Gerald Chertavian - How and why does a Wall Street millionaire start a company to help troubled young adults move from poverty to professional careers in a single year? This week we interview Gerald Chertavian, CEO of Year Up, one of the most incredible non-profit organizations we have ever come across. "You can't give until you have. " - Gerald Chertavian Year Up provides intensive professional education to urban young adults. His organization was recently recognized by Fast Company and The Monitor Group as one of the top 25 organizations in the nation using business excellence to engineer social change. Prior to starting Year Up, Chertavian co-founded Conduit Communications and served as the head of marketing at Transnational Financial Services in London. Gerald recently wrote the book, A Year Up: How a Pioneering Program Teaches Young Adults Real Skills For Real Jobs With Real Success. He was also awarded the 2003 Social Entrepreneurship Award by the Manhattan Institute and the 2005 Freedom House Archie R. Williams, Jr. Technology Award. A graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard Business School, Chertavian was born and raised in Lowell, MA. Quotes from Gerald: What we learn in this episode: How to balance taking versus giving. How to understand what you can take from the universe as well as what you owe to the universe. For the first time in the history of this country upward mobility is lower in America than many other developed countries. That is an opportunity divide. What is the winning formula for social good? Resources: A Year Up: How a Pioneering Program Teaches Young Adults Real Skills For Real Jobs With Real Success http://www.yearup.org/ http://bigthink.com/users/geraldchertavian Twitter: @yearup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Rashkin - Author of Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry: How It Got Here, Why It's Broken, and How to Fix It. He is currently the Chief Architect of the Building Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Sam also managed the Energy Star for Homes since its start in 1996.  Sam knows everything there is to know about renewable energy and "zero energy homes". "One of the most significant infrastructure issues that we have in this country is the 115+ million existing homes.  We talk about roads and bridges and utility issues, but people don't realize the impact these old homes are having on our economy, energy usage, and health issues." -Sam Rashkin Under his leadership, ENERGY STAR for Homes has grown exponentially to more than 6,500 builder partners and over 940,000 labeled homes. He is also introducing a new EPA Indoor Air Quality label for the housing industry linked to ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes and an advanced technology new home program called Climate Choice for elite builders. Quotes from Sam: What we learn in this episode: How was ENERGY STAR formed? How did Sam make it so effective and grow it to what it is today? What are the health implications of living in many old homes? Did you know you can actually MAKE money by asking for an energy efficient mortgage? Sam tells you about it! What is a "zero energy ready performance" home? Resources: http://energy.gov/contributors/sam-rashkin http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/doe-challenge-home http://www.energystar.gov/?c=new_homes.hm_index This episode is brought to you by: Squarespace: Squarespace, the all-­in-­one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com/smartpeople and use promo code expert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Stubblebine - CEO and co-founder of Lift, a life changing app that helps you form habits. More than that, Tony is a fanatic about human potential, creativity, and the power of action! Tony is also a "serial entrepreneur", having worked on a number of tech startups, including working with the guys who founded Twitter. Tony often blogs here, on Medium. "It takes 10 years to become an overnight success." -Tony Stubblebine Do you want to build the habit of meditation? Check out Lift's How to Meditate page with free guided meditations! According to Forbes.com, Lift app is one of the most affordable self-help products ever created. Quotes from Tony: What we learn in this episode: How has Tony built a number of successful companies? Do young investment bankers feel that the money is worth the long hours? What is some advice on getting angel investors early on in starting a company? Behavior design Resources: Lift's How to Meditate page with free guided meditations https://lift.do/ https://medium.com/@tonystubblebine Twitter: @tonystubblebine This episode is brought to you by: Harry's: Harry's was built out of respect for quality craftsmanship, simple design, modern convenience and most importantly for guys who know they shouldn't have to overpay for a great shave. For $5 off your first purchase, go to harrys.com and use promo code smartpeople. Personal Capital: With Personal Capital, you’ll finally be able to see all your accounts in one place and get a clear view of everything you own. To sign up for free go to personalcapital.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Roose - Bestselling author of Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits. Kevin spent more than three years shadowing eight entry-level analysts at leading investment firms. He chronicled their stories, triumphs, and disappointments in this unprecedented (and unauthorized) story. Kevin currently writes for New York magazine and previously for The New York Times. "Writing this book made me want to go to every Ivy League college in the country and give students there a hug." -Kevin Roose Quotes from Kevin:  What we learn in this episode: • What is it really like to be a new hire on Wall Street? • Do young investment bankers feel that the money is worth the long hours? • Did you know their is an 80 year old "secret society"/fraternity for Wall Street workers? Yup - Kevin is going to tell you about it! Resources: Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits http://www.kevinroose.com/ http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/heres-a-video-of-wall-street-bankers-stripping.html Twitter: @kevinroose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Yang - Author of Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America. Andrew is the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to connecting promising recent graduates with startups with the hope of fostering a generation of entrepreneurs who can create economic value. Venture for America will recruit the best and brightest college grads to work for two years at emerging start-ups and early-stage companies in lower-cost cities (e.g., Detroit, Providence, New Orleans). Modeled after Teach for America, Venture for America will provide a path for entrepreneurship to college grads who want to learn how to build companies and create jobs.The goal is that a substantial proportion of VFA Fellows will become successful entrepreneurs, preferably rooted in the communities to which they are assigned. Andrew was recently named one of the "Top 100 Most Creative People in Business" by Fast Company. Quotes from Andrew: What we learn in this episode: How do we encourage innovation and creativity as opposed to comfort and stability for recent graduates? How do you transition from a career you don't like to a brand new field at any age? What is the hardest part about starting a company and how do you overcome that? Resources: Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America http://ventureforamerica.