Future of Work Expert, Keynote Speaker, NY Times Bestselling Author – Dan Schawbel

My guest today is documentarian, journalist, and co-host of Everyday Wealth, Soledad O’Brien. Soledad has anchored shows on CNN, MSNBC, and NBC, and hosted projects for Fox and A&E. She is the CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions, a multiplatform media production company, and co-hosts the Everyday Wealth radio show with Jean Chatzky, presented by Edelman Financial Engines, where they help people achieve their financial goals. We talk about her inspiring career journey and commitment to helping others manage their finances during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. What did you learn from your parents that allowed you to persevere and make a name for yourself?
2. While many people make new year’s resolutions, only 9% keep them by the end of the year. What are some of your resolutions and how are you committed to seeing them through?
3. Aside from being a journalist and documentarian, you are involved in other projects that focus on empowering people with the right financial tools they need to succeed. How did you overcome your own financial challenges and what did you learn in the process that can help others?
4. How are you tackling societal issues like education and gender inequality and why are they so important to you?
5. What is your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Soledad’s journey:

• Website
• Everyday Wealth, presented by Edelman Financial Engines
• Facebook
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• Twitter

My guest today is the cofounder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein. David’s The Carlyle Group is one of the world’s largest and most successful private equity firms. He is the Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. We discuss his book “How to Lead” during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. David, I’ve spoken with a variety of leaders about how they are navigating this crisis and they are all in agreement that trust is the most important asset right now. What did you learn from all of your interviews on how to build and cultivate trust?
2. How has collecting stories of successful people affected you personally, changed your outlook on life, and made you a better leader?
3. What do you find are the common qualities all successful leaders have in common and what are some of the unique qualities you’ve discovered that separate them?
4. You’ve amassed a fortune in private equity and have also taken the giving pledge to donate half of your wealth to charities of your choosing. What would you say to persuade other prominent people to be more philanthropic and how do you decide which causes to donate to?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow David’s journey:

• Website
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My guest today is TED speaker and bestselling author, Amy Cuddy. Amy is a social psychologist that rose to fame after her TED Talk “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” became a worldwide sensation with over 62 million views and growing. She wrote the book, Presence, which became a New York Times bestseller, and was a professor at Harvard Business School. We talk about her mentor, body language, and overcoming uncertainty during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. What role did your mentor Susan Fiske play in helping you shape your career?
2. Your TED Talk and research focuses on body language. How does our body language shape how people perceive us when we’re connecting and working remotely instead of in person?
3. What types of struggles did you endure over the past year during the pandemic and how did you overcome them?
4. What is Pandemic Flux syndrome and how do we get through it?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Amy’s journey:

• TED Talk
• Book
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

My guest today is Destiny’s Child member and author, Michelle Williams. Michelle rose to fame as a member of the R&B group Destiny’s child, one of the best-selling female groups of all time with over 60 million records sold. After the group disbanded in 2006, she went on to release solo albums, appeared in Broadway shows, and acted in several sitcom series like Chicago and The Color Purple. More recently, she wrote Checking In and The Daily Check-In, which we discuss in this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. After graduating from high school, why did you doubt your ability to make a career as a professional singer and pursue a criminal justice degree?
2. After meeting Beyonce and Kelly Rowland in the lobby of an Atlanta hotel, how did you know that you could make it as a music group?
3. When you were rising to fame, a lot of people were dishing you advice. What’s the balance between getting counsel from others and listening to your inner voice when making big career decisions?
4. You talk about your anxiety and depression in your book “Checking in”. What did you learn during your process of healing that can be useful to anyone looking to better manage their mental health?
5. What is your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Michelle’s journey:

• Website
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• Twitter

My guest today is McFarlane Toys CEO, Spawn creator, and Venom co-creator, Todd McFarlane. Todd has established himself as a force in the entertainment world with 1 Grammy Award, 2 Grammy nominations, 2 Emmy Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 1 Canadian MuchMusic Award, and more than 150 International awards in the fields of action figures, comic books, and publishing. Aside from creating Spawn, and co-creating Venom, he’s the co-founder and president of Image Comics, has launched an NFT marketplace with Steve Aoki called OddKey, and two new premium TV series “McFarland” and “Thumbs”. We talk about his history with comics, and all of these new projects, during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. How did you originally develop your interest in comics and when did you know it could become a career?
2. What was your creative process like for creating generational characters like Venom and Spawn?
3. Aside from being a comic book icon, you’re also an NFT icon with VeVe’s first NFT of your #100 Batman Todd McFarlane statue and your new NFT marketplace with Steve Aoki who was a previous podcast guest. As someone who has worked in both the physical and NFT worlds, do you think both will complement each other or will one replace the other?
4. You have so many different projects happening simultaneously between your TV shows, comics, toys and NFTs. How do you decide which characters you use in different mediums at different times, while ensuring there’s no oversaturation?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Todd’s journey:

