5 Questions With Dan Schawbel

An interview with Lucie Fink about how her parents have influenced her creative process, how she’s turned her passion into her career, having the courage to put yourself out there, the secret to social media engagement and her best career advice. Welcome to the 58th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is video producer and lifestyle host for Refinery 29, Lucie Fink. Born in White Plains, New York to a radio DJ father and designer mother, Lucie has been a natural creative her entire life. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, she worked as an Associate Producer at Ogilvy & Mather then became a producer and on-camera talent for Refinery29. At Refinery 29, Lucie created and hosts the award-winning YouTube series “Try Living with Lucie”, where she performs and documents her regular social experiments. She’s worked with brands such as Under Armour, M&M’s, Chase, Revlon, Reebok and many others. I’ve admired Lucie’s thoughtfulness and creativity when it comes to both content production and audience engagement for a while now so I was excited to speak to her for this podcast episode. Video interview from New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: Your family is extremely creative. Your mom is a designer and your dad is a radio DJ. How have they influenced your career and made you more creative? You’ve been able to turn your passion into profit and into a full career. A lot of people fear putting themselves out there. How do you get past that fear? In your TEDx talk you spoke about the importance of trying. How do you have the courage to continue putting yourself out there even if you fail? You get so much engagement on your content compared to people who have many more followers. What leads to this level of engagement? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Lucie’s journey: Website Refinery 29 Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

An interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson about how writing letters has impacted his life, how he became an effective storyteller, why we should look inside ourselves to find meaning, the impact of artificial intelligence in our lives and his best career advice. Welcome to the 57th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is astrophysicist, author and head of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Born in New York City to a gerontologist father and sociologist mother, he grew up in the Bronx. In high school he was the captain of the wrestling team and the editor-in-chief of the Physical Science Journal. Neil first became interested in astronomy following a visit to the Hayden Planetarium, where he enrolled in various courses there. He started gaining notoriety as a 15-year-old lecturing in his community. He went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. In 2001, President George Bush appointed him to serve on a commission studying the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry and in 2004, he was reappointed to focus on the implementation of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy. In 2006, he was appointed to serve on the NASA Advisory Council and was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. Currently, Neil is the head of the Hayden Planetarium, a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History and the host of the StarTalk podcast. He has written sixteen books including his latest, Letters from an Astrophysicist, that we discuss in this podcast. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: You’ve written countless letters over the past 30 years and have documented them in this book. Writing letters is a lost art form in the age of email, texting and social media. How has reviewing and publishing these letters impacted how you live your life? You have blended science and pop culture in an entertaining way that has gotten people who don’t like or understand science interested in it. How did you learn to be such an effective communicator? You say that people tend to look outside of themselves to find meaning in their lives. Why do you suggest people instead look inside themselves and how have you benefited from doing that? This year, I worked on a global study focused on artificial intelligence with Oracle. We found that people are now embracing AI and have an overall positive relationship with it, despite privacy and security concerns. How can AI improve our lives instead of cause us harm? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Neil’s journey: StarTalk Radio Book Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Dan Carlin about how he became an effective storyteller, his most proud moment, how he produces Hardcore History, a time when he became more resilient and his best career advice. Welcome to the 56th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is the host of the Hardcore History podcast, Dan Carlin. Born in California, Dan is the son of actress Lynn Carlin and film producer Ed Carlin. He obtained his degree in History at the University of Colorado Boulder before breaking into TV news in the 1980s as reporter for KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon. From there, he hosted Common Sense, a podcast where he evaluated current political trends, from 1994 to 2014. In 2015, he launched Hardcore History, a podcast that explores topics throughout world history such as The Cold War, The Asia-Pacific War, a series on Genghis Khan, the fall of the Roman Republic and a series on World War 2. The podcast has won several awards and has a massive following of over seven million listeners. I spoke with Dan about his new book The End is Always Near, his personal history, how’s he’s built his following and his best career advice. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How did you become an effective storyteller and how can others do the same? What was one milestone in your life that you are most proud of and why? Take us behind the scenes with your hit podcast show Hardcore History. What does it take to produce a quality show like yours and then build a loyal following? Can you give an example from your career on how a tough moment made you stronger and more resilient? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Dan’s journey: Website Podcast Book Facebook Twitter YouTube

