Passion Struck with John R. Miles - Arthur Smith on the Art of Intentional Storytelling EP 348

Episode Date: September 21, 2023

In this captivating episode of Passion Struck, I am joined by legendary TV producer Arthur Smith. We discuss his compelling memoir, "Reach."  Throughout the interview, Arthur invites listeners into the captivating world of nonfiction television and offers a backstage pass to the remarkable story of his life and career. From rubbing shoulders with television icon Dick Clark in Hollywood to collaborating with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on The Titan Games, Arthur's anecdotes are not just entertaining but also profoundly inspiring.  Want to learn the 12 philosophies that the most successful people use to create a limitless life? Pre-order John R. Miles’s new book, Passion Struck, which will be released on February 6, 2024. Full show notes and resources can be found here:  https://passionstruck.com/arthur-smith-the-art-of-intentional-storytelling/  Arthur Smith: A Journey of Triumph, Innovation, and Intentional Living In this thought-provoking episode of the Passion Struck podcast, Arthur Smith eloquently shares how he learned to craft intentional life storylines, where dreams and goals merge seamlessly to create a compelling narrative that guides our journey. He draws intriguing parallels between casting for television shows and choosing the right people in our lives - those who uplift, inspire, and support us. Within this episode, listeners will find stories of adventure, triumph, and hard-won lessons from a career defined by innovation and audacity. Brought to you by OneSkin. Get 15% your order using code Passionstruck at https://www.oneskin.co/#oneskinpod. Brought to you by Indeed: Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed dot com slash PASSIONSTRUCK. Brought to you by Lifeforce: Join me and thousands of others who have transformed their lives through Lifeforce's proactive and personalized approach to healthcare. Visit MyLifeforce.com today to start your membership and receive an exclusive $200 off. Brought to you by Hello Fresh. Use code passion 50 to get 50% off plus free shipping!  --► For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to: https://passionstruck.com/deals/  Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally! --► Prefer to watch this interview: https://youtu.be/0MUw9tVhKak  --► Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel Here: https://youtu.be/QYehiUuX7zs  Want to find your purpose in life? I provide my six simple steps to achieving it - passionstruck.com/5-simple-steps-to-find-your-passion-in-life/ Catch my interview with Dr. Caroline Leaf on Parenting or a Healthy and Confident Mind. Watch the solo episode I did on the topic of Chronic Loneliness: https://youtu.be/aFDRk0kcM40  Want to hear my best interviews from 2023? Check out my interview with Seth Godin on the Song of Significance and my interview with Gretchen Rubin on Life in Five Senses. ===== FOLLOW ON THE SOCIALS ===== * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrmiles.c0m  Learn more about John: https://johnrmiles.com/  Passion Struck is now on the Brushwood Media Network every Monday and Friday from 5–6 PM. Step 1: Go to TuneIn, Apple Music (or any other app, mobile or computer) Step 2: Search for "Brushwood Media” Network

Coming up next on PassionStrike, there's no logical reason why an obstacle course show should work in prime time on NBC, American Ninja Warrior. It doesn't make any sense if you look at it as an obstacle course show, but it's so much more than that. But it's really about the people who run. We celebrate the attempt. It's the only athletic competition where the athletes root for each other. It's the only athletic competition where the athletes root for each other. It's the only athletic competition where we usually don't have a winner in the end. You know, there's only been two times in the 14 previous seasons where we've had people actually climb the four stages of Mount Medurayama and win a million dollars.

It's only happened twice. It's the only athletic event where men and women compete on the same course. There's no head to calves. There's this really lovely community that's around the sport. If you've watched the show, and John, I know you have, thank you for watching. It's really about the people who run, it's about their story. We tell their stories,

you're so vested in who they are. Welcome to PassionStruck. Hi, I'm your host, John Armiles. And on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself.

If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long form interviews the rest of the week with guest ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now, let's go out there and become Passion Struck. Hello everyone and welcome back to episode 348 of Passion Struck. Ranked consistently by Apple

was one of the top 10 most popular health podcasts and the number one alternative health podcast. And thank you to all of you who come back to the show weekly to listen and learn how to live better, be better, and impact the world. Passion Struct is on syndicated radio on the Brushwood Media Network. You can catch us Monday and Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern time on Apple Music Tune in for wherever you listen to your music. If you're new to the show, thank you so much for being here, or you simply want to introduce

this to a friend or a family member, we have episodes starter packs which are collections of our fans, favorite episodes that we organize, and we convened topics that give any new listener a great way to get acclimated. Everything that we do here on the show, either go to Spotify or passionstruck.com slash starter packs to get started. In case you missed it, earlier in the week, I interviewed Dr. Nihau Sanguine, a CEO, physician, engineer, and communication specialist. She is the author of the upcoming book, Powered by Me, where she uncovers the profound effects of unhealed trauma on burnout and empowers individuals to discover what truly energizes them and provides greater

purpose in life. I also wanted to say thank you so much for your ratings and reviews. If you love today's episode or the other one that I mentioned, we would appreciate you giving it a five star review and sharing it with your friends and families. I know we and our guests love to see comments from our listeners. In today's episode, I have the privilege of sitting down with the true pioneer in the world of nonfiction television, Arthur Smith. As chairman of A Smith and co-productions, Arthur has left an indelible mark on the industry, producing some of the

longest-running unscripted series in television history, including the iconic Hell's Kitchen, and the cultural phenomenon American Ninja Warrior. Honored is one of varieties' titans of unscripted TV inducted into the real screen awards Hall of Fame, an awarded producer of the year by broadcasting and cable. Smith's career trajectory has been nothing short of extraordinary. From his early days as a 22-year-old wonder kid breaking into sports production at CBC year by broadcasting and cable. Smith's career trajectory has been nothing short of extraordinary. From his early days as a 22-year-old wonder kid breaking into sports production at CBC in Canada to become in the youngest everhead of CBC sports and later revolutionizing sports television at Fox Sports Net, Arthur's journey has been defined by innovation and audacity.

