How Success Happens

Andy Richter calls this week’s guest “a bona fide weirdo with virtually no interest in satisfying anything other than his own personal obsessions.”The weirdo in question is Mike Sacks, who has written for the likes of Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, McSweeney’s and who has built something of an industry writing novelizations of movies that don’t exist and memoirs of people who were never born. And then turning those works into audiobooks voiced by the funniest people on Earth, including Jon Hamm, Paul Reubens, Amy Sedaris and many more. In this interview, he talks about how he has found breakout success as a self-published author, how he’s become someone the top names in comedy want to work with, and the secrets he learned about getting reviews after years of working at Vanity Fair. He’s got a new book out in April called This Is How We Love. Learn all about the punk rock aesthetic he embraces to bring his ideas to life, one bonkers book at a time. Whether you’re looking for advice on making it in the world of comedy writing, or just looking for a laugh, this episode is for you.Find Mike’s work hereFind Dan’s work hereFind more Entrepreneur Media podcasts here

Jon Taffer is a guy who is not afraid to get in the weeds, in the grease traps and in the mouse droppings to squeeze the success out of bars and restaurants on the verge of collapse. And he’s not afraid to raise his voice while doing it. Jon is the executive producer and star of Paramount Network’s “Bar Rescue,” and he sat down with host Dan Bova to share his career journey, his advice to entrepreneurs in all industries, and to give us the mental picture of a truly horrfying bar kitchen that may make you never want to eat anything ever again.

Rob Simmelkjaer is the CEO of the New York Road Runners, the organization that gathers 55,000 sadists every year to run the iconic New York City Marathon, among many other events. We (barely) caught up with Rob as he was getting ready to hop a flight to Japan to run the Tokyo Marathon to find out how he finds time to train, how newbies can get started, and what you need to do to let your feet forgive you after making them pound the pavement for 26.2 miles.

Actor Anthony Michael Hall has been in some of the most iconic movies and shows ever, and the man just keeps on iconic-ing year after year. You know him from “Sixteen Candles,” “Weird Science,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “The Dead Zone” and jumping ahead to right now, a starring role in the new season of “Reacher.” Listen to the funny and philosophical man as he discusses how he developed a thick skin, learned to adapt to an ever-changing industry and more!

Douglas Keene is the award-winning chef and co-owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Cyrus in California. He’s got a new memoir out, “Culinary Leverage: A Journey Through The Heat,” and on this episode, we to talk about the life stories that define his cooking career journey, his crazy notion that people who work in restaurants need to have livable wages, and find out just what the heck a Michelin star is anyway. (You’re going to love his answer to that question.) Dig in!

Gabrielle Judge coined the term “Lazy Girl Jobs” on social media, and is challenging the way people approach work and how they think about success. The message seems to be resonating, at the time of this recording, she has over 300K followers on Instagram and 220K on TikTok. Listen in as the self-anointed “Anti-Work Girlboss” shares strategies to make gains in your career and personal happiness.

I spoke with Leigh Whannell, the director and co-writer of the new movie “Wolf Man.” The movie stars ​​Christopher Abbott ("Poor Things") and Julia Garner ("Ozark" and "Inventing Anna.") I won’t give anything away, but I’ll just say that they take a trip to a house in the middle of the woods and not-great things happen. Film/slasher fans know Leigh as the co-creator of "Saw" and fun party guy Jigsaw, and was the writer of the recent "Invisible Man" remake starring Elizabeth Moss. He’s done a bunch of other stuff, and to use a polite term, they’re all pretty effed up. This film was produced by Blumhouse Productions, the wildly successful indie production house that is the force behind “The Purge,” “Insidious,” “Paranormal Activity,” and tons of more flicks designed to scare that crap out of us. I spoke with Leigh a few days ago to find out how he’s gotten so damn good at monetizing terror and also to ask him point blank, what the hell is wrong with you?

From winning NBA Championship rings to bringing new businesses to life, there's no goal that's too big for The Big Aristotle.

The absolute GOAT NFL sideline reporter popped in and shared insights about her thriving apparel business WEAR by Erin Andrews, explained what it’s like to experience the Taylor Swift effect firsthand, shared her tips for beating nerves in stressful situations, and gave us her Super Bowl prediction! (Sort of.)

Hilarious actor Chris Diamantopoulos has appeared in so many fantastic shows and movies, these show notes could be a book. You know him from “Red Notice,” “Silicon Valley,” “The Boys in the Boat” and now he can be seen in the brand-new comedy heist show “The Sticky” on Amazon. If you want a pep talk from Mickey Mouse, you’ve come to the right podcast episode!