Big Questions With Cal Fussman

Big Questions celebrates its one-year anniversary with takeaways from guests over the last year. Kobe Bryant explains how excellence transfers across all pursuits. Seth Godin describes how to think beyond the societal patterns that can knock us off balance. Larry King gets at the importance of communicating your own story. Nely Galan shares how pain can be turned into profit. Spartan CEO Joe DeSena describes the start of his plan to make the world healthy. Navy Seal commander turned podcaster Jocko Willink offers wisdom on the value of knowing your limitations. Best-selling author Dan Pink reveals the benefits of taking a break while Ryan Holiday talks about the value of exercise in coming up with new ideas. Record-breaking long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad illustrates how to improve with age. Best-selling author Alex Banayan tells a story about the value of role models. Mick Ebeling prepares to stop the tremors caused by Parkinson’s Disease. And Tim Ferriss steps in to celebrate the day Big Questions came abo

This episode speaks to anyone who meets an unexpected and unwanted twist of fate. When Dr. Guatam Gulati takes his family on a dream of a lifetime safari in Africa, he joins a group of Maasai warriors in a tribal dance and, after landing from a jump, finds himself in excruciating pain, and his left kneecap no longer where it used to be. It’s now in his thigh. It’s dark, the only light for miles comes from the stars above and a nearby campfire. The road to recovery is longer than anyone can imagine. It makes for a tremendous story, that showcases the power of friendship, resourcefulness and determination. And, in the end, reminds us all what is important in life.

The story of Alex’s bestselling book, The Third Door, continues in this episode. The journey started seven years ago, when Alex was a college freshman, going through a mini life crisis when he realized he wasn’t cut out to be a doctor and would be disappointing his family. Alex began to wonder about the meaning of success. What were the most successful people doing when they were his age? That question led him on a path to find out by meeting Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Stephen Spielberg and many others. It also led him to meet Larry King and Cal when Alex discovered he needed to learn how to interview these people and write up the adventure. For five years, Cal mentored Alex through the project. Just before the book was released, Cal and Alex talked about the journey on Big Questions (episode 42). But even Cal was surprised to learn about all that Alex had to go through when the book was finally launched and became a bestseller. The sequel is an amazing story of resilience and triumph.

It’s holiday season and the perfect time for a podcast about gifts. The story of an extraordinary gift – a very special piano – is a favorite of Cal’s and will bring good cheer to all who listen. The story revolves around songwriter Jimmy McHugh, who was highly successful until the stock market crash in 1929 that set off The Great Depression. McHugh was forced to sell everything he owned to survive, and the loss of his piano left him unable to work because he could no longer write songs without one. He moved into a flat and was sleeping on a straw mattress, wondering how he was going to get through the calamity. And then, a gift came along that changed his life, and a lot of other lives. That gift – an upright piano – led McHugh to write an optimistic song that helped America get through The Depression. The song turned into an anthem. It’s called: On the Sunny Side of the Street. It would come to be performed by Frank Sinatra, Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Rod Stewart, and the lesson in the lyrics is j

For 11 years, Jordan Harbinger was the voice of The Art of Charm podcast that got up to 3 million listens a month. Then, not long ago, Jordan and his partners split and Jordan was out on his own and having a hard time sleeping. This is the story of his comeback. The Jordan Harbinger Show is bigger than ever – receiving 4 million listens a month. Jordan explains to Cal what it takes to make a business comeback. This is also a cautionary tale for anyone who is about to enter a partnership, business marriage, marriage or even a band. Things often don’t work out for reasons that just aren’t apparent at the beginning – or because the parties avoid them once they’re apparent. There is plenty of cautionary advice here. But ultimately, this episode is about the triumph of human connection.

Cal finds out how a man who worked on the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit for 24 years incorporates what he learned on the job into day-to-day life. Cal’s biggest take-away is that people who are good at asking questions have the essential elements to negotiate well. Many of the characteristics inherent in successful interviewing apply – especially mastery of tone of voice and observation of body language. Negotiation, Cal learns, is a perishable skill and must be honed every day. Voss, now the CEO of the negotiation training company Black Swan, shows Cal how a misplaced piece of luggage at the airport can be a great opportunity to practice. And how careful listening can get you where you want to go in life.

From sharing a couch for almost two months to challenging Will Smith to bungee jump out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, three young guys from different places around the world form bonds that create an ever-deepening friendship. Ammar Kandil, Thomas Brag and Matt Dajer go on adventures that define the group’s name: Yes Theory. They say yes to tasks that make them uncomfortable, and the difficulties they encounter lead to authenticity – which intensifies their friendship. They film everything they encounter in their path and produce mini-documentaries for their Youtube Channel – attracting millions of viewers. As soon as the conversation starts, Cal instantly feels like a friend to these best of friends.

The star of the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt talks with Cal at Chicago Ideas Week about the art of being funny in an age when tastes are quickly shifting. Cal points out that the humor which made people laugh when he was a kid might not resonate with the current generation and in many cases would be seen as politically incorrect. With culture shifting generationally and our political divide, how does one find the sweet spot to strike a mass audience? Ellie does it naturally. Cal wonders if he can learn.

The former CEO of Home Depot shows Cal how he used questions and conversations to lift the fortunes of the company between 2007 and 2014. But this was only after he observed how questions could be used as traps, tests or even look like a “live wire in a wet basement” in political, legal and corporate settings during the decades before. This is an authentic conversation that, at times, surprised both Frank and Cal, and took place in front of attendees at the two12 conference in Vail, Colorado.  

The author of the New York Times best-seller When joins Cal at Chicago Big Ideas week and gives him advice on the best time of the day to eat, exercise and hold meetings. Not to mention the worst time of day to make important decisions. He also explains to Cal how people will be watching television and consuming podcasts at different times and in different ways, and why it’s wise to think about serving up Big Questions in a new format. The takeaways in this episode may make you decide to live your life in a new way.

Cal talks with Rob Lawless about the changes in travel since Cal went around the world back in the 80s. Whereas Cal used magazine work to get his journey off the ground and then was passed around the world by the people he met, Rob now uses the Internet to keep his trip going. Rob has a goal of talking with 10,000 people for an hour. He makes Instagram posts after each meeting, and pushes the journey along through tech partnerships with companies that overlap with his mission. He sets up conversations with four people each day via the Internet. Now 27, Rob will be 37 when he meets the 10,000th person and completes his mission. Cal is now one of those friends. This conversation looks at the differences between travel back when there were no cell-phones and personal computers and now where contacts can be made and new friends can be located months in advance through the Internet. The ultimate takeaway here is that travel is always doable, you just have to figure out how it can work for YOU.

Aston Martin’s president tells Cal about the circuitous journey that took her from jumping rope as a girl in Louisville, to the tennis team at Notre Dame, to law school, to working three jobs to make ends meet at age 27, all the way to the top of the iconic British car company. And then she made Cal feel like James Bond when she put him behind the wheel of an Aston Martin. Takeaways: -Work ethic goes a long way -Risk taking that defined Schwab's career -Finding the right mentors -Getting the most out of being in the right place at the right time -Making it all fun

The Grammy Award-winning saxophone player gets to the essence of the way we can all get the most out of our lives through the art of being awake. From the time he was a boy who’d contracted polio and found the saxophone to improve the strength of his lungs, David Sanborn has been making a series of connections that evolved into an extraordinary life and career. There are many takeaways in the art of awareness, including paying attention to the moment of your calling to overcoming addiction, along with the constant drive to get the most out of your passion – which has led him to create the Sanborn Sessions. A sample can be found on Facebook @DavidSanbornOfficial.

Cal meets the best-selling author at an entrepreneurial conference in Colorado called two12 and becomes highly curious as to how Ryan can be a writer and ALSO an expert at marketing books, as well as positioning companies. Generally, when a person has one of those talents or skills, he or she is lacking in the other area. Cal finds out exactly how Ryan became The Full House in a conversation that will benefit anyone trying to create a piece of art or a business. There are many takeaways in this episode, especially for people who are coming up with ideas for a new business, or taking their business through obstacles. Ryan is, after all, the author of The Obstacle Is The Way. And some of the advice he offered to the entrepreneurs at two12 can be scooped up right here on Big Questions.