In his latest book, Reach, Arthur takes us on the thrilling ride behind the scenes, sharing adventures, triumphs, and hard won lessons from his astonishing career. From rubbing shoulders with television icon Dick Clark and Hollywood, to collaborating with Dwayne the Rock Johnson on the Titan Games, Arthur's stories are a testament to the power of hard work, taking risks and reaching for your dreams. From his remarkable experiences, Arthur shares profound insights in designing a life that is both purposeful and meaningful, unveiling the secret behind creating intentional life storylines where dreams and goals merge seamlessly to create a compelling narrative that guides our

journey. Drung parallels between casting for television shows and surrounding ourselves with the right people in our life, those who uplift, inspire and support us. Hearing into the future, Arthur envisions the unfolding chapters of intentional living in the transformative power it can bring. Taking us behind the scenes of his life, Arthur opens up about the high intensity moments that defined his personal and professional growth. Throughout his illustrious career, Arthur is collaborated with the diverse array of iconic figures, including Marlon Brando, Gordon Ramsay, Magic Johnson, Little Richard, Wayne Gretzky, Simon Cowell,

and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. From these unique encounters, he imparts invaluable wisdom and memorable stories that resonate deeply with aspiring dreamers. So get ready to immerse yourself in the art of intentional storytelling. Let's welcome the visionary Arthur Smith to the Passion Struck podcast. Thank you for choosing Passion Struck and choosing me to be your hosting guide on your journey to creating an intentional life now. Let that journey begin. I am so absolutely honored and thrilled to have Arthur Smith on Passion Strock welcome, Arthur. Thank you, John.

Great to be here. I always liked to open these episodes up by trying to give the audience some background on you. In your case, you're upbringing in the values instilled in you by your parents played a pivotal role in shaping the person you are today. The foundation they provided for you is evident in your pursuit of reaching and we're going to be talking about your brand new book reach beyond your expectations. How do you believe your strong Jewish values, and we were just talking about values before we get on the show, emphasis on doing the right thing and gratitude, have influenced your approach to intentional living? Yeah, a book, and my belief is the more you try the luckier you get, I believe we make our good fortune. I believe when we reach, we find what we're capable of. But it's much easier to reach when you're reaching from a strong foundation. And that foundation was my parents.

I talk about the analogy of when you're standing on a sturdy table and you're trying to change a light bulb, it's much easier than standing on a wobbly table. And for me, like I said, that foundation was my parents. And not everybody is blessed with great parents. I was, and it doesn't mean you're doomed. If you don't have great parents, you just got to find a way to build a foundation with family and friends or and your relationships. My dad, who's the greatest man I'll ever know, his saying and one of the things that sticks with me

is that it's never the wrong time to do the right thing and it's never the right time to do the wrong thing. And that was the code that I was brought up with. And my mom was all about pushing, all about going for your dreams and never giving up. Even though they didn't understand the entertainment business when I decided to go that route, they knew it was something I was believing. Of course, they had some concerns. I grew up in Montreal.

No connection to the entertainment business whatsoever. But they believed in me. And I believe if you make a child feel special, they may actually believe it. And that's what they did for me. And I believe if you make a child feel special, they may actually believe it. And that's what they did for me. And I grew up as a very shy kid, very shy. And I had a turning point in my life. And I'd talk about it in the book, something happened to me when I was nine years old. That changed the course of my life. And it was a situation where I was forced to put myself out there and reach. I had no choice but to reach. And subconsciously, it stuck with me.

Because at nine years old, you don't realize these things are happening to you. And that kind of changed the course of my life. And when I trace my life in every reach that I've done over my career, it all comes back to that moment when I was nine years old. It was actually my parents who put me in that situation because they pushed me out there and put a change in my life.

So no doubt about it. For people who read the book and for a lot of my friends and even people who don't know me, a lot of them say it's a love letter to my parents. And it wasn't intended to be. It just is. And the lessons and things that I learned growing up stuck with me and still to this day, they affect my decision. My moral compass was set by my parents.

Thank you so much for that, Anne Ceren. It makes me think back about my own life. When I was a freshman in high school, I embraced one of my biggest fears, which was singing in front of people and auditioned for the music man, musical, and got the part of Winthrop. And I remember that was a pinnacle point for me of really understanding that when you put yourself out there, so many things that you would never expect end up happening to you. And I too have a book coming out in a few months in February and instead of dedicating it to my parents who I could have, I actually dedicated it to my two kids

who are now grown as I know yours are too. And as a follow on question to my last one, I did wanna ask you, how do you ensure that these fundamental principles that were enruded in you by your parents have continued to guide you in raising your own daughters and fostering a close-knit family connection that you cherish so deeply? Yeah, I find it's funny. It happens to all of us, is that we find ourselves saying things that sound a lot like our parents said to us. And for me, I sound like my dad all the time.

And for me, that's the greatest compliment that I could possibly get. I have two older sisters, I have two daughters, I've been surrounded by women my whole life. When I'm on the phone with my sisters, they say, you sound like dad. My dad's name is Saul and I said, and every so often I go, Saul, stop it. Because I sound just like him, which like I said, is the greatest compliment for me. So listen, growing living in LA where there's a lot of money and there's a lot of spoiled, entitled, a young people, it's been a challenge. I have a great partner in my wife. The most important decision of your life is choosing your spouse to me. So I chose a great one. And together, we believe in the same core values. And yes, we want to be good

to our children. And yes, we want them to have an easier life, but not to the point that we shield them so much that they don't experience disappointment and sadness. You want to protect your kids. You obviously want to protect your kids. But I know from my experience that my failures, my disappointments have made me a better person. Of course, you leave my example too. My kids could see how I was with my parents.

I spoke to my mother every night. I've been living, she's no longer alive, but when she was alive and I've been living in LA for quite some time, I spoke to my mother every night. I've been living, she's no longer alive, but when she was alive and I've been living in LA for quite some time, I spoke to my mother every night at 11 o'clock Eastern, eight o'clock Pacific time. And the funny thing about it is if I called her John at five to eight, she goes, what you're not gonna call me at 11. I go, ma, it's five minutes from now, she goes, but that's our time. And my kids could see that.

And I think they learn from that. And we'd be in the middle of a movie I literally would take the phone and say ma I'm in a movie I can't talk she's okay son that was it that that was the length of the conversation I'd be in the middle of directing or producing a television those standby on camera one Oh I got to go in the middle of doing a show and I never mystical I ever mystical. I think you lead by example, the other thing, one of your core belief systems that I was of the passion struck core belief system which everybody should check out,

because it's so dead on is how you start your day, how you start your day is so important. I'm probably not doing it exactly right, John, but like how you start your day. And I begin my day every day with prayer. I start every day with prayer. It's the first thing I do. I roll out of bed and I pray. The next thing I do is I work out. So I get my mental spiritual thing going. I show my gratitude in the morning. And then I work out because that's the way I start my day. I've been a gym guy my whole life and it helps get me going.

