870: Alex Banayan, Author of The Third Door

Our guest today is Alex Banayan, who grew up in Southern California. The son of Iranian immigrants who had financial struggles and wished for Alex to experience a better life. And while he didn’t quite meet their initial expectations. (like many Iranian parents, he was encouraged to become a doctor, a lawyer, an academic), the 26-year-old has today accomplished more than many do in a lifetime.

Frustrated at school and tempted to venture on his own to discover the secrets to success, he dropped out and embarked on a quest to interview some of the most accomplished and most difficult people to reach, Bill Gates, Quincy Jones, Maya Angelou, many more. Their conversations and Alex’s own coming of age story and how he managed to score these interviews are in his book, The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World’s Most Successful People Launched their Careers.

How did Alex land these interviews? What’s the meaning of the third door? And how did winning the price is right contribute to all of this? We’re in for a treat, I have a special cohost with me today, George Itzhak, who is a producer for NBC news, a friend of mine and an incredible human being who has been on this show as a guest before on So Money.

George actually found Alex for me, recommended him for this podcast, loved his idea and we all decided, let’s get together, we went to NBC studios and recorded this. One of the few times I actually left my apartment to record an interview. This is a special one. 

For more visit www.thirddoorbook.com

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