Big Questions with Cal Fussman

Listeners of Big Questions who first heard Cal tell stories on Tim Ferriss's podcast often reach out to Cal and ask him to tell more stories. Cal's Santa Suit story goes back almost a quarter of a century and is timed perfectly to the season. There's plenty of laughs and merriment, along with a takeaway that if you wait out a string of bad luck, there will be prosperous days ahead.

Cal sits with his pal after a party thrown by the Friars Club commemorated a birthday that many thought Larry might not be around to celebrate. For many months, Larry battled a series of major illnesses that nearly took his life. But Larry's indomitable will kept him going. Now he's out of the hospital, and working again. A look back at an extraordinary evening becomes Cal's most memorable podcast.

Cal catches up with his pal, Gator Halpern, months after 200-mile-an-hour winds and a 25-foot tidal wave by the name of Hurricane Dorian whipped into The Bahamas and destroyed the coral farm Gator established to save the reefs that protect the shores. Part of the reason we're seeing this storm damage year after year is the weakening of our barrier reefs – which Gator is fighting to fend off. He's developed a technology to grow coral 50 times faster than it would ordinarily, and he can put it through boot camp so that it will survive as the temperature of the oceans rise. This is the story of ferocious destruction and an unyielding spirit that fights on to heal the planet. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to give thanks for that spirit.

Cal sits with his old pal, Tom Junod, after they see a preview of the upcoming movie about the children's television host that stars Tom Hanks. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is based on the Esquire Magazine cover story that Junod wrote in 1998, and Junod's friendship with Mr. Rogers in the years that followed. While the film creates a tortured relationship between Junod and his dad to advance the plot, there was actually tremendous tension in Tom's life as a writer for Esquire when the story was published that was not known even to his closest friends. Cal was startled, at times, during this talk with his friend of three decades – a conversation that will allow everyone to see the upcoming movie in a new light.

Summit events have impacted countless lives through the power of connection – as they've grown from a gathering of 20 entrepreneurs back in 2008 into a community of 20,000 today. Billion-dollar companies have gotten off the ground because of friendships made at Summit events. Academy-award winning films have been created out of bonds formed at Summit. The collaborative spirit became fully apparent to Cal when he was invited to give a talk at a Summit event four years ago. That talk changed Cal's life and ultimately led to the creation of this podcast. Cal catches up with Jeff Rosenthal, one of the four founders, to talk about the thinking that turned Summit from a single event to a home for entrepreneurs on Powder Mountain in Utah . . . and all the positive social causes embraced along the way.

Cal sits with investment guru Charles Schwab on the stage at the Money 2020 conference in Las Vegas to discuss the philosophies behind his success and how all of us need to look at retirement in an age when we may live 20 years longer than we expected. Plenty of takeaways from the man who's gotten through a series of stock market bubbles while increasing the value of his company 21,000 percent over the last three decades. You read that right. Twenty-one thousand percent!

Cal gets together with Dr. Reagan Anderson for a look at the difficulties of being a doctor in this day and age. This is a conversation that everyone in America needs to hear. On average, one doctor commits suicide in the United States every day – which is the highest suicide rate of any profession. Reagan served as a surgeon for the U.S. military in Iraq and is now a dermatologist with a clinic in Colorado Springs – and he senses some profound overlaps. Even as health care provides daily miracles, Reagan shows Cal the difficulties and pressures created by the system, and why we need to rethink it. Your takeaway is to ask your doctor how she or he is doing. We need to care for the people care for us. Or else who is going to care for us in the future?

While doing a storytelling workshop, Cal meets Shirzad Chamine, the chairman of CTI, the largest coach and training company in the world. CTI has trained execs and managers at most of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as faculty at Yale and Stanford Business Schools. Cal is immediately enthralled with the way Shirzad uses positive energy to lift the workshop. He inquires and learns that Shirzad has a program that enables people to locate their inner saboteurs and defeat them. Cal takes the short test available to everybody over the internet and comes face to face with his own inner saboteurs. You'll find out how you can locate yours and take them down, as well.

Cal sees a report that the President has just joined the live-streaming video platform Twitch and senses that it's time to air the podcast he did with a man who advised him to jump into the future of video games. Scott Novis, formerly Vice President and General Manager of Disney Interactive, founded a company called GameTruck to bring video game parties to millions of kids. Scott tells Cal he should pay attention to the new form of communication practiced by these gamers, and Cal realizes that Scott is right when Scott asks a question that is relevant to all of us. "What can put you out of business down the road?"

