Most Why Not Now? guests practice gratitude and giving in both their business and personal lives. They don’t necessarily intentionally set out to do this, they just do. It’s a part of how they operate through life. In this episode I’ve pulled together a few snackable soundbites of people who offer a unique point of view on gratitude and giving. Additionally, I interview my Mom in this episode!   We start off with Adam Grant. He’s an organizational psychologist, New York Times best-selling author and the highest rated professor at Wharton. Often times we think of “giving back' as a legacy after we’ve achieved a certain level of success and expertise. Adam shares a new, more progressive, way to look at giving back. If you want to hear the entire interview with Adam you can go here or find Episode 22 on iTunes.   Next up is Matt Mullenweg. He’s the founder and CEO of Automatic which is the parent company of Wordpress which powers 28% of the internet. Matt is one of my favorite people to learn from. Matt talks about how gratitude for everything from small to big things can be a strategy for letting go. If you want to hear the entire interview with Matt you can go here or find Episode 37 on iTunes.   Next we hear from Amy Purdy, a Paralympian snowboard champion who Oprah calls a hero. At age 19, she was given a 2% chance to live after being diagnosed with meningitis. She has gone on to defy all the odds and in this clip she talks about a recent threat to her health once again and how she uses gratitude as a strategy. If you want to hear the entire interview with Amy you can go here or find Episode 36 on iTunes.   And last but not least, I have a very special guest on the show. My mom! She’s been working up her courage to come on the show and I’m excited to share. RuthAnn Jensen is an entrepreneur who lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She’s the co-founder of Copper Canyon Lodge, a wedding venue and lodging business, and she shares what it was like to start her first company in her 50’s. She’s one of my favorite people on the planet and I’m beyond grateful for her.

Follow RuthAnn Jensen's Copper Canyon Lodge on Facebook, Instagram and her company's website.

 

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By age 18, Dr. Tererai Trent was a mother of four and she had no education. She wrote her dreams down on a piece of paper and buried it in the earth to grow. Today, Tererai has her Ph.D and she’s built 11 schools for girls in Zimbabwe where she's from.

In this episode, we learn about two types of hunger. The Little Hunger, which is what you seek for instant gratification, and The Great Hunger, which is what gives your life purpose. Tererai walks us through how to identify our Great Hunger.

Her new book, The Awakened Woman, has a chapter called Reclaiming your voice. I ask Tererai about her thoughts on the current paradigm shift we’re witnessing with women breaking their silence. She has a unique point-of-view on how women can choose to be accountable for contributing toward a solution versus being pegged as a victim.

• Tererai talks about the moment she decided to write her dreams down and bury them. Why did she do this and what was her thought-process.
• The question you should ask yourself if you want to identify your Great Hunger which will make your life more meaningful.
• What happened when Dr. Tererai went on The Oprah Show.
• Tererai's perspective on the current groundswell of women speaking up.
• What Tererai did after Oprah told her she doesn't write book forewards. (Eventually she wrote one for Tererai.)
• Advice Tererai would give to her younger self.

 

Learn more about Tererai: https://tererai.org/

Follow Tererai: https://www.instagram.com/tereraitrent/

 

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Dr. Gay Hendricks has been a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and bodymind transformation for more than 45 years. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford and served as Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado for 21 years. Gay has written more than 40 books, two of my favorites include The Big Leap and Five Wishes. He has appeared on more than 500 radio and TV shows including Oprah, CNN, CNBC and others. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with Gay recently and his wisdom is unmatched. Most voices of authority in this realm stick with the academic theory but Gay has a beautiful way of blending and weaving through his life experiences into his teachings as well.

• How an argument with a mate led to Gay's Why Not Now? moment which allowed him to identify a pattern and it changed his life.
• The three sacred things Gay decided he wanted in a relationship.
• Gay shares the four steps that allow you to solve any problem.
• The danger of unexpressed creative potential.

 

Learn more about Gay: https://hendricks.com/

Follow Gay: https://www.instagram.com/hendricks.gay/

 

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Maren Kate Donovan has some invaluable advice to offer as a result of her personal experience. In 2015, Maren was running her company, Zirtual, which had an $11-million run-rate and appeared to be very healthy. Due to some factors that Maren speaks about very candidly in this episode, the company suddenly came to a halt and had to let go of all its 400+ employees. How does this type of situation happen overnight? Maren will explain. She also talks about what she did next and how she got through the situation. As I’ve mentioned many times on the show, I feel strongly that entrepreneurs share their stories and lessons in order to pay them forward so other people can avoid the same mistakes. I appreciate Maren being vulnerable and doing just that.

Notes from this episode:

• How a Why Not Now? moment led to Maren starting her first company.
• Maren talks about the process of raising money and its impact on the core business daily operations.
• What it means to be "growing broke" and how to prevent the situation.
• Maren explains the three factors that brought Zirtual down.
• What Maren did to recover from the intense situation.
• Maren's new company and the very first step she took when deciding to green light her idea.
• What keeps Maren up at night.

Follow Maren: https://www.instagram.com/marenkate/

 

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CJ Prober is the COO of GoPro. The GoPro brand is beloved by their customers and fans. What many of us don’t know is that after going public a couple years ago, GoPro took a downward turn and they struggled on Wall Street to a point where CJ himself said they "were in crisis mode". This January, CJ took the COO helm at GoPro and he was tasked with turning the ship around. No pressure, right? Imagine that. CJ talks very honestly about this process, what caused the struggle for the company and what they did to turn their numbers around. Prior to GoPro, CJ was an executive at Electronic Arts. I asked CJ what has been the most interesting use of GoPro he’s witnessed and … it’s pretty unique! You’ll have to hear about it from him.

 

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Kate Fagan is an ESPN sports reporter and author. She recently wrote the book titled, What made Maddy Run. After I read it I asked her to come on the show. The book is about Madison Holleran, who was a college freshman that appeared to have it all. She was a University of Pennsylvania track athlete, a great student and she had a ton of friends and family that loved her dearly. According to her Instagram feed, her life looked perfect. That’s why Maddy’s death by suicide shocked everyone around her. Kate dives into Maddy’s story and sheds a different light on mental health. We talk through the role social media may have played along with other factors. Kate helps us understand the struggle of young people suffering from mental illness today.

• Kate talks about a Why Not Now? moment that instilled fear and how she's grateful for that feeling.
• Kate shares her experience in writing the book, What Made Maddy Run.
• After a great deal of research, Kate talks about the fact that there isn't one solo factor that caused Maddy's situation.
• Kate and I talk about the role social media plays in the overall mental health of our society.
• What keeps Kate up at night?
• Pirates or Ninjas? Who's tougher according to Kate?
• What advice would Kate tell her younger self?

Learn more about Kate: http://www.bykatefagan.com/

Follow Kate: https://www.instagram.com/katefagan3/

 

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Van Jones is a CNN political contributor, NY Times best-selling author and he worked in the White House as an advisor to President Obama. He’s known for being the voice of reason for both red and blue states during the 2016 election. Van has a brand new book out called Beyond The Messy Truth. He’s a social entrepreneur, a Yale-educated attorney and he’s been deemed one of the most influential people in the world according to TIME Magazine. I’ve recently gotten to know Van and I have a strong appreciation for his ability to serve as a bridge for opposing opinions. We need a lot more of that in this world.

• Van talks about why he believes America is so divided and what we can do to begin bridging the divide.
• The unique circumstances that led Van to meeting Prince (the artist) and becoming very close friends.
• Van describes what it was like leaving the White House and what he did immediately following.
• Why Van has both Republican and Democratic Presidential Candidates endorsing his book.
• Van shares his perspective on gun laws.
• Pirates or Ninjas. Who's tougher?
• What keeps Van up at night?
• What advice would Van tell his younger self?

 

Learn more about Van: http://vanjones.net/

Follow Van: https://www.instagram.com/vanjones68/

 

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In this episode Christian Schauf and I dissect his experience on Shark Tank to pitch his Uncharted Supply Co. From the steps he took to get on the show to his strategy for making it in front of the sharks, what it’s like to be standing behind those intimidating double doors before you walk into the tank and what the process was really like behind the scenes. Christian has been to Iraq 40x bringing music and entertainment to the troops, he started a cider company, a survival products company and he’s toured as a musician among other things. He might just be the World’s most interesting man.

• Christian shares that most of his Why Not Now? moments have been to let something go or stop doing something in order to make space for something new.
• Christian talks about the power of entrepreneurs identifying open Market Space vs. looking at a crowded Market Place.
• Christian has had a colorful journey, involved in a diverse set of industries. We talk about his zone of genius vs. zone of excellence.
• What's it like to go through the Shark Tank experience? How did Christian get on the show? What was his strategy and what was the process like?
• Christian shares a new Why Not Now? that nobody has ever talked about on the show and it has nothing to do with business.
• Pirates or Ninjas, who's tougher according to Christian?
• What advice would Christian give his younger self?

Follow Christian on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN & Facebook and his company's website, Uncharted Supply Co.

 

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Ross Martin has one of the most creative and strategic minds out there. He spent 13 years as a top executive at Viacom and recently started his own agency, Blackbird. Ross has guided countless household name brands, helping them innovate and create impact. I never know what guests are going to say when I ask them to share their Why not now moment. In this episode, Ross exercises a "Why Not Now?” moment on the show and shares a few really tough experiences that he hasn’t talked about before publicly.

• Ross talks about Operating Systems vs. Belief Systems. What's the difference? Why do you need a belief system?
• A very rare diagnosis leaves Ross in a place where the sound of his own voice was too much to bare.
• Ross shares the building blocks of his identity, purpose and mission.
• Ross talks about having "bodies of work" vs. linear career paths.

 

Learn more about Ross: https://www.rossmartin.com/

Follow Ross: https://www.instagram.com/rossmartin/

 

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Dan Reynolds is the Imagine Dragons front man and lead vocalist. The band has sold more than 27 million singles and 9 million albums. Their recent album, Evolve, went gold in less than a month and it continues to rise as they tour the globe. They’re kinda a big deal. But they haven’t always been. Dan shares things in this show that he hasn't talked about publicly before. If you want a glimpse behind the curtains and get to know the down-to-earth person behind the rockstar, you’re in for a treat.

• The Why Not Now? moment when Dan decided to drop out of college and pursue music full time.
• Dan talks about the phase before the fame when the band hustled and played in Las Vegas lounges.
• The various non-musical routes Dan explored during college.
• The very first song Dan wrote in middle school.
• We dissect the song 'Thunder' on the new Evolve album and talk through the meaning.
• The evolution of the band name. It wasn't always 'cool' and some of Dan's friends made fun of the name.
• Dan talks about going through a spiritual crisis and how it led to a massive realization.
• What Dan attributes to him having the healthiest year of his life.
• Dan's current Why Not Now? decision to be a vocal ally for the LGBTQ community as a spotlighted Mormon.

 

Learn more about Dan: https://www.imaginedragonsmusic.com/

Follow Dan: https://www.instagram.com/danreynolds/

 

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