284. Former CEO of 7-Eleven and Blockbuster on Confidence, Reinvention, and Why Education Is Freedom | Jim Keyes

About this episode

Damon Lembi interviews Jim Keyes about confidence, reinvention, and the importance of education in leadership.

What if the biggest thing holding leaders back is not failure, disruption, or AI, but fear? In this episode of The Learn-It-All Podcast, Damon Lembi sits down with Jim Keyes, former CEO of 7-Eleven and Blockbuster, for a conversation on confidence, reinvention, lifelong learning, and the mindset it takes to lead when the stakes are high. Jim reflects on helping lead a major turnaround at 7-Eleven, stepping into Blockbuster during one of its most turbulent chapters, and the hard-won lessons that came from navigating crisis instead of running from it. Jim also shares his story of bumping into Warren Buffett during the Blockbuster years, when he was slipping into a victim mindset, and how Buffett’s challenge became the wake-up call he needed to keep fighting rather than give up. Damon and Jim use that story to unpack a bigger idea: confidence is not something you’re simply born with. It is built on knowledge, faith, preparation, and the willingness to keep learning in the face of adversity. The conversation also explores Jim’s belief that education is freedom, why a degree is a license to learn, and how leaders can turn change into opportunity rather than fear. If you care about…

People in this episode

Host: Damon Lembi

Guest: Jim Keyes

Topics covered

• leadership development
• business reinvention
• executive confidence
• change management
• learning agility
• future of education

Keywords

• confidence
• reinvention
• education
• leadership
• business
• mindset
• AI
• learning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 7-Eleven, Blockbuster

More episodes of the Learn-It-All™ podcast

• 302. The Dream Manager: The Question Most Leaders Never Ask | Kate Volman · June 11, 2026 · 60 min
• 301. High Performance Expert: Don't Let Fear Motivate You, Do This Instead | Josh Perry · June 9, 2026 · 56 min
• 300. The Winning Mindset of a 2x National Championship Baseball Coach | Andy Lopez · June 2, 2026 · 1h 23m
• 299. How to Find the Next Big Opportunity Before Everyone Else Does | Garrett Larsson · May 26, 2026 · 48 min
• 298. Former Tesla Executive: Why Speed Is the Only Business Strategy That Actually Works | Jay Abbasi · May 21, 2026 · 57 min
• 297. Most Companies Are Using AI Wrong And It's Costing Them | Christa Hill · May 19, 2026 · 1h 5m