89: Cal Fussman – The Art of Interviewing Part 1

"You can palm the basketball, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be a great basketball player - you’re gonna have to work at it." - Cal Fussman Hey everybody, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (Formerly NIONradio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey! Before I introduce my guest, I want you to ask yourself a question: Are you a watcher, or are you a doer? Do you work hard and put in long hours to shape your Creative Alchemy, or do you use your time to consume others’ creative work?  Now is an incredibly exciting and challenging time to be a creative alchemist. The internet and the digital age brought both setbacks and opportunities for creative individuals. Certain fields such as writing and journalism have become far less profitable, but individuals now have the opportunity to get their Creative Alchemy out to the public instantaneously at any time. Today, I have an exceptional guest who has some great advice for pursuing your passion and getting your art out to the world. He’s a master Creative Alchemist in writing and journalism, and he’s known for groundbreaking interviews with immensely impactful people from Ted Kennedy to Jeff Bezos. My guest is Cal Fussman.  I had the pleasure of seeing Cal speak at the Summit at Sea 2016 on the art of the interview, so I was very excited to have him on the show.  My conversation with Cal was so great that we actually had to split it up into two parts because of its length, so after you've finished reading this post, make sure to check our continued conversation here.  Cal and I dove deep into discussing his lengthy journalism career and discussing the changing nature of journalism, writing, and pursuing what you're passionate about in the digital age. Cal's excitement for pursuing new avenues of Creative Alchemy was inspiring, and I hope that he encourages you to create some awesome content.  Who Is Cal Fussman? Cal Fussman is an immensely successful writer and interviewer. He’s the lead interview writer for Esquire's column "What I've Learned." He's interviewed several historic individuals, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, and Muhammid Ali, as well as iconic celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen, Quincy Jones, and Robert De Niro.  Cal is also a New York Times bestselling author. He authored and co-authored several notable biographies, including After Jackie on Jakie Robinson, Hitmaker on Tommy Mottola, and My Remarkable Journey on Larry King.  Although Cal is best known for his writing and interviews, he doesn't strictly identify as a writer. Cal has experience in a variety of different fields and interests, including journalism, traveling, and he even worked as a medical technician. He recently started identifying as a speaker when he was at the Summit at Sea 2016. When he was asked what he does professionally, he was surprised by his own answer:  "I don't know what happened. But all of a sudden, out of my mouth came, 'I'm a speaker.' And she said, 'Oh yeah, where do you speak?' I'd never given a speech before, but in that moment when she started to ask me these questions, I was a speaker. And ever since then, I've been speaking. ... For me, to speak is a very new thing. That's what I'm going to start to do now." - Cal Fussman Cal's excited to see where his newfound speaking interests take him. He recognizes that despite his age, he can still accomplish much more and develop new skills.  "It has given me a completely new life. You turn 50, and I think a lot of people think, 'That's it,' and what you've done is about it. Well, I'm thinking like a 22-year-old now." - Cal Fussman Cal has accomplished a great deal with his writing and journalism, but he continues developing his speaking career. After recording this interview, Cal started his own podcast titled Big Question...