In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Xander Woodford‑Smith, founder and CEO of Strive (Stryvers.com), a personal‑development platform for entrepreneurs. Xander shares a formative personal story about a violent family incident that taught him to value each moment, leading to his drive to help others. He emphasizes that mastering one’s emotional state and taking ownership of it—through the concept of vertical development—is the most valuable insight he can teach. He advises entrepreneurs to be relentlessly customer‑centric, noting that modern competition demands focus on the people served rather than just product creation. Reflecting on personal growth, he tells his younger self to be kinder and stop self‑criticism. Regarding happiness, he argues that meaning, not happiness, should be pursued, outlining four components: belonging, purpose, self‑story, and transcendence, all fostered by vertical development. He recommends the business book “Ready, Aim, Fire: Zero to a Million” for stage‑by‑stage guidance, and shares three favorite quotes about perspective, resilience, and collective impact. The episode concludes with a plug for the Stryvers community platform where listeners can access resources.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?
All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Xander Woodford-Smith with us. He's the founder and CEO of Strive, which is a personal development platform that has helped over 15,000 entrepreneurs and coaches. So welcome to the show, Xander.
Thanks, Tyler, it's great to be here.
Of course, thanks for hopping on. Uh, we'll dive in. The first question I have for you is what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Uh, for me it's one that happened. It's like the first biggest story that happened to me. Some people might not call it the best, but I've kind of reframed it into that. Um, I had a family member that was going through a lot of problems and actually attacked, um, my mom and myself. Although that doesn't sound great, today it's such a gift because I had about 10 minutes where I didn't know what was going to happen. From a very early age, I kind of understood that life is really to be made the most of because you don't know what's going to happen, you don't know when it could be over. That really feels like a gift that's just kept on giving and has given me that drive. I find a lot of entrepreneurs have that sense of passion and wanting to make the most out of life.
What is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
For me, we've chatted about this a lot. I think if I could just teach everybody in the world one thing and they were absolutely going to get it, it would be that you have control over your emotional state and to take ownership of that, because that changes everything. That changes what you then think about and do, and those are the only 3 things you can control. And one of the best ways to do that is through vertical development, which is what we focus on at Strive.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Overall, I say— I I think it's about being really, really customer-centric. In these times where things are getting, you know, there's just so many, so much stuff on social media, there's so much competition. I think just having that sense of being customer-centric filters into everything, into marketing, into building your team, into sales. So that's kind of the capture-all, whereas 50 years ago it was just about building a product potentially. I think much more today, you just have to be so focused on the people you're serving.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Probably not to be so hard on myself, not to beat myself up, realize I'm good enough. And I think that's a lot of people I work with, they still have huge hang-ups around that. And they're just so critical of themselves and it slows down their growth and what they're capable of.
And in your opinion, I'm really excited for your answer on this. In your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Ah, finally, I would say the key to happiness is not to focus on happiness, is focus on meaning. And there's 4 things you should focus on within, within to get meaning, which the research shows is more important than happiness. 'Cause people, when they ask, you know, why, what to do to be happy, they're more asking how to have a great life. So focus on meaning and focus on belonging and empowering purpose, your self-story and transcendence, which again, always all helps through vertical development.
Yes. And what is the best book that you've read and what's the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh my goodness, that's tough. Well, if we're talking business, A book that I absolutely love is Ready, Aim, Fire: Zero to a Million. I can't remember who it's by. It's one of the most recent ones I've read, so maybe that's why I'm picking it as the favorite. But it's just got so many great things taking you through each stage of business and then what the focus is at each stage of business. That is absolutely fantastic.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Oh, I've got 3.
You can do 3 if you want.
I can do 3?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, good. Well, I've got one of them right in front of me, so hopefully I can read it perfectly. So one is, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." And that's Marcel Proust. And I think that's so valuable for, you know, the way you see problems You know, it's not running away from them. It's changing how you frame them. Another one that I really, really enjoy is, "Man's greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time he does." I can't remember who said that, but just about that perseverance and always going after it. And then I love the— I think it was attributed to Margaret Mead, but I don't know if she actually said it— "Never doubt that a few, a group of A few small committed individuals can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has, something along those lines. So those are the 3 that I absolutely love.
Yes. Thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
So if people visit Stryvers.com, and that's spelled S-T-R-Y-V-E-R-S.com, that's where our community is and that's where you can get a lot of cool resources.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for coming on. We appreciate it.
Thank you for having me. It's been great being on there. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor. If you want to make your own, download the Android or iOS app completely free from anchor.fm/podcast. That's anchor.fm/podcast.