Cal heard about the growth hacker who's worked with Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Michael Strahan, and also built a 7-figure social media following for himself in one month. And he figured it might be a good thing to get a glimpse of this world. But this podcast didn't turn out quite like Cal figured, as Brendan posed questions that made Cal think about what he actually wanted to do with those followers. In the end, Cal doesn't get a lesson in hauling in a million followers. He's pointed toward magnifying his possibilities through laser focus on just the right audience. That's a great takeaway for everybody.

Cal heard about the growth hacker who's worked with Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Michael Strahan, and also built a 7-figure social media following for himself in one month. And he figured it might be a good thing to get a glimpse of this world. But this podcast didn't turn out quite like Cal figured, as Brendan posed questions that made Cal think about what he actually wanted to do with those followers. In the end, Cal doesn't get a lesson in hauling in a million followers. He's pointed toward magnifying his possibilities through laser focus on just the right audience. That's a great takeaway for everybody.

Cal learns what can be accomplished when the right two people come together as he gets to the essence of his sponsor: Sportiqe. Matt Altman and Jason Franklin, two guys who grew up thousands of miles apart, trace the backstory of their clothing company with moments that touch back on Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, the great Chicago Bulls teams with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson, and much more. So many serendipitous moments are woven together, and they all seem to prove that when passion, the right complimentary skill sets and hard work align, the resulting success is simply meant to be.

Tim Campos doubled productivity for Facebook while he was Chief Information Officer between 2010 and 2016. Now, Tim tries to do the same for Cal by introducing him to his latest project: Woven. Woven is a state-of-the-art digital calendar that we can all use to get the most out of our time while studying the analytics behind how we're using our most precious resource. Tim's company in the testing phase and Woven is free for all who want to give it a test drive. Old school Cal puts the pedal to the metal and loves the feeling on the cutting edge.

The CEO of CatalystCreativ was the spark for a huge change in Cal's business and life — and this conversation gets to finding the essence in yourself and using it to be your best. It also applies to companies. Amanda has worked on projects with WeWork, Coca Cola, The Raiders and The Nature Conservancy, and designed a strategy that transforms businesses through meaningful engagement with customers and employees. The recipe to her company's secret sauce is detailed in her upcoming book: The Seventh Level. And this conversation will inspire everybody to look at themselves and/or their businesses through a new lens.

Cal learns he can be way more persuasive than he ever thought when he sits at The Big Table in the office of Jason Harris, the CEO of Mekanism. Jason's company has been named the small agency of the year by Ad Age. It has famously linked up with the White House under President Obama to create the "It's On Us" campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault on college campuses. And Jason's got a book out called The Soulful Art of Persuasion that a Harvard business professor has called the modern version of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you want to learn how to persuade through character as opposed to using numbers and debates, you're in the right place.

The lead singer of O.A.R. clues Cal in to the business philosophies that have kept Of A Revolution thriving for nearly a quarter of a century. Any stereotype of dreamy artists is swiftly put to rest as Marc explains the constant vigilance all the band members throw into their work to keep the seats filled and their loyal fans coming back year after year after year. These lessons are applicable not only to Cal's new business helping companies tell their stories. But they apply to anybody on the job . . . and even to parenthood.

Cal gets tips on getting all those dings, notifications and technological distractions out of his life from a man who has spent much of his career making people yearn for more technology. Many takeaways in this conversation with the author of the upcoming book, Indistractable, are about controlling your attention and leading a clearer and more focused life. It's just the advice Cal needs now that he's a CEO. Everyone who listens will come away a winner.

Cal poses the question after hearing the wondrous story of Dr. Sabrina Kay – who came to the U.S. from South Korea while in college without speaking English, started out as a janitor and began an entrepreneurial journey that took her to the cover of Fortune Magazine. By the time she'd reached her 30s, Sabrina had amassed enough wealth so that neither she – nor any of her family members – ever needed to work again. But that was only the beginning. Sabrina went on to get a master's degree at USC and a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Now, after buying Fremont College, she's reinventing the entire education system. This episode is packed with takeaways that will make you think about what you would do if never needed to work again.

Cal looks back on the most amazing thing he's ever seen in his life, August 7, 1974, when a French street performer named Philippe Petit secretly rigged a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center and walked on it 1,300 feet above the ground. There are many lessons to be learned from Philippe's feat, which took place 45 years ago, and Cal has mined for them through at least a dozen viewings of the documentary Man on Wire and the feature film called The Walk. The British mogul Richard Branson also calls Man on Wire one of his favorite films, and Cal wraps up his thoughts with a short conversation he had with Branson about what we can all take away from August 7, 1974.