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz - President of the Charles Schwab Foundation, Senior Vice President at Charles Schwab & Co., and the daughter of Charles Schwab! Her newest book is The Charles Schwab Guide to Finance After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions. This week we discuss what it was like for Carrie growing up, how finance was in her blood, her deep understanding of the tough financial questions and what you can do to tackle your toughest money issues at any age. Through Carrie’s popular “Ask Carrie” columns, her leadership of the Charles Schwab Foundation, and her work across party lines through two White House administrations and with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, she has become one of America’s most trusted sources for financial advice. Quotes from Carrie: What we learn in this episode: How Carrie deals with work, life balance? What was it like watching Charles Schwab & Co. grow from a one man company to the financial massive company that it is today? What is the single most important financial advice you give people on a daily basis? What does Carrie personally believe is the future of Social Security? Resources: www.schwab.com/book http://www.schwabmoneywise.com/public/moneywise/home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Michio Kaku - He is the face (and mind) of science! Dr. Kaku is a theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York, a futurist, and a communicator and popularizer of science. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers: Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future. His most recent book was released in February and is titled, The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind. Additionally, Dr. Kaku is the host of the weekly, one-hour radio program Exploration. You probably recognize Dr. Kaku from TV - he's basically been in every science related show that was released in the past 20 years! Quotes from Dr. Kaku: What we learn in this episode: Did you know we can photograph a dream? Yeah, we talk about that! What is telekinesis and will we ever have the capability to move objects with our minds? Soon, we will be able to record our memories and then upload them to help people with diseases such as Alzheimer's. Is it true that we only use a small portion of our brain? Why do we remember scary dreams much more often than pleasant dreams? Resources: http://mkaku.org/home/ http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/6zj4ki/michio-kaku Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Corinne Woods - Director of the UN Millennium Campaign, which supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments accountable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and leads the outreach to citizens and stakeholders to get their voices and concerns to feed into the Post-2015 global development agenda. Previously, she served in a variety of roles at UNICEF, including as Senior Adviser on the HIV/AIDS Global Campaign Coordination and as Chief of Advocacy and Partnerships in India, the agency’s largest country operation. Quotes from Corinne: What we learn in this episode: The 4 H's: Humility, Honesty, Hopeful, Help.  These are very key with Corinne. What's it like to work alongside Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates?? How has the UN convinced over 100 countries to work together to tackle our most difficult global issues? What has the WORLD voted on as being the number one challenge today? How do you convince people all over the world to take a "global survey"? How do you get people without internet, computers, or even simple infrastructure (roads) to participate in this incredible survey? Resources: http://www.myworld2015.org/ http://data.myworld2015.org/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olof Dallner - WINNER of the Quintuple Ironman. The 12 mile swim, 560 mile bike, and 131 mile run is the distance of 5 Ironmans! WTF? Olof explains what it is like to sleep 6 hours over 4 days while completing (and winning) the worlds toughest endurance event. Olof also has his PhD in Molecular Physiology and is currently a postdoctoral scientist at Rockefeller University, researching the genetics of the hormone Leptin and its role in obesity and metabolism. What we learn in this episode: How do you deal with fear of failure? Can the average person compete in long distance events? How does the hormone Leptin affect body weight and body composition? What are some scientific advances we are making now and what do we expect will happen soon regarding the fight against obesity? Resources: Twitter: @olofdallner http://empiretriclub.com/blog/olof-dallner-wins-quintuple-ironman-2/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carmine Gallo - "Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds", Former anchor and correspondent for CNN and CBS, communications coach for the world's most admired brands, best-selling author, columnist for Forbes and Monster.com. Carmine has worked with Coca-Cola, Intel, LinkedIn, Stanford, Cisco, and many more. Learn the secrets of how these companies communicate! What we learn in this episode: • How to stand out as a communicator. • What are the most common problems that brands face when trying to communicate with their customers? • What is the best way to land a sales job? • Did you know that passion is contagious? It's science! • What is Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks most passionate about? • All great presentations have 3 key components: They are emotional They are novel They are memorable Resources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/ http://gallocommunications.com/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices