Outliers with Daniel Scrivner: Explore the Greatest Innovators, Founders, and Investors

In Episode #17, we explore adventures in business and investing. We’re joined by Andrew Dumont, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Curious Capital. We cover the truth about choosing companies to invest in, making an acquisition grow, and the realities of managing a fund.

“When you’re first starting a fund, you're going to spend your first five years, realistically, actively raising money from LPs—and that is your primary role. It is not interfacing with founders and helping entrepreneurs; that's a small piece. I think it's important that people realize: if you just want to work with entrepreneurs all day, join an existing fund.” – Andrew Dumont

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/andrew-dumont-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/andrew-dumont-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to adventures in business and investing. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:34) – Andrew’s start in the world of venture capital

(00:08:05) – Why venture capital isn’t the best option for all startups

(00:18:11) – The truth about choosing companies to invest in

(00:26:19) – Andrew’s work with Tiny Capital

(00:31:02) – Making an acquisition grow

(00:41:46) – Getting started with investing 

(00:45:14) – The realities of managing a fund

(00:52:11) – How investors can best help founders

(00:54:54) – Why getting reps as investor is exciting

ABOUT CURIOUS CAPITAL

Andrew Dumont is the CEO of both Meteor, which is an open source JavaScript framework, and We Work Remotely, which is the world's largest remote work focused job board. Both of these are fascinating businesses and we explore what it's like to scale an open source software business and the world of job board businesses, including how We Work Remotely has grown 5X since Tiny Capital purchased the job board just a handful of years ago.

Andrew was previously the CMO of Bitly and an entrepreneur in residence at Betaworks, both of which we explore in depth. He's also a venture capital investor through his fund, Curious Capital, which he founded with Giphy founder and CEO, Alex Chung.

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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

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In Episode #16, we explore The Chemistry of Fire: Essays with the author, Laurence Gonzales. We cover an adventure story of ice climbers on Mount Washington, the importance of rules and systems for decision making, and Laurence’s work with the Santa Fe Institute.

“There’s no way to stop these accidents from happening, but there’s a way to stop them from happening to you.” – Laurence Gonzales

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales2-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales2-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to The Chemistry of Fire. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:32) – The concept of the chemistry of fire

(00:05:06) – An adventure story of ice climbers on Mount Washington

(00:06:57) – Why people keep going when they know they should turn back

(00:15:54) – The importance of rules and systems for decision making

(00:21:32) – The survival of a cross-country skier after a major mishap

(00:27:32) – Laurence’s work with the Santa Fe Institute

(00:34:02) – Words of wisdom for 2021

ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY OF FIRE

Laurence Gonzales is the author of The Chemistry of Fire: Essays. In our previous conversation, we discussed Laurence's best selling book, Deep Survival, on who lives, who dies, and why. It's an incredible book, and it's filled with so many parallels to the worlds of business, investing, and peak performance. So when Laurence told me that he had a new book coming, I couldn't resist the urge to pick his brain one more time.

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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

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In Episode #15, we explore managing $1.8 billion in wealth, investment philosophy, and teaching kids about money. We’re joined by Brandon Johnson, CEO of JFG Wealth. We cover keys to successful family wealth management, the spectrum of risk and returns, and diversification and recency bias.

“Once we have a starting point and a target, we can start to evaluate, do we turn left, do we turn right? How do we measure success? Then that dynamic process never stops." – Brandon Johnson

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to investment philosophy and wealth management. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:27) – History of the Johnson Financial Group

(00:10:19) – Brandon’s path to wealth management

(00:14:39) – What is a family office?

(00:23:16) – Keys to successful family wealth management

(00:38:08) – Teaching kids about saving, investing, and giving back

(00:48:05) – JFG’s process for working with new families

(01:01:13) – The spectrum of risk and returns

(01:09:40) – Diversification and recency bias

(01:17:10) – Defining success

ABOUT JFG MULTI-FAMILY OFFICE

Brandon Johnson is the CEO of JFG Wealth, where Brandon and his team manage over $1.8 billion for ultra high net worth families across the United States. Before taking a hard left turn into the world of investing, Brandon first trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris. He also serves on the board of trustees for the University of Denver and the Children's Hospital of Colorado.

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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

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In this Replay Episode, we explore the commonalities of peak performance. We’re joined by Chris Sparks, Founder and CEO of The Forcing Function. We cover the journey from poker to productivity, the systems-thinking approach to planning, and reflection and pattern recognition.

“We're the common denominator in all of our productivity struggles. No tool, no system, no routine is going to change anything until we, ourselves, change.” — Chris Sparks

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/chris-sparks-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/chris-sparks-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to the commonalities of peak performance. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:42) – The journey from poker to productivity coaching

(00:06:59) – The systems thinking approach

(00:10:32) – Reflection and pattern recognition

(00:26:54) – Second and third order impacts

(00:34:05) – Planning on a micro and macro level

(00:45:48) – Physical tools and software to improve productivity

ABOUT THE FORCING FUNCTION

Chris Sparks is one of the top 20 poker players in the world. He's played over two million hands of poker and has had 13 first place finishes in his career so far. But that's not all. He's also the founder of The Forcing Function. There he works with many of the world's top entrepreneurs and investors teaching them how to apply elite poker frameworks for world class performance in business, investing, and life.

Chris is also the author of Experiment Without Limits and soon he's launching an exclusive training program called Team Performance Training. There, you can join a small group of ambitious leaders to work through 24 hours of high performance training together and it includes one-on-one coaching directly with Chris. I've worked with Chris as a coach and he's incredible. I would highly, highly recommend it.

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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

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In this Replay Episode, we explore the world’s least sexy $500M business. We’re joined by Carey Smith, Founder of Big Ass Fans. We cover the importance of humor in business, receiving and listening to feedback, and Carey’s investment philosophy with Unorthodox Ventures.

“I think in some ways it's trite, but you really do learn an awful lot from failures. And the other thing you get from a failure—or certainly I did—was the fear of completely wasting my life. That was a much greater fear—to imagine that you wouldn't accomplish much of anything was just more than I could bear and what it moved me to was looking for other opportunities.” – J. Carey Smith

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/carey-smith-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/carey-smith-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to building the world's least sexy $500M business. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:17) – Carey’s childhood and first forays into business

(00:06:24) – What Carey learned from the failure of his first company

(00:11:42) – How Carey started Big Ass Fans

(00:21:00) – Why humor is so important in business and customer service

(00:32:46) – Focusing on excellent quality when selling a higher-priced product

(00:36:51) – Receiving and listening to feedback to constantly improve a company

(00:45:40) – Carey’s investment philosophy with Unorthodox Ventures

(01:01:41) – Inspiration from one of Carey’s first supervisors

ABOUT BIG ASS FANS AND CAREY SMITH

Carey Smith is the Founder of Big Ass Fans, a business that he built from the ground up and scaled for nearly 20 years before selling for $500 million in 2017. Since then, he's founded Unorthodox Ventures, where he backs extraordinary founders and helps them scale their companies faster, using all of what he learned building Big Ass Fans. We go deep on a bunch of interesting topics, including lessons learned scaling Big Ass Fans, why it's important to deeply understand the people purchasing your product, not just those enjoying it, and building lucrative businesses in unsexy markets.

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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

In this Replay Episode, we explore building the Berkshire Hathaway of outer space. We’re joined by Dylan Taylor, Founder and CEO of Voyager Space Holdings. We cover the evolution of space technology, private space companies vs. the government, and exciting innovations in the space industry.

“I’m in the camp that is super passionate about space as a tool for transformation. So what energizes me is getting humans into space.” — Dylan Taylor

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dylan-taylor-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dylan-taylor-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to building the Berkshire Hathaway of outer space. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:55) – How Dylan’s work in space began after reading The Last Lecture

(00:09:22) – Dylan’s early investments in and the evolution of space technology

(00:17:25) – How re-usability and privatization has expanded space technology

(00:39:05) – Why Dylan founded Voyager Space Holdings

(00:49:52) – Space industry standards and the creation of the Voyager Space IP Exchange

(00:54:35) – Private space companies and their relationship with government agencies

(01:09:58) – Exciting innovations in the space industry

(01:16:06) – How anyone can become involved in space industry and exploration  

ABOUT DYLAN TAYLOR AND VOYAGER SPACE HOLDINGS

In 2019, PitchBook named Dylan Taylor one of the top 10 investors in space and space technology. While SpaceX, Virgin, Galactic, and Blue Origin have taken off in recent years, Dylan's been investing in outer space for over a decade. First, as an angel, and now as CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, where he's building the Berkshire Hathaway of space holding companies.

Dylan has also served as the CEO of a public company, he's been on numerous boards, and he runs his own space-focused nonprofit called Space for Humanity. Dylan is a wealth of wisdom, and this episode is a masterclass on the past, present and future of outer space.

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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

In Episode #14, we explore data driven writing and how to reach 100 million people. We’re joined by Nicolas Cole, author of The Art and Business of Online Writing. We cover self-belief vs. desperation, self-publishing, and the secrets of ghost writing.

“You have to surround yourself with the people that are a version of who you ultimately want to become.” – Nicolas Cole

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nicolas-cole-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nicolas-cole-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to data driven writing and how to reach 100 million people. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:33) – World of Warcraft and bodybuilding

(00:09:22) – The mental game of self-belief vs. desperation

(00:15:33) – Goal setting and why self-publishing is a good idea for authors

(00:25:25) – The Art and Business of Online Writing, and why writing interested Nicolas

(00:35:08) – Advice for writers who are just getting started online

(00:49:40) – The secrets of ghost writing

(01:00:37) – The writing process

(01:09:09) – Confessions of a Teenage Gamer, and about writing memoirs

(01:16:43) – Nicolas’ daily habits, and the importance of mentors  

ABOUT THE ART AND BUSINESS OF ONLINE WRITING

Nicolas Cole the founder of Digital Press, where he helps the world's most successful people, most of whom aren't "writers," write and publish their own books. In this episode, we go deep on writing, including how to break through the noise and become an influential voice in your space. Nicolas has worked with over 300 Silicon Valley founders, executives of publicly traded companies, New York Times bestselling authors, Grammy award-winning musicians, and Olympic athletes to shape their writing. 

To date, Nicholas's writing has reached more than 100 million people. He's one of Inc Magazine's most popular columnists, with over 200 columns published to date, and his writing has been featured in Time, Forbes, Fortune, and Huffington Post. He's also written several books, including his most recent and the one that got my attention, The Art and Business of Online Writing.

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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

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In Episode #13, we explore silence, philosophy, and summiting Mount Everest. We’re joined by Erling Kagge, famed explorer and author. We cover Erling’s expeditions across the Atlantic and to the North and South Poles, how he dove into philosophy, and his foray into book publishing.

“Experience is the best education you can have, but it's very costly.” – Erling Kagge

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/erling-kagge-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/erling-kagge-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our guide to Erling Kagge’s experiences with  silence, philosophy, and summiting Mount Everest. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:57) – How Erling’s daughters inspired his book about silence

(00:07:36) – Erling’s experience walking solo to the South Pole

(00:13:34) – Erling’s expeditions across the Atlantic and to the North and South Poles

(00:21:15) – Erling’s struggle with dyslexia, and how reading became an important part of his life

(00:24:23) – How Erling dove into philosophy

(00:29:51) – On how Erling got into book publishing, the publishing process at Kagge Forlag

(00:47:55) – Why moving slowly is better than speeding through life, and how walking plays into that

(01:01:01) – Erling’s daily rituals

ABOUT ERLING KAGGE

Erling Kagge is a man of many firsts. The New York Times has described Erling as a philosophical adventurer, or perhaps an adventurous philosopher. In 1990, Erling and his expedition partner Børge Ousland became the first people to ever reach the North Pole unsupported. Over the course of 58 days, they covered nearly 500 miles on skis, pulling hundreds of pounds of supplies behind them the entire way. In 1993, Erling became the first person to make a solo, completely unsupported expedition to the South Pole, where he covered over 800 miles in 50 days without any contact with the outside world. 

And in 1994, Erling summited Mount Everest, completing what's called the “Three Pole Challenge” by making it to both the North and South Poles, as well as the summit of Mount Everest. Out of those experiences, he's published multiple best selling books, including two of my all time favorites, Silence: In the Age of Noise, and Philosophy for Polar Explorers: What They Don't Teach You in School.

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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

In Episode #12, we explore technology's origins, what technology wants, and advising Steven Spielberg on Minority Report. We’re joined by Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of WIRED. We cover what technology wants, Magic Leap and virtual worlds, and Kevin’s work on Minority Report..

“What is this thing we call technology? In the cosmological sense, like, where does it fit in? How does it relate to life? And my current summary would be that it is an extension of life and therefore is not contrary to life. It's an extended version of life—and that gives me hope, because it means that we can always make a greener version of whatever we make.” – Kevin Kelly

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/kevin-kelly-outliers-show-notes 

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/kevin-kelly-outliers-transcript 

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to  technology's origins, what technology wants. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:38) – The turning point for Kevin's relationship with technology

(00:06:32) – What technology wants

(00:12:05) – General purpose vs. specialized technology

(00:17:49 – Kevin's start with Wired magazine

(00:25:59) – Magic Leap and virtual worlds

(00:34:19) – Kevin's work on Minority Report

(00:39:03) – Kevin’s newsletter, Recomendo

ABOUT KEVIN KELLY AND WIRED

Kevin Kelly was the Founding Executive Editor at WIRED magazine and is the author of multiple bestselling books, including What Technology Wants and the New York Times bestseller The Inevitable: Understanding The 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future. His perspectives of science and technology have been featured in the New York Times, The Economist, and Time Magazine.

Kevin helped shape the world of Minority Report as a futurist advisor to Stephen Spielberg, and he helped dream up the gestural interface shown in the film, which is something we talk about a little bit in the interview. Today, Kevin publishes a weekly newsletter called Recomendo as well as the weekly podcast, Cool Tools.

💌  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

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In Episode #11, 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

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