Famous Failures: Recent Episodes
Ozan Varol
On Famous Failures, I interview the world's most interesting people about their failures and what they learned from them.
This episode marks the end of Season 1 of Famous Failures.
If you’d like to stay in touch with me, please sign up for my weekly email list at weeklycontrarian.com. My emails go out every Thursday to 21,000+ subscribers and share 1 idea you can read in less than 3 minutes that will help you reimagine the status quo. Readers call it the “one email I look forward to each week.”
Thank you to my podcast producer, Chris Mottram of Podcastily, and to my operations assistant, Brendan Seibel, for his research help.
Thank you to the following individuals and institutions for preordering multiple copies of my bestselling new book Think Like a Rocket Scientist.
- Orthogon Partners Investment Management
- Luci McKean
- Cathy Cheng
- Tony Martignetti
- Bill Brent
- Ramesh Kumar
- Fred Slete
- James D. Kirk
- Timothy Chips
- Wendy Horng Brawer
- Tim Oslovich
- Doug Claffey
- Christina Guthier
- Julian Olin
- Hans Schulte
- Amy Luo
- Renu Sharma
- Ben Creo
- Laolu Awogbade
- Jeff McGrath
Derek Sivers has lived many lives. He has been a musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, speaker, and book publisher. His TED Talk, “Weird, or just different?”, has been viewed more than 3.5 million times. His book Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur shares everything he learned from starting, growing, and selling the company CD Baby.
You can say hello to Derek at https://sivers.org/contact.
In this episode Derek and I discuss:
- How Derek cultivated a practice of questioning assumptions
- Why Derek has a Making Room, not a Living Room
- What a controversial blog post taught Derek about handling criticism
- Why you should distance your private persona from your public persona
- What a failed marriage taught Derek about the meaning of failure.
- Why you should separate your decisions from the outcome of those decisions
- How Derek cultivates calm in his life
References
- How to ask your mentors for help
- “7 reasons I switched back to PHP after 2 years on Rails”
- Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
- The Man with One Red Shoe starring Tom Hanks
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now out (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop).
The book is already a #1 bestseller on Amazon.
We have a special offer for the listeners of this episode with Derek Sivers.
If you order the book, forward your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com, and mention Derek, you’ll get two special bonuses.
The first is a video training with a behind-the-scenes look at my productivity system. You’ll find tips on how to defeat procrastination and get more done in less time.
The second is a pack of 12 three-minute, quick-hit videos based on Think Like a Rocket Scientist with actionable strategies you can implement right away.
Cathy Heller is the host of the popular podcast Don’t Keep Your Day Job, which was given the #1 spot on iTunes recommended list of shows for the New Year in 2018 and 2019. She started out as a singer songwriter and first found success licensing her music to TV, films and ads. After making a multi six figure living with her music, Cathy started a music agency, and began teaching other artists to grow their own careers.
You can subscribe to Cathy’s podcast at https://www.dontkeepyourdayjob.com/podcast or through your favorite service, and follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cathy.heller/
In this episode Cathy and I discuss:
- Her heartbreaking experience of being dropped from two record labels
- The lesson we should learn from the Covid-19 crisis
- How Cathy found her passion through a series of day jobs
- How Cathy grew an immensely successful online business without knowing how to make an online business work
- Why you need to give yourself permission to be mediocre
- How Cathy allows her authentic self to shine through
- What Cathy thinks our greatest human need is
- The life lessons Cathy is still trying to learn
Today is the official launch date of my new book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist.
In this special episode, I share with you three key insights from the book that will help you make giant leaps in work and life.
If you order the book by Tuesday, April 21st (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound), you’ll get two special bonuses.
The first is a video training with a behind-the-scenes look at my productivity system. You’ll find tips on how to defeat procrastination and get more done in less time.
The second is a pack of 10 three-minute, quick-hit videos based on Think Like a Rocket Scientist with actionable strategies you can implement right away. You can see the full list of videos at rocketsciencebook.com/podcast.
These videos were massively popular when they were first released, and I’m bringing them back for a limited time. To get the videos, order the book in any format by April 21st and send your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com.
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews of the book.
The book is:
-
Adam Grant’s # 1 pick of his top 20 books of 2020
-
One of Inc.com's "6 Books You Need to Read in 2020"
-
Named a "must read" by Susan Cain, "endlessly fascinating" by Daniel Pink, and "bursting with practical insights" by Adam Grant
-
An Amazon Book of the Month for April 2020
Grab your copy from one of these links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound.
Baya Voce has produced “magic touch” experiences ranging from two-person rituals to elaborate 1,000+-person immersive-theater productions. Whether 20-person Jeffersonian-style dinners or high-end finance conferences at Lincoln Center (and everything in between), Baya’s focus is engineering unforgettable moments.
With more than 4 million views, her TEDx talk on loneliness is one of the most-viewed of all time. She has been featured by Forbes, ABC, Fox, MTV, and SXSW for her perspective on experience design and human connection.
Sign up for Baya’s newsletter on her website https://bayavoce.com/, and follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/baya_voce
In this episode Baya and I discuss:
- How being on the Real World flung Baya into a canyon of loneliness
- What advice Baya would give her 21-year-old Real World self
- The invisible public health crisis Baya is happy to see getting more attention
- How feeling alone at gatherings led Baya to a career in experience design
- What business event planners get wrong
- How Baya cultivates a high emotional response from her guests in designing experiences
- The importance of turning your event into a story
- What you should think about if you’re moving your real world event online
Resources mentioned
- Real World: Brooklyn
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann Hari
- 1 in 3 U.S. Adults Are Lonely, Survey Shows by AARP
- The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake by David Brooks
- Hitch
- Hero’s Journey
- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
Dorie Clark is a consultant and keynote speaker, and the author of the books Entrepreneurial You, Reinventing You, and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine. A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, Dorie has been described by the New York Times as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.”
Dorie consults and speaks for a diverse range of clients, and teaches executive education. A former award-winning journalist, she directed the environmental documentary film, The Work of 1000, and was a producer for a multiple-Grammy-winning jazz album.
To read any of 500 free articles Dorie has written for publications such as Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, and Entrepreneur, visit https://dorieclark.com.
And if you’d like to build the career you want, you can download the free 88 question Entrepreneurial You self-assessment at https://dorieclark.com/entrepreneur.
In this episode Dorie and I discuss:
- What Dorie learned from being laid off from her first newspaper job
- Why a diversity of skills is crucial in the modern job market
- What holds people back from diversifying themselves (and what you can do about it)
- How being a freelance journalist helped Dorie prepare for the entrepreneurial life
- Why learning how to run a business didn’t actually help Dorie launch her first business
- The very first step all entrepreneurs must take
- The “optimize for interesting” philosophy that Dorie lives by
- The personal and professional failures Dorie values most
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals). The book was also selected by Adam Grant as his # 1 pick among his top 20 books of 2020.
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Dr. Jessica Kriegel is a researcher and expert in generational dynamics. Her insights and solutions offer a roadmap for how you can most effectively transform your culture to attract, retain, and engage all generations in the workplace.
Jessica’s book, Unfairly Labeled: How Your Workplace Can Benefit From Ditching Generational Stereotypes, challenges the very concept of "generational differences" as an unfair generalization, and offers a roadmap to intergenerational understanding. She also speaks on the topic of generational dynamics nationally and acts as an adviser and strategist in matters of cultural alignment across all generations.
Sign up for Jessica’s mailing list at http://www.jessicakriegel.com/.
In this episode Jessica and I discuss:
How being the youngest person in the room led Jessica to study generational differences
Why older generations complain about millenials
Why the established literature on generational differences is wrong
Why the public is so eager to buy into generational stereotypes
Jessica’s technique for showing how inappropriate generational stereotypes are
How stereotypes about different generations lead to poor leadership decisions
What companies can do to foster better intergenerational relations
The personality trait that Jessica considers a personal failure
Why it’s so difficult to project our true selves into the world and what we can do about it
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Neil Pasricha is the author of five New York Times bestsellers including: The Book of Awesome, a catalog of simple pleasures based on his 50-million hit, award-winning blog, and The Happiness Equation, a nine-step guidebook to happiness based on new research.
His latest book is You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life.
Neil is also one of the most popular TED speakers with his first TED Talk “The 3 A’s of Awesome” ranked as one of the ten most inspiring of all time.
His work has been featured in hundreds of outlets including CNN, BBC, The Today Show, The Early Show, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Fortune, and Forbes.
His new podcast, 3 Books, discusses the most formative books of inspiring individuals from all walks of life.
Neil graciously offered to hold an ask-me-anything session for the readers of the Weekly Contrarian. In the AMA, Neil answers questions about the relationship between appreciation and happiness; how to expose your true inner, authentic self; how to go from being a glass-half-empty person to a glass-half-full person; and so much more.
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals). The book was also selected by Adam Grant as his # 1 pick among his top 20 books of 2020.
