The Importance of Being Dirty: Lessons from Mike Rowe
Photo credit: Michael Segal
“Just because you love something doesn’t mean you can’t suck at it.” – Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) is perhaps the best storyteller and pitchman I’ve ever had on the show.
You might know Mike from his eight seasons of Dirty Jobs, but that’s just a tiny piece of the story.
His performing career began in 1984 when he faked his way into the Baltimore Opera to get his union card and meet girls, both of which he accomplished during a performance of Rigoletto. His transition to television occurred in 1990 when — to settle a bet — he auditioned for the QVC Shopping Channel and was promptly hired after talking about a pencil for nearly eight minutes. There, he worked the graveyard shift for three years, until he was ultimately fired for making fun of products and belittling viewers. Now, he is a massively successful TV host, writer, narrator, producer, actor, and spokesman.
Why listen to this episode? You will learn:
Secrets of the perfect pitch
How Mike flew around the world for free (until he got caught)
Why to pursue opportunity instead of passion
How being different can help you win in business and life
The business of Mike Rowe
Favorite books, voice-over artists, and much, much more…
If you’re in a rush and just want a fantastic 5-minute story about his selling pencils for the QVC audition, click here.
Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast from someone transforming the way we enjoy modern storytelling? — Listen to my conversation with Dan Carlin of Hardcore History. In this episode, we discuss his meditation practice, morning routines, and creative process (stream below or right-click here to download):
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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What did you do after high school? How do you feel that decision impacted your life? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Five Complete Travis McGee Novels by John D. MacDonald
A Curious Discovery by John Hendricks
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
Dune by Frank Herbert
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
A Walk in the Woods, The Lost Continent, At Home and In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
Levels of the Game and Giving Good Weight by John McPhee
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (on Audible)
About Face by Colonel David Hackworth and Julie Sherman
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
The Baron In The Trees by Italo Calvino
Listen to Dan Carlin’s Wrath of the Khans or Blueprint for Armageddon I
Learn more about Samasource
Listen to Mike Rowe’s Podcast:
iTunes | Stitcher | Google Play
Connect with Mike Rowe:
MikeRowe.com | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Foundation
Show Notes
Dirty Jobs and the surprising respectability of biting the balls off a sheep [7:22]
Developing the skill of impromptu performance [15:40]
How Mike Rowe started working at QVC [18:30]
Describing the QVC audition process and selling a pencil [21:00]
The distinguishing characteristics of the best sellers on QVC [24:12]
How Mike Rowe was fired from QVC three times [29:18]
American Airlines and unlimited access to first class travel [32:57]
On being a sanguine freelancer from the age of 28 to 42 [39:24]
When hubris led to a change [42:44]
On selling Dirty Jobs to Discovery and the authenticity critical to the show’s success [46:22]
Constraints, antagonists, and parameters for creative projects [57:06]
The Ford project [1:00:31]
Pursuing opportunities when you’re not passionate about the projects [1:02:41]
Daily practices or morning rituals [1:07:27]
Procrastination and managing distractions [1:09:38]
Most gifted books [1:13:34]
Most astonishing narration work [1:24:16]
While William Shatner was always ahead of his time [1:29:06]
Why do great storytellers find it hard to tell their own stories [1:33:07]
On starting “The Way I Heard It,” Mike Rowe’s podcast [1:39:22]
When you think of the word “successful,” who is the first person who comes to mind and why? [1:50:02]
If you could have a billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say? [1:50:55]
If you could have every high-school graduate in the US read/watch/consume 2-3 things, what would you prescribe? [1:55:41]
Advice to your 30-year-old self [2:10:56]
People Mentioned
Jeff Corwin
John Hendricks
Morgan Freeman
James Earl Jones
Peter Coyote
Ray Donovan
Liev Schreiber
Sally Kellerman
Orson Welles
William “Bill” Shatner
Paul Harvey
Ira Glass
Bruno Mars