When Cal asks the conservative talk show host about the roots of his new book, Addicted to Outrage, Glenn goes back to his childhood to explain the events that made him who he is. Beck reflects upon his mother’s suicide when he was 15 as the moment that turned him toward alcohol to deaden his pain. His inability to even mention his mother or her death in the home of his father and stepmother led him toward the microphone to release the emotions and thoughts that were bottled up inside him. His career behind the mic took him to CNN, FOX and the groundbreaking move to start his own subscription Internet TV network back in 2011. When Beck came to grips with the fact that some of the rhetoric that made him famous was also dividing the nation, he takes a clear look at himself and begins his book with a phrase that would normally be heard in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting: “Hello, My Name is Glenn, and I Am Addicted to Outrage.” “I know it is tough to even think about being part of the problem,” he continues, “but

Cal finds there can be life after one’s heart stops beating. Chip Conley tells him what it was like to flatline at age of 47, how he recovered and went on to sell his boutique hotel company, which put him in the surprising place where he could mentor Brian Chesky and a group of millennials who’d founded Airbnb. The combination of young minds and the wisdom of Chip’s experience in hospitality made history. Airbnb has transformed travel across the planet, reinventing the hotel industry by allowing people to rent out their homes and apartments in 80,000 cities in 190 countries around the world. Conley has taken the lessons from this experience and set them in his newly-released book, Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder. In this episode, he shows Cal the benefits that mentorship can have for both those with youth and age. The takeaways are life-changing, and needed now more than any other time in history. As the author Yuval Noah Harari writes in his most recent book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century: “If

Cal reconnects with the man who had the World Trade Center fall on his head and finds the lessons he learned even more powerful over time. The two reflect upon the conversation they had shortly after Michael survived the deadliest attack on American soil. That conversation was turned into a noted Esquire Magazine story published in Michael’s own words in the January 2002 issue. The takeaways in this episode are vast. Michael has lived through the type of experience that most of us will never know - and has come to understand life in ways that most of us were never forced to ponder. Yet, in the end, his voice is positive and reflective and offers insight to all of us on how to move forward from the most difficult of experiences.

As Cal tries to expand awareness of his podcast, he gets tips from the author of the just-released book entitled: Belong: Find Your People, Create Community and live a more Connected Life. Radha is the founder of Daybreaker – an early morning celebration that allows people all over the world to start the day by meeting others, dancing, doing yoga and listening to great speakers in a non-alcohol environment before going off to work. Cal was startled to learn that Radha has built her Daybreaker community from scratch to half a million people. And even more astounded to learn that 1 in every 4 Americans does not have a friend to confide in. Radha’s book offers suggestions to all on the art of connection. Anyone with a business, podcast or blog who’s interested in increasing her or his audience will get many takeaways from this episode. And those feeling a bit left out will get tips on how to fit into the right community. The conversation gives Cal the idea to try to double the number of subscribers to Big Questi

Kevin tells Cal how mental illness pushed him to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco 18 years ago – and how he survived only because a sea lion kept him propped up on the water’s surface. Kevin became one of only a few people to walk away from such a fall, and the chain of events that followed led him to find the love of his life, and his work helping all of us to understand mental illness.   His fight contributed to the creation of a barrier on The Golden Gate Bridge that will stop others from committing suicide there in the future. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Whatever your difficulties, never count yourself out. Never. Never. Never. Simply reaching out to somebody you notice in emotional pain might save his or her life. And how a 23-second hug can change your day.   That's just for starters . . . 

As the fifth anniversary of Diana Nyad’s record-breaking swim between Cuba and Florida approaches, Diana explains to Cal what it took to make the 110-mile journey in 2013 at the age 64. (This episode contains explicit or triggering content.) The Youtube video that shows Diana taking her first shaky steps on land at Key West after swimming for roughly 53 consecutive hours in waters filled with sharks and poisonous jellyfish is a profound place to start. The takeaways in this episode get to the essence of the quote: “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm.” Diana had tried to make the same swim four times before, beginning in 1978 at the age of 28. Her triumph on the fifth attempt highlights not only her dogged persistence, but a joyful appreciation for nature that gave her a lightness which enabled her to do at 64 what she couldn’t at 28. The story of her sexual abuse as a teen, and the guilt and confusion that followed, ultimately leads to a lesson in how to find