It's my form of meditation in a way. And my kids see that. My kids see that and my kids are grateful and the respectful. And I think a lot has to do with the way my wife and I have tag teamed on that. And also the way they've seen how I am with my parents. Even though my kids never lived in the same city as their grandparents because because I've been living in LA so long, my kids were both born in LA. And every single Christmas vacation for 25 years, my kids were with my parents, and it was quality time. And of course, we went to Montreal for holidays and things like

that. And we always found time to spend my parents and just to give you an idea, I'm sorry, I'm going off topic here. But my daughter, Rachel, who's the oldest one, she came to me and she said, Dad, I'm thinking of getting a tattoo. And I said, all right, okay, but it's going to be a really small one. And I said, okay, fine. And she goes, it's just going to be really small. And it's something I want to do because it means a lot to me. And I said, okay, and I go, can you tell me what it's going to be?

And she said, it's a little liturgy. She said, gee, why, gee, she goes, goldie your mom, the impact she had on my life. And what are you going to say after that? So yeah, we have a very strong family core and we're still very close to our family. And most of our family is in Montreal and Toronto, but it's amazing how tight we are. I still speak to my sisters every day and I think relationships or everything is proud as I am. I'm a television producer and I've done a lot of shows and I'm very proud of the shows that I've done, but I'm way more proud of the relationships that I have with my family and my friends.

And I like you really really front load my day. I get up every morning at 5 a.m. and similar to you, the first thing I do is pray and then I say daily affirmations and set my intentions for the day on a walk with my dog and then go to the gym or ride a bike or et cetera. And I think it's just so important because in those two, a couple of hours before the rest of the world is awake,

I've already grounded myself and given myself blessings for the day and how I want to lead it, plus I've gotten my mind activated to take that next step. So I completely and wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying. You and I have another thing in common, although we were in completely different industries, we have both led very diverse careers. You're started seemingly serendipously through an opportunity that led to acting, and then from there you got involved with CBC sports,

which if people aren't familiar with that Canadian sports, you got involved with Dick Clark running a sports division, really reinventing Fox Sports, and eventually starting your own production company. I wanted to ask, we're looking back on these pivotal moments, what key realizations did you have about yourself that guided you towards producing as being your true con? Well, I had a fascination with the entertainment business. I talked about being shy before, really shy. And television actually kept me company. So I watched a lot of television, a lot of television.

And being through sports, playing sports, that got me out of my shell. And I realized when I was playing sports that I liked being in the spotlight. And that led to acting. And there's some crazy story about how I got my first part in the movie that John was referring to. And that led to another movie. And that led to two situation comedies and cut-up television commercials on a lot of other things.

But every time I was on set, I was so fascinated with how things were made. And when I went to university in Toronto, I didn't want to go into theater arts. I wanted to, because it was too hard to see for me. I just couldn't deal with all the method acting. And I used to say, I don't want to be a tree. So I was looking at ways of expanding my skill set

in terms of the entertainment business. Although I thought I was going to be an actor, that's what I thought my profession was going to be. But the more and more I was on set, and the more and more I got into how television was made, the more I realized that was more for me. I know this is going to sound like a tangent, but it all makes sense to me is that my mom, when I used to tell her that I got a part, she used to say something to me and it used to drive me a little bit crazy.

She used to say there's more for you Arthur. And first I took it like, what am I not doing enough? I just got a television commercial. Why is she saying that? Is she saying that to keep me more grounded? Why is she saying that? And yeah, it just happened again and again.

And I never asked her why she said that until a certain point. I can't remember what it was, something I just got some acting get going. I got and I said, what do you mean by that? She goes, well, I just don't think acting is all you're supposed to do. I think there's more for you out there. And I was always a leader. I was always a captain of a sports team and everything else like that.

And she thought I was going to be happier and more complete. If I was in some position where I was leading. And she saw that in me and I was very happy, or at least when I was doing, I was so happy to get an acting job. I was happy, but anyhow, but the real guiding principle of my life goes back to what I talk about in the book. And that is, I believe the more you try, the luckier you get. As I said before, we make our good fortune. And so many of the things that have happened to me is because I put myself out there. And that's why I stress in the book,

not be afraid to be vulnerable, not to be afraid to make mistakes because we learn from everything. And not everything has gone well for me. And John, thank you. You were talking about some of the things that I've done and Dick Clark got me my green card. I was the youngest head of CBC sports when I was 28 years old.

I started producing a directing when I was 22. I did an Olympics when I was 24. All those things, and I've run this very successful production company for 23 years. But there's failure in there and there's disappointment. But I believe things are meant to be. There's a great Jewish word called Bashart. And Bashart means it's meant to be. And I believe things are meant to be. There's a great Jewish word called basherit. And basherit means it's meant to be.

And I believe everything that's happened to me was meant to be. And sometimes when things happen to you, when disappointment happens to you, and I say this to my children, is that you may not realize in the moment why this has happened to you. And sometimes it takes a year or two years or five years.

And then you realize that it wasn't meant to be. All the twists and turns of our lives, everything is meant to be. And it's a good thing, it's a good thing to realize, but I was younger, I was sure I was disappointed and anger, but now when things happen to me, I go, you know what, it's not meant to be. And then because I know someday I'll figure out why,

like I said, it may not be in the moment. Well, I wanted to ask you a follow on question on that because oftentimes mistakes offer valuable insights, but I think it's how we respond to those mistakes that offers even more valuable insights about who we are as individuals. What advice would you have along those lines to a young listener of today's program? To me, this is going to almost sound cliche, is to learn from your mistakes. You learn more from your six mistakes, from your successes, which also sounds like another

cliche, but it's so true. It's so true. We all have a view of ourselves, and then you get guided by what is reality by sometimes the mistakes that you made. In 1984, I produced the Los Angeles Olympics and I was 24 years old and I had really established myself as the leading sports producer in Canada and I thought I was ready to make my next move to CBS Sports and I managed to get an interview with the executive producer CBS Sports and I was feeling a little too good about myself, just a little too good about

myself. Because everything I had tried up into that point, it just worked out for me. The acting, the producing, the directing, everything was working out for me. Not with struggles and disappointments, but for the most part in the big picture, everything was working for me. And I flew to New York and for my interview and I knew things didn't get off their great start because the flight attendant and this is so bizarre. The flight attendant on the plane was my boss's wife. What are the odds of that happening of all the flights of all the trips? What are the odds of that happening? Of all the flights, of all the trips, that particular day, that time of day, because there's eight flights a day

from Toronto to New York, just even not alone, but the fact that I didn't even know Toronto to New York was a root of hers. And she was the flight attendant and I probably should have just got off the plane right there because it was a bad omen. And she said to me, she goes, oh, you're going to New York, oh.