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Tara Schuster is an author, playwright, and accomplished entertainment executive, currently serving as the Vice President of Talent and Development at Comedy Central. She was the Executive in Charge of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Key & Peele, the Emmy Award winning @Midnight, and numerous other shows.
Tara’s first book, Buy Yourself the Fcking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life from Someone Who has Been There*, will be released on February 18, 2020. The hilarious and relatable self-help/memoir tells the story of Tara’s path to re-parenting herself and becoming a “ninja of self-love.”
Sign up for Tara’s newsletter to receive weekly self-care tips at: taraschuster.com/subscribe, and find her on Instagram as @taraschuster.
In this episode Tara and I discuss:
- Why Tara decided not to pursue a career as a New York playwright
- How Tara’s budding playwriting career pivoted into an internship on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart
- Why Jon Stewart doesn’t believe in “Big Breaks”
- How cleaning the Daily Show office coffee machine opened doors to Comedy Central for Tara
- Why Tara strives to be the best at the worst
- How Tara hit rock bottom on her 25th birthday
- The first step Tara took to build a sense of self-awareness
- Tara’s advice for cultivating new friendships as you grow older
- How Tara managed to be so honest in her memoir
- How Tara faces the high risk of failure in the entertainment industry
Resources mentioned
- The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
An entrepreneur, creative thinker, and acclaimed international speaker, Frans Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection. He has started a health-care business, a software company, a hedge fund, and an innovation firm. Frans is the author of The Medici Effect and The Click Moment, and is the founder and CEO of The Medici Group.
Reach out and connect with Frans on LinkedIn or Twitter. To learn more about his company The Medici Group, visit their website at https://www.themedicigroup.com/.
In this episode Frans and I discuss:
- How his early life experiences influenced the work that Frans does today
- How Frans accidentally ended up attending Harvard Business School
- The ten-second vision that shaped Frans’s ideas on diversity and innovation
- Why diversity in the workplace doesn’t work without inclusion
- How to help diverse teams become more innovative
- Why Frans thinks that failure and success go hand in hand
- How people can take away positive lessons from failure
- What Frans learned from his failed tech start-up
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of charity: water, and the New York Times Bestselling author of Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World. In 13 years, with the help of more than 1 million donors worldwide, charity: water has raised more than $400 million and funded more than 44,000 water projects in 28 countries. When completed, those projects will provide over 10 million people with clean, safe drinking water.
If you would like to help bring clean water to the world, consider joining charity:water’s monthly donation program, The Spring at thespring.com. If you sign up, forward your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com and I will send you a free, personalized, and autographed copy of my forthcoming book Think Like a Rocket Scientist.
In this episode Scott and I discuss:
- How Scott transformed himself from hard-partying nightclub promoter with substance abuse problems to a global humanitarian organization founder
- How Scott’s first humanitarian mission in war-torn Liberia inspired the creation of charity: water
- Why being a philanthropic outsider was an advantage for Scott when he started charity: water
- Scott’s three key elements to great storytelling
- Why Scott celebrated the workers who crashed a million-dollar well drilling rig
- What Scott would say to his younger self who founded charity: water
Resources mentioned
- The Spring
- Video about charity:water’s work in India
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
I’m personally donating my royalties from the pre-order sales of the book (up to $10,000) to charity: water. Every 10 pre-orders will bring clean water to 1 person in need.
BJ Fogg is a behavioral scientist with deep experience in innovation and teaching. At Stanford University he runs the Behavior Design Lab and also teaches his models and methods in graduate seminars. On the industry side, he trains innovators to use his work so they can create solutions that influence behavior. The focus areas include health, financial wellbeing, learning, productivity, and more.
BJ has a new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything, which came out today, on December 31st, 2019.
To learn more about Tiny Habits, visit tinyhabits.com.
In this episode BJ and I discuss:
- How Greek philosophy inspired BJ to study persuasive technology
- Why BJ’s early theories on the future of technology earned him poor grades and puzzled looks
- What common modern practice will be seen as low-status behavior in the near future
- How people can adopt new behaviors even when they lack the motivation to change
- The three strategies that add up to BJ’s Tiny Habits behavioral change method
- How BJ learned to get over failure and keep trying new things
- How overcoming compulsive snacking taught BJ empathy toward others
- How you can the tiny Habits to untangle your own unwanted behaviors
Resources mentioned
Rhetoric by Aristotle
Mobile Persuasion: 20 Perspectives on the Future of Behavior Change, edited by BJ Fogg and Dean Eckles
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including Juliet’s School of Possibilities, Off the Clock, I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune.
If you’d like to keep in touch with Laura, you can check out her short daily podcast, Before Breakfast, to start your morning with productivity advice that will take your day from great to awesome.
In this episode Laura and I discuss:
- How Laura became interested in studying and writing about time management
- Why Laura focuses on weeks instead of days
- The first step you should take if you want to improve your own productivity
- What surprising insight Laura discovered about successful people’s schedules by reading their time diaries
- How anyone can create extra hours in their week
- How you can stretch out the good moments in life
- What Laura learned after her first book flopped and didn’t find its audience.
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
This is a short, solo episode of Famous Failures. Instead of doing an interview, I speak about what you should do when you make a mistake. The episode is based on a blog post I wrote a few months ago, which you can find here.
If you enjoyed this episode, you’d love my forthcoming book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life.
The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
You can pre-order any edition of the book from any bookseller (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound). After you pre-order the book, please forward your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com, and your bonuses will land in your inbox.
Rene Denfeld is the author of the acclaimed novels The Child Finder, The Enchanted, and The Butterfly Girl. Her literary thrillers have earned glowing reviews from the New York Times Book Review, among other venues. Margaret Atwood, who is the renowned author of Handmaid’s Tale (among other books), has described Rene’s work as “astonishing,” and Rene’s latest novel, The Butterfly Girl, a “heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, yet ultimately hopeful novel.”
Rene was the Chief Investigator at a public defender’s office and has worked hundreds of cases, including death row exonerations. In addition to her advocacy work, Rene has been a foster adoptive parent for twenty years. She was awarded the Break The Silence Award in Washington, DC for her social justice work, and was named a 2017 hero of the year by the New York Times.
You can get Rene’s new book The Butterfly Girl at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell’s.
In this episode Rene and I discuss:
- How living on the streets as a teenager inspired her latest novel
- What helped Rene overcome feelings of shame over her past trauma
- How she preserves the dignity of her fictional characters who survive trauma and abuse
- How a librarian and a broken typewriter steered her towards careers in social justice and writing
- The unexpected inspiration she found working with death row inmates
- Rene’s biggest challenge in writing stories inspired from her personal experience
- Why it’s never too late to start writing (Rene didn’t become an author until her 40s)
- What advice Rene has for older aspiring writers
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get digital access to the book to read on your favorite device within seven days of your pre-order. That means you can start reading it months before the book is released to the public.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
This is a short, solo episode of Famous Failures. Instead of doing an interview, I go on a riff on why the popular “fail fast, fail often” mantra is misguided. I offer an alternative that produces better results and explain how you can use it to your advantage in your personal and professional life.
The discussion is based in part on my forthcoming book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life.
The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get amazing bonuses that are worth 10x the cost of the book(s). What’s more, if you pre-order the book in any format, you can download and read the digital version NOW, before the book is released to the public.
You can learn more about the book and the bonuses at this link.
Why am I running a pre-order campaign?
First, pre-order bonuses are my way of thanking you for supporting my writing.
Second, I’m donating 100% of my royalties (up to $10,000) from the pre-order sales to a non-profit called charity: water, which is on a mission to create a future where everyone has access to clean and safe drinking water.
My goal is to sponsor an entire water project, which will cost $10,000 and bring clean water to a community of roughly 300 people. By pre-ordering the book, you’ll help bring this goal to life.
Third, pre-orders carry tremendous weight in book promotion. Major bookstores use pre-order numbers to gauge public interest in the book. If the pre-order numbers are high, they’ll stock more copies of the book, which, in turn, means more readers will see it.
You can pre-order any edition of the book from any bookseller (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound). After you pre-order the book, please forward your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com, and your bonuses will land in your inbox.
Whitney Johnson is a leading business thinker and expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption. She covers the framework for personal disruption in the critically-acclaimed book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work.
Originally an award-winning stock analyst, Whitney chose to leave her Wall Street career behind at the height of her career. This bold act of personal disruption and the following years of entrepreneurial exploration led to her new career as a business coach, writer and speaker.
Whitney is the host of the popular Disrupt Yourself Podcast. You can gain special insights into her seven-point framework for personal disruption by listening to Disrupt Yourself episode #120, “Play to Your Distinctive Strengths” at https://whitneyjohnson.com/distinctive-strengths/.
In this episode Whitney and I discuss:
- How she went from secretary to award-winning Wall Street analyst
- Why taking a step backward was Whitney’s slingshot forward on Wall Street
- How disrupting yourself sets you up for greater success
- Why Lady Gaga is the perfect example of personal disruption
- The three factors that helped her develop the confidence to make big leaps
- The importance of grieving failure
Resources mentioned
Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton Christensen
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist, is now available for pre-order (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound).
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews. The book was named a “must read” by Susan Cain (NYT Bestselling Author of Quiet), “endlessly fascinating” by Daniel Pink (NYT Bestselling Author of Drive and A Whole New Mind), and “bursting with practical insights” by Adam Grant (NYT Bestselling Author of Originals).
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get immediate digital access to read on your favorite device. That means you can start reading it NOW, months before the book is published.
You’ll also get pre-order bonuses worth at least 10 times the cost of the book. You can check out the bonuses at rocketsciencebook.com.
Why am I running a pre-order campaign?
First, pre-order bonuses are my way of thanking you for supporting my writing.
Second, I’m donating 100% of my royalties (up to $10,000) from the pre-order sales to a non-profit called charity: water, which is on a mission to create a future where everyone has access to clean and safe drinking water.
My goal is to sponsor an entire water project, which will cost $10,000 and bring clean water to a community of roughly 300 people. By pre-ordering the book, you’ll help bring this goal to life.
Third, pre-orders carry tremendous weight in book promotion. Major bookstores use pre-order numbers to gauge public interest in the book. If the pre-order numbers are high, they’ll stock more copies of the book, which, in turn, means more readers will see it.
You can pre-order any edition of the book from any bookseller (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound). After you pre-order the book, please forward your receipt to rocket@ozanvarol.com, and your bonuses will land in your inbox.
In this special episode of Famous Failures, I read a never-before-released excerpt from my forthcoming book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life.
If you pre-order the book, you’ll get amazing bonuses that are worth 10x the cost of the book(s). What’s more, if you pre-order the book in any format, you can download and read the digital version NOW, before the book is released to the public. Click here to learn more.
I’ve been ecstatic about the early reviews of the book. Here are a few:
"When the stakes are high, the unknowns are threatening, and the problems seem insurmountable, you need a superhero — which means you need Ozan Varol. He’ll show you how to master the cognitive skills of a rocket scientist. And by the time you finish reading his endlessly fascinating book, your thinking will be bigger, better, and bolder."
— Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of WHEN, DRIVE, and A WHOLE NEW MIND
“Thinking like a rocket scientist is not rocket science! Packed with witty writing, insightful advice, and invigorating stories, this must-read book will change the way you see the world—and empower you to change the world itself.”
— Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of QUIET.
“This is not just an engrossing read—it’s bursting with practical insights. Ozan Varol’s dazzling debut might change how you approach problems. Houston, this book has solutions.”
— Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of ORIGINALS and GIVE AND TAKE, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“The rocket scientists I know are technical, of course. But they are also among the biggest dreamers the world has ever seen. Ozan Varol has written a fascinating, practical, and mind-expanding book about how we can all benefit from thinking like a rocket scientist. This book will make you look at the world with a different lens and will help you make your own seemingly crazy moonshot a reality.”
– Julian Guthrie, New York Times bestselling author of How to Make a Spaceship
Head over here to grab your copy.
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Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Tim Urban is best known as the writer and illustrator behind the incredibly popular blog Wait But Why, which has garnered millions of unique page views and famous fans like Elon Musk. His deeply researched long-form posts on everything from artificial intelligence to procrastination buck the conventional wisdom that internet writing should be short or SEO optimized to be successful.
A former film composer and professional tutor, Tim has parlayed his conversational writing style into a sideline of speaking engagements. His 2016 TED talk on procrastination has been viewed more than 30 million times.
You can subscribe to the Wait But Why Newsletter at https://waitbutwhy.com
In this episode Tim and I discuss:
- Why he wrote a 90 page college thesis in only 72 hours
- Strategies for overcoming procrastination
- What motivated Tim to give up his music career to become a professional blogger
- How Tim developed his writing craft in the sandbox of blogging
- The value of experimentation, having fun, and drawing stick figures
- Why Tim ignores the ‘short and sweet’ blogging format and writes long, book-length posts
- What he learned from failing to take advantage of a big opportunity in Hollywood
- What exciting trends in technologies and psychology may end up in future Wait But Why posts
And in this episode Tim also answers a couple questions from Inner Circle members:
“Where do you get ideas for your blog?”
“How do you pick a popular topic but avoid repeating someone else’s rants on the same issue?”
Resources mentioned:
Tim’s TED Talk: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
The story of Odysseus and the Sirens is from the Odyssey by Homer
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
In 2012, eighteen-year-old soccer player Lindsey Horan defied conventional wisdom when she turned down a scholarship from soccer powerhouse University of North Carolina. UNC is almost a guaranteed path to the big leagues for talented and hardworking women, but Lindsey decided to skip a step and move halfway around the world to sign with Paris Saint-Germain. She was the first American woman to go pro directly out of high school.
Today Lindsey is a National Women’s Soccer League player with the Portland Thorns. She led her team to the championship in 2017 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the entire league for the 2018 season. She’s the heartbeat of the US Women’s National Team and played in her first World Cup in 2019.
Follow Lindsey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LindseyHoran, and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lindseyhoran10/.
In this episode Lindsey and I discuss:
- How she made the difficult decision to skip college and turn pro in France
- What it was like landing in France at the age of eighteen with no language or cultural compass
- How she overcame humiliation in the locker room to become the best player she could be
- Why chipped fingernails and short hair got players sidelined in France
- How she talks herself through tough times and failures
- How she supports her team on the field when things go sideways during a game
- How she bounced back from being benched for most of the 2016 Olympics
- Why taking risks on the field boosts her self-confidence and makes her a better player
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Nadya Okamoto is the Executive Director of PERIOD (period.org), an organization she founded at the age of sixteen to provide menstrual hygiene products to those in need. PERIOD is now the largest youth-run NGO in women’s health, and one of the fastest growing in the United States.
In 2017, Nadya ran for office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Although she did not win, her campaign made historic waves in mobilizing young people both on the ground and at the polls.
Nadya’s debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement, made the Kirkus Reviews list for Best Young Adult Nonfiction of 2018. Earlier this year she made InStyle Magazine’s The Badass 50: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World list along with Michelle Obama and Ariana Grande.
Today Nadya is also the Chief Brand Officer of JUV Consulting, a Generation Z marketing agency based in New York City.
Keep in touch with Nadya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadyaokamoto/
In this episode Nadya and I discuss:
- Why receiving a lifetime achievement award made her feel inadequate
- How she stays true to herself while in the media spotlight
- How she handled pushback from family, peers and trolls during her city council campaign
- How Nadya found success in a political campaign that she ended up losing
- What Nadya does to avoid spiraling into self-doubt and getting lost in negative thoughts
- How Nadya finds balance through late night workouts and Netflix
Resources mentioned
Follow the national campaign to repeal the Tampon Tax on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/periodmovement/
Christine Carter is a sociologist, columnist and speaker. She’s the author of the books Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents, as well as The Sweet Spot: How to Achieve More by Doing Less. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Greater Good Science Center where she explores the science of happiness and researches how to thrive in our stress-filled, fast-paced modern world.
Christine has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” the “Dr. Oz Show”, the “TODAY” show, the “Rachael Ray Show,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and many others. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and other media outlets.
You can subscribe to Christine’s monthly newsletter at christinecarter.com/free-updates/.
In the episode, Christine and I discuss:
- Why Christine began to fantasize about being hospitalized
- What drove Christine to cancel a keynote speaking engagement at the last minute
- Why the opposite of busyness is not laziness
- How the first industrial revolution created our notions of workplace productivity which we still mistakenly believe today
- How you can schedule rest in your day to increase productivity
- How a multitasking brain consumes energy and ways to retrain ourselves to stick to one thing at a time
- The importance of experiencing stillness and how it improves brain function
- Why Christine began leaving her phone in the car when she went grocery shopping
- The one personal failure Christine continues to experience
- Why we should allow our kids to experience boredom and disappointment
Christine also responds to Inner Circle member Cathy Cheng’s question: What are the one or two most consistent attributes of organizations where workers are happiest, most productive, and least likely to leave?
Resources mentioned
In a land of workaholics, burned-out South Koreans go to 'prison' to relax
The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
Click here to see our step-by-step guide on subscribing, listening and reviewing the show!
Tiago Forte is one of the world’s foremost experts on productivity. He writes and speaks on how knowledge workers can revolutionize their personal effectiveness using technology, and has taught more than 20,000 people around the world through his online courses and live workshops.
Tiago’s online course Building a Second Brain has been taken by more than 1,000 people from more than 60 countries.
You can learn more about Building a Second Brain at https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/.
In the interview, Tiago and I discuss:
- How Tiago quit his consulting position to pursue a career as an entrepreneur
- What you can do to prepare for being an entrepreneur
- Why Tiago’s first business venture was a massive success.