An interview with Steph Korey about how traveling in her childhood impacted her life, her biggest business challenge, the person that’s helped her the most, her guiding leadership principles and her best career advice. Welcome to the 55th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is the co-founder and CEO of Away, Steph Korey. Born in a suburb in Ohio, Steph grew up traveling to visit her family in the Middle East and Europe. After graduating college, she worked in the merchandising and buying departments at both Kate Spade and Bloomingdales. Then, Steph joined Warby Parker as their Head of Supply Chain, where she met her Away co-founder Jennifer Rubio. After leaving Warby Parker, she got her MBA, while working as a consultant for Casper, before launching Away with Jennifer. Away is a global lifestyle brand that’s transforming the entire travel experience. Away has raised over $100 million, with a $1.4 billion valuation and has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies”. I must disclose that I’m an Away customer after I was nagged by my parents to buy a navy blue carry-on suitcase last year, and I’m happy that I did. In this episode, you’ll learn more about Steph’s background, how’s she’s been able to grow her company so fast and advice that anyone could benefit from. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How did traveling the world as a child shape your identity, perspective and future career? In just 3 years your company has grown to a $1.4 billion valuation, congratulations! Despite this success, what are some of your biggest struggles that keep you up at night? Who has made the biggest impact on your career and how? Which leadership principles have you used at work that you learned in school? Can you give an example? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Steph’s journey: Company Instagram Facebook Twitter

An interview with Tegan Quin how being a Virgo explains her life decisions, how high school prepared her for the future, how she’s dealt with poor mental health, how she became a business woman and her best career advice. Welcome to the 54th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is Canadian indie pop band musician, songwriter and author, Tegan Quin. Born in Calgary, Canada Tegan is an identical twin to Sara Quin and they are both openly gay. At the age of 15, the twins began playing guitar and writing songs, eventually forming a band called Plunk using their school’s recording studio to produce two demo albums. A few years later, they released their debut album under the name “Tegan and Sara”. During the course of their twenty-year career, Tegan and Sara have sold well over one million records and released eight studio albums. They have performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, from Coachella to the Academy Awards. In 2016, they created the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which fights for health, economic justice, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. More recently, they released their memoir “High School”, their ninth studio album “Hey, I’m Just Like You” and have been on tour. I spoke to Tegan about the events that have shaped her life, how she deals with her internal struggles and how her life purpose has guided her journey. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: You and your sister are Virgos like me. In what way does being a Virgo explain the career and life decisions that you’ve made? Your book is called “High School”. What experiences did you have in high school that prepared you for your future? Mental health is a very important topic in our society and is more common in the LGBTQ community. LGBTQ individuals are 3 times more likely to experience a mental health condition than straight individuals. How did you overcome periods in your life when you suffered from mental health and what advice can you share with others who are suffering? How did you learn how to be a businesswoman and how have those skills helped you as an artist? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Tegan’s journey: Website Book Instagram Facebook Twitter

An interview with Marc Randolph how his family influenced him growing up, how to craft a compelling business pitch, how to overcome rejection, his relationship with his Netflix partner Reid Hastings and his best career advice. Welcome to the 53rd episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph. Born in Chappaqua, New York, Marc’s father was a nuclear engineer, his paternal great-granduncle was psychoanalysis pioneer Sigmund Freud and his paternal great-uncle was PR legend Edward Bernays. After he graduated college in 1981, he began working at Cherry Lane Music Company based in New York and was in charge of the small mail-order operation. It was there where he learned marketing techniques, how to sell music directly to customers and used technology to track buying behavior. Marc continued to gain experience building direct-to-consumer marketing operations at Borland, then at various Silicon Valley start-ups, before becoming a founder of Integrity QA. A year later, Pura Atria acquired his startup and CEO Reed Hastings retained Marc as VP of Corporate Marketing. Later that year, Rational Software acquired Pura Atria for $850 million. Marc and Reed decided to join forces to launch Netflix in 1998, with Marc as the first CEO. Today, Netflix has over 150 million paid subscribers worldwide watching over a billion hours of video content each week with $15.8 billion in revenue annually. I sat down with Marc to learn more about his fascinating background, hear stories from his new book “That Will Never Work” and get advice on everything from pitching an idea to overcoming criticism. Video interview from New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: You come from a family of overachievers and pioneers. How did they influence you growing up? What makes a good pitch to influence others to buy into you as a person or your business idea? Early in my career, a lot of people said, “that will never work”. People didn’t believe in me early on. What does it take to overcome that resistance and continue to follow your path? Different from your business partner Reid Hastings, you’ve been more behind the scenes. Where does your humility come from? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Marc’s journey: Website Book Instagram Facebook Twitter

An interview with Morgan Spurlock about how he gets ideas for his projects, how documentaries get made, how he learned to be a storyteller, what his life purpose is and his best career advice. Welcome to the 52nd episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is documentary filmmaker and producer, Morgan Spurlock. Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Morgan graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1993. He started his career as a successful playwright before eventually producing Super Size Me, an Academy Award-nominated documentary that tracked his health as he ate three McDonalds meals each day for thirty days. I get sick to my stomach even thinking about it! This film completely changed my diet and led to my pursuit of a health lifestyle. Morgan has gone on to produce several other documentaries, including Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, Freakonomics and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. More recently, he released his big follow up documentary, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken, which explores how the fast food industry has rebranded itself as healthier since the first film. The film isn’t what I expected at all. Morgan literally goes through the entire process of opening a fast food restaurant, called Holy Chicken, in order to expose the food industry. I had the opportunity to sit down with him the same week when he opened a pop-up restaurant in New York City. Video interview from New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How do you get the ideas for your documentaries and what are the first steps for producing them? What are some things that people don’t know about what it takes to create a documentary? When did you decide to be a storyteller and when did you know you were effective at it? All of your films make a huge impact and have changed the food industry. Do you feel like you have a sense of purpose? What mark do you want to leave on the world? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Morgan’s journey: Website Holy Chicken Super Size Me 2 Instagram Facebook Twitter

