5 Questions With Dan Schawbel

An interview with Brian Grazer about how face-to-face conversations have impacted him, how having dyslexia impacted his career, how he recovered from a poor connection, how technology can be a bridge to human connection and his best career advice. Welcome to the 48th 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 film and TV producer and screenwriter, Brian Grazer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Brian graduated USC’s School of Cinema-Television in 1975 as a psychology major. After quitting USC’s Law School after one year, he pursued a career as a producer focused on TV projects for Paramount Pictures in the early 80s. There, he met friend and business partner Ron Howard, embarking on one of the longest running partnerships in Hollywood history. Together, their films and TV shows have been nominated for 43 Oscars and 195 Emmys and he won the Best Picture Oscar for A Beautiful Mind. In addition, Grazer produced hit films like American Gangster, Apollo 13, The Nutty Professor, 8 Mile, and Liar Liar. His films have generated more than $13.5 billion in worldwide theatrical, music, and video sales. His endless honors include having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, being named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people and a cameo on The Simpsons. His more recent projects include the Wu-Tang: An American Saga TV series and his new book Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: Why did you decide to write your book and how have face-to-face conversations impacting you personally and professionally? How did having dyslexia as a child affect you and put you on a new path to forming meaningful human connections? Can you give us an example of a poor interaction you’ve had and how you corrected it using the power of a face-to-face conversation? I always say, “Use technology as a bridge to human connection instead of letting it be a barrier between you and the relationships you seek.” How can we use technology to create more human relationships? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Brian’s journey: Website Books Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram

An interview with Gary Chapman about the most common relationship mistake people make, how our love languages can bring us closer together, the balance between self-care and caring for others, using technology to strengthen relationships and his best career advice. Welcome to the 47th 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 #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman. Born in China Grove, North Carolina, Gary graduated the Moody Bible Institute, received Bachelors and Masters degrees from Wheaton College and Wake Forest. He continued his education at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, receiving both a Master of Religious Education and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. In 1971, Gary joined the Calvary Baptist Church, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and now holds the title of senior associate pastor. In 1992, he published his first and his most notable book, The Five Love Languages, which has now sold over 11 million copies in 49 languages. Since then, he’s authored many other books in the Five Love Language book series, including his latest entitled, Love Language Minute for Couples. Currently, Gary travels the world presenting seminars about building health relationships between couples, families and teams. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: You’ve spent decades as a counselor and pastor. What is the most common mistake people make that hurts their relationships and how do they stop making it? How can knowing our love languages help bring us closer together at work and at home? What is the delicate balance between self-care and care for others? How has technology impacted relationships and what’s the best way to use it to get closer to others without letting it get in the way? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Gary’s journey: Website Books Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Sophia Amoruso about how her mental health issues affected her childhood, how she recovered from the lowest point in her career, why we need to promote our personalities, how women can break the glass ceiling and her best career advice. Welcome to the 46th 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 Founder of Girlboss Media and author of #GIRLBOSS, Sophia Amoruso. Born in San Diego, California, Sophia was raised in the Greek Orthodox church and later dropped out of school and began homeschooling after being diagnosed with ADHD and depression. Her first few jobs were working at a Subway restaurant, a bookstore and a record shop. After she graduated from high school her parents got divorced, which led to her living a nomadic lifestyle, including hitchhiking, dumpster diving and stealing. At age 22, she opened an eBay store called Nasty Gal Vintage, which then led to launching a Nasty Gal retail store of her own. Nasty Gal grew to a $23 million dollar company in just three years. She then wrote the bestseller, #GIRLBOSS, which was later adapted into a Netflix series. Then, between 2015 and 2016 she stepped down as CEO of Nasty Gal, filed chapter 11, until the company was bought in 2017. Then, she launched Girlboss Media, with content geared to a female audience, which recently turned into a networking platform. Our last interview was four years ago so it was great to catch up with Sophia to better understand what she’s been through and how she’s overcome obstacles to push forward in her life. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: Mental health is one of the most important yet misunderstood topics in our culture. How did being diagnosed with depression and ADHD in your childhood affect you? You’ve had ups and downs as an entrepreneur. What was your lowest point and how did you recover from it? Why do you believe that we need to promote our personalities, not just our resumes, when searching for a job? How can we do this? Part of my commitment with this podcast is to interview women. Women have always been underrepresented in leadership roles. How can women break the glass ceiling and what can men do to help? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Sophia’s journey: Company Netflix Series Books Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram

An interview with Sanjay Gupta about what influenced him to get into the healthcare profession, how traveling the world covering healthcare changed his life, how we can combat the loneliness epidemic, his predictions for the future of healthcare and his best career advice. Welcome to the 45th 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 neurosurgeon and Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, Sanjay Gupta. Born in Novi, Michigan, Sanjay earned his degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his residency in neurological surgery in the University of Michigan Health System. Today, Sanjay is an Emory Healthcare general neurosurgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital. Parallel to his medical career, he is a multiple Emmy-award winning correspondent for CNN and is the host of “Vital Signs”, where he travels the world to examine the most important medical stories like the future of food. Throughout his career, he’s famously covered the medical aspects of the Iraq war, the medical benefits of marijuana and social media’s impact on teens’ mental health. In this podcast, Sanjay talks about his career in the medical field, the future of our health and how we can overcome loneliness. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: What were your childhood influences that inspired you to go into healthcare and media as an adult? How has traveling the world covering the biggest health topics of our time changed how you live your life? We have a loneliness epidemic that is affected about half of American adults. What can we do to make people feel less lonely? What are you most hopeful for, and most concerned about, when it comes to the future of our health? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Sanjay’s journey: CNN Profile Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Kevin Pollak about how he’s been on the leading edge when it comes to media, having a sustainable career, his early mentor, how doing standup comedy prepared him for TV shows and his best career advice. Welcome to the 44th 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 actor and comedian Kevin Pollak. Born in San Francisco, California, he’s had a multi-decade career in both film and TV, spanning over 80 movies and over 40 TV shows since I was born back in 1983. His most notable movie roles in the 90s include A Few Good Men, End of Days and The Wedding Planner. As a standup comic, he’s had his own HBO and Showtime specials and Comedy Central named him one of the Top 100 Comedians of All Time. In 2009, he started Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, a podcast where he interviews his friends in the entertainment business. In 2017, Kevin joined the cast of the original series from Amazon called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The show will be in its third season and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2017 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2018. We sat down on the set of the show at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York, to talk how what he’s learned throughout his career. Video interview from the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in Brooklyn, New York: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: What draws you to new mediums, like podcasting, and how do you know what to do next? You’ve been in over 80 movies. What do think the key is to having a sustainability career like you’ve had? Who was an early mentor to you? How did your career as a standup comedian prepare you for doing TV shows? What skills transferred over? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Kevin’s journey: Website Podcast Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

