166 | Don’t Be the Mayor of Vanilla Town: Finding Your Real Voice and Letting Your Tribe Find You with Ryan Fahey

Ryan Fahey (pronounced “Foy”) — consultant, speaker, and author of four books helping educators launch and scale as entrepreneurs.

Big ideas & highlights

• Authentic > algorithmic: why clear opinions outperform beige, AI-generated content.
• The “last 20%” of growth: being fully yourself so the right people follow.
• Teachers → founders: turning buried skills into offers, pricing with confidence.
• Speaking starter kit: assets to collect before chasing stages.
• “Add value daily”: the habit that compounds in life and business.
• Impact beyond the balance sheet—and why sticking around wins the long game

Timestamps / chapters

• 00:00 – Cold open, baseball talk, PEI & Blue Ridge vibes
• 03:55 – Who is Ryan Fahey? Dad, husband, entrepreneur, speaker, author
• 05:40 – Authenticity as the growth unlock (“the last 20%”)
• 07:50 – AI everywhere vs. human voice; why 1 real video beats 100 clones
• 09:25 – “Don’t be the mayor of vanilla town”: have an opinion, repel & attract
• 11:45 – Niche & offers: helping educators become entrepreneurs
• 14:45 – Humble pricing, buried skills, and making the leap efficiently
• 16:50 – Should you write the book first? Sequencing brand → book for lift
• 17:55 – Speaking: assets, testimonials, and building your page
• 18:40 – First stage stories and the virtual keynote era
• 21:33 – Listener chain: “What keystone habits make you unstoppable?”
• 22:15 – Impact goals that don’t show up on a P&L
• 23:53 – Rodric on service, time studies, and keeping energy-rich work

Ryan Fahey Quotes:

• “Don’t be the mayor of vanilla town.”
• “People follow real people. One piece of you beats 100 pieces of fake you.”
• “If you add value daily, the market will reward you over time.”
• “Most teachers already have the skills— they’re just buried.”
• “Stick around long enough and you win the long game.”

Resources & mentions

• Ryan’s site: faheyconsulting.org
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fahey-consulting/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnessrf88/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellnessrf
• Rodric’s foundation: Send a Student Leader Abroad (SASLA)
• EF Tours (context around student travel)
• Books referenced: Robin Sharma

Housekeeping

• Ryan’s question for the next guest: “What keystone habits make you unstoppable?”
• Pronunciation note: Fahey = “Foy.”

Resources:

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