And oh, you brought some tapes. And I said, yeah, I'm going to show them to my friends. And I go, she doesn't believe me. She's going to call my boss. My boss is going to be mad that I'm looking for another job or whatever. Anyway, I get to this interview and the interview with the guy Terri O'Neill, who's the executive producer of CBS Sports. And the interview seems to go well.

And then at the end, he said, listen, very nice meeting you, you've accomplished a lot great, there's nothing here for you. And I went to leave and thanked him and said, okay, wasn't a total loss, maybe someday in the future, I'll hold off from you job. And I get to the elevator and I realized that I had the tapes in my bag and I hadn't given him the tapes, which is the whole idea for him to see my work. And I'd go back there and I just to put the tapes on his desk because he's not in the office. He wasn't there. He just, he must have dashed out to another meeting or gone to the men's room or something like that. And then I'm looking for a pen to write them a note. And as I look

for a pen, I see my resume in the garbage in the trash and it was such a low moment for me to be dismissed in such a way. And so me being me I was angry and I took the resume out of the garbage and wrote a minute saying thank you for taking the time to meet with me. Terrible. And I left. And I was very hurt by it. Like I said, to be dismissed in such a way, after flying from Toronto, after risking my job, and to be pushed away like that. And it took me a while to figure why this happened to me, or why this failure was okay, and that it just wasn't meant to be. Well, first of all, I wasn't ready. And sometimes you're not ready. And I will say that I'd rather

people not edit themselves and really push forward. It's okay. But I learned disappointment and I learned from that. Well, like I said, sometimes you're not ready and sometimes it's just not your time. And as it turned out, it really wasn't meant to be because what ended up happening, and it wouldn't have happened how I got a job at CVS sports, is I went on to produce two more Olympic games. I became president of CBC sports, and then I got an offer from Dick Clark and Dick Clark, my green card didn't move me to LA, and then all this other wonderful stuff happened. And so that was a big lesson that I learned. The big thing I say to young people is go for it. And I think neutral is the worst place to be.

And if you're not exactly sure what you want to do, I say, guess, just guess. Just get going, get moving, because you will learn from it. And during my career, I have worked at a number of places. And I had one job at Universal, where I was a senior vice president in the television group. John didn't mention it because I was there for only a year.

And it was my worst job I've ever had. Because even though I was recruited by Lou Wasserman and Sid Scheinberg, who are legends of the entertainment business, who are running Universal, and I had a great contract with amazing French benefits and I was miserable because I was an executive a pure executive and my choice from making my choice from producing and I learned a lot so but I'm glad I didn't I'm glad I experienced it because I would have never now you learn from every experience You learn from every disappointment the worst thing that you can do is edit yourself or over-analysed and not get going I'm so glad that you brought up the importance of action because I think it is something that so many people don't understand. And I agree with you. I think so many people today are living what I call an autopilot or they're living as if they're in a pinball game

where they're just getting bounced around instead of taking control and intentionally focus the actions on getting to where they want. And I was lucky enough when I was younger to have two great mentors, both of them happened to be when I was the military. One of them was Commander Fitzsimons, who really taught me that you need to have this great

long-term vision, but if you're not present in the moment and taking actions every single day to get towards it, you're not gonna get there. And then I also had another mentor who I brought up many times on the show, former astronaut Wendy Lawrence, who has this motto that you have to give yourself permission to dream the dream.

And for her, that was becoming an astronaut many times on her journey. She didn't know how she was gonna get there, but she kept taking intentional action along the steps that she knew would get her closer to that. But I think so many people today get stuck and they just stay there. And they don't take those even small microstaps

that would lead them closer to where they wanna go. So I think that's such an important thing that you just brought up. Well, I wanted to go to some of the things that you were just talking about. You have gotten to be in the high intensity control room, as you mentioned, at several Olympics, collaborating with Dwayne the Rock Johnson on the Titan Games. Along the way, you have been involved in some of the most pivotal sports and television

moments in history. How have these experiences contributed to you understanding the importance of how to do intentional storytelling and shaping narratives that resonate with audiences? Even though I've worked in sports and I've worked in entertainment and variety, but the one thing that I've always wanted to do and it's still the main focus of what we do today is I always want to do content that makes you feel something and Maybe it's because I'm emotional or sensitive or maybe it was because I was brought up by women who didn't care about sports And I wanted them to watch what I was doing So I'm always trying to do content that makes you feel something and getting vested in character

and I believe that you can make a television show about almost anything if you care about the people who are in it. Of course, that comes with great storytelling and everything else. And so that's what I'm always striving to do. The other thing that goes back to the core belief system, that's by so many of the things that you said in your passion struck core belief system whole true for me is I believe in taking chances and taking risks and not doing what others have done before. I've had this health kitchen, which has been on for 22 seasons, which now seems like not much of a risk, but in 2004, there had never been a successful food show on network television. Gordon Ramsay is the most famous chef in the world, but in 2004, nobody knew who he was. And when I was first approached about doing something with Gordon Ramsay, an executive at Fox, that sent me the tape.

And I looked at the tape. It was a show that Gordon was doing in the UK. And I was liry about doing a food show on that word television because it hadn't been done before. But I was at least open-minded to watch the tape. And I love Gordon, but I didn't like the show that they had. And so my intention with making that one, I have to realize who your market is and we're going on Fox

We're not going on the food network. So I have to have a show that appeals to non-foodies. And so by design The show was more about aspirations and people living their dream and working with this very difficult perfectionist and it was the stories of those chefs and to me I really dove into who these people were and what people who work in restaurants do every day and how admirable is the work that they do. But I also saw an opportunity to treat it like a sports event which is my background. The dinner service is like a game there's a clock there's a competition you're pushing food out and then the four services like a pretty game and then after services like a postgame,

it's an I-O sports. But anyhow, listen, I believe in taking chances. I believe in calculated obviously, and pushing. And that's been a lot of the success of my career. It's funny, when I was at CBC, and I got this really early break when I was 22 years old, and I wasn't well because I didn't pay my dues. I started producing when I was very young

and I remember sitting in these meeting rooms where we were having these creative discussions. And at first I was very timid, only because I was new and I was young and I was working with people who I admired and who were legendary to me. And we would talk about, we'd have these creative brain service and at first I was like, really reticent about what to say or when to jump in. And then there was one day and I said,

