])

5. Personal & Cultural Pressure to “One Up”

• Parenting Analogy
  • Ryan humorously describes the expectation creep in parenting: “Take them on one awesome trip. Now your kids think it's Disney every spring break, fall break, they want to go to Disney on Halloween.” ([08:09])
  • “They got their hands in your pockets. Oh, come on, man, you got it…First off, you don't even know what Disney costs.” ([08:44])
  • The underlying message: no matter the sphere—family, business, public life—the pressure scales.

6. Tangible Strategies for “Stresser-Proofing” Yourself

• Setting Boundaries

  • “You have to build boundaries and rhythms that don't just help you succeed, but help you survive what comes with it.” ([09:06])
  • Ryan emphasizes the importance of saying “no,” even to close friends, to avoid being overwhelmed by others' expectations ([09:40]).
  • “If I don't, I will cave to the pressure…Sometimes it's a pressure coming from a very good place. But in light of who I want to be for the long haul, sometimes I just have to say no.” ([09:51])

• Protect Your Time & Peace

  • “You have to protect your time for the stuff that is filling you up. You have to remind yourself you don't owe access to everyone who claps for you.” ([10:22])
  • “Success without peace isn't worth it.” ([10:33])

7. Redefining Success & Final Takeaways

• Enjoy What You Worked For

  • “Don't just chase goals…build systems that allow you to actually enjoy what you've worked so very hard for.” ([10:43])
  • “The goal isn't to just handle stress better. I think it's to build a life where you don't get eaten alive by it.” ([10:51])
  • “You can have success or success can have you. And if you're feeling the pressure of success today, you're not weak, you're not ungrateful. You're human.” ([11:01])

• Defend Your Joy

  • “Protect your peace, my friend. Guard your joy, my friend. And do not let pressure rob you of the very thing you worked so hard to experience.” ([11:17])

Notable Quotes

• “Sometimes success can make you think, is this too good to be true? Or when will it end?” – Ryan Leak ([03:16])
• “The pressure of success does not retire. It reloads.” – Ryan Leak ([08:56])
• “You don't owe access to everyone who claps for you.” – Ryan Leak ([10:25])
• “Success without peace isn't worth it.” – Ryan Leak ([10:33])
• “You can have success or success can have you.” – Ryan Leak ([11:01])
• “If you're feeling the pressure of success today, you're not weak, you're not ungrateful. You're human.” – Ryan Leak ([11:06])

Key Timestamps

• 00:38 — Ryan discusses his own rising profile and the personal impact of success
• 02:12 — Introduction of Angela and the research on stress
• 03:43 — Listeners’ vivid, honest descriptions of stress and pressure
• 06:50 — Introduction of the term “strensure”
• 07:28 — The expectation to keep winning: “Pressure to win again”
• 09:06 — Strategies for building boundaries and rhythms
• 10:33 — The essential link between success and peace
• 11:01 — Final encouragement to redefine success and defend your peace

Tone & Style

Ryan Leak’s delivery is conversational, energetic, and empathetic, full of humor and practical wisdom. He doesn’t lecture—instead, he invites listeners into his own struggles and discoveries, offering both data-driven insights and heartfelt reflection.

Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating rising success or feeling the weight of growing expectations. Ryan Leak’s vulnerability, humor, and actionable advice equip listeners to confront “stressure,” build boundaries, and protect the fulfillment they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Next episode preview: “The Addiction of Success”