An interview with Ryan Holiday about his life philosophies, how to disconnect from technology to be more present, achieving stillness, stoicism’s affect on his parenting and his best career advice. Welcome to the 51st episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is bestselling author, marketer and entrepreneur, Ryan Holiday. Born in Sacramento, California, Ryan dropped out of college at age 19 to apprentice under notable authors including Tucker Max, Tim Ferriss and Robert Greene, supporting their book marketing campaigns. After helping launch The 50th Law, Robert connected Ryan to American Apparel founder Dov Charney. Ryan served as the Director of Marketing for the company from 2009 until 2014, where he was responsible for many notable media stunts, which became the inspiration for his first book Trust Me, I’m Lying. Since then, he’s written several other books, including The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is the Enemy and his latest, Stillness Is the Key. I’ve known Ryan for many years and have always been impressed by his dedication to writing a book each year, how he supports the author community and his unique lifestyle, living on a farm outside of Austin, Texas. I was especially excited to have a discussion with Ryan about his new book because it’s relevant to my book, further emphasizing the importance of taking time away from technology to be present. Video interview from New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: It’s been seven years of knowing you and this is our fourth interview. So after all of this time, what’s most changed for you and what’s remained the same in terms of your philosophy and how you live your life? People feel like they need to constantly be connected. How can people start to disconnect so they can be more present? How do you define stillness, what’s the feeling like when you’re achieved stillness and why should people try to do that? How will raise your kid differently after studying stoicism and other ancient philosophies? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Ryan’s journey: Website Book Medium Instagram Facebook Twitter

An interview with Elvis Duran about how he overcame mistakes in his childhood, how losing 100 pounds changed his life, coming out as gay, how do build a personal brand and his best career advice. Welcome to the 50th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is nationally syndicated radio host, Elvis Duran. Born in McKinney, Texas, Elvis started his career as an on-air personality at WIOQ, Philadelphia’s top music radio station, and eventually became the program director before getting fired back in 1990. A year later, he became the program director and morning show host of KGSR in Austin, Texas. From there, he had a stint at Z-93 in Atlanta and 104 in Houston, before finally landing at Z100 in New York City. As the daily host of the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, he and his team grew to thirty stations in a single year. Today, the show is America’s most-listened-to Top 40 morning show and one of the 10 most-listened-to programs in all of radio, heard live by nearly 10 million people in more than 80 markets across the country. Like me, Elvis has interviewed many successful people, but is rarely the one being interviewed. That’s why I was excited to talk to him about his new memoir “Where Do I Begin?” at his legendary studio here in New York City. Video interview from iHeart Radio in New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: Looking back when you were a teenager, what were some of the biggest mistakes you made and how did you overcome them? What is your several years ago you underwent a surgery where you lost over 100 pounds. How did that experience change your life? You came out as gay many years ago. Was it hard coming out on air as gay? What do you recommend to people who want to build and elevate their personal brand? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Elvis’s journey: Radio show Book Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram

An interview with Chase Jarvis about the fine line between being a creative and entrepreneur, how he had the courage to pursue his career, what inspires him, how he decides whom to collaborate with and his best career advice. Welcome to the 49th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions. This episodes guest: My guest today is photographer and CEO of CreativeLive, Chase Jarvis. Born in Seattle, Washington, Chase attended San Diego State University on a football scholarship. While his original goal after graduating was to attend medical school, his plans changed after his grandfather died and Chase inherited his photography equipment. He instead went on a trip to Europe to follow his passion to be a photographer, leading to an extremely successful career. He was hired by the likes of Volvo, Nike, Apple and Pepsi to shoot lifestyle, sports and landscape photography and has won numerous awards for his work. In 2010, Chase co-founded CreativeLive, an online education platform, with millions of students globally and three billion hours of education consumed. A year later he started his podcast, Chase Jarvis Live, and you can listen to my episode on it called “Less Phone, More Human.” I’ve known Chase since the early part of my career, which is why it’s a pleasure to have him on my podcast to talk about his book, Creative Calling. As a fellow creative and entrepreneur, I was interested in learning more about how he sees himself and how his creative pursuits ended up turning into a business. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: Is there a fine line between being a creative and an entrepreneur? What gave you the courage to pursue your dream instead of living someone else’s? Who or what inspires your creative urges? How do you decide whom to collaborate with? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Chase’s journey: Website Book Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Instagram