Famous Failures

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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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.