Guy Raz — Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs, The Story of ‘How I Built This,’ Overcoming Anxiety and Depression, and More (#462)
Illustration via 99designs“There is a natural skepticism that you develop as a journalist, which I think is important. But oftentimes that develops into cynicism.”
— Guy Raz
Guy Raz (@guyraz) is the Michael Phelps of podcasting. He’s the creator and host of the popular podcasts How I Built This, Wisdom from the Top, and The Rewind and the co-creator of the acclaimed podcasts TED Radio Hour and Wow in the World, a children’s program. He’s received the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize, the National Headliner Award, the NABJ Award… basically, all the awards.
His brand-new book is titled How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs. Past podcast guest Adam Grant has this to say about it: “[This book is] the mother of all entrepreneurship memoirs. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to start a business, grow a business, or be inspired by those who do.”
Please enjoy!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Brought to you by Wealthfront, Pique Tea, and LinkedIn Jobs. More on all three below.
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
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#462: Guy Raz — Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs, The Story of 'How I Built This,' Overcoming Anxiety and Depression, and Morehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/730f0636-dedf-4391-841d-68c3d384b60d.mp3Download
This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront pioneered the automated investing movement, sometimes referred to as ‘robo-advising,’ and they currently oversee $20 billion of assets for their clients. It takes about three minutes to sign up, and then Wealthfront will build you a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your risk appetite and manage it for you at an incredibly low cost.
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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
Want to hear my interview with an entrepreneur mentioned in this episode? Check out my conversation with Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb. In this wide-ranging and hilarious interview, Joe shares the decisions, hardship, failures, and successes that prepared him for Airbnb.
#301: Joe Gebbia — Co-Founder of Airbnbhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/11e79eb4-52eb-4b06-b114-23ac7961924d.mp3Download
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Connect with Guy Raz:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz
How I Built This with Guy Raz | NPR
Wow in the World | NPR
TED Radio Hour | NPR
Wisdom From The Top | Luminary
The Rewind with Guy Raz | Spotify
Meet the Press | NBC
Steve Madden | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Tim Ferriss: How Can We Become Comfortable With Discomfort? | TED Radio Hour, NPR
Serial
The Power of Myth — The Hero’s Adventure with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers | The Tim Ferriss Show #456
Star Wars: A New Hope | Prime Video
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Odyssey by Homer
Harry Potter Books 1-7 by J.K. Rowling
Ring: Jamie Siminoff | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
The Frog 1/10 Re-Release | Tamiya USA
Chicken Salad Chick: Stacy Brown | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
How I Built Resilience: Live with Stewart Butterfield and Steve Holmes | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Starbucks: Howard Schultz | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
How ASMR Became a Sensation | The New York Times
Code Switch | NPR
Planet Money | NPR
Throughline | NPR
Loser by Beck | Amazon Music
The Home Depot
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Guy Raz, Host of NPR’s “How I Built This,” on Entrepreneurship and Business | Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
School Shootings In Newtown, Connecticut | NPR
Objectivity | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
All Things Considered | NPR
How the Tea Party Turned the Media’s ‘Liberal Bias’ | The Guardian
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) | Don Quijote
A Portrait of Bush as a Victim of His Own Certitude | The New York Times
What is Bayesian Analysis? | International Society for Bayesian Analysis
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Moscow Trials | Wikipedia
What the Myth of Faust Can Teach Us | BBC Culture
Why the World Should Not Forget Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields of Cambodia | The Washington Post
You’re an Adult. Your Brain, Not So Much. | The New York Times
Washington City Paper
Andrew Solomon: Why Is It So Hard To Talk About Depression? | 3-Minute Listen, NPR
Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide | tim.blog
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) | Mayo Clinic
Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello
Rediscovering Life: Awaken to Reality by Anthony de Mello
Tim Ferriss: Why You Should Define Your Fears Instead of Your Goals | TED 2017
The Pulitzer Prizes
Fellowships | Nieman Foundation
WBUR | Boston
Case Studies | Harvard Business Publishing Education
Case Studies | Stanford Graduate School of Business
La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Guy Raz, Host of NPR’s “How I Built This,” on What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur | Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
Walker & Company: Tristan Walker | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Grooming Products Specifically Designed for Sensitive Skin | Bevel
Shark Tank | ABC
How to Increase Your Luck Surface Area | Codus Operandi
Southwest Airlines: Herb Kelleher | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Serial Entrepreneur: Mark Cuban | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Spanx: Sara Blakely | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ Launches Exclusive Partnership with Spotify | Spotify
Radiolab | NPR
Invisibilia | NPR
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
Income Inequality in the San Francisco Bay Area | NPR
Gotham City | Batman Wiki
Still Booming: San Francisco’s Oldest Businesses | SFGate
1848 California Gold Discovery | Coloma, California
Belkin International: Chet Pipkin | How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Tinkercast
Uber Lost $8.5 Billion in 2019, but It Thinks It Can Get Profitable by the End of 2020 | The Verge
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Tim Ferriss
SHOW NOTES
Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.
Is Guy willing to come to this interview and surrender? What are some of the things he’s found helpful for putting interviewees at ease?
As a lifelong journalist, what does the prep work for one of Guy’s podcasts look like? During the research phase, how does he find information not commonly known to the general public, and how might it affect the outcome of an interview?
Since Guy can be somewhat self-effacing, how might his wife explain why How I Built This became as popular as it has become?
How did the name for How I Built This come about?
Why was the period between 2009 and 2012 such a turning point for Guy (and, to a larger extent, the state of journalism)?
What is it that makes George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia and Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon especially revealing about the human condition to Guy?
How has Guy’s relationship with depression changed over time?
What factors were involved in Guy’s decision to stop taking antidepressants after relying on them for five years?
How did Guy make the transition from serious military correspondent to NPR host — especially after being told he didn’t have the right personality for it?
How did the Nieman Journalism Fellowship at Harvard help transform Guy’s outlook on an industry he’d been part of for his entire professional life? What would he recommend to anyone who wants to break out of a professional or personal rut?
How Guy’s wife performed a journaling intervention to help him get some sleep one night when his anxiety was being particularly relentless, and what he noticed when he read that passage three months later.
What does Guy believe separates wildly successful entrepreneurs from the masses?
We each share a story about times when we’ve seen Ring’s Jamie Siminoff work to, as Jason Roberts would say, increase his luck surface area.
Habits, practices, and characteristics Guy has picked up from his countless interviews over the years.
What does Guy think the podcasting landscape will look like in two or three years?
What stories and lessons from Guy’s book, How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success From The World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs does he think will still resonate in a few years’ time?
In what ways is Guy conducting business beyond the world of podcasting?
What would Guy cover if he were to give a TED Talk about something for which he’s not already well-known?
What would Guy’s billboard say?
Parting thoughts.
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Dick Tracy
Steve Madden
Mother Teresa
Hannah Raz
Richard Branson
Joseph Campbell
Bill Moyers
George Lucas
Gilgamesh
Harry Potter
Jamie Siminoff
Stacy Brown
Stewart Butterfield
Howard Schultz
Ramtin Arablouei
Beck
Barack Obama
George Orwell
Christopher Hitchens
Francisco Franco
George W. Bush
Arthur Koestler
Joseph Stalin
Faust
Pol Pot
Tom Cruise
Anthony de Mello
Todd Carmichael
Tristen Walker
Herb Kelleher
Mark Cuban
Sarah Blakely
Joe Rogan
Dan Carlin
Genghis Khan
Levi Strauss
Henry Wells
William Fargo
Domingo Ghirardelli
John Sutter
Juice Wrld
Clark Kent
