The Mike Murphy Show

Episode Summary: A personal-branding episode — Mike goes behind the scenes with his own origin story, from a childhood injury and discovering the Grateful Dead to the winding cross-country path that led to building Mike Murphy LLC.

What You’ll Learn

• Mike’s origin story: childhood, a broken femur at 13, and discovering the Grateful Dead
• The core principles behind his in-progress book: learning, creating, and moving forward
• How introversion and a love of teaching coexist as a deliberate “push and pull”
• The winding path through Portland, Missoula, Durango, Denver, and Naples that led to Mike Murphy LLC

This episode is the facts, the highlights, and the turning points — history, profile, and resume all rolled into one. In January 2017, Mike promised to write a book by year’s end and didn’t. This episode starts it: an introduction to One Man Band: Create the Life You Want, covering who he is and the paths he took to get here.

Requirements to create the life you want: you have to start, and you have to work hard.

Core Principles of the Book

• Learning — feed your brain and stay sharp.
• Creating — find your voice and uniqueness by doing and practicing what genuinely interests and excites you, then getting really good at it.
• Moving forward — “You only lose what you cling to” (Buddha). Stop dwelling on the past and focus on the good things ahead.

Origin Story

Born in Syracuse, NY in November 1969 — a Scorpio, the youngest of three. His father spends winters in Florida; his mother died in 2006.

Early school days: shy, uncomfortable with attention — winning “best all-around student” in 4th grade was closer to a nightmare than an honor, given the walk down the aisle in front of the whole school. A surprise birthday party would still be a worst-case scenario; receiving gifts has never been comfortable, closer to the Hobbit tradition of giving rather than receiving on your own birthday.

Pulling From Opposite Sides

Not wanting the spotlight, yet recording a podcast and writing a chapter all about himself — that contradiction has always been there. Starting the podcast and putting himself in videos was far outside the comfort zone, but necessary for what he wanted: happiness and the freedom to make a living doing what he wants.

The shyness isn’t rooted in insecurity or fear — Gary Vaynerchuk’s framing of “push and pull,” drawing from opposite extremes, helped put language to something Mike had always done but couldn’t describe. A lone wolf and introvert who’s spent his whole career in the service industry; shy but a natural teacher and leader more than a follower. Adaptability is the throughline — like a raft following the smoothest line down a river. Fear of being knocked down was never going to be the reason this fails.

Turning Points

A broken femur at 13 meant 6 weeks in traction and 8 weeks in a full body cast, followed by a year of therapy — any NBA dreams ended there. During that period came a discovery that mattered more: the Grateful Dead. Years of traveling to shows around the country followed, and few things have shaped him as powerfully — travel, adventure, resourcefulness, and how to treat people with kindness and respect all trace back to it. There was rarely much money, but nothing ever felt impossible. That mentality — that things will work out — owes a lot to the Dead’s relentless mantra of carving your own path.

Favorite quote (Nietzsche): “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Fast Forward

College at UMass Amherst, graduating in 4 years with an English degree, cum laude. Since then: creating content every single day for over 2 years without missing one — no shortage of discipline. Home bases along the way: Portland, Oregon; Missoula, Montana; Canterbury, NH; Durango and Denver, Colorado; and now Naples, FL.

A personal rule of thumb: attention and excitement for any one thing lasts about 5–7 years, then it’s time to move to whatever’s calling next. A curious mind that refuses to settle into mediocrity or boredom — when things feel stagnant, the answer is to adapt and change, which is exactly what’s happening now.

Naples, FL — two blocks from the beach, no car, no suit and tie — is where Mike moved to help build a photography studio, spending every day learning tech, design, and business. Now the work is sharing that knowledge and helping others do the same.

Show Notes & Links

No external resources referenced in this episode.