Michael Bernoff

On The Kara Goldin Show, Bernoff described his family as “very, very middle class” and recalled that his father commuted every day from Rockaway, New Jersey, and that his parents saved money so he could attend college.⁠[1]

He said he ran a landscaping business when he was younger; in college he sold phone cards, parked cars, and interned at Hornell Brewing Co., the company behind Arizona Iced Tea, where he learned about distribution.⁠[1]

He attended Arizona State University, was asked by the university to take a break, spent about a semester at Mesa Community College, and then returned and graduated after five and a half years; he also said he had not been admitted to the university’s business school.⁠[1]

He recalled reading How to Win Friends and Influence People at about age 19 and said, “it was that book that really woke me up to the idea that you could learn yourself better”; the father of a college roommate, who owned Super 8 hotels, advised him to “go into business for yourself.”⁠[1]

Bernoff has spent more than two decades studying influence and communication; his clients include CEOs, founders, and teams, and he advises high-performing leaders.⁠[2][3]

His recurring courses and events include Call2Action, held monthly and open to online participants, and Core LIVE and Human Interaction Technology, each held twice a year in person at the Human Communications Institute in Scottsdale; he also writes a weekly newsletter, the 1% Advantage.⁠[3][4]

He has worked with organizations including Genius Network, Century 21, Keller Williams, Mary Kay, and Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business; his speaking topics include communication, influence and persuasion, execution, leadership and high-performance teams, confidence and decision-making under pressure, and sales communication.⁠[5]

On May 12, 2020, Lioncrest Publishing released his book Average Sucks: Why You Don’t Get What You Want (And What to Do About It), a 200-page title.⁠[6]

The book page on his personal website later presented the book with the subtitle “Why Capable People Stay Stuck, And How to Break Free” and described it as “A practical introduction to self-influence.”⁠[7]

An episode of The Kara Goldin Show released on July 22, 2020, opened with Bernoff’s new book Average Sucks; in it he discussed a central concept of the book, his path as an entrepreneur, and how he deals with obstacles.⁠[8]

In the episode he said his team had given away about $3 million worth of its program over 111 days and had helped roughly 10,000 people.⁠[1]

On June 25, 2026, Hard Knocks BusinessHard Knocks BusinessHard Knocks Business is a YouTube business interview channel of the School of Hard Knocks, opened in February 2026, that presents business owners’ experience through street interviews, day-in-the-life videos and short clips.Open the full entry released the video “Asking Millionaires for Their Best Business Advice!”, in which the crew flew to Scottsdale, Arizona, and toured Bernoff’s office, event space, and studio; the video description calls him “communication expert Michael Bernoff,” and the narration says he had stayed off social media for years and had helped more than 100,000 people.⁠[9]

In the video he said the people attending his events are mostly business owners, including chiropractors, doctors, lawyers, heads of large tax firms, and an owner of 15 gyms; he calls the results they seek “outcomes” rather than “goals.”⁠[9]

He recalled that when he started in the early 2000s he used a fax machine and dial-up internet, and that “coach” then mostly meant a sports coach, whereas now many people work as coaches; he also said he invented a set of influence strategies called “human interaction technology.”⁠[9]

In the video he said his monthly 7 a.m. Call2Action course had run for 24 years with about 80,000 to 100,000 participants, that he coaches one high-level client individually each day, and that his studio produces the Average Sucks Show and the new Michael Bernoff Show; he also said he deliberately keeps his work and life within a few miles and does not travel the world to speak.⁠[9][3]

He described a short video of his that drew controversy: in it he said, “Never tell your kids you’re proud of them,” meaning that children should hear that they can be proud of themselves; he said it drew about 3 million critics and about 1 million supporters within a week, and his team later took it down.⁠[9]

He said that authenticity, the purest form of a person’s expression, is that person’s edge (video at 14:12).⁠[9]

He advised accepting who you are, then sitting alone for five to ten minutes and repeatedly asking yourself what you want, since the first answer is often only a surface reaction (video at 15:38).⁠[9]

He said no one should become a coach just to make money (video at 17:56).⁠[9]

He advocated using the money you make to buy back your time (video at 19:04).⁠[9]

He said there will never be a perfect day and that success and happiness have to be chosen, the sooner the better (video at 23:29).⁠[9]

Personal website: https://michaelbernoff.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

X: Public account: https://x.com/michaelbernoff (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bernoff-ba5a3a4b (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/bernoff (opens in a new window).⁠[3]