- How that massive success was followed by a colossal failure and the lessons Tiago learned from that failure
- How Tiago validated his next business idea, the Building a Second Brain course, before launching it
- Why showing your failures and vulnerability can make you more appealing
Resources mentioned:
Tagging is Broken
How to Use Evernote for Your Creative Workflow
The “beautiful mess” effect
This is a special episode of Famous Failures. Instead of doing an interview, I recount the story of the first three failures that SpaceX experienced on the launchpad, which brought the company to the brink of collapse.
You’ll learn how SpaceX leveraged these failures for later success and how you can implement the same strategies in your own life.
The content of the episode is based on the following sources:
Tim Fernholz, Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race (2018);
Shane Snow, Smartcuts: The Breakthrough Power of Lateral Thinking (2014);
Chris Bergin, Falcon I flight – preliminary assessment positive for SpaceX, Spaceflight.com (March 24, 2007) https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2007/03/falcon-i-flight-preliminary-assessment-positive-for-spacex/;
Tim Fernholz, What it took for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to disrupt Boeing, leapfrog NASA, and become a serious space company, QZ (Oct. 21, 2014) https://qz.com/281619/what-it-took-for-elon-musks-spacex-to-disrupt-boeing-leapfrog-nasa-and-become-a-serious-space-company/;
Max Chafkin, SpaceX’s Secret Weapon Is Gwynne Shotwell, Bloomberg Quint (July 26, 2018) https://www.bloombergquint.com/businessweek/she-launches-spaceships-sells-rockets-and-deals-with-elon-musk;
Elon Musk, Falcon 1, Flight 3 Mission Summary, SpaceX (Aug. 6, 2008) https://www.spacex.com/news/2013/02/11/falcon-1-flight-3-mission-summary;
Dolly Singh, What Is It Like to Work With Elon Musk?, Slate (Aug. 14, 2013) https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/08/elon-musk-what-is-it-like-to-work-for-the-spacex-tesla-chief.html;
Tom Junod, Elon Musk: Triumph of His Will, Esquire (Nov. 15, 2012) https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a16681/elon-musk-interview-1212/.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Ryan Levesque is the CEO of The ASK Method ® Company, and the #1 national best-selling author of Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Method to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy, which was named by Inc. as the #1 Marketing Book of the Year. Ryan’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, and Entrepreneur and over 250,000 entrepreneurs subscribe to his email newsletter offering business advice.
His latest book, Choose, helps readers avoid making the single biggest mistake when starting a business and guides people through answering the all important question: What type of business should you start?
You can get a free copy of Choose (just pay S&H) plus over $200 in bonuses (including the audiobook) by visiting http://choosethebook.com/famousfailures. This isn’t an affiliate link—if you choose to buy Ryan’s book, I don’t make a dime.
In the interview, Ryan and I discuss:
- How Ryan quit his dream job at AIG Insurance to pursue a career as an entrepreneur
- Why people are afraid to give up “good” to go for “great” (and what to do about it)
- The one advice Ryan would give to an aspiring entrepreneur
- Why one of Ryan’s earliest businesses flopped and what he learned from that failure
- How Ryan found the idea for a massively successful business centered on growing orchids
- Why Ryan ended up in the ICU in 2012 after overworking and how he bounced back to write a bestselling book.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Khe Hy is the founder of RadReads, which is a community of 20,000 professionals seeking to reexamine their relationship to money, ambition, and ultimately themselves. Khe has been called Oprah for Millennials by CNN and the Wall Street Guru by Bloomberg. He spent the first fifteen years of his career in the financial services industry researching hedge fund investments. He was one of the youngest Managing Directors at BlackRock where he oversaw the New York Research Team.
You can sign up for Khe’s newsletter, RadReads, at https://radreads.co/.
In the episode, Khe and I discuss:
- Why Khe did the unthinkable and quit his job at a Wall Street investment firm without a plan
- How Khe coped with the self-doubt and fear of failure in leaving a prestigious job and strike out on his own
- What advice Khe would give to people contemplating a similar career transition
- How he grew his newsletter, RadReads, from 0 to 16,000 subscribers
- How you can stop caring about what other people think
- What the scarcity mindset is and why more isn’t necessarily better
Resources mentioned
- How to overcome the “scarcity mindset”
- An Instagram star with 2 million followers couldn't sell 36 T-shirts, and a marketing expert says her case isn't rare
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Tali Sharot is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and a leading expert on the neural basis of emotion, decision making and optimism. She has been featured in numerous media outlets,including The New York Times, Time magazine, The Washington Post, CNN, BBC, and more. Her TED talk on the optimism bias was viewed over 2 million times.
Her latest book, The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others, tackles the neuroscience behind influence -- what we so often get wrong about it, how we can learn to influence others, and how to understand when we are being influenced.
In the interview, Tali and I discuss:
- How our brains are wired to look on the bright side, and why that tendency can both help and hurt us.
- Why stress can diminish our bias toward optimism
- How we can remain optimistic in the face of failure or fear of failure
- Why a failure in Tali’s own life ended up giving her the idea for her research on the optimism bias
- Why facts and data don’t tend to change minds once we form a belief.
- When hope can be a better influencer than fear — and the other way around.
- How Tali would advise the Democratic party leading up to the 2020 presidential elections.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
SUSAN CAIN is the author of Quiet: The Secret Strengths of Introverts, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages, is in its seventh year on the New York Times best seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Susan one of its Most Creative People in Business. Susan’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed over 20 million times and was named by Bill Gates one of his all-time favorite talks.
You can join Susan’s newsletter at this link, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
In the interview, Susan and I discuss:
- Why Susan left a high-powered career as a Wall Street attorney to become a writer
- What advice she has for others who are contemplating a career transition
- How she decided to write a book about introversion
- Why all literary agents, except one, Susan approached turned down her book idea
- What Susan did after her editor told her that her book was terrible and advised her to start over from scratch
- How Susan copes with the demands of publicity as an introvert
- How introverts can survive and thrive in networking events and conferences
- How to move beyond small talk to deeper conversation
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Rob Walker is an author and journalist covering design, technology, business, the arts, and other subjects. He writes the Human Resource column for Lifehacker, and has contributed to The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic, TheNewYorker.com, and many others. He is on the faculty of the Products of Design program at the School of Visual Arts.
His new book is called The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday. If you live in New York City, you can attend free event on May 7th where Rob will discuss his book (details here).
You can sign up for the Art of Noticing newsletter at this link and follow Rob on Twitter.
In the interview, Rob and I discuss:
- How a broken coffee mug sent Rob on a creative path to launch the Significant Objects project
- Why a meaningless object purchased on average for $1.50 can sell for $36 on average on eBay if it has a story attached to it
- Where Rob’s creative ideas come from
- How Rob bombed a news interview with Steve Jobs and why this failure was a blessing in disguise
- Why we fail to pay attention to the world around us and the dangers associated with the war against seeing
- How you can awaken your senses and see the world anew
- What three strategies Rob uses most regularly from his latest book on the Art of Noticing
Resources mentioned:
- Significant Objects Project
- Jimmy Breslin, Digging JFK Grave Was His Honor
- Rob Walker, New York Times Magazine, The Guts of a New Machine (based on Rob’s personal interview with Steve Jobs)
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Julian Guthrie is an award-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author, and all around adventurer who loves underdog stories. Her new book, due out April 30, is Alpha Girls: The Women Upstarts Who Took On Silicon Valley's Male Culture and Made the Deals of a Lifetime. Julian has interviewed some of the world's most dynamic leaders and loves improbable stories and contrarian thinkers.
You can say hello to Julian on Twitter or on her website.
In the interview, Julian and I discuss:
- What attracts Julian to the stories of underdogs, ordinary people doing extraordinary things
- How Peter Diamandis, the entrepreneur best known for being the founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, was rejected over 150 times in raising funds for the X Prize, yet managed to keep pursuing his goal.
- The surprising strategy Julian used to get an interview with Larry Ellison, the co-founder and former CEO of Oracle
- The critical difference between rejection and failure
- Why infiltrating a system can be the best way to changing it
- How adopting multiple identities can help you cope with failure
- The common denominators of the four pioneering women whom Julian featured in her latest book, Alpha Girls, and how they managed to take on Silicon Valley’s male culture and make the deals of a lifetime.
Resources mentioned:
- How to Get Ahead by Diversifying Your Identity
- How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight
- The Billionaire and the Mechanic: How Larry Ellison and a Car Mechanic Teamed up to Win Sailing's Greatest Race, the Americas Cup, Twice
Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, a web platform where creators can sell products directly to consumers with quick, simple links. Sahil was the second-ever employee at Pinterest before starting Gumroad with the goal of making it a billion-dollar company. Gumroad got off to an explosive start, but it eventually imploded. Sahil managed to keep the company afloat and made it independent, healthy, and profitable. Although Gumroad isn’t the billion-dollar company Sahil originally imagined it would be, it has created tremendous value for creators who’ve generated nearly $190 million from selling their creations on the website.
You can say hello to Sahil on Twitter and read his viral article on his failure to build a billion-dollar company at this link.
Sahil and I discuss:
- Why he dropped out of college only after a semester
- What it was like to be the second-ever employee at Pinterest
- The critical difference between one-way and two-way decisions
- Why Silicon Valley is far less risky than people assume
- How he ended up with $8 million in his bank account as a 19-year-old founder of Gumroad
- Why Gumroad eventually imploded after an explosive start
- What it was like for Sahil to navigate this public failure and what advice he would have given himself
- How Sahil finally turned the company around
- Why he believes his definition of success as building a billion-dollar company was flawed from the very beginning
- Why you should start a company if you’re thinking about it.
Julie Zhuo is the Vice President of Product Design at Facebook. As one of Silicon Valley's top product design executives, she leads the teams behind some of the most popular web and mobile services used by billions of people around the world. She writes about technology, design, and leadership on her popular blog The Year of the Looking Glass and in publications like the New York Times and Fast Company.
Her book, The Making of A Manager:What to Do When Everyone Looks to You, was published last week by Penguin.
You can say hello to Julie on Twitter.
In the interview, Julie and I discuss:
- How she became a manager at Facebook when she was just 25 years old
- The most valuable failures she experienced as a manager and what she learned from them
- Three strategies she uses to deal with imposter syndrome
- How managers can create an environment where team members are willing to share their mistakes and failures
- The importance of saying “I don’t know”
- What you should consider in building a support network for yourself
- How to stay in the “discomfort zone”
- Why the best results don’t come from fear
Amy Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. She is best known for her pioneering work on psychological safety and failure. The topic recently gained widespread popular attention after a February 2016 New York Times Magazine article described psychological safety as the key factor in determining team performance at Google.
Her new book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth (2018), offers a practical guide for organizations serious about success in the modern economy.
In the interview, Amy and I discuss:
- How an advice-seeking letter that Amy sent to the iconic American inventor Buckminster Fuller landed her a job as his chief engineer.
- How Amy went from engineering to becoming a business school professor.
- What psychological safety is, and why it’s crucial to creativity and high performance
- What factors set apart organizations that promote psychological safety from those that don’t
- How corporate leaders can foster an environment where employees are willing to openly share their mistakes and failures
- What we can learn from the organizational causes behind the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster, which Amy spent over two years studying
- How teachers can promote psychological safety in the classroom.
Resources mentioned:
- Amy Edmondson, A Fuller Explanation: The Synergetic Geometry of R Buckminster Fuller
- Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth
- Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace, TedX
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Rachel Simmons is the author of Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy and Fulfilling Lives, and the New York Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out and The Curse of the Good Girl. As an educator, Rachel teaches girls and women skills to build their resilience, amplify their voices, and own their courage so that they—and their relationships—live with integrity and health.
Rachel was the host of the PBS television special, “A Girl’s Life,” and her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Atlantic, Slate, and The New York Times. She’s is a regular contributor to Good Morning America and appears often in the national media.
You can follow Rachel’s work at this link and get a copy of her latest book Enough As She Is, just released in paperback, here.
In the interview, Rachel and I discuss:
- Why Rachel dropped out of a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program to pursue her research
- How women and girls struggle with an acute fear of failure
- How parents can build resilience in their children
- What educators can do in the classroom to help students overcome their fear of failure
- What you can do to stop overthinking after a failure
- How you can exercise your failure muscles to build up your resilience
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Maren Kate Donovan is an entrepreneur and writer. Her first venture-backed startup, Zirtual, grew to over 400 employees before she turned 30, but then, due to the perfect storm of missteps, was forced to shut down overnight. She now uses her unique experiences as Managing Partner at AVRA, a firm dedicated to creating a world where good help isn’t hard to find.
In the show, Maren and I discuss:
- How a haunted cane launched Maren’s entrepreneurial career
- Why she decided to start her own virtual assistant company and how she overcame the mental hurdles in making that leap
- How she grew Zirtual to 400 employees and $1 million/month in revenue
- Why the company failed overnight and the lessons that this public and painful failure taught Maren
- What strategies Maren used in coping with the fallout from the company’s demise
- Why she decided to become a founder again by starting a new company called AVRA Talent Partners
- How Maren used the lessons learned from Zirtual’s failure in starting AVRA
You can sign up for Maren's newsletter, We Love Work, at the bottom of this link and receive all the news that's fit to email, from the world of work.
Resources mentioned:
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Jennifer Dulski is the head of Facebook Groups, a product used by more than 1 billion people. She has more than fifteen years of experience at successful startups and big-brand Internet companies, including as a business unit leader at Yahoo! and as CEO of The Dealmap, which was acquired by Google in 2011, making Jennifer the first woman to sell a company to Google. Prior to Facebook, Jennifer spent 4 years as president & COO of Change.org, a social impact company that empowers people globally to start and win campaigns for change.
Jennifer’s first book, Purposeful, about how each of us can be movement starters, is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. You can join the Facebook group for Purposeful at this link to connect with others interested in starting or supporting movements.
In the interview, Jennifer and I discuss:
- How Jennifer dealt with the uncertainty and fear of failure involved with leaving her leadership position at Yahoo! and joining a startup as CEO
- How the startup failed three times, but she refused to go home
- Why she uses a strategy called “icked-tickda” to be less scared of big or unknown things
- Why she deliberately places her in situations that make her nervous or uncomfortable
- How she destigmatized failure at Change.org through a Festival of Failure
- Why sharing your vulnerability is crucial to becoming a movement starter
- How she uses a trick from the movie Rocky to get back on her feet after losing a round or two.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Selina Tobaccowala is a serial entrepreneur who started coding in her Stanford dorm room in the late 1990s. Selina and her college friend Al Leib co-founded Evite, which was the dominant platform for online invitations. After Ticketmaster acquired Evite, she served as Senior Vice President of Product and Technology at Ticketmaster. She left Ticketmaster to become the President and CTO of SurveyMonkey.
Selina is now back to being a founder. She started Gixo, a live fitness app that aims to improve global health. Gixo offers professional coaches teaching live classes to people of all fitness levels in all locations, making exercise more accessible in people’s busy lives.
If you sign up for Gixo and input the promo code OZAN, you’ll get a free trial and a discount on the membership. [Note: This is not an affiliate deal. I don’t make a dime from any sign-ups. It’s simply Selina’s generous offer to the audience].
In the interview, Selina and I discuss:
- How Selina literally stumbled upon the idea for Evite when she was in college.
- The three questions her father asked Selina to help her decide whether she should go with the uncertainty of a start-up as opposed to the certainty of salaried job.
- The most valuable failures she experienced in growing Evite
- How Selina and the SurveyMonkey were able to scale the company rapidly
- How businesses can go beyond paying lip service to failure and actually create a company culture where people are willing to fail and share those failures
- Why she decided to go back to being a founder again.
Resources mentioned:
Annie Duke, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Dina Kaplan is Founder of The Path, which teaches meditation for the modern mind. The Path has taught thousands of people to meditate around the world.
Before founding The Path, Dina was co-founder and COO of the tech start-up Blip. Before Blip, she was an Emmy-award winning TV news reporter for local NBC stations. Prior to reporting, Dina worked as an associate producer for MTV News and at the White House as Director of Research for the Office of the White House Counsel.
Dina was named one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and Fast Company’s Most Influential Women of Web 2.0. She has taught classes at Columbia and NYU, and spoken at TEDx, SXSW, the World Economic Forum, among many others.
You can learn more about The Path here and apply to attend Mela, a weekend meditation retreat in Mexico, at this link.
Dina and I discuss:
- The secret that Dina was hiding when it seemed to the rest of the world like she had it all
- The challenges she experienced as a female tech founder in a male-dominated world
- Why she decided to leave her job and travel for over two years in Asia
- How she came upon the idea of starting The Path
- Three strategies you can use to overcome the tendency to people-please
- How you can build more play into your work
Resources Mentioned
The Disease To Please: Curing the People-Pleasing Syndrome by Harriet Braiker.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Matilda Ho is the founder of Yimishiji, one of China's first online farmers markets to bring organic and local produce to families. She’s also the founder and managing director of Bits x Bites, China’s first accelerator and venture capital fund that invests in purpose-driven startups to shape the future of food.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Matilda filled leadership roles at IDEO and BCG (The Boston Consulting Group) in both Shanghai and Washington DC. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She currently serves as an advisor on the board of Shinho, China’s first and largest organic condiment company.
Matilda and I discuss:
- What Matilda learned from working as Taiwan’s first female dove magician
- Why she enjoys jumping into danger and uncertainty
- How she decided to work on organic food in China, a country that’s had an epidemic of food safety issues
- Why finding an early investor for her company was a blessing and a curse
- The questions that she likes to ask in interviewing employees and startups
- How she creates an environment in her companies for encouraging her employees to share their mistakes and failures
- Why being a CEO is a lonely job, and the strategies that Matilda uses to cope with that challenge
Resources mentioned:
- Bits x Bites Application Form
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Erica Ariel Fox is an advisor to CEOs and other senior executives on their leadership challenges. She is the New York Times best-selling author of Winning From Within: A Breakthrough Method for Leading, Living, and Lasting Change, and she's taught at Harvard Law School for most of the last 20 years. Her thought leadership is shared with clients through Mobius Executive Leadership. Her writing has appeared in Harvard Business Review and McKinsey Quarterly. She is also a LinkedIn influencer and a regular contributor to Forbes in the leadership section.
You can follow Erica’s work on her website and on Facebook, where she has over 200,000 followers.
Erica and I discuss:
- Why the most important negotiations you can have in your life are the ones in your own mind
- The biggest negotiation challenge a foreign supreme court justice presented to Erica
- Why a massively successful initiative that Erica led at Harvard Law School was shut down
- How you can go about challenging conventional wisdom in traditional places
- How the stories we tell ourselves get in the way of our full potential
- The strategies you can use to have conversations about other people’s failures.
- Why you must stand in the truth of your failure to learn and grow.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Austin Buchan is the CEO of College Forward, which is a nonprofit that coaches students from underserved backgrounds to achieve the benefits of higher education and a college degree. One of the central tenants of College Forward is the belief that everyone who wants to go to college can go to college. College Forward helps universities build and implement student coaching programs that increase retention, persistence, and graduation.
Connect with Austin on Twitter and learn more about College Forward at this link.
In the episode, Austin and I discuss:
- How Austin got started in education by building a program for high school students on a rural island in Nicaragua
- The one practice that all university presidents should institute and the one practice they should eliminate
- Why the students that College Forward serves have more grit and perseverance than most of the population
- The notable failures that Austin experienced as the CEO for College Forward
- How to create an environment where employees are willing to raise their hands and challenge the leadership
- How to know when to kill a project that you started.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine. He writes about topics as diverse as behavioral psychology, professional sports, and blockbuster films. Derek also hosts The Atlantic’s latest podcast Crazy/Genius, and is a weekly contributor to “Here and Now,” the national afternoon news show on NPR, and he appears regularly on CBS, the BBC, and MSNBC. He has appeared on numerous lists, including both Inc magazine’s and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Time magazine’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds.
Derek’s debut book is Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction. In this beautifully written book, Derek tackles a seemingly simple question: Why do hits become hits? Why do some songs, movies, and books become bestsellers while others fizzle out? The book is a riveting read, whether you're in the business of creating hits or simply curious why Fifty Shades of Grey became a worldwide sensation.
Derek and I discuss:
- Derek’s personal failures in finding a job as a writer and how he ended up getting his job at The Atlantic.
- What Derek learned from covering the notoriously secretive X, Google’s moonshot factory (you can read his article on X at this link).
- The strategies that X uses to cultivate an environment where employees embrace failure.
- Why X decided to hold an event modeled after Mexico’s Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
- The two big ideas from Derek’s book, Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction.
- Why writing a book is similar to organizing a massive house.
- How learning is accumulation and understanding is elimination.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Jordan is the CEO and Founder of DebtMaven, which is like eHarmony for commercial lending. The platform has facilitated over $350 million in deals. Jordan is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Elite Meet, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Navy SEALs and other elite veterans find their place in the civilian world after leaving the service.
He has traveled to 32 countries, lived in China for 18 months, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a private pilot, SCUBA dives, and speaks Mandarin Chinese.
You can connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and follow the adventures of his family on their vlog at The Hybrid Family.
In the interview, Jordan explains the failures he experienced in starting two companies; how he ended up losing a co-founder and with only $800 left in his business bank account; what strategies he used to bounce back from these bumps; the #1 regret he has in his entrepreneurial journey; and how you can fulfill your life’s potential through the simple, but powerful act, of persistence.
Jordan is the CEO and Founder of DebtMaven, which is like eHarmony for commercial lending. The platform has facilitated over $350 million in deals. Jordan is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Elite Meet, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Navy SEALs and other elite veterans find their place in the civilian world after leaving the service.
He has traveled to 32 countries, lived in China for 18 months, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a private pilot, SCUBA dives, and speaks Mandarin Chinese.
You can connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and follow the adventures of his family on their vlog at The Hybrid Family.
In the interview, Jordan explains the failures he experienced in starting two companies; how he ended up losing a co-founder and with only $800 left in his business bank account; what strategies he used to bounce back from these bumps; the #1 regret he has in his entrepreneurial journey; and how you can fulfill your life’s potential through the simple, but powerful act, of persistence.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
James Clear is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning, and is taught in universities around the world. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.
He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
His latest book, just published, is Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results.
In the interview, James and I discuss how James took his website from 0 to 100,000 subscribers in just two years; why he decided to write annual reviews on his website publicly sharing his successes and failures; why 2016 was the worst year of his writing career and what he learned from it; the lessons he learned from two failed businesses; and much, much more.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Chelsey Korus is one of the most preeminent teachers of yoga. Over the course of her career, she has been featured on Live! with Kelly and Michael, PopSugar, Fitness, Shape, Prevention Magazine, Yoga Journal, and Women’s Health, and many, many others.
She’s been teaching yoga since the age of 15 and has been an avid life long learner in numerous movement practices. She shares her vision with thousands of students every year, hosting retreats and teaching classes for Wanderlust.
In the interview, we discuss why Chelsea worked so hard in college to land a role in a New York City production, but quit after just a week of rehearsals; what strategies she used to deal with one of the hardest setbacks in her life; how she takes a tragedy and turns it into a love story; why she meditates on a few choice lines from her favorite poems every morning; and much and much more. This was one of the most honest conversations I’ve had on the podcast, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
If you’d like to follow Chelsey’s work, check out her Instagram page (@chelseykorus).
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Susan Henderson is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of an Academy of American Poets award. She is the author of the novels, Up from the Blue (HarperCollins, 2010) and The Flicker of Old Dreams (HarperCollins, 2018). She blogs at litpark.com, which is a supportive community of writers and artists who are in this game for the long haul.
Sue grew up in a family of overachieving scientists and engineers yet created her own path as an author. We talk about how she navigated that journey; why she stopped writing for 10 years; how she deals with failure and critique; how a janitor in her high school taught her how to give good feedback; and why you should read the 1 and 2-star reviews of the artists you admire. She also shares great practical advice for aspiring writers.
Her latest book, The Flicker of Old Dreams, is about the death of small-town America as told by a mortician.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Neil Pasricha is the author of five New York Times bestsellers including The Book of Awesome, a catalog of simple pleasures based on his 50-million hit, award-winning blog, and The Happiness Equation, a nine-step guidebook to happiness based on new research. His books have been on bestseller lists for over 200 weeks and sold millions of copies. Neil is also one of the most popular TED speakers with his first TED Talk “The 3 A’s of Awesome” ranked as one of the ten most inspiring of all time.
His new podcast, 3 Books, discusses the most formative books of inspiring individuals from all walks of life.
His work has been featured in hundreds of outlets including CNN, BBC, The Today Show, The Early Show, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Fortune, and Forbes.
In the interview, we discuss the ten years of blogging failures helped launch Neil’s viral blog, 1000 Awesome Things; the 2-minute practice that Neil uses every morning to build more gratitude into his life; why focusing on external validation leaves us unhappy and what we can do about it; and what Neil learned from launching his new podcast, 3 books.
You can subscribe to Neil’s podcast at this link.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Caroline Webb (Facebook and Twitter) is the CEO of Sevenshift, a firm that shows people how to use insights from behavioral science to improve their working life. Her book on that topic, How To Have A Good Day, was published in 16 languages and more than 60 countries. The book was hailed as one of the "top must-read business books of 2016" by both Inc. and Forbes and described by Fortune as one of their top "self-improvement through data" books.
Caroline’s work has been widely featured in media outlets, including: The Financial Times, Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC Radio, The Economist, WIRED, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and many others around the world.
To learn more about Caroline and her work, please go to howtohaveagoodday.com. You’ll find a list of free resources as well as information on how you can sign up for workshops designed to help you be your best at the office and beyond.
In the interview, Caroline shares her diverse career path and why the quality of her day-to-day experience didn’t necessarily improve as she moved up the career ladder; how she decided to write a book on improving our professional lives; why focusing too narrowly on long-term career goals can backfire; why she sings Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” before client workshops; the strategies that she uses to teach corporate leaders how to build resilience in the face of failure; and how she unintentionally ended up in a professional dance audition that failed spectacularly and what she learned from it.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Shane Snow is an award-winning journalist, celebrated entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of the books Smartcuts: The Breakthrough Power of Lateral Thinking and DREAM TEAMS: Working Together Without Falling Apart, as well as the co-author of The Storytelling Edge. He is founder-at-large of the content technology company Contently, and is a board member of The Hatch Institute, a nonprofit for investigative journalism in the public interest.
Snow's writing has appeared in Fast Company, Wired, and The New Yorker. He's a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and has been called a “Wunderkind” by The New York Times, a “Digital Maverick” by Details, and his work “Insanely addicting” by GQ.
In the interview, Shane explains strategies based on research on how we can learn from failure; shares his own personal and business failures and what he learned from them; and discusses the power of storytelling in building relationships and dissects how a captivating story is structured.
You can take Shane’s intellectual humility test at this link and find out how open-minded you are. You can also grab a copy of Shane’s latest book, Dream Teams: Working Together Without Falling Apart, here.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Jessica Bennett is an award-winning journalist and author who covers social issues and culture through a gender lens. She was recently appointed the first-ever Gender Editor of the New York Times.
Jessica is the author of the bestselling book, Feminist Fight Club: A Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace (HarperCollins), which has been translated into 10 languages, a podcast, and is being adapted for television.
Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, where she began her career; Time, where she was a columnist; as well as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, the Washington Post and The New York Times.
Jessica has spoken about sexism and gender bias at a variety of institutions, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Harvard Business School, Facebook, Google, Thomson Reuters and others.
Yes, she's in a real-life feminist fight club.
You can keep in touch with Jessica by signing up for her newsletter, The Gender Letter, at nytimes.com/genderletter.
In the interview, we talk about a wide array of topics: Jessica’s decision to write a major New York Times piece on failure on university campuses; why minorities disproportionately suffer from the imposter syndrome (and what to do about it); how she quickly bounced back after being laid off from Tumblr; how she ended up as the first gender editor of the New York Times; her writing process and failures in writing; and so much more.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Chris Kresser is the CEO of Kresser Institute, the co-director of the California Center for Functional Medicine, the creator of ChrisKresser.com, and the New York Times best-selling author of The Paleo Cure. He is known for his in-depth research uncovering myths and misconceptions in modern medicine and providing natural health solutions with proven results. Chris was named one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness by Greatist.com, and his blog is one of the top-ranked natural health websites in the world. He recently launched Kresser Institute, an organization dedicated to reinventing healthcare and reversing chronic disease by training healthcare practitioners in functional and evolutionary medicine.
In the interview, Chris shares with us his personal experience with the chronic illness that led him to pursue his current path. We talk about how functional medicine can benefit patients by focusing on unrooting the underlying cause of a problem, as opposed to simply attacking the symptom. We then switch over to Chris’s failures and his experience with being hit with what he calls a “cosmic 2x4” that ended up being a blessing in disguise.
If you’d like to follow Chris’s work, I encourage you to sign up for his emails at chriskresser.com, where he shares his insights on health, nutrition, productivity, overcoming technology addiction, and living a full and rewarding life.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Moore is the founder of One Moore Book. One Moore Book is a nonprofit organization that encourages reading among children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures by publishing culturally relevant books that speak to their truths, and by creating bookstores and reading corners that serve their communities. Her first bookstore opened in Monrovia, Liberia in 2015.
Her writing can be found in Guernica Magazine, The Rumpus, The Atlantic Magazine and other publications. She has been featured in The Economist Magazine, NPR, NBC, BET and ABC, among others, for her work in advocacy for diversity in children’s literature.
Her novel, She Would Be King, will be released by Graywolf Press in September, 2018. Her memoir is also forthcoming with Graywolf.
In the interview, Wayetu shares her story of escaping Liberia during its civil war and moving to the United States. We talk about how reading books helped her rehabilitation during this difficult time period and inspired her to start a publishing company of her own, One Moore Book, dedicating to celebrating multicultural stories that are largely missing in the larger industry. She shares with us the failures she encountered along the way and the lessons she learned from them.
You can follow Wayetu on Instagram and pre-order her upcoming novel at this link.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Thor Conklin is an entrepreneur, profitability consultant, and host of the Peak Performers Podcast. 2018 marks his eighteenth year as an entrepreneur. The first company Thor created was a global risk management consulting firm that served the private equity community. His top 15 clients had a combined revenue of $12.7 billion and operated in over 100 countries worldwide. He has started, bought, and sold several multi-million dollar businesses making him a sought after cross-industrial resource for entrepreneurs and executives in all stages of business. Through his consulting firm, Peak Performance Group, he teaches the tools, tips, tricks, psychology and strategies necessary to be a Peak Performer.
We begin the interview with Thor’s first job as a caddy. He explains how caddying connected him with highly successful people, helping launch his entrepreneurial career. Thor shares his worst entrepreneurial moment in 2008, when he bought a business with what turned out to be fraudulent financial statements and profit margins. We discuss how he missed the red flags and the one thing that he could have done to avert that disaster. Thor also shares his strategy for daily and annual planning, and how he sets goals that actually stick.
If you’d like to get in touch with Thor, email him at thor@thorconklin.com with your biggest business struggle, 50 words or less, he will send you a personalized email with four steps that will eliminate or reduce that issue.
Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times best-selling author. Over her 15 year career, she’s helped thousands of professionals—from Fortune 500 executives to early stage entrepreneurs—improve their self-awareness and success. She has been named a “Top 100 Thought Leader” by Trust Across America and a “Leader to Watch” by the American Management Association. Her TedX talk has been viewed more than one million times.
Tasha’s newest book, Insight, delves into the connection between our self-awareness, what she calls the meta-skill of the twenty-first century, and our performance and success, both in and out of the workplace.
Tasha has a SPECIAL OFFER for the listeners of Famous Failures. If you place an order for Insight by June 14, 2018, Tasha will send you bonus materials for the book that includes cliff notes as well as a toolkit for business leaders to apply the concepts from the book. To receive the bonus materials, please send the receipt for your purchase to tasha@tashaeurich.com.
In the episode, we discuss Tasha’s most valuable failures and what she learned from them, how to overcome the imposter syndrome, why self-awareness can help you cope with failure, and why authors shouldn’t read their Amazon reviews.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Ari Meisel is a best-selling author, productivity expert, CEO, real estate developer, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Several years ago, Ari encountered and ultimately overcame severe personal roadblocks and that journey transformed his life. His discoveries about personal and professional productivity have improved the lives of thousands of individuals and businesses. His proprietary process, the Less Doing System, is the foundation of his company, Less Doing, which offers individuals and enterprises road-tested methods to optimize, automate, and outsource everything.
You can join Less Doing Labs for free on Facebook or visit lessdoing.com to learn how to work smarter, instead of harder.
In the interview, Ari discusses how he hit rock bottom at age 23 when he found himself $3 million in debt and diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. He explains the strategies he used to turn his life around, compete in the French Ironman competition, and go onto launch his brand, Less Doing. He also discusses his recent departure from the virtual assistant company he founded and the lessons he learned from that business break-up.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Jordan Harbinger, once referred to as “The Larry King of podcasting,” is a Wall Street lawyer turned talk show host, social dynamics expert, and entrepreneur.
Jordan hosted the Art of Charm, which is a top 50 iTunes podcast, for over a decade. After being fired from the Art of Charm (more on that in the interview), he recently embarked on a new adventure: The Jordan Harbinger Show, where he deconstructs the playbooks of the most successful people on earth and shares their strategies, perspectives, and insights with the rest of us.
Jordan spent several years abroad in Europe and the developing world, including South America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, and he speaks five languages. He has also worked for various governments and NGOs overseas, traveled through war zones, and been kidnapped — twice. He’ll tell you the only reason he’s still alive and kicking is because of his ability to talk his way into (and out of) just about any situation.
We begin the interview with Jordan’s early failures: how he was laid off from his Wall Street firm and why he decided to start a podcast. We discuss how Jordan uses first-principles thinking to do things differently and stand out from the crowd--in a good way. Jordan also explains how he was recently fired from the Art of Charm, the podcast that he hosted for over a decade, and the lessons he learned from that business breakup. He also explains the importance of cultivating and maintaining a personal network and shares actionable strategies on how you can do just that, including a technique that he calls Gmail Roulette.
To find out more, sign up for free for Jordan’s Advanced Human Dynamics course.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Sarah Robb O’Hagan has been described by the media as everything from “Superwoman undercover” to the “Pied Piper of Potential.” She is a high-energy combination of disruptive business leader, fitness fanatic, and cheerleading mom, and has been named one of Forbes‘ “Most Powerful Women in Sports” and one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business.”
She’s currently the CEO of the fast growing indoor cycling company Flywheel Sports. Prior to this role, Sarah became an internationally recognized re-inventor of brands, having served as global president of the $5 billion sports brand Gatorade, where she successfully led the business through a major repositioning and business turnaround. She also served as global president of the luxury fitness company Equinox, where she reinvented the offering through a significant technology transformation.
She’s author of the highly-acclaimed book Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick-Ass. Repeat.
In the interview, Sarah discusses what she calls her “canyon of career despair” when she was fired from Virgin and then laid off from Atari International. She reveals the strategies that she used to overcome those failures and leverage them into later success. We also discuss how parents can cultivate resilience in their children and how you can use failures to prepare yourself for the next crisis.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Case Lawrence went from the brink of bankruptcy to found and lead a global trampoline park company with over 300 locations in just 7 years. As a commercial real estate developer in California, Case was decimated by the Great Recession of 2008. While trying to pull the pieces of his life back together, he visited a trampoline park in San Francisco with his sons, which inspired him to launch CircusTrix.
