In 2019 Victor Vescovo became the first person to dive in a submersible to the deepest points in all five of the world’s oceans. In 2017 he became the 12th person to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, climbing the highest peak on all seven continents and skiing to the North and South Poles. He is the managing partner of a private equity firm called Insight Equity and holds degrees from Stanford, MIT, and Harvard Business School. Some interesting insights from this episode: Doing well in school ...
Jun 30, 2020•49 min
Alan Alda is an actor, director, author, and communications guru. He has received 6 Emmys and been nominated 34 times. He has also been nominated 3 times for a Tony and once for an Oscar. He is most known for playing Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on the TV series MASH and has been inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. He is also an accomplished author with a number of New York Times bestselling books, the latest one titled: If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the A...
Jun 23, 2020•50 min
Ben Lecomte is an ultra-endurance swimmer and the first person to complete a cross-Atlantic ocean swim without a kickboard. He has also swum through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to raise awareness for sustainability and the impact of plastic pollution. He was named one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Swimmers in 2019 by the World Open Water Swimming Association . Some interesting insights from this episode: He swam over 3,500 miles from Massachusetts to Quiberon, France. The jou...
Jun 09, 2020•43 min
Terry Fator is a ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. He won season 2 of America’s Got Talent in 2007 and has performing his award winning show at the Mirage in Las Vegas ever since. Some interesting insights from this episode: Learn how Terry went from performing small shows town by town, fair by fair to having a $100 million act performing at the Mirage in Vegas. He is a rare talent able to combine ventriloquism, comedy, impressions, and singing all into one incredible ...
Apr 06, 2020•44 min
Dan Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and a New York Times bestselling author. He discovered the five places in the world—dubbed Blue Zones—where people live the longest, healthiest lives. He is the founder of Blue Zones , a company that puts the world's best practices in longevity and well-being to work in people's lives. He has written a number of NY Times best-selling books with his latest one titled: “ The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Reci...
Mar 23, 2020•47 min
Charles Schwab is the founder and chairman of The Charles Schwab Corporation. What began as a small discount brokerage company in the 70’s has evolved to become the nation's largest publicly traded investment services firm, with close to $4 trillion in client assets. He is also the chairman of The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, a private foundation focused on education, poverty prevention, human services, and health. He is the author of several bestselling books with his latest memoir titl...
Feb 24, 2020•43 min
Safi Bahcall received his BA in physics from Harvard and his PhD from Stanford. He co-founded Synta Pharmaceuticals—a biotechnology company developing new drugs for cancer. He led its IPO and served as its CEO for 13 years. In 2008, he was named E&Y New England Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, he served on the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. Safi is the author of Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform I...
Feb 04, 2020•1 hr 16 min
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History and Director of the Hayden Planetarium. He is also the host of the hit radio and Emmy-nominated TV show StarTalk, and the New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and the author of a number of other notable books, the latest of which is titled Letters from an Astrophysicist. He earned his BA in physics from Harvard and his PhD in astrophysics from Columbia. Some interesting insigh...
Jan 21, 2020•51 min
Jon Dorenbos is a former professional football player and magician. He played for 14 seasons in the NFL as a long snapper with the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles. He had a parallel career as a magician and was a finalist on America’s Got Talent, placing third overall amongst tens of thousands of competitors. He is a regular guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and his new book is called “ Life is Magic: My Inspiring Journey from Tragedy to Self-Discovery .” Some interesting insights from ...
Jan 07, 2020•47 min
Steve Schwarzman is the co-founder and CEO of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest and most successful investment funds with over a half trillion dollars under management. Steve is an active philanthropist with a history of supporting education, culture, and the arts. He holds a BA from Yale and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His new book is called What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence . Some interesting insights from this episode: He has always been very competitive. When ...
Nov 19, 2019•48 min
Jill Heinerth is a cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. She has starred on TV series for PBS, National Geographic Channel, and the BBC, and has consulted on movies for directors, including James Cameron. Her new book is titled: Into The Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver . Some interesting insights from this episode: Fighting off a burglar during college taught her how to deal with challenges in life. Having had this harrowing dance with fear probably saved her life...
Nov 12, 2019•45 min
Cindy Eckert is an entrepreneur who built and sold two pharmaceutical companies, notably Sprout Pharmaceuticals, creator of “female Viagra,” for more than $1B. She subsequently founded The Pink Ceiling which invests in companies founded by, or delivering products for, women. Some interesting insights from this episode: Moving every year during her childhood taught her how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. This experience of constant change would lay the foundation for the rest of her life. ...
Oct 31, 2019•58 min
Rich Karlgaard is a bestselling author, award-winning entrepreneur, and speaker. He is the publisher of Forbes magazine and is based in Silicon Valley. He is a renowned lecturer on technology, innovation, corporate culture, and a number of other important business issues and the author of three books, his latest one titled: Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement. Some interesting insights from this episode: His time at Stanford poring over Sports Illustra...
Oct 07, 2019•57 min
At the age of 17, Chris Wilson was sentenced to life for murder. He turned his life around while in prison and was released after 16 years. Today he is the owner of Barclay Investment Corporation, a social enterprise specializing in residential and commercial contracting work and employing out of work Baltimore residents. His other business ventures include the House of DaVinci, a high-end furniture restoration and design company, and Master Plan Productions, a social impact content development ...
Aug 26, 2019•50 min
Eduardo Strauch is an architect and painter living in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is also one of 16 survivors from a 1972 plane crash in the Andes mountains which was charted by an amateur Uruguayan rugby team. He survived 72 treacherous days trapped high up in the mountains. He wrote a book about his experience called Out of the Silence: After the Crash. Some interesting insights from this episode: Learn how he and 15 others managed to survive for over two months with minimal provisions, subzero te...
Aug 06, 2019•38 min
Jerry Colonna is the founder and CEO of Reboot.IO, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders. Previously he was a successful venture capitalist with JPMorgan Partners and Flatiron Partners focused on technology startups. His new book is titled Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. Some interesting insights from this episode: Growing up in a chaotic environment with ...
Jul 16, 2019•44 min
Roger McNamee has been a successful Silicon Valley investor for thirty five years. He co-founded Silver Lake and Elevation Partners, two very successful private equity funds. He also plays bass and guitar in the bands Moonalice and Doobie Decibel System. He holds a BA from Yale and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School. He has written 4 books, the latest one titled Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook Catastrophe. Some interesting insights from this episode: Roger had a very unusual approach to tech ...
Jun 25, 2019•47 min
Joe is the founder and CEO of Spartan, the largest obstacle racing series in the world. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of multiple books including Spartan Up , Spartan Fit , and most recently The Spartan Way . Some interesting insights from this episode: The most grueling endurance event he’s ever done is running a business. “Death is the price we pay for life so make it worth it.” Learn how he built the largest participatory endurance sport in the world with over a million annua...
Apr 09, 2019•38 min
Albert-László Barabási is the Robert Gray Dodge Professor of Network Science at Northeastern University, where he directs the Center for Complex Network Research, and holds appointments in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Central European University in Budapest. He is the author of four books with his latest one entitled: The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. Some interesting insights from this episode: The definition of success is the rewards we earn from the c...
Mar 26, 2019•44 min
Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. He has written 19 best-selling books, publishes one of the most popular marketing blogs, and speaks to audiences around the world. He also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne which was acquired by Yahoo. Seth has been inducted into both the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame and the Marketing Hall of Fame. His latest book is called This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See. Some interesting insights from this episode...
Feb 26, 2019•44 min
Ben Saunders is one of the world’s leading polar explorers, and a record-breaking long-distance skier who has covered more than 4,300 miles on foot in the Polar Region. His accomplishments include skiing solo to both the North and South poles, and leading The Scott Expedition, the longest human-powered polar journey in history, a 105-day, 1,800 mile round-trip from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again. Some interesting insights from this episode: Hear the remarkable story of ...
Jan 02, 2019•39 min
Mark Tercek is the CEO of The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest environmental organization. He is a former Managing Director and Partner at Goldman Sachs and is the author of the bestselling book Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. Some interesting insights from this episode: We all have an inner environmentalist inside of us. His executive coach taught him some valuable lessons early on including how to listen better and how to not sweat out the detai...
Nov 27, 2018•53 min
Clint Harp and his wife Kelly own their own handmade furniture design business Harp Design in Waco Tx. He was formerly a regularly recurring guest in the hit TV show Fixer Upper and currently stars in his own television series called Wood Work . His new book is called Handcrafted: A Woodworker’s Story Some interesting insights from this episode: Sometimes we may hang on to a dream for too long. His original dream was to be a musician but eventually realized that he didn’t have the talent and had...
Oct 09, 2018•56 min
Scott Hamilton is a retired figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships from 1981–84, four consecutive World Championships from 1981–84 and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. Since that time he has been a TV commentator, a motivational speaker, the founder of a skating academy, a cancer survivor and the founder of a cancer research center. He is a New York Times bestselling author and his latest book is called Finish First: Winning Changes Everything . Som...
Oct 02, 2018•36 min
Beth Comstock spent over 25 years at GE where she was a vice chair, CEO of Business Innovations and Chief Marketing Officer among other roles. She has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Fortune and Fast Company and has been named to the Fortune and Forbes lists of the world’s most powerful women. Her new book is titled Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change . Some interesting insights from this episode: Risk taking is a skill that can be learned. “Most of us f...
Sep 19, 2018•53 min
Doug Bernstein is the co-founder and CEO of Melissa and Doug, a several hundred million dollar toy company focused mostly on simple classic toys for children up to 5 years of age. He and his wife Melissa started the company together about 30 years ago. Some interesting insights from this episode: They never intended to build a company from the beginning but rather, were driven by their shared passion to do something good for children. They are a product company at its core. If they simply focus ...
Sep 04, 2018•47 min
Daniel Negreanua (aka “Kid Poker”) is a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. The independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index (GPI) recognized Negreanu as the best poker player of the decade in 2014. As of 2018, he is the 2nd biggest live tournament poker winner of all time, having accumulated over $39,500,000 in prize money. He is the only player in history to win WSOP Player of the Year twic...
Aug 07, 2018•55 min
Scott is widely regarded as one of the greatest runners of all time. He has won most of ultrarunning’s elite events including the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135, and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times. His most recent accomplishment is his 2015 Appalachian Trail speed record, averaging nearly 50 miles a day over 46 days. He is a New York Times-bestselling author and his latest book is called North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Tr...
Jun 12, 2018•47 min
Nicola is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. She is one of the most influential classical artists in the world and has played with the finest orchestras and symphonies from around the globe. She was the BBC Young Musician of the Year at age 16, twice the Female Artist of the Year at the classical BRIT awards and has sold millions of records. Some interesting insights from this episode: As early as the age of 5, she was so emotionally moved by music that she would often be...
Apr 25, 2018•49 min
Josh Blue is a comedian. He has cerebral palsy which forms the basis for much of his self-deprecating humor. He won first place on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in its fourth season. He has appeared in a number of comedy specials on Comedy Central, Showtime, Bravo and Netflix and has been featured in several publications including People Magazine, The New York Times and NPR. His YouTube videos have been viewed millions of times. He was also a member of the US Paralympic Soccer Team. Some interesting...
Mar 13, 2018•45 min
