Chapter 42: Molly Bloom on poker princess privileges and pushing past pomposity

Nov 26, 2019

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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 15-year-long quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. Each chapter of 3 Books uncovers and discusses the three most formative books from one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Judy Blume, David Sedaris, Chris Anderson of TED, and the world's greatest Uber driver. Each of the 333 chapters is dropped on the exact minute of every new moon and full moon until September 1, 2031. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show as well as the world's only podcast by and for book lovers, writers, makers, sellers... and librarians. For more info check out: www.3books.co

Molly Bloom formerly ran one of the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker games in the world, raking in millions annually and featuring players like Alex Rodriguez, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ben Affleck. After the dramatic takedown, she wrote the New York Times bestselling book Molly's Game detailing her life's story, which turned into a $59 million Oscar-nominated film starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Molly had previously trained as an Olympic skier and reached #3 in North America, despite having been told she could never ski again after having surgery for her scoliosis.

Chapter Description:

In Chapter 42 of 3 Books, I sit down with Molly Bloom at the Four Seasons after she had just spoken to 10,000 (no big deal — 10,000 people!) with other big stars like Tony Robbins and Rachel Hollis.

Who’s Molly Bloom?

Molly began her career as a world-class skier, but while training as a pre-teen she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Her doctor told her she could never ski again, but even as a pre-teen Molly had incredible strength of mind, which you’ll recognize in our podcast, and she ended up back on the slopes only a year after her surgery.

By age 21, she was ranked #3 in North America. She then took off to LA and began running one of the most exclusive, high-stakes, underground poker games in the world featuring players like Alex Rodriguez, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and was raking in millions of dollars per year.

So, what happened? The feds went after her! The mafia went after her! And there was a dramatic takedown. While waiting for her sentencing, she ended up writing her life’s story in her memoir Molly’s Game. That book became a bestseller and was turned into a movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, writer of The West Wing and The Social Network, starring Jessica Chastain (as Molly), Idris Alba, and Kevin Costner.

Molly has been featured on Ellen, NPR, LA Times, VICE, and many more. But what was happening below the surface is a story that, as she says in this chapter, has never been shared before. There was a journey happening inside Molly that forced her to look at the downsides of her ambition and addictive personality.

In this conversation we discuss: How do you recover from a life altering public defeat? Why is losing everything so liberating? How exactly do you get Aaron Sorkin to turn your life story into a movie? What is the counterintuitive way to prepare for a huge meeting? How do you find the 'monetizable asset' in your life?

And, of course, what are Molly Bloom's three most formative books?

Let’s go!

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

What’s one unusual way to get a book deal?
How can you train yourself to become calmer prior to meetings and life events?
What are the positive and negative effects of having a strong mind?
How do you know if you’re pursuing the wrong path?
How can you leverage negative qualities to become strengths?

Leave us a voicemail. Your message may be included in a future episode: 1-833-READ-A-LOT.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/42