CircusTrix provides extreme indoor recreational experiences by featuring trampolines, foam pits, ninja warrior courses; and trick and stunt attractions of all varieties. CircusTrix is now the largest owner, operator and franchisor of trampoline parks in the world.
In the episode, Case discusses how he saved his commercial real estate company from the brink of bankruptcy in 2008; the strategies he used during that dark time period to cope with failure; how he expanded CircusTrix from its humble beginnings to a global powerhouse in just seven years; and why he believes early success can be a curse rather than a blessing.
You can find out more about CircusTrix at this link.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Laurie A. Watkins is an accomplished writer, public speaker, seasoned political strategist, and entrepreneur. She worked as a former policy director for both of President Barack Obama’s campaigns, served in positions from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon, and more recently returned to guest lecture at West Point, The United States Military Academy.
Laurie initially led a life that revolved around work, which left little time for maintaining her health. Fearing a health disaster, she made the decision to take drastic control of her life and became an author and entrepreneur. She’s now the author of the book, Go From Stressed to Strong: Health and Fitness Advice from High Achievers. She is a sought-after speaker and, through her lectures and keynotes, motivates people with busy lifestyles to take command of their day and find room to do the essential work needed to live a healthy life.
In the episode, Laurie explains why she hit rock bottom when she was working on then-Senator Obama’s first presidential campaign and how she managed to regain control over her life. She also discusses how she was terminated from one of her jobs for speaking up about sexism and sexual harassment, which prompted her to become an author and entrepreneur. She shares the failures she had along the way and actionable advice on how you can start a side hustle.
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
You can connect with Laurie at laurieawatkins.com.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. He has been nicknamed “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology” by M.I.T. Technology Review and named one of LinkedIn’s “Top 10 Voices in Technology” for two years running.
Nir founded two tech companies since 2003 and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. He is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies.
In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today.
In the interview, Nir shares his failures from childhood to entrepreneurship and beyond. He also gives one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard on coping with failure: View everything as prom. That advice requires more context, so please listen to the interview to find out more.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Scott Amyx is the Chair & Managing Partner at Amyx Ventures, a venture capital firm, and an author. He grew up in South Korea without a father and in deep poverty. After he immigrated to the United States, he was placed in foster care and moved from home to home.
He has created an incredibly successful life for himself through doing what makes him uncomfortable, a condition that he calls “strive.” In his recently released book, Strive, he argues that the secret to success is doing the things that make you uncomfortable.
His book has been endorsed with great enthusiasm by Tony Robbins, Tribeca Film Festival, Forbes, Singularity University and other global influencers. Scott has been featured on TIME, Forbes, New York Times, TechCrunch, Washington Post, Wired, and other major media outlets. He is also a TEDx speaker on disruption and success.
In the episode, Scott shares his personal journey from deep poverty to globe-trotting success as well as the failures he encountered along the way. You’ll learn the strategies that Scott uses to achieve success through discomfort and other non-traditional means.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Bonnie St.John is an Olympic Medalist, bestselling author, highly sought after keynote speaker, and a leadership consultant.
Despite having her right leg amputated at age five, Bonnie St. John became the first African-American ever to win medals in Winter Olympic competition, taking home a silver and two bronze medals at the 1984 Winter Paralympics in Austria.
President Clinton appointed her as a Director for Human Capital Issues on the White House National Economic Council, and NBC Nightly News selected Bonnie St. John as “One of the five most inspiring women in America.”
She Bonnie travels the globe as a highly sought after keynote speaker, Fortune 500 business consultant, television and radio personality, and business owner. She’s currently the CEO of the Blue Circle Leadership Institute, where she leads international live and virtual leadership programs.
Bonnie is the bestselling author of seven books. Her most recent book is Micro Resilience: Minor Shifts for Major Boosts in Focus, Drive, and Energy. You can find out more about the book at microresilience.com.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
This week's guest on Famous Failures is Verne Harnish. Verne is the founder of the world renowned Entrepreneurs' Organization, which has over 12,000 members worldwide. For 15 years he chaired the Entrepreneurs' Organization’s premier CEO program which is called the Birthing of Giants held at MIT. He is the Founder and CEO of Gazelles which is a global executive education and coaching company with over 210 partners on six continents. He has spent the past three decades helping companies scale up. He is the author of several bestselling books including Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, which has been translated into nine languages. Along with the editors a Fortune, he authored The Great Business Decisions of All Times. His latest book is called Scaling Up, which has won 7 major international book awards, including the prestigious 2015 International Book Award for Best General Business Book. My conversation with Verne spans a wide range of topics. We begin with Verne's previous life as a magician and discuss what he learned from that experience. We will also find out how Verne lost $1 million overnight and almost went bankrupt. He’ll share with you the strategies that he used to bounce back from that failure. He’ll also share with you his recommendations for books that every business owner and aspiring entrepreneur should read. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Verne.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
A child of entrepreneurs, Bea Arthur has used her tenacity and creativity to become a successful therapist, entrepreneur, and media personality. She’s employed her clinical training to develop innovative companies in the mental-health sphere including In Your Corner, and her new company,The Difference, which uses machine learning to modernize mental health services. As a celebrated woman in tech, she’s been a TedX speaker, Forbes writer, and the first black woman admitted to
Y Combinator, the world’s most prestigious start-up incubator.
You’ll learn:
How you can view your failures as stepping stones
Why too much strategizing can be to your detriment
How to stay true to yourself as you build your company
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Barbara Oakley defied the odds (and her early educators) by overcoming perceived weaknesses in math and science to become a professor of engineering at Oakland University. She’s also the Ramón y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning at McMaster University, where she teaches two massive open online courses (MOOCs)—Learning How to Learn and Mindshift—with esteemed neuroscientist, Terrence Sejnowski. Oakley’s most recently published work, Mindshift, discusses overcoming learning “handicaps”—including the impostor syndrome or advancing age—by the simple, yet powerful, act of persistence.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Gretchen Rubin started her career in law—even clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor—before stopping everything to become a writer. Though the transition was pitted with failure, it turned out to be one of the best decisions she made. Not only has she written three New York Times Bestsellers—Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home—she’s also built an enormous readership, sold more than three million books, and started a weekly podcast called Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Her latest book is The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too).
Gretchen has sat for dinner with Daniel Kahneman, walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, been interviewed by Oprah, and now joins me on an episode of Famous Failures. Enjoy!
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Srinivas Rao is a bestselling author and the host of the wildly successful Unmistakable Creative podcast, where his guests range from Olympic athletes to bank robbers to trailblazing entrepreneurs. He self-published his first book, The Art of Being Unmistakable, which went on to become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. His latest book is Unmistakable: Why Only Is Better Than Best.
You’ll learn:
-- How an early failure launched Srini’s successful career as an author and speaker
-- How Srini’s Facebook status updates turned into a Wall Street Journal bestseller
-- How writing 1,000 words a day can change your life
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
Isaac Lidsky is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and coveted speaker. But that brief description doesn’t do justice to his remarkable resume.
Lidsky was a child television star, appearing as series regular “Weasel” on NBC’s “Saved By The Bell: The New Class.” Lidsky left his acting career and went on to graduate from Harvard at 19 with an honors degree in mathematics and computer science. He returned to Harvard to study law and became the only blind person to clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court (for Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg). He later took charge of a struggling construction company and grew it tenfold.
Lidsky was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare degenerative disease of the retina. From age 12 to 25, he slowly lost his sight. Using insights from his experiences, he authored the New York Times bestseller, Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World That Can’t See Clearly. He founded a nonprofit organization to fund the development of treatments for blinding diseases and within five years grew it to a dozen cities nationwide.
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
RYAN CARSON
Ryan Carson is neither ashamed nor apologetic about his initial failures as an entrepreneur. Rocky beginnings are what spurred Ryan to evaluate his motivations very early in his entrepreneurial journey, and avoid a boatload of heartache down the road. He eventually found a true understanding of his ‘why’, and a professional purpose he was ready to fight for.
Today, Ryan is the CEO of Treehouse, an online technology school that aims to revolutionize education by providing debt-free training to aspiring coders. Treehouse’s newest development, Educate Yourself, is a podcast that discusses the latest industry news in the “future of learning, higher ed, and ed tech.”
Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.
HENDRIE WEISINGER, Ph.D.
A world-renowned psychologist and pioneer in the field of pressure management. He’s a two-time New York Times bestselling author. He has consulted with and developed programs for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, and has taught in Executive Education and Executive MBA programs at Wharton, UCLA, NYU, Cornell, Penn State, and MIT. He’s appeared on the Today Show, Oprah, and in The New York Times Sunday Business Section.
His latest book is Performing Under Pressure: The Science Of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most. The book introduces the concept of pressure management, offering empirically tested short-term and long-term solutions to help us overcome the debilitating effects of pressure.
To sign up for Dr. Weisinger’s online course on pressure management for 50% off, please use the discount code pressureozan.
Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play.
As always, thanks for listening.