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Welcome to the Brian Bafini Show, where we explore the mindsets, motivation and methodologies of success.

Here's your coach, Brian Bafini.

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Well, the top of the morning to you. Welcome to the Brian Bafini Show.

Very excited for you today. A long-term friend of mine, very, very special guest, is joining us.

It's Mr. Tony Schwartz. And if you've been to any of my events, if you've listened for a long time, you've heard me talk about Tony.

Tony's a many time over New York Times bestselling author. He's the founder and CEO of the Energy Project, which is a consulting firm that helps high-level individuals and organizations more skillfully manage their energy in a world relentlessly rising demand of complexity.

We all know that Tony began his career as a journalist and he began as a reporter for the New York Times. He's a writer for Newsweek and a contributing writer to the New York Magazine and Esquare since then he's written extensively about leadership, transformation, the modern workplace, brilliant guy.

Tony's the author of six books, including my most endorsed books of my career is the powerful engagement, which is all about managing your energy, not just your time.

It's spent 28 weeks on the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Another fabulous book of Tony's is The Way We're Working, isn't working. Another New York Times, a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Tony graduated five beta caper from the University of Michigan and he's married to Deborah and Deborah is a psychoanalyst.

I remember going to their home in New York years ago and I could tell Deborah was psychoanalyzing me the whole time and I think she gave the nod at the end. This guy might be okay and that Tony was able to proceed. Tony's got a wonderful family, two beautiful daughters, four grandchildren. Tony, welcome to the show, my friend.

Likewise, Brian, and thank you for that story kind intro.

My pleasure. Well, before we dive in today, let's start with a little of your backstory. You know, let's talk about where you're from.

What was it like growing up in the Schwartz household and how did you ultimately end up being a writer?

Yeah, great. So I'm a New Yorker by birth and throughout most of my life lived in New York City when I was growing up and when my wife and I had our first child, but had since moved just slightly out into a part of the Bronx.

And if people don't know the Bronx, they will think about it in a certain way, but this, this Bronx is as you as you saw when you came to visit, this looks more like a supper.

So I live in what looks like a supper, but I'm very close to the city. And yeah, growing up. Wow, that's a complicated. That's a complicated answer, Brian. You know, you know that with you ask me that question.

I'm going to say it fairly simply I grew up with a very, very powerful mother who was a social activist and very, