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Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

How Radical Curiosity Leads to Innovation in Life and Work - with Shane Snow, founder of Contently

Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Business

4.73.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2018

⏱️ 75 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

#134: We often peek inside the world of business to look for lessons about how to simplify, optimize and innovate. But what can we learn when we examine world-class people who are hacking the system in any field -- including sports, politics and music? What can we learn when we're radically curious about everything? And how can we apply this knowledge to helping us lead more deliberate, curated lives? Today, we tap Shane Snow's brain for answers. Shane Snow is a co-founder of Contently, a company that matches freelancers with publishers. But we're not going to talk about that today. We're going to explore bigger themes. Because Shane isn't just a tech entrepreneur. He's also an award-winning journalist, which is another way of saying that he's an inquisitive person who lives in the world of storytelling and big ideas. His first book, SmartCuts, explores how people avoid climbing the normative career ladder. It showcases people across a variety of industries who hack the ladder, often by making unconventional lateral moves. And that is exactly the kind of thinking that appeals to anyone building financial independence, and trying to design a meaningful, autonomous and unconventional living. His latest book, Dream Teams, explores what it takes for a group of people to come together to create something amazing. How can the whole be greater than the sum of its parts. And he looks across industries, at everything from hockey teams to businesses and beyond, to find the universal threads inside these stories. A few accolades before we begin: GQ Magazine described Shane's work as "insanely addicting," and The New York Times refers to Shane as a "wunderkind." (I had to Google that term -- apparently, it refers to someone who achieves great success at a young age.) He has also, somehow, appeared on Gossip Girl and beat Super Mario 3. Let's find out what Shane has to say about innovation, curiosity, teamwork, and hacking the system. Oh yes, and kangaroos. For more information, visit the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode134 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

You can afford anything but not everything.

0:11.8

Every decision that you make is a trade-off against something else, and that's true, not

0:15.8

just for your money.

0:17.1

But also your time, your focus, your energy, your attention.

0:21.9

Anything in your life that is a scarce or limited resource, and I'm not saying that

0:25.1

to promote a scarcity mindset, I believe in abundance.

0:27.8

But the truth is that there is an opportunity cost to everything.

0:31.6

Everything's got a trade-off.

0:32.9

And so the questions become twofold.

0:35.0

Number one, what's most important to you?

0:37.8

Not what the society say should be most important to you, but what is truly a priority in your

0:42.7

life?

0:43.7

And number two, how do you behave in a way that reflects this?

0:49.6

Answering these two questions is a lifetime practice, and that's what this podcast is

0:53.2

here to explore.

0:54.6

My name's Paula Pant.

0:55.6

I'm the host of the Afford Anything Podcast and the founder of AffordAnything.com.

0:59.7

Today, Shane Snow is joining us to discuss innovation, big ideas, and radical curiosity.

1:05.7

Shane Snow is a co-founder of Contently, a company that matches high-quality freelance

1:09.8

talent with the companies that need to hire them.

1:12.3

But we're not going to talk about that on today's show.

1:15.4

We're going to discuss something much bigger.

...

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