I'm just going to go for it. And I mentioned an idea and it got a great response. And I said, I'm never going to hold back again. I'm not going to hold back. And I haven't shut up since. So like I said, I think the success that I've had in no matter what genre I worked in goes back to what I said initially is content that makes you feel something that's been my guide. There's no logical reason why an obstacle course show should work in prime time on NBC, American Ninja Warrior. It doesn't make any sense if you look at it as an obstacle course show, but it's so much more than that. American Ninja Warrior, and I'm so blessed to be part of the show, and it's funny because

it's a blending of my sports and entertainment background, but it's really about the people who run. It's got some very unique features that we celebrate the attempt, and so much of it is, it's the only athletic competition where the athletes root for each other. It's the only athletic competition where we usually don't have a winner in the end, because there's only been two times in the 14 previous seasons where we've had people actually climb the four stages of Mount Medurayama and win a million dollars. Only happened twice.

It's the only athletic event where men and women compete on the same course. There's no handicaps. And there's this really lovely community that's around the sport. And like I said, it was very unlike anything else. And of course, if you've watched the show, and John, I know you have, thank you for watching. It's really about the people who run,

it's about their story. We tell their stories, you're so vested in who they are that you care about the result. Recently, we had a guy, a guy Gary Wailand, who's run on our course before, and he's got one leg, he's got a prosthetic, and he's just an amazing human being. And he lost his leg, he was having knee replacement surgery and something went horribly wrong, and they amputated his leg. And he comes back, he's done the course before every few years, and he's a firefighter, and he's just this great guy.

And this past season, the balance obstacle, if you have one leg and a prosthetic leg, it's almost impossible. It's impossible. But Gary, he's tried it before and he always fails. He does the first few obstacles and everybody cheers for him and we celebrate the attempt of Gary getting up there and not being afraid. And this year, he's on the balance obstacle, and he falls.

But as he's falling, he catches himself on the balance obstacle. And then somehow, he pulls his prosthetic leg onto the platform, and he just pushes off as hard as he can, and he lands on the other side. And our talent, Matt Eisman and Akbar, who are played by play guys, go absolutely crazy. The crowd goes crazy.

It was the biggest moment of the night. He didn't complete the rest of the course. It did not matter. It was that moment and you could see it on his face. You could see it on his face. Talk about reaching and I think it was Matt or Akbar, I think they both said it, they go, what's your excuse?

What's your excuse? And I get chills when I think they both said it they go what's your excuse? What's your excuse? And I get chills when I think about it. And I think that's one of the wonders of the show. Wow, I am on such a tangent, John. I just started me going and I'm like it's called Passion Struck and you can tell I'm very passionate about content that makes you feel something content that gets you that hits you in the heart. Well, I'm going to go on a tangent here for a second myself because your story reminded me of two people who I admire. One of them is Marine Corps Sergeant Christy, NS, who on the last mission was on an helicopter. It ended up crashing and she ended up losing her leg. And she has gone on to climb the tallest peaks as a mountain climber, is a skier, does all

these things. And then the other person I wanted to bring up is my friend Jenbroker Bauer, who was born without legs. But her parents, who adopted her, told her that anything in her life is possible. And so she went on to become the first able body high school athlete to ever win the Tumbling Competition state championships in the state of Illinois. Now she's gone on to be an airless. She actually opened the Britney Spears World Tour a while back, but is now on the verge of having a baby if she hasn't

had one already. And it just you see these people. And I know many people who in the military who have come through loss limbs and injuries, and it's just so amazing what you put your mind to, what you can accomplish on the other side of hardship. So I do appreciate you bringing that up. I did want to go back though to this whole concept of risk taking because I read that in the future, you would like to see the networks taking bigger risks on high-concept shows and formats. Why do you believe that is where the next groundbreaking show will emerge? If you look back on the history of television, so many of the big hits have come from

things that have not been done before, big risks over the years. And I believe our viewers crave freshness. And so to me, shows that are derivative, shows that you've seen before, just don't cut through, and I don't think are as impactful. And so for me, I'm always reaching. There's that great word again. I'm always reaching to do things that are different.

And like for us, we talked about, I talked about Hell's Kitchen, I talked about Ninja Warrior. And at the time, they were both big risks. And there are longest running shows. There had never been a show like American Ninja Warrior before, they had never been a show like Hell's Kitchen before. Now there are.

But they're none of them are as successful as the original. It's not just true with me, of course. This is a pattern that we see in television. This is why whether it's sign-filled or whether it's all in the family and what that show represented at that time or the mass singer, which is crazy, but works. All of those shows in their time are things that cut through and are things that are, they're pioneers. Even a show like Dancing with Stars when it first came on, a number of years ago, people were even showed like dancing with stars when it first came on.

A number of years ago, people were laughing at it. I remember when the first commercials were coming out about the show, people thought it was so silly and so cheesy and so corny. I think they're in their 30th season and survivor for that matter. The biggest hits and the biggest successes come from risk and taking chances.

So, and sometimes by the way, when I say that, it's not necessarily the idea that's completely different, but there's something in the producing of the idea that's different. It could be the point of view. It could be the style of the way it's shot. It could be the show itself. It could be the content itself. But there's some new offering that says, hey, we're doing it better, we're doing it different. Like I said, that's where I think the biggest hits come from. Squid games, bizarre, wild on Netflix, nothing like it before. We love to be exposed to new things and new concepts. And I think the audience has an appetite for that.

Yeah, I think a great example of that is also a nighttime television where so many of the talk shows are exactly the same, but look at what the in-the-car karaoke and other things that he has done on that show have done to just make it so much different and make people want to watch it over just replicating a model that someone else has done since Carson was around.

So it really does have an impact. I did want to ask you another question on storytelling. One of the favorite interviews I've listened to was one that Hillary swanked with Tom Bilyu on impact theory. And I thought it was one of the best interviews I'd ever heard Hillary give. But he asked her, when someone comes up to you and says, who are you? What do you say to them? And she goes, well, it's so easy to say, I'm an actress, I'm a producer, I'm a director, I'm this or that. But she goes, what I really am is a storyteller.