An interview with Cameron Russell about how she handles the pressure as a model, being authentic in today’s superficial world, where her courage comes from, why she decided to be an activist and her best career advice. Welcome to the 43rd 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 model, TED speaker and activist, Cameron Russell. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is not far from where I grew up. Cameron lived a very privileged life as the daughter of Robin Chase, the founder of Zipcar, and Roy Russell, the former CEO of GoLoco. She began modeling in 2003 at age 16 walking in several fashion shows sporting various designers including Versace, Prada, Chanel, and Victoria’s Secret. She’s graced the cover of magazines including PORTER Magazine, Vogue Magazine, and Harper’s Bazaar UK. In 2012, she gave a TED Talk entitled “Her Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.” which has gone on to becoming one of the top 10 most viewed TED Talks of all time with over 27 million views to date. In 2017, she reached out to her network to contribute to the #MeToo campaign to bring further awareness to sexual harassment. In 2018, she received the Harpers Bazaar Women of the Year Award and the GCFA’s Changemaker Award. She’s the co-founder of Model Activist, a network of models that are trying to make the fashion industry more equitable and sustainable. In this podcast interview, we learn more about who she is and her motivations for making a positive change in her industry, and in the world. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How do you handle the pressure to look and act a certain way as a model? How do you be authentic in today’s superficial world, especially on social media? When did you gain the courage to speak your truth? What sparked your social and political activism? How can others be activists? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Cameron’s journey: Website TED Talk LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Scott Harrison about how he found his life’s purpose, got others onboard with his mission, took action, what he’s learned from his journey and his best career advice. Welcome to the 42nd 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 founder and CEO of charity: water, Scott Harrison. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Scott spent his early years as a nightclub promoter and was eventually hired by the likes of MTV and VH1 to throw parties. After experiencing a nightclub shooting in Paraguay, he quit his job and volunteered as a photojournalist for Mercy Chips, a charity that provides humanitarian aid for terminally ill patients. During his time there, he was exposed to the impoverished conditions in Liberia and started charity: water to serve Liberia and other developing nations by providing drinking water. Since it’s founding in 2006, charity: water has funded over 38,000 water projects supporting 9.6 million people around the world. After making such an impact, Scott wrote his book, Thirst, in order to use his story to inspire others. In this podcast, we delve deeper into his story to uncover how he was able to realize his life’s purpose, take action to realize his purpose and how his journey changed how he lives his life. Video interview from charity: water’s New York City headquarters: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: What was the moment when you found your life purpose? How did you get other people on board with your mission? A lot of people have ideas but few execute on them. How do you take ideas, manifest them and then perform the right actions that push you into action? How have all of these stories, your travels, the people you’ve met who have suffered, changed your outlook on life? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Scott’s journey: Company Book LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Amanda Palmer about how art is her therapy, balancing online versus offline relationships, how she gets people to invest in her, asking others for help and her best career advice. Welcome to the 41st 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 singer, songwriter, musician and author Amanda Palmer. Born in New York City, Amanda grew up in Lexington Massachusetts where she went to high school and was involved in the drama department. While attending Wesleyan University, she staged performances based on work by Legendary Pink Dots before forming the Shadowbox Collective, which was devoted to street theatre. In 2000 at a Halloween party, Amanda met drummer Brian Viglione and formed The Dresden Dolls, eventually releasing their debut album two years later. In 2008, she established her solo career with her solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer. She was first brought to my attention after my friend and mentor, David Meerman Scott, blogged about she was able to raise over a million dollars on the crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter to fund her next album. In 2014, Amanda released her memoir, The Art of Asking, which was based on her TED Talk a year earlier that has now amassed nearly 11 million views. She recently released her first album in more than six years called “There Will Be No Intermission”. In this uncensored episode (yes that means there’s swearing), Amanda gets raw about her art, relationships and life experiences. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How is creating art like therapy to help you handle pain, tragedy and failure? What is the balance between connecting with fans, family and friends online versus offline? You’re known for self-funding your music through crowdsourcing. How do you get people to invest in you, your art and message? How would you encourage someone who has a problem but is afraid of asking for help? What’s your best piece of career advice? Follow Amanda’s journey: Website Book Spotify YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Mike Posner about his journey walking across America, the truth about fame, how he’s found peace in loss, why mentoring is important to him and his best career advice. Welcome to the 40th 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 singer, songwriter, poet and producer, Mike Posner. Born in Detroit Michigan, Mike’s father was a criminal defense lawyer and his sister is a civil rights attorney. While many people follow in their family footsteps, he had a completely different career trajectory in the music business. While attending Duke University in 2008, he produced his hometown friend Big Sean’s first mixtape. During his junior year, he followed up with his own mixtape, which led to signing with J Records. Mike got his next big break after releasing his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, when his first single “Cooler Than Me” reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. Despite his newfound celebrity and financial success, he wasn’t comfortable in the spotlight and struggled with depression. In 2015, he released his next single, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”, which was later mixed by Seeb, gathering over 3 billion streams on Spotify globally. Over the course of his career, he’s produced and/or worked with artists including Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Avicii and Maroon 5. In 2017, he lost his father, who had battled with cancer, and performed at his funeral to commemorate his life and their relationship. More recently, on April 15th he started his walk across America, a 2,800-mile journey from New Jersey to California, in order to get back to nature, meet a variety of people and promote his new album “A Real Good Kid”. In this episode, Mike and I have a conversation while he’s in Gilberton, Pennsylvania. You can literally hear the nature in the background as he delves into deep thoughts that will make you rethink how you live your life. The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: How has your journey walking across America impacted your life? What do most people not know about fame and how to deal with it? How have you found peace through pain and loss? Why is “Mentor/produce a younger artist” on your bucket list and how would you help them? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Mike’s journey: Website Spotify YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram

An interview with Ben Mezrich about how to get paid as a writer, how the stories he’s written changed how he lives, what he wish he knew before his first book, the elements of a compelling story and his best career advice. Welcome to the 39th 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 New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich. Born in my hometown, Boston, Massachusetts, Ben is the son of a lawyer mother and radiologist father. He graduated Harvard University in 1991 with a degree in social studies. Over the course of a near two-decade career as a professional writer, he penned twenty books with over 4 million copies in print. His most famous work was Bringing Down the House, which was the story of MIT graduates who used a card counting system to make millions playing blackjack. The story was turned into the movie 21, which was released in 2008. Another notable book Ben wrote, and my favorite, was The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted by Aaron Sorkin into the hit film The Social Network. In the story, he paints Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as a villainous college student who steal the idea for Facebook from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. In his latest book, Bitcoin Billionaires, Ben tells a redemption story of how the Winklevoss twins got rich by investing in Bitcoin. Dozens of people have tried to explain Bitcoin to me over the past few years and I still don’t get it, which is why this interview focuses more on Ben’s advice for becoming a professional writer. Video interview from New York City: The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode: What does it take to get paid to write? Have the stories you’ve written changed how you live your life? What do you know now that you wish you new before you wrote your first book? What are the elements of a compelling story? What is your best piece of career advice? Follow Ben’s journey: Website Book Facebook Twitter Instagram