You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: Ryan Solomon on Strength, Success, and Asking for Help
In this episode of Chu on This!, Dr. Katie W. Chu sits down with longtime industry colleague Ryan Solomon for a personal conversation about success, loss, family, mentorship, service, and learning that strength doesn’t mean doing everything alone.
Ryan shares how losing his mother to breast cancer at just 24 changed the direction of his life. It forced him to rethink the “lone wolf” mentality he had carried as a young man and learn the importance of asking for help, finding mentors, and surrounding himself with people he could trust.
Katie and Ryan also explore how their definitions of success have evolved. Ryan stopped measuring himself against other people’s achievements and instead began asking a much simpler question: Was that your best? Katie reflects on how motherhood helped her move away from perfectionism and accept that sometimes doing your best with the circumstances you’re given is enough.
The conversation eventually turns to service and legacy. Ryan shares why mentoring young men through the Kaizen Young Men’s Weekend has become so meaningful to him, while Katie discusses writing her memoir, How I Glow, and her desire to leave her story for generations of her family she may never meet.
This episode is a reminder that life doesn’t have to be navigated alone, and that sometimes our greatest success is found not in what we achieve, but in who we help along the way.
Key Takeaways
Asking for help is a form of strength.
Ryan learned that taking responsibility for your life doesn’t mean handling everything alone. The right mentors and support system can change the direction of your life.
Success has to be defined for yourself.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, success can be as simple as knowing you gave your best with what you had.
Achievement can become service.
As our definition of success evolves, the focus often shifts from what we can accomplish to how we can use what we’ve learned to help others.
Quotes
“The moment that changed for me is when I stopped defining success based upon what everyone else is achieving and defined it by what I wanted out of my life.”
“You can’t do it yourself, and you’ve got to have a good support system and people around you.”
“Once you see that your life has meaning, it changes everything that you do.”
About Ryan Solomon
Ryan Solomon is a Senior Area Sales Manager for Lumenis Vision and a Southern California native. A former Cal Poly football player, Ryan brings the lessons of teamwork, discipline, and perseverance into both his professional and personal life.
Beyond his career, Ryan is passionate about mentorship and giving back, including his work with the Kaizen Young Men’s Weekend, where he helps support and guide the next generation of young men.
Connect with Ryan
Instagram: https://instagram.com/LA_dryeyeguy
Lumenis: https://lumenis.com/
WATCH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/NcfhtpYE6ns
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4NrGQw3Q4cQ2oorGhLn2G1?si=2711b8dadbda4461
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-dont-have-to-do-it-alone-ryan-solomon-on-strength/id1858742440?i=1000788862324
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/8e9b8ac5-1dcb-4212-97c8-999ee8108a11/episodes/f27f41a0-be8d-4eee-a075-4ee527b89076/chu-on-this-you-dont-have-to-do-it-alone-ryan-solomon-on-strength-success-and-asking-for-help