And what I like to do and whatever role I'm in is similar to what you're saying Arthur, she likes to capture people's imagination, love, emotion through the impact of the stories that she tells. My question for you is how can intentional storytelling be harnessed by the listeners today to share their own narratives and impact their world in a more positive way? I think that to me the best way to get your point across, whether you're trying to get a raise in your job, or whether you're trying to deal with a difficult situation is with sincerity. And when you speak the truth and you tell your story in that manner, I find that to be the most effective way. At our office, at our company, we have a lot of young people and a lot of people at different levels and the climate that we encourage at the company is that

you can say anything to anybody. You can criticize anybody as long as you do it in a respectful way and you're sincere. You never attack the person, but you can criticize the work. And I've had production assistants tell them to come up to me and say, I don't think that's the right thing to do. I encourage, I love hearing stuff like that. Doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to it. It doesn't mean I'm gonna do it. I will always listen to it, I should say. But I think that when people are putting themselves out there,

when people are like I said, telling their story to the world, whether it's in trying to get a job or whether it's sharing their experiences, I just believe in being sincere and being passionate is the way to go. And it's amazing when you put yourself out there and people see that you're not afraid of being vulnerable and not afraid about sharing your story, that the reception that you get. And I always appreciate it.

Like when somebody comes to me and they're applying for a job or they have an idea for a show, it starts with them being so open and honest that engages me right from the very beginning. One of the things that I think people often see is the end result that someone achieves through significant hard work. For instance, yourself, they see the position that you're in now, but what they don't see are all the things that led up to where you're at now and how you got there. And I wanted to go back to Dwayne Johnson for a second, because today he's the highest paid actor in Hollywood, if I have a correct, but I used him as a focal point in a chapter of my own book on the importance of reinventing yourself. And what a lot of people don't recognize when they look at the rock is that his life by no means

was some picnic. And he had to go through so much turmoil, especially when he was young, that there was a point in time where I don't even think if he knew he could climb out of the state that he was in. Since you know him personally and your experience working with him, what are the characteristics in him that you see that others could learn from, that exemplify how he is managed to get to where he is in his life? he is in his life.

It's funny when you work in sports and entertainment, you get to meet people. I've worked with Dwayne and I've been sports side and there's stories in the book about magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky and the Dick Clark was my mentor and I worked with Paul Allen and all these stories are covered in the book. Dwayne, I'm not referring to any of these people, but a lot of times when you work in the business,

you sometimes you get disappointed when you actually get to work with them. And with Dwayne, I was more impressed after I spent time with them. I was impressed. I knew people had worked with Dwayne, and of course I knew about his public image and everything else like that.

But he's so thoughtful and so, of course, he's charming, but he's humble. He still has that humility. Even it's charming, but he's humble. He still has that humility. Even it's funny, you can be humble and have a big ego as well. He's got both of them. And Dwayne, there's a few things that Dwayne says and he lives his life by it.

He says he's the hardest worker in the room. And he is. And we were talking so much about how to achieve and putting yourself out there. All those things are true, but you have to have the work ethic that goes with it. Dwayne works incredibly hard. And as we were preparing for the Titan games that we did two seasons of the Titan games, I saw the work ethic.

He was willing to put in the work. He doesn't just show up. He's really into whatever he's doing, whatever he's in the moment, whatever movie or show that he is on, he does the work. He is prepared. He asks a lot of questions. So he's prepared. And what I love about him, he's also trusting. He's very trusting. He doesn't have that air about him where he doesn't let himself go and believe in the experts that he's working with. The other wonderful thing that goes with the work ethic, the talent, the charisma and everything else that Dwayne has is another thing that he says and it's not unique to him, the saying, but it's almost it feels like it's his thing because he says it so much.

And that is, let me see if I can get it right. Oh, yeah, it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. And he lives by that. He lives by that. And so much of what Dwayne wants to accomplish with his life beyond being the most successful Dwayne Johnson that he could be is to inspire others. But if you follow his social media, which there's 370 million followers, it's all about that. It's all about inspiration. And that's why, quite frankly, we were able to convince him to do the Titan Games

because Wayne could do anything that he wants. It's not about how much money I can make because he's gonna make a lot of money. As you said, he's the highest paid movie stars for. And for him to do a television show at this point in his career, he doesn't need to. But there was something in the core of the Titan games that got to him. You know, the Titan games was, you know, an opportunity for everyday people to be super heroes and face on these challenges.

And that spoke to who Dwayne was. And he was very involved in everything that we did. He doesn't just show up. And there's a lot of talent who does. So I was very impressed by his work ethic, his dedication, his humility, right from the very beginning, from the first time I met him, I felt like I had known him for years. Totally disarmed me about what a relationship is going to be.

And just an amazing human being. And I talk about the story, and there's a story in the book that I talk about when American Ninja Warrior had been nominated for an Emmy Award. And the Emmy Awards was in the middle of shooting. And we had a very difficult schedule. And we were shooting about an hour outside of L.A. I had to go to the Emmy Awards because I wanted to be there for my gang and everything else like that. And we didn't win. And I came back and the first person I saw in the set was Dwayne.

And he said, so did you win? And I go, no, he goes, well, it's an honor to be nominated. And we were all rooting for you. And just to have that presence of what I was experiencing and he was so kind just to think about me in that light. And Dwayne also realizes that she don't get there alone. He realizes that all his successes have been partially attributed, obviously, to the people he's had around them. And Dwayne has had the same group of people around them forever. The guy who runs his television is a guy who wrote for him at the WWE, who's very talented, this guy Brian Gorets, a very talented guy, but he stuck with him.

His manager and the chairman of his company, Chairwoman of the company, I should say, is Danny Garcia, who's brilliant, and this is X-Wife, which is amazing. The head of his movie division, of which there have been a ton of successes, is a guy by the name of Hiram Garcy, and that's his ex brother-in-law. And this group of people that he's got around them have been with him for decades now. Believe me, they're all excellent at what they do. But there is a tendency when you're a movie star of that level that that's very rare, that you're not changing and evolving and changing your agents and doing that and that. So he's loyal.

He's loyal and he's just an amazing guy and he deserves every success and not only because he's talented, but he's worked his butt off trying to get there too. Another question along the lines of Dwayne, and that is Dwayne almost made it into the NFL coming out of University Miami and it up going into the WWE as we all know. But I understand that you're currently working on projects with both the NFL and WWE, and if I have it right, a tentative name for the WWE show is going to be superstars of tomorrow. Can you share any more about either one of those opportunities? Yes, so we've been working with the NFL for the last number of years. I was actually just in New York with them. We were just having meetings and it was very interesting. A number of years ago, we got a phone call at the office from someone claiming to be part of the

NFL and the receptionist gave it to the most junior person in development. And this person comes into my office and they have no idea about sports or the NFL or what. They're just the person they gave it to was the person who knew least amounts about sports. And they said, I just got a call from the National Football League.

And I said, yeah, the NFL called you. I don't know, the National Football League. That tells you that when I said the NFL, he didn't really, any of the regardless. So this went on and I said, we know people at the NFL, that's such a strange call. And I said, it can't be the NFL. I said, it has to be a producer who wants to go with us

to the NFL and it was about their skills competition that they wanted to reinvent their skills competition. Anyhow, I didn't believe him that it was the NFL, but sure enough, it was somebody in the operations department. And apparently they were fans of Ninja Warrior, they were fans of another show we did called Dunkin' and a bunch of other stuff and they realized it was the same production company. And so about four or five years ago, we started to work with them on their skills competition, which is the quarterback challenge and all this other good stuff.

And then last year, for the first time in NFL history, there was no game. And we've worked with the NFL to reinvent the Pro Bowl experience. It's now called the Pro Bowl Games. And there's a skills competition that happens on Thursday. And then instead of the game, there's a series of flag football games in a number of skills

competition. So that's what we're doing. It's going to be in our land on next year. It's happening in February. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be much better than last year, because we learned a lot. So that's what we're doing. It's going to be in our land on next year. It's happening in February. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be much better than last year because we learned a lot. So that's the other thing. The thing that we're doing with the W. I am so excited about it. And I just watched a rough cut for our first episode. It's still shooting and we're shooting and editing at the same time. And that project

is for Roku. And it's the first time that the W.E. has really peeled the curtain off of how people get contracts with the W.E. in pursuit of being the next W.E. superstar, the next Wayne Johnson, the next John Cena. And it shows the process. And the W.W.E. has this program where they recruit athletes from everywhere, a lot of them from colleges, and they invite them to a camp. And in this camp, they go through all the things, all these tests that a great professional wrestler needs to have, which is athleticism, personality, the ability to think fast

in your feet, charisma, the look, the style, and we see that process. And it's amazing. It is so cool. And eventually, a number of them get contracts. And when Triple H, who's in charge of the whole program and Vince's right hand, and we see the moment when they get their contracts, and it's the most emotional thing. And then we see them, the select few who get contracts we go, we then follow them to Orlando, where they have the WWE has their performance center, where they start to build them into wrestlers in.

And it's just, it's such a great journey. And stylistically, it feels like hard knocks. They HBO show, the NFL show, just stylistically. Because it's a documentary series, but it's wonderful. the characters are amazing and the athletes are great and there's great rivalries. It is television that will make you feel something for sure because you're going to get very vested in who these people are and then someday we may have the next John Cena or Dwayne Johnson that'll come out of the group. John Cena is actually a partner on the project with us. He's one of the executor producers in John's Amazing 2. So, see, I'm really excited about that. So I'm going to have to figure out how to get a ticket to that NFL opportunity in Orlando since I'm so close to it. But I've also had a little bit of a peek into the WWE myself

because that he is pullered who went by Titus O'Neill in the WWE as a friend of mine. And I just love everything that he has done as well. And I know he's friends with both of those other gentlemen you just mentioned. And I did want to do a call out about Paul Allen who you brought up earlier. I don't know Paul personally. I was a senior executive at Dell and I've met Steve Bommer and Bill Gates. But I was talking to a friend of mine, Sean Springs, who played cornerback for the Seahawks and I asked him, how do your time there, what was one of the biggest takeaways that you

had or greatest things that came out of it? And he said, above far and beyond, it was Paul Allen's mentorship of me into who I am today. And I don't think we hear stories like that about these people and what happens behind closed doors and in the unseen moments. But I bring this up because we started this whole episode out about you talking about the importance of relationship

and collaboration and Paul Allen, Simon Cowell, and others are people you've collaborated with. And it's been extremely instrumental in your work with these prominent personalities. How do you approach intentional collaboration? And what advice would you have for listeners on how they can make this art a bigger portion of their success? Well, it goes back to some of the things I've mentioned along the way here is that when you're working with people who are at the top of their profession at the top of their field.

And even if they're not, I approach every meeting the same way is that is be prepared to do the work, be sincere, be honest. And that's what I think about. Every time I've ever walked into a meeting, I've always prepared. It's just preparing for today's podcast. I, John, I listen to a number of your podcasts. I've read about your core belief system because I think that's really important.

And it's always amazing to me when young people show up in want a job at our company. And if they don't know anything about our company, the meeting is over. It's a complete turn off. And I also believe that whatever job or whatever gig we're hired, we're paid to tell the truth. And so I'm always very open with my opinions and with all that, being respectful, being diplomatic, but finding a way to get my opinion across because I think that's the reason why I'm there. So I was with, I was Paul Allen's media consultant for two years and it was an amazing journey with Paul.

Amazing. And nice to hear that story about the football player who played for the Seahawks and Paul is talk about passion so much of what Paul did, especially after his life, after Microsoft came from his what he wanted to do, what he felt so strongly about. It wasn't about making money. It's just at the time Paul was, and I started working with him, was the third or fourth richest man in the world.

And so much of what motivated him was things that he believed in. He bought the Seahawks, not because he was a huge football fan, but because he didn't want the team to leave Seattle. He bought the Trailblazers, Portland Trailblazers, because he did love basketball. He's very passionate about the NBA. He built the, I don't know what it's called today,

but the music museum, which originally was called the Jimmy Hendrix Music Museum in Seattle because of his love for music. And so much of his investments was in new technology and new entrepreneurs. And so all the things that I was doing for him, there are a number of things that I would bring to him. There's a story I tell in the book about something I brought to him of which Paul had an opportunity

to really cash in and make a lot of money on a genre that we he could have owned. And he said to me, this is a great presentation. I can see that was great potentially, but you know what I'm not into it. I was like, what do you mean you're not into it? You're going to you're going to you could have a chance to make a lot of money and he goes, I'm just not into it. And that was Paul. That was Paul. He whatever he got into, he had the luxury of it. But I think that's how him and Bill Gates had so much success. And Bill Gates was an incredible businessman. And Paul was a great engineer. He was a great creative.

