Not many Valentine Day stories start with a line like: “When he first came out of prison . . .” This conversation brings you the full rollercoaster ride of James Arthur Ray – a personal development leader who established a huge following after appearing on Oprah nearly 20 years ago. As his popularity peaked, the fire in a sweat lodge at one of his retreats got too hot and three people perished. Obviously, Ray did not want this to happen, but he was charged with negligence and jailed for two years. He came out in tatters and $20 million in debt . . . and then he met the love of his life. The story cannot be told without offering condolences to the families of the victims. But for one couple, it is a Happy Valentine’s Day . . .

A Valentine’s Day Lesson

As a bestselling author, speaker and one of the greatest interviewers of this generation, Cal Fussman has sat down with some of the world’s most influential individuals: Muhammad Ali, Mikhail Gorbachev, Serena Williams, Jeff Bezos, Jack Welch, John Wooden, Al Pacino and hundreds of others, digging deep into their hearts and delivering their wisdom to the rest of the world. Now, in Big Questions, Cal continues his journey. Uncovering the heart, head, and soul of his guests in thoughtful, deep and entertaining conversations.

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When Cal went on Ben’s podcast, the marketer confided to him that he was supposed to host a party that evening to bring people who didn’t know each other together. Ben is the curator of the Real Business Connection Network. So the meeting was important to him. The problem was, Ben had a case of gout that was sending stabbing pains through one of his toes. Ben asked Cal if he should go through with the party or call it off. Cal advised Ben that if he threw himself into the party, he’d forget the pain. Ben followed through. This conversation looks at the way Ben used structure and games to connect people. And how much the world has changed since Cal traveled around the world for ten years without a home meeting people through serendipity.

Ben Albert: Gamefy Your Connections

Cal talks with the co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods about the journey he took from shirtless 22-year-old hippie hitchhiking in Austin on acid to creating and running the health food empire. And what a wild trip it’s been – as evidenced in his new book: The Whole Story, Adventures in Love, Life and Capitalism. Plenty of takeaways for all of us in this conversation – especially on artificial intelligence.

John Mackey: From LSD trip to The Whole Story

Cal converses with the author of The Skill Code: How To Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines, and learns how experts in their fields are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence instead of junior helpers for assistance. This threatens the bond between the experts and novices that has long allowed the novices to slowly become experts. Cal offers Matt plenty of challenges as examples from his own life and when matt hears them he feels that a chunk of his book was written with Cal in mind. But this book is about and for EVERYONE.

Matt Beane: Skills You’ll Need In The Age Of AI

Cal gets social media strategies from the Podcast Princess, who grew a team of unpaid interns into her own highly successful agency – YAP (Young and Profiting). Her advice gives Cal the awareness of how to turn a technological problem into an area of creativity that could ultimately be a financial gamechanger. Hala believes that life is 0 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. Everybody who listens to this conversation will come away with ideas on getting the most out of themselves.

Hala Taha: Your Podcast & Social Media Coach

When Cal was young, he was educated as a journalist not to sell. He was taught to interview and write and stay on the editorial side of the wall that separated the two sides of publishing. The selling was to be done on the other side of the wall by the sales department. Cal lived by the rules and could never see himself as a salesman even as the internet appeared, the rules began to change and the wall came down. Now, after all these years, he learns from a celebrated sales consultant that sales doesn’t have to be about selling. It can be about helping the customer buy. Cal can feel comfortable doing just that – and just in time. Could it be for you, too?

A Valentine’s Day Lesson

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