• Website
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• Twitter
• Facebook

My guest today is Wu-Tang Clan founding member, Raekwon. Raekwon achieved success with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993 and followed it up with his platinum solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and countless classic collaborations. He is also an entrepreneur and the founder of his own label, ICE H2O Records. We talk about his life story, and Wu-Tang, as captured in his book “From Staircase to Stage”, during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. How did you deal with both rivalries and racism in your childhood growing up in Staten Island New York?
2. What aspects of the relationship between the Wu-Tang Clan members made the group both very successful but also lead to breakups and arguments?
3. How did your recovery after 4 gunshot wounds lead to you honing your creative process?
4. How did spirituality, your fans, being a father, and idols like Run-D.M.C. inspire your work?
5. What is your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

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• YouTube
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My guest today is NBA All-Star and author, Dwyane Wade. Dwyane is a three-time NBA champion, businessman, TV analyst, producer, activist, and philanthropist. He played in the NBA from 2003 to 2019, primarily for the Miami Heat. He won three NBA championships, was a 13-time NBA All-Star, an 8-time member of the All-NBA Team, and a 3-time member of the All-Defensive Team. We talk about his life and career, as captured in his memoir “Dwyane”, during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. What were some of your biggest challenges growing up in the South Side of Chicago and how did facing them help you become the person you are today?
2. How did Michael Jordan’s career inspire you to become a professional basketball player?
3. After having your own line of shoes with Converse and Nike’s Jordan Brand, why did you decide to work with Li-Ning on building your own brand?
4. In what ways do you see yourself as a leader of the trans rights movement?
5. What is your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

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My guest today is chairman of VaynerX and author, Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary is one of the world’s leading marketing experts, the CEO of global creative and media agency VaynerMedia, and an investor in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Venmo, and Uber. He’s also the creator of VeeFriends, an NFT collection, and has millions of followers on social media. We first connected back in 2007 when we were showing the world the power of personal branding using social media and this is our 6th interview. We talk about his new book “Twelve And A Half”, as well as his views on NFTs, during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. While you cover the 12 essential emotional skills in the book, there’s also a half. Which skill do you feel weakest in and how are you trying to improve it so you can be more effective in every area of your life?
2. How have you tailored your soft skills to different people, environments, and situations?
3. I love how you included “curiosity” as one of your top skills because most people wouldn’t think of it as a skill. How has your curiosity led you to experiment, and have breakthroughs, in your businesses?
4. You’ve said that 98% of NFTs projects will “go to Zero” and called for an “NFT Winter”. What do you think will be the 2% that appreciate in value long-term?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Gary’s journey:

• Website
• Amazon
• YouTube
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• Facebook

My guest today is actress, singer, and TV personality, Lucy Hale. Lucy first became known for her roles in the series Bionic Woman and Privileged, then had her breakthrough starring role in Pretty Little Liars. She’s also starred in films such as Scream 4, Dude, and Fantasy Island. Lucy ventured into music releasing her album Road Between back in 2014. More recently, she stars as the lead in Ragdoll, a crime drama series for AMC and Alibi based on the novel by Daniel Cole. We talk about her new series, acting career, and more during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. In your childhood, how did you balance the time between taking acting and singing lessons while being homeschooled?
2. You’ve had multiple shows that have been canceled. Even if you felt good about your performance, how do you both continue to persevere and make decisions about the next projects?
3. Even though you are a successful actress you had to fight for the starring role of AMC’s Ragdoll. Why was it such a challenge for you to land the role and how did you eventually get it?
4. What inspired you to support eco-friendly products, like Karma’s plant-first dog food?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Lucy’s journey:

• Show
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My guest today is actor and former White House staff member, Kal Penn. Kal has played leading roles in some of the world’s most-watched television shows, including How I Met Your Mother, 24, House, and more. He currently stars in the CBS series Clarice, a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, and the Disney Junior animated series Mira, Royal Detective. He has starred in movies that have collectively grossed more than a billion dollars, including the Harold and Kumar franchise. Kal has worked at the very highest levels of politics, as an Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. We discuss both his acting and political careers, as captured in his book “You Can’t Be Serious”, during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. Why did you reject the advice of your family and guidance counselors to become a doctor and instead pursue a career in acting?
2. What stories did you hear about your grandparents that influenced you to get into politics?
3. What did you learn in your acting career that made you a more effective politician?
4. How did you overcome the struggles of trying to make it in Hollywood like racism and the feeling of not fitting in?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow Kal’s journey:

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• Facebook