And that's where his joy comes from. And I respect that a lot. I would be doing what I'd be doing if I wasn't making any money. I didn't do any of this. I didn't do what I'm doing for money. In fact, all the proceeds from this book are going to a foundation that I started

called the Reach Foundation, because I didn't write the book for money. I wrote the book because it was something inside of me that I needed to get out and it was something that I wanted to pass some advice that I wanted to get out there. I found that as I continued a lecture and talk at universities and talk to people, the power of reach always keeps coming up. And I said, I just got to get out there. I found that as I continued a lecture and talk at universities and talk to people, the power of reach always keeps coming up.

And I said, I just got to write this book. I just got to do it. And but in turn, so much of this chapter of my life is about giving back. I've always tried, I was taught for a young, by my parents, to help people who don't have, as much as I have, to be philanthropic, to all the thinking of others.

And so I've always done it, but I wanted to vote more of my time to doing that. And writing the book is the beginning of that chapter. And then like I said, I started this foundation. I think I'm off topic. But anyhow, I'll come back. But working with, I guess I should say working with all these personalities and going back to, I think what the original question was that is, you got to do the work, you got to be prepared, you got to be sincere, do not be afraid to say to your opinions, because you'll be respected for it. And that's what you're there for. Those are my keys. The next question I was going to ask you, which is where you were spending your time now and what the impact of reach was going to have through your foundation. And I'm just going to end on this question then.

In reach, you offer insights because it's a memoir into your hard-won lessons. What is one key takeaway you hope listeners today will internalize to help them shape their own intentional journeys? The big message is when you reach, you realize the difference between a pipe dream and what you haven't dared to try just yet. That's what I believe. And if you can see it, you can do it. And you can't win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.

How many more expressions can I come on? How many more modest can I come up with in the last few minutes? I will tell you something, John, something happened to me. The people who are listening today have a choice whether to buy the book or not. But the one person who doesn't have a choice is the audio engineer who records the audio book. So that person has no choice.

That person has to listen to you read your book. So when I was doing the audio book, which was a few months ago, and it took me four days and you spent six or seven hours in an audio and a voiceover booth. And the guy who was the audio engineer, I was just the session of the day. And he really wasn't that friendly. And I'm pretty friendly. So I'm always trying to engage people in conversation. And he was a tough person to engage in conversation. He was there to do a job and really for four days, the only thing he would say to me was stop you're too close to the mic or stop popping your piece or whatever. And it was all technical things and I go out for lunch and say you want to grab a bite and they go, no, I'm good. And I don't know this guy either he doesn't like me or whatever, I, whatever, I'm not going to change, but apparently this. So, and then for my, when I left my last session, I go over to thank him

for the four days that he's had to listen to me, drone on and on. And he says to me, there's something I need to tell you. He says, you've changed my life. I said, what? He's changed my life. I realized I wasn't reaching enough in my life. And I've been thinking about it.

Every day you've come in and you've told me these stories of your life and your career, and he goes, I'm changing today. And I said, can I give you a hug? And he goes, yeah, okay. And I gave the guy a hug. And I said, listen, I'm there for you. If you ever want to talk, can he go, so I appreciate that. You're saying, thank you. And I said in my, I'm there for you. If you ever want to talk, can you go, so I appreciate that. Yes, thank you.

And I said in my car for 10 minutes, and I was like, wow, what a blessing. What a blessing that has been. And I don't know if the book is going to have that effect on everybody. Probably won't. But I'd like to say it's a memoir with a purpose. And yes, it's a story of my life.

And yes, there are stories about Rupert Murdock and Simon Cowell and Dwayne and Gordon and Dick Clark and Donald Trumpson the book. And yes, there's a lot of really interesting stories. But there are all stories that I've selected with the intention, there's your word, John, with the intention of showing the power of rage and the power of extending yourself. And so I hope it not only entertains people, which I think it will, but I also hope it inspires people. Well, I love ending on that point, Arthur. If a listener wants to know more about you and what you're doing,

where's the best place for them to go? Well, there's the A Smith and Co productions website. And then people can follow me on Instagram Arthur Smith 11 11 is my lucky number so they can follow me there. And thanks so much for the time. It's amazing talking to you. Like I said, when I just got into your background and reading your core belief system, I was like, this is a guy I'm going to get along with.

I love what you said. I love it. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. It was such an honor for you to be here and I'm so glad we could love it. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. It was such an honor for you to be here and I'm so glad we could do it. Thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed that interview with Arthur Smith. What an awesome discussion that was. And I wanted to thank Arthur and Blackstone Publishing for the honor of coming on today's show. Links to all things Arthur will be in the show notes. Please use our website links if you purchase any of the books from the guests that we feature

here on the show. Videos are on YouTube at both John R. Miles and Passion Struck clips. I have exciting news that my new book Passion Struck, which is all about the science of living an intentional life, is now available for pre-order. Links will be in the show notes. Advertise your deals and discount codes and one convenient place at passionstruck.com slash deals. You can find me at John Rmiles on all the social channels. You can sign up for my LinkedIn newsletter or you can go to passionstruck.com or John Armiles to sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Lastly, you can find us on the Brushwood Media Network where my syndicated radio show appears every Monday and Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern time. Links will all be in the show notes. You're about to hear a preview of the PassionStrike podcast interview that I did with visionary leadership expert and futurist Jacob Morgan. Jacob has focused his entire career

on unraveling the mystery of leadership and he's uncovered something extraordinary. The secret behind harnessing vulnerability is a superpower. Something he aptly calls the vulnerable leader equation. Jacob's latest book, Leading with vulnerability, isn't just another leadership book. It's an invitation to a paradigm shifting adventure that will forever alter the way that you perceive leadership.

Intention is really doing things with purpose. One of the frameworks that I have in the book is called the vulnerability wheel. It's really around, how do you know if you should be vulnerable or be leading with vulnerability at work? What criteria, like do you just go up to people and start talking? Like is there some kind of a shortcut

or a checklist that you can use? And at the center of this vulnerability wheel, which is a series of concentric circles, is intention. And that is understanding why is that you want to do or share whatever it is that you want to do or share whatever it is that you want to do or share. The fee for the show is that you share it with family or friends when you find something useful or interesting. If you know someone who would love Arthur Smith's episode, then please share it with them. The greatest compliment that you can give us is to share the show with those that you love and care about.

The mean time to your best will apply what you're on the show so that you can live what you listen. Now go out there and become passion-strawberry. you