That's right, Matt Pohlson. Cal sits with the founder of Omaze, a company that has helped raise $130 million for roughly 350 charities through donations made by people looking for a chance to win once in a lifetime experiences with the people they dream of meeting. Drink wine with Jennifer Lawrence. Get in a tank with Arnold Schwarzenegger and go crush things. Go on a double date with George and Amal Clooney. These events can lead to extraordinary stories. When Matt tells them they get better and better . . . and then Matt describes what it was like when he flatlined for four minutes, and came back from the edge of death, and how it changed his life. By the end, you'll see why this is one of Cal's favorite episodes.

Not long ago, the New Orleans Pelicans won the National Basketball Association's draft lottery and selected one of the most unique young talents in the league's history: Zion Williamson. As we see in this week's episode, the executive in charge of putting together that team, David Griffin, has created a life out of being around the right people. How else would an intern in a media relations department rise to running an NBA team? Griff's backstory makes us all wonder about the people we meet and choose to be around (and not to be around), and how those choices make us everything we become. This conversation will make you think about the choices you make in your own life and how they impact your own future. And that's just for starters . . .

Jeff Civillico has a superpower that makes people pay attention within three seconds. That's why he's got a show on The Strip at Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and has been named Entertainer of the Year by Vegas Inc. Cal learned precisely how important Jeff's superpower is last week when Tim Staples laid out the secrets to going viral on the Internet. Jeff is a juggler, but more than that, he uses his ability to immediately connect with people as a sought-after speaker and host. Jeff has plans to influence millions of children, and this conversation makes us all wonder about how we can make the largest impact with our own talents and skills. You may see yourself differently after listening.

On any given day, the odds of making it to the front page of YouTube are one in 2 million. Tim, and his company, Shareability, have done this 35 times. When the student is ready, the master appears. So Cal sets off on his journey into social media with Tim as his guide alongside the launch of Tim's book: Break Through The Noise, The 9 Rules to Capture Global Attention. Tim has created viral videos with soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and mesmerized millions with a video of dogs using hands to eat around a table at a family dinner. This podcast is a tipping point for Cal as he looks to bring Old School storytelling, which now delights crowds at speeches and during workshops, to social media. The conversation is filled with takeaways for anyone or any company trying to gain a larger and strong presence on the Internet. Because at the heart of this episode is the question: What makes messages shareable?

Cal catches up with his old pal, and author of the Barbecue Bible. Roughly 20 years ago, Cal sought out Steven to learn how to grill and smoke in order to write a story for Esquire Magazine. With one day of training and a lot of subsequent practice, Cal went on to compete in the Jack Daniel's World Barbecue Championship in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where judge (and author) Clive Cussler declared that Cal's roasted apples with cinnamon were "better than sex." Steven has sold more than 5 million books on the topic of barbecue, including his latest, The Brisket Chronicles. The question of how Steven got into barbecue provides a great way to reflect on how a single choice can lead you in an unexpected direction and create a whole new life for yourself. This conversation also touches upon the power of food in the art of connection. And if it doesn't inspire you to grill up a great meal, it will definitely make you want to eat one!

Cal is on the lookout for an Aha! Moment when he sits with the high-performance psychologist – Dr. Michael Gervais. That's because whenever Cal talks with Michael, a life-changing moment seems to materialize. A couple of years ago, Cal was invited on Michael's Finding Mastery podcast to discuss how he interviewed the icons who'd shaped the last half century of world history for Esquire Magazine. During that conversation, Cal and Michael discussed the differences between interviewing as a journalist and interviewing as a therapist. Cal was able to take what he learned from the therapist's approach and apply it in his new business assisting companies in the telling of their own authentic stories. This episode of Big Questions swerves in an unexpected direction: How to get the most out of life when you feel stuck in one place. Michael shows Cal that it's exactly the place where you can reach for the best in yourself.

Cal thanks Tim Ferriss for pushing him to start his podcast by helping two young guys who recently took leave from Harvard to get their tech start-up going. Sam Rukeyser and Dave Lu have come up with a platform that allows podcast listeners to save the snippets they like in podcasts and even send them to friends and family through all manner of social media. Their company is called Airr, the technology is free, and listeners of Big Questions will be granted early access to it by going to https://airr.io/cal. Sam and Dave show how the technology works throughout the episode with examples of great takeaways from Big Questions.

Cal has a transformative moment in a conversation with a recent inductee in the Advertising Hall of Fame – Michael Kassan. The talk goes back to the days when Cal was educated in journalism school never to go to the other side of The Wall that separated editorial and sales. This education kept Cal from publicizing himself and associating with advertisers even as the Internet changed the landscape of communication. For years, Cal struggled with social media and self-promotion. But the conversation with Kassan, the founder of MediaLink, freed Cal to move into the future, and gives listeners an education on the changes we've all been living through at the intersection of content, advertising, marketing, entertainment and technology.

In our mean-spirited times, Cal steps into a conversation about kindness and receives a most thoughtful gift. Dete Meserve, the CEO of Wind Dancer Films and author of the books Good Sam and Random Acts of Kindness, shows Cal how the same skills and talents he used as a writer for decades can also serve him as a CEO. The epiphany comes at just the right time, as Cal sprinted toward his goal as CEO to raise a million dollars in new revenue for his business by the end of May. For Cal, the gift is life-changing.

Cal touches on the story of two brothers from Needham, Massachusetts, Bert and Johnny Jacobs, who converted their eternal optimism into a t-shirt business that is now a burgeoning company which provides assistance to a million children every year. It wasn't easy at the start. The brothers spent five years driving around the country in a van trying to sell their t-shirts -- with little success. After five years they had a combined $78 between them. But then the smiling face of a character they called Jake next to the words Life Is Good sold 48 t-shirts in 45 minutes. And they knew they were onto something. The rest is history. Cal taps into his buddies – Bert and Johnny -- for inspiration as he closes in on the deadline for Million-Dollar May. Prepare to sing along.

Cal meets his polar opposite: The Boss in Heals. Heather Monahan. Whereas Cal was told as a writer in Journalism School never to sell, Heather came up on the sales side being told not to think of herself as a creative talent. She rose up the corporate ladder to become Chief Revenue Officer of the Beasley Media Group with 500 people working for her and was named one of the most influential women in radio only to see her job eliminated in a power struggle. But she used that tumultuous experience to turn herself into the author of the book Confidence Creator, and she is now a speaker and consultant on the topic. "Confidence," she says, "is a skill to be developed." She shows Cal how to be confident in areas where he doesn't feel comfortable – and you'll get a lot of tips, too

Cal looks at how John Rampton made millions by becoming one of the top online influencers in the world – tracing Rampton's ascent back to an accident in college that left John bedridden in a hospital for months. John learned to master social media in that hospital bed, and he shows Cal how "giving away the farm" on the Internet is a gift that just keeps on giving through success and hard times. The founder and chief of online companies like Calendar and Due tells Cal he has numerical proof of the benefits of kindness. If you help people out on the Internet, John says, 1 in 10 will help you back. 1 in every 100 people that you help out will turn into a financial relationship. And 1 in every 1,000 people you help can turn into a million-dollar relationship." Cal leaves the conversation hoping it will change his life – and yours, too.

Cal sits with Muhammad's daughter, Hana, almost three years after his passing to talk about her dad. Hana has just written a book called At Home With Muhammad Ali, and this conversation looks at what life was like in the moments when the cameras weren't around. There are happy moments – seeing her dad stuffing his mouth with bubble gum as if he were a big kid. There are beautiful moments – the way Muhammad took homeless people into his own home because he believed unoccupied rooms were a sin. There are painful moments – coming across the love letters her dad wrote to try to salvage the marriage that had broken apart between him and Hana's mom. And there are moments of honesty that can come only from looking at illness and death. Through it all we see the unique capacity of this man to connect with the world.

When Cal turns into a salesman to try to generate a million dollars in new business by the end of May, he is unprepared for the constant buzzing of his cellphone and the new lifestyle this brings. When it begins to feel like his brain has fragmented into 500 pieces, Cal reaches out to his pal, The Monk Dandapani, for lessons on how to focus and concentrate. The world-renowned monk gives Cal advice on harnessing his energy, that can lift everybody's life.

When Cal needs to develop a business strategy for his new company, James comes to the rescue. Altucher has started many businesses over the years, making millions, losing millions, making more millions, losing more millions and making more millions. A prolific blogger and podcaster, author, angel investor and owner of a comedy club in New York where he often appears, James shows Cal how to define, shape and monetize his new business helping companies tell their stories. The strategy session is a gift for anybody who's thinking about starting a business – and fun for everybody else.

Cal gets the skinny on a new program that helps people lose weight. It's not a diet (95 percent of diets do not work). There are no pills. The Reverse Approach was created by Mordechai Wiener while dropping from 330 pounds to 197. By listening to the stories of people who've lost a lot of weight and kept it off, you can adapt their successful habits into your own life. The concept is to slowly transform your body through understanding how you feel about yourself and then adjusting your habits. At the start, you don't restrict the foods you love. You simply add foods that are healthy. And then you slowly learn to love the foods that make you feel better. It not only takes the weight off – changing your habits has been proven to keep the weight off.

The international best-selling author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do gives Cal some lessons on training your brain for happiness and success. And it couldn't have come at a better time for Cal, who was recently challenged to lift his game as a CEO . . . and responded with an outlandish goal of bringing in a million dollars of new revenue by the end of May . . . without having the slightest idea how he was going to do it. Once she hears Cal's background, Amy, a psychotherapist, actually thinks it's a good thing for Cal to embrace this crazy idea and encourages him to get tough and go after it. Anybody who listens to this episode will be stronger for it – and have some laughs along the way.

After one of Cal's friends with a rare disease tells Cal that Dr. Gundry's dietary advice saved his life, Cal seeks out Gundry to uncover the doctor's backstory. He's astonished to find out about the sacrifices Dr. Gundry made when he left his position as chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University to counsel patients on improving their health through diet and supplements. Dr. Gundry and his wife, Penny, ran through their retirement savings and suffered through a decade of financial hardship while the doctor helped patients with advice on what to put in their guts rather than operating on their hearts. His research and self-experimentation with supplements ultimately led Dr. Gundry to write The Plant Paradox, which turned into a New York Times bestseller, and three other best-sellers that have bloomed into a business offering supplements and dietary advice that has now touched around 100 million lives and created 600 jobs. This conversation may make you see the possibilities in your own life. That's what it did for Cal.

When Shannon Lee passes on this nugget of wisdom from her dad: "To change with change is the changeless state," Cal is no longer the same... and becomes even more Cal at the same time. Bruce Lee is famous for his fighting roles in films beloved around the world dating back to the early 70s -- like Fist of Fury and Enter The Dragon. But underneath the images that made him iconic is a philosophy of breaking tradition and constantly moving himself -- and society -- to new places. His ideas and work have affected culture in areas as diverse as film, music, video games, mixed martial arts, break dancing, body building and nutrition. Shannon Lee shows Cal how to use her dad's underlying philosophy in daily life – which leads Cal to an epiphany. And this conversation just may create a personal breakthrough for anybody who listens.

Cal sits with the man who has helped candidates win 1,200 elections to talk about the impact of storytelling on our politics and businesses in a time of huge disruption. The takeaways include the way Donald Trump was able to win the presidency by merging big data, social media and branding; how businesses need to understand their customers the way a great political campaign understands its voters; and how this will become even more important for businesses in the next ten years as Artificial Intelligence disrupts our landscape. With each passing day, telling the impactful story becomes more and more essential -- which is music to Cal's ears.

Simon talks about the theme of his upcoming book -- and his message hits Cal's ears like a symphony. Perhaps this should've been expected. The concept behind Simon's book, Start With Why, led to a Ted talk that reached 42 million people. And Leaders Eat Last was a New York Times bestseller. The Infinite Game shows us that business should not be treated like it's in a sporting event that has a definite period of time and ends with a win or a loss. If we do treat our business like it's in a sporting event, Simon warns, there will be a decline in trust, a decline in cooperation and a decline in innovation. Simon makes a case that the most successful companies now tend to be guided by leaders with an infinite mindset. There are so many takeaways in this episode that it might be wise to pull out a notepad before you get started.

Cal checks in with one of his favorite people in the world, 25-year-old Daniela Fernandez, who has devoted her life to saving the world's oceans. If you don't think that's important, it'd be wise to look at some facts. There's an island of garbage twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, which may be a long way from where you are right now but it affects you. Fifty percent of the oxygen we breathe is created by the ocean. That's every second breath you take. We're slowly choking ourselves. The non-profit organization that Daniela founded to heal the oceans, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, was down to its last penny when an anonymous donation of $1 million came to the rescue. This is an awesome story of a young woman's unwavering devotion to make a difference, and how the world will be changed because of her. Applying her mindset just might allow you to do the extraordinary, as well.

Arizona State Futurist in Residence Brian David Johnson explains to Cal why we will not be using keyboards in the near future; and how they are slowing us down anyway. Old School Cal gets an hour of what the future will be like — and, surprisingly, he likes it!

Cal sits down with a national treasure, George Raveling, to talk about some of the impactful moments of George's life. That includes the day in August of 1963 when George was a bodyguard on stage as Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his I Have A Dream speech. As Dr. King folded the speech and walked off stage, George asked Dr. King if he could have it and Dr. King handed it to him. George would become basketball coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC, a coach on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team that contained Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. This episode of Big Questions focuses on George through his love of books. Few people appreciate books the way George Raveling does. George is often seen walking around with shopping bags full of them that he hands out to friends. There are many takeaways in the way George reads books and the way he honors them. After you listen, your reading habits may never be the same.

Great movies have been made about buddy stories. Great movies have been made about love stories. This podcast has both, and is waiting to be turned into a terrific film. It's about the friendship between the comedian "Irish Dave" Nihill and the cycling guide Arash Bayatmakou – and it could be called "Stand Up." That's because of the different way the phrase applies to each of these two men. Without spoiling the movie, the story revolves around the courage we all need to move forward in frightening situations. It's got comedy. It's got a tragedy. It's got resilience. And when you add a very special woman and the attached love story, it becomes the perfect podcast for Valentine's Day.

Cal The Journalist meets John The Salesman and things will never be the same – not for Cal, anyway. For years, Cal had been told to stay on his side of The Wall that separated the editorial and sales departments of newspapers and magazines. But the Internet has changed that world and now everyone must sell themselves in some way, shape or form. Cal is delighted to find out that, at its best, sales is all about his passion – storytelling. Cal learns how John used rejection to create a new story that turned him into salesman of the year at Conde Nast. Cal learns how to be proactive through new forms of cold calling. Cal learns how to shape a story toward the sale and artfully close the deal. And Cal comes to understand that he had it in him all along.

What a superpower it would be to be able to look at the ordinary and wonder how it could be different… and then make it better. That's what Cal discovers when he speaks with Miki Agrawal, entrepreneur and author of the book, Disrupt-Her. He'll never be the same. He's already switched to bamboo toilet paper after Miki explained to him all the environmental benefits. Miki has specialized in the "poop, pee and menstruation" space – founding a company called Thinx that created period-proof underwear and another called Tushy that allows people to clean themselves more efficiently over the toilet. She applies her philosophy in every aspect of life. And her book, a manifesto for the modern woman, illustrates how women will behave differently going forward. Which is a good reason for men to read it – because they're probably going to be behaving differently, as well.

Many years ago, TOMS shoes founder Blake Mycoskie asked a wise man for some advice. That man wrote some on a sheet of paper: "The more you give, the more you live." It has guided Blake ever since. First, in the start-up of TOMS – which donates a pair of shoes to an impoverished child every time it sells a pair. And most recently, in the start-up of a campaign to end gun violence through changing federal policy by instituting background checks before every gun sale. This is a solution that 90 percent of Americans agree with – and Blake is asking every one of them to go to Toms.com and send a postcard to her or his representative. There are many takeaways in this episode, as Blake describes the essence of an entrepreneurial life, from how difficult it can be to the difference it can make.

Cal goes to the archives and pulls out a childhood tale George Clooney told him about how his eccentric family taught him to tell a good story. The podcast continues with the story of how drug addiction was transformed into a landmark run across the Sahara Desert for Charlie Engle. So many takeaways from this episode: The basics of storytelling. Overcoming addiction. The power of discipline. Seeing the world through fresh eyes. Inventing new challenges. A primer in how to get the most out of life and tell the story.

The singer and songwriter talks to Cal about how life experiences turn into music. The conversation leads to the background behind Andy's hits: Honey I'm Good, Keep Your Head Up and Fresh Eyes. But at its deepest level the discussion delves into the process that we all must go through to create. The takeaways are many. How to keep going when nobody around you seems to be paying attention to what you're doing. How having a hit can be just as stressful to the creation process as striving for the first. And how to keep expanding. The lessons of a man who started out singing for coins on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and went on to sing the national anthem at the World Series apply far beyond music and can be integrated into everyone's life.

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 about. The good times just keep on going, as Cal sends out Sportiqe hoodies to the winners of the Why Is Your Best Friend Your Best Friend? contest.