The DNA of a Storyteller with Robert Kurson

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

Srinivas Rao

Society & Culture

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2015

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode author Robert Kurson shares his journey from being an F-student in high school, to a desperately unhappy Harvard educated Lawyer and eventual New York Times Bestselling Author

HIGHLIGHTS:

A formative relationship that played a fundamental role in Robert’s career
Why a strong work ethic is important for a creative career
The struggles of a challenging academic career
Finding a level of belief that keeps you going
From F’s in High School to Harvard School
The power of being desperately unhappy
Making a drastic identity shift that allows us to produce incredible results
Finding meaning in the activities in which we lose track of time
How small opportunities can change into big change in our lives
Why we must take risk and experience temporary pain for our greatest achievements
Why unhappiness increases our capacity for taking risk
Mastering craft the storytelling
Developing a sense for how a good story sounds
The power of speaking from the heart

Quotes

Really great storytellers are people who notice the most

A well told story is a universal thing

Robert Kurson is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discover a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. His new book Pirate Hunters is a gripping, true story today, of the hunt for lost gold, bitter rivalries on the high seas, a long-ago legendary pirate captain, and two adventurous American men determined to win treasure – and find something even deeper – along the way.

Kurson began his career as an attorney, graduating from Harvard Law School, and practicing real estate law. Kurson’s professional writing career began at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he started as a sports agate clerk and soon gained a full-time features writing job. In 2000, Esquire published “My Favorite Teacher,” his first magazine story, which became a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He moved from the Sun-Times to Chicago magazine, then to Esquire, where he won a National Magazine Award and was a contributing editor for years. His stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You know I wish there was an easy way to to apply it in a formula or a general approach
0:06.9	The only thing I can say as I said before is that when I see people who seem to me contented in their lives
0:12.4	They had this leap at some point where they didn't
0:16.0	know where the bottom was.
0:18.0	And it was dark.
0:20.7	And it's the scariest thing in the world, but I just I think it's I think it's necessary a lot of the times and you do have to erase things.
0:30.0	You know and you have to go counter to societal expectations often and sometimes you have to go counter
0:36.2	to your own expectations.
0:38.4	Things you told yourself would make you happy, you know, your whole life suddenly, maybe
0:42.1	they don't make you happy anymore maybe it's not enough
0:44.1	and you have to be honest about it. I'm Sreni Rao and this is the unmistakable creative podcast where you get a window into the stories and insights of the most innovative and creative minds who started movements, built thriving businesses, written best selling books, and created insanely interesting art.
1:04.0	For more, check out our 500 episode archive at unmistakable Creative.com. May I have your attention please you can now book your train tickets on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on your next Uber ride so you don't have to walk
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	...

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