Great Books Distilled: Summaries of Bestselling Business and Investing Books

We explore fear, faith, and finding your calling. We’re joined by Paula Faris, Emmy-nominated journalist and author of Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs For a Life of True Calling. We cover cancel culture, launching a faith-focused podcast, and key habits for great interviews. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I don't have any regrets, even though I've done some stupid stuff in my life—like, really dumb things. I wouldn't take it back, because I learned more from my flaws and failures than I have from the 'successes' of life. Those have been the character builders.” – Paula Faris EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/paula-faris-outliers-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/paula-faris-outliers-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to fear, faith, and finding your calling. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:15) – Paula’s background in faith, and aspiring to give grace to herself and others (00:08:50) – Cancel culture and the assassination of a person’s character (00:16:18) – Three questions to ask yourself to help find your vocational calling (00:21:03) – Launching a podcast on faith (00:27:31) – Five questions to ask yourself when you feel fear in a situation (00:37:06) – A deep dive into Paula’s podcast, Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris, and what she’s learned from it (00:48:11) – Key habits for great interviews, including doing research and mirroring (01:00:35) – Paula’s daily rituals, including preparing for a smooth morning, CrossFit, and Chick-fil-A ABOUT CALLED OUT Paula Faris has been an anchor on Good Morning America and The View. She's also an Emmy award-winning journalist who's worked as Senior National Correspondent for ABC News, where she's interviewed people like Hillary Clinton, Tiger Woods and Reese Witherspoon. In 2018, she launched her own faith-focused podcast with ABC called Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris. From Journeys of Faith, she's interviewed high profile political leaders like Nikki Haley and Cory Booker, athletes like Tim Tebow, and she's explored the topic of faith with pronounced atheists like Sam Harris. It's because of this incredibly open dialogue, which I think is missing today, that I wanted to have her on Outliers for a conversation about faith. In this episode, we cover Paula's career as a journalist, her journeys with her own faith, and what she's learned discussing faith with high profile figures from around the world. Paula's new book, Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs For a Life of True Calling, is out now. And in it, she shares what she's learned grappling with the difference between her career and her calling. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore Deep Survival: The Incredible Neuroscience of Survival, Who Lives, and Who Dies. We’re joined by Laurence Gonzales, best-selling author. We cover habits during emergencies, practicing for disaster, and safety in the airline industry. “All accidents are the same. You kind of have to put them together from pieces. They don’t just happen. You have to assemble them.” — Laurence Gonzales EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our guide to Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:49) – How Laurence’s father’s survival of a World War II plane crash inspired his interest in survival themes (00:06:18) – How habituation and the brain-body complex work together (00:20:57) – Laurence’s views on arming police with military gear (00:24:26) – The concept of hot cognition in times of stress (00:31:28) – PTSD minus the D (00:51:35) – Safety in the airline industry (01:01:48) – The human brain on the “night shift” (01:06:07) – The Santa Fe Institute and Laurence’s work there ABOUT DEEP SURVIVAL AND LAURENCE GONZALES Laurence Gonzales started his career as a journalist and earned a Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He then went on to become an editor for multiple magazines, including Playboy back in the day. And he won two national awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors for his work on National Geographic's Adventure magazine. He's the bestselling author of multiple award winning books. He was awarded the Montaigne Medal from the Eric Hoffer Society in 2018, and won the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award in both 2018 and 2019. He has also been a Miller scholar at the illustrious Santa Fe Institute. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore finding, owning, and loving your voice. We’re joined by Jessica Hansen, In-House Voice Coach at NPR. We cover finding and honing the perfect NPR voice, techniques for finding your best voice, and Jessica’s voice coaching practice. “Your voice is your instrument and you are a professional voice user. — Jessica Hansen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/jessica-hansen-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/jessica-hansen-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to finding, owning, and loving your voice. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:30) – How Jessica became interested in voice through theater (00:04:29) – Jessica’s work at NPR (00:09:13) – On finding and honing the perfect NPR voice (00:21:55) – Techniques on controlling your nerves before speaking, including breathwork (00:26:47) – The building blocks of voice (00:30:02) – Jessica’s voice coaching process, from beginner to advanced levels (00:38:47) – Simple but effective tips for finding your best voice (00:51:02) – Recommendations for resources on the voice ABOUT JESSICA HANSEN As an actress, Jessica Hansen has appeared on hit TV shows like Parks and Rec and Veep. And as a vocal coach, she works at NPR, where she helps all of NPR's on-air talent to sound incredible. In the lead-up to launching Outlier Academy, I was lucky enough to work with Jessica, and she helped me finally get comfortable and confident with my own voice. And that's exactly why I wanted to have her on the show. We go deep on how to find and own your voice, overcoming your fear of speaking publicly, why the best voices are often the quirkiest, and how to sound interesting, as well as why that's important. If you've ever struggled with your own voice, this episode is for you. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore building and writing the world’s best bundle. We’re joined by Nathan Baschez, Co-Founder and CEO of Every. We cover nonfiction books as secondary education, applying business strategy to personal life, and advice for aspiring strategic leaders. “If you have weak, scattered, or non-systematic observations about the market driving your decision making process, you can make some pretty bad decisions, even if you get all the strategy concepts right.” — Nathan Baschez EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nathan-baschez-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nathan-baschez-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to building and writing the world’s best bundle. In it we cover: (00:01:49) – Nathan’s early career, including co-creating Product Hunt (00:07:04) – Creating Hardbound (00:19:51) – Nonfiction books as a form of secondary education (00:22:12) – Learning from losses and changes at Hardbound and Substack (00:26:52) – How Nathan became interested in and focused on business strategy (00:31:30) – Applying business strategy to personal life (00:35:19) – Feedback loops in business growth (00:37:55) – Models for thinking about business strategy (00:49:40) – Nathan’s research and writing routines (00:58:05) – Mental models and frameworks Nathan refers to most when writing about a company or industry (00:59:49) – Advice for young people aspiring to be strategic leaders ABOUT EVERY Nathan Baschez is Co-Founder and CEO of Every, a bundle of 10+ newsletters, podcasts, and shows covering productivity, strategy, and the passion economy. Nathan helped create and launch Product Hunt and served as the head of product at Gimlet Media, which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 for $230 million. He then joined Substack as VP of Product, and now he writes and publishes a paid newsletter that's all about business strategy called Divinations. But there's more to the story. Divinations is part of a subscription bundle that Nathan and his Co-Founder, Dan Shipper, are building called Every. They describe Every as a bundle of the best modern business writing.  💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices