Shows / Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed
Hacks & Hobbies is where passions turn into profit stories. Host Junaid Ahmed interviews entrepreneurs, creators, and builders who are turning what they love into real momentum—income, confidence, community, and impact. Expect practical takeaways on podcasting, video content, home studios, personal branding, systems, and mindset—so your next idea doesn’t stay “someday.” If you’re building something (a show, a brand, a business, a better version of yourself), you’ll feel at home here.
Episodes
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Dyslexia Researcher Asking If Writing Could Unlock Reading
5 key takeaways Russell describes how accommodations during a state government internship—and later experiences in law school—shaped his path into dyslexia…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow an AI Creator Built 2.5 Million Followers—and Turned Attention Into a Business
In this episode, you’ll learn: Why creators need a business strategy—not just followers and views. How to spot a proven format and bring a fresh perspective to…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedGoal Crazy Founder on Finding a Business Idea Worth Leaving Everything For
Five takeaways: Why chasing “easy money” can leave entrepreneurs without the motivation to push through hard moments. How ten minutes of daily dreaming helped…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Goal-Setting Coach on Why You Don’t Follow Through—and How to Change It
5 Key Takeaways Build a reliable task-management system that grows with your responsibilities. Protect scheduled time for high-impact, money-making activities…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed30 Years in Corporate Leadership—What It Really Takes to Build Wealth, Family and Legacy
5 takeaways Bring your strengths into a new chapter. Andrew adapted skills from corporate leadership rather than leaving them behind. Make the plan measurable…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Four Cs of Trust—and Why He Walked Away From a Billion-Dollar Career
5 key takeaways Competence earns trust: Know your work deeply and keep sharpening your skills. Confidence grows through clarity: When you can explain what you…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Tough Mudder Lawyer to Wellness Community Builder—Why Relationships Beat Marketing
5 key takeaways How an internship at Tough Mudder redirected Brian from a traditional legal career toward entrepreneurship. Why being clear, following through…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow to Scale a Business Without Losing Your Values
In this episode: Why Sheikh believes businesses can succeed because of their values How “financial gravity” can pull companies away from their original mission…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe “Santa for Nerds” Who Turns Your Business Into a Game You Can Actually Win
5 Key Takeaways Stop hiding behind your product. People don’t remember features; they remember you and the origin story behind why you created what you…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow “Santa For Nerds” Paul Pape Turns Creative Entrepreneurs Into Game Masters (And Destroys the Starving Artist Mindset)
5 Key Takeaways Constraints supercharge creativity Why working for Disney, Universal, and Nickelodeon taught Paul that tight budgets, timelines, and approvals…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow to Train Your Intuition Like a Muscle & Stop Living in Fear
In This Episode, You’ll Learn: What intuition really is (and why it’s not a “psychic gift” reserved for a few) How to tell intuition from fear, anxiety, and…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFormer NASA CIO on Space-Grade Cyber Resilience, Satellite Threats & The Human Side of Security — with Renee Wynn
5 Key Takeaways Cybersecurity is human first, tech second Most failures start with people, not machines. Training, culture, and clear stories matter more than…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow to Look Credible on Camera (Even If You Feel Awkward) — With Visual Branding Strategist Ana Gil
5 Key Takeaways Confidence is a process, not a personality trait Confidence comes from preparation, repetition, and trust — in your content, your…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow Dr. Kary Oberbrunner Turns One Idea into 18 Revenue Streams (and Protects It in the AI Era)
How Dr. Kary Oberbrunner Turns One Idea into 18 Revenue Streams (and Protects It in the AI Era) Episode Description You’re sitting on assets you don’t even…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow Soul-Level Patterns, Worthiness & Visibility Shape Your Success (And How To Rewrite Them)
Key Takeaways Soul-level patterns explained – Why your coping strategies from childhood silently become your adult identity (and how to see them clearly)…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow Faith, Truth & “Spiritual Intelligence” Unlock Your Highest Purpose — with Donna Tashjian
Key Takeaways Clarity isn’t the problem—truth is. Most people say “I don’t know what to do,” but deep down they’re avoiding the truth they already sense God is…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe 21-Minute Workout That Rewires Your Brain, Melts Fat & Gives Busy People Their Life Back
5 Big Takeaways Traditional workouts were never built for busy people – they were designed in 1891 for strongmen with 10+ hours a week to train. 42 minutes a…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe 21-Minute Workout That Rewires Your Muscles, Your Brain, and Your Excuses
5 Big Takeaways Time isn’t the real problem — method is. Traditional training was designed to get people “jacked,” not to make busy people strong, functional…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow Kaboom’s Responsible AI Is Redefining Revenue & Relationships — with Anoushka & Ram (Kaboom AI)
5 Big Takeaways Responsible AI = augmentation, not replacement – Kaboom’s core principle is simple: keep a human in the loop and use AI to make people…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow a Father–Daughter Duo Is Redefining Revenue Intelligence With Human-Centered Agentic AI (Anoushka Ram Kumar & Ram Gunnison)
5 Big Takeaways Intergenerational co-founding is a superpower when you combine AI-native speed with decades of enterprise pattern recognition and trust. Kaboom…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedMarley Jax on Turning Hidden Expertise into Market Authority (Stage, Story, and the “Stage Book” Flywheel)
Key Takeaways Expertise ≠ Authority: Why being brilliant at what you do is not enough—and how to create visible proof that positions you as the go-to. The…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow to Build Unshakable Credibility with a 3-Word Message (and Stop Sounding Like Everyone Else)
5 Big Takeaways Clarity is your compass: A powerful credibility foundation starts with a simple, under-10-word C-Pop that defines who you serve and what…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedGlobal Credibility Expert on Why Credibility Starts With Clarity (and the 3‑Circle Framework That Changes Everything)
5 bullet takeaways Credibility = Trusted + Known + Liked: credibility is relational, measurable, and actionable — not just reputation. Integrity lives in two…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Advisor to Icons on Breaking Orbit and Finding the Genius Inside You
5 Big Takeaways Your gift is not a talent; it’s who you are when you’re fully alive. Frederick breaks down why your genius is less about skill and more about…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHow Billy Turned Small-Batch Bacon into a National Cult Brand (Without Losing Its Soul)
You’ll Learn How a single late-night phone call revealed Billy’s bacon had gone from local love to a national movement. What really changes first when you…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedWilliam “Bill E.” Stitt: How Serenaded Bacon, Soulful Hospitality & Storytelling Built a National Food Brand
Top 5 Takeaways: Brand starts with identity, not product. “Bill-E’s” was born in a college speech class long before the first slice hit a smoker. Serenaded…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Secret Playbook Behind Million-Dollar Domain Deals (Sex.com, AI.com & the Future of Domains)
Five key takeaways: Domains behave like real estate: due diligence, legal terms and the buyer pool determine true value — not just a price tag…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedEmpowered Podcasting CMO on Turning Followers into a Year‑Round Community (How EPC3 Makes Belonging Stick)
5 key takeaways: Community ≠ audience: community is recurring, reciprocal, and built through shared experiences, not metrics. The magic happens in the…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedPodcast Strategy Coach: Why Small Conferences Change Careers (and How to Network Without the Awkwardness)
Five key takeaways Stop collecting business cards: bring an agenda and one concrete follow-up goal per event. Small, intimate conferences often deliver deeper…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFinancial Planner, Podcast Host & Founder of Portis Wealth Advisors: How Embracing Failure Became His Greatest Growth Engine
Five key takeaways Failure-as-feedback: The faster you fail, the faster you learn — in business and in the gym. Client-first transitions: How white-glove…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedAsgardia Minister of Equity & Resources on Building a Digital Nation, Space Ethics, and the Moment Her Legacy Reached the Moon
5 key takeaways: Moonshot as legacy: Digital assets on the moon turned an improbable idea into a deeply emotional milestone for a global community…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFounder of The Flow Group on Reinventing Hearing Tech, Accessibility & Turning Trauma into Purpose
Key takeaways: How personal crisis (vision loss + addiction + financial collapse) can be reframed into a purpose-driven business mission. Why traditional…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedTrial Lawyer, AI & Privacy Pioneer: How Courtroom Storytelling Builds Attention, Trust & Influence
5 key takeaways Tell better stories: Use courtroom-tested structures (the hero’s journey + a 5-step persuasive framework) to make listeners care. Context >…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHigh‑Performance Coach on Why “Surface‑Level Success” Fails You (and How to Reclaim Real Fulfillment)
Five key takeaways Surface‑level success is often a default script — define success on your own terms before you spend years chasing it. Big wins can create…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedHigh-Performance Coach & Author of Uncomfortable Either Way: Why Choosing Easy Is Making Your Life Hard
5 key takeaways: Discomfort is inevitable — choosing the hard path often leads to deeper, lasting growth. We habitually value immediate comfort over long-term…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Forensic Nurse to Global Mindset Strategist: The Uncomfortable Truth Leaders Must Face to Scale
5 Bullet Takeaways Mindset is the foundation, not the fluff: unaddressed limiting beliefs sabotage even the best strategies. Motivational interviewing is a…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Forensic Nurse to Global Mindset Strategist: The Mountaineering Mindset That Turns Survival into Peak Performance
5 Key Takeaways The mountaineering mindset: break big goals into micro-steps, celebrate small wins, and keep momentum through mini-rewards. Reframe “failure”…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Engineer Who Turned Data Into $1B for Brands (and Why Your Shopify Store Is Dying in 2025)
5 key takeaways Growth is an engineering problem: opinions don’t scale — data does. Single-channel dependency (Meta ads only) is the fastest route to…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Rapid 2x Protocol: How He Reclaims Attention and Doubles E‑commerce Revenue
Timestamps: 0:01 — What is the Rapid 2x Protocol? Sabir’s 25‑year engineering experiment that became a system 3:12 — Attention economics: the 1.7‑second rule…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedSerial Entrepreneur & Coach on Turning Bankruptcy into a Reboot (Resilience, Rituals & Radical Self-Love)
Key takeaways: Bankruptcy as a pivot, not a full stop — how Marianne framed the filing day as “the moment I could move forward.” Two daily practices that…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedScaling With Purpose: How to Protect Your War Chest and Lead Without Losing Yourself - Michael Haskell
When the funding hits the bank, everything changes — your team, your decisions, your sleep. In this raw, curious conversation, Michael Haskell pulls back the…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Finance Architect Helping Founders Raise Smart Capital (and Why Patience Beats Panic) - Michael Haskell
This episode made me rethink everything I believed about fundraising — not as a sprint for cash, but as a discipline of integrity, patience, and business…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedAuthor of The Mentorship Edge on Midlife, Legacy & Why Storytelling Is the Leadership Superpower You’re Missing - Dr. Deborah Heiser
A raw, hopeful conversation about growing up into yourself. In this second part of our deep dive with Dr. Deborah Heiser, we move from the neuroscience of…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe Mentorship Edge: How Midlife Becomes a Second Act, Not a Crisis - Dr. Deborah Heiser
Midlife isn’t a downhill spiral — it’s a calling. In this episode, Dr. Deborah Heiser reframes aging, mentorship, and legacy so you can turn what feels like a…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed1,400-Episode Podcasting Veteran on How One Interview Can Fuel a Month of Marketing - Robert Plank
What if one recorded conversation could power an entire month of visibility? In this episode Robert Plank — the relentless creator behind Marketer of the Day…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedMarketer, 1,400-Episode Podcaster & The Quiet Engine Behind Visibility Without Burnout - Robert Plank
Robert Plank didn’t start podcasting to chase fame — he started because he felt invisible. What followed was 1,400 episodes, a business built around…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFounder of Suka on Reclaiming Focus: The One Daily Habit That Quietly Changes Your Life - Steven Puri
If you keep waking up and losing the morning to scrolling, this episode is for you. Steven Puri — from IBM and Hollywood sets to building Suka — walks Junaid…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Hollywood VFX to Flow: How the Founder of Suka Rebuilt Focus, Beat Distraction, and Helped Creators Win Back Their Time - Steven Puri
A filmmaker turned software founder shares the inciting moment when Hollywood craft collided with personal focus, sparking an app built to help creators…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedStyle Coach & Storyteller: How Dressing with Purpose Builds Trust - Elaine Johnston
Style is more than clothes — it’s the first sentence of your story. In this emotional, curiosity-driven conversation, Elaine Johnston traces a lifetime of…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedStyle Strategist on Using Story, Color & Three Truths to Show Up with Unshakable Confidence - Elaine Johnston
You don’t need perfect to be magnetic — you need one story, one palette, and the courage to practice. In this intimate, practical conversation, Elaine Johnston…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Investment Banker to Cancer Thriver: How She Rebuilt Her Body, Mind & Spirit by Design
5 key takeaways Surviving ≠ thriving: Zoraida explains the crucial mindset shift from getting through life to intentionally designing it. The three pillars…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedSerial Entrepreneur & Marathon-Minded CEO on Building Businesses That Fuel Life (Not Consume It) - Leo Gestetner
What if success didn’t mean sacrificing your health, family or sanity? In this episode Junaid sits down with Leo Gestetner — founder, CEO, and late-blooming…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFrom Couch Potato to Fitness Freak: How Leo Gestetner Built Global Businesses Without Burning Out
What if the real flex isn’t how big you build your business, but how fully you live your life while building it? In this episode, Junaid sits down with…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedAward‑Winning Filmmaker & Brand‑World Architect: How to Live Your Story (Build a World, Not Just Content) - Lefteris Koutinas
Stop chasing virality. Start building a world. In this episode Lefteris “Lefty” Koutinas — a 10x award‑winning filmmaker and branding strategist — takes us…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFilmmaker & Brand Architect: How to Build Cinematic Stories That Outlive Algorithms - Lefteris Koutinas
THIS IS YOUR PERMISSION TO STOP CHASING VIRAL HITS AND START BUILDING A WORLD. Lefteris (Lefty) Koutinas — 10x award-winning filmmaker, DJ-turned-storyteller…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedMinimalist Podcasting Coach Who Built Audiences Without Fancy Gear (How to Launch, Scale & Stop Over‑Editing) - Rory Paquette
Start small. Speak big. Ship fast. Rory Paquette strips podcasting back to the essentials — showing creators how to launch and grow an audience without…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedThe “Robin Hood of Podcasting” Who Wants You to Start Messy (How Minimal Gear, Minimal Editing & Maximum Courage Create Real Impact) - Rory Paquette
Start messy. Start now. Stop paying for permission. In this intimate conversation, Rory Paquette — a former public speaker turned podcast coach who’s earned…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedSamurai Success Mentor Reveals the Hidden Identity Shift That Creates Your Destiny - David Alcott
THIS EPISODE CUTS PAST THE SELF-HELP NOISE. In a raw, curiosity-driven conversation, David Alcott (author of Swords of Illumination) dismantles the “do-have”…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedLefteris “Lefty” Koutinas: The Filmmaker Helping Entrepreneurs Escape the Short‑Form Trap and Build Cinematic Brands That Outlive Algorithms
Most entrepreneurs are scrolling for ideas when they should be directing their own universe. In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Junaid sits down with…
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid AhmedFounder of Samurai Success on Recreating Your Identity, Building Destiny, and the Lessons Behind Swords of Illumination - David C. Olcott
Short description In this intimate conversation, David Olcott peels back the myths of “finding yourself” and reveals how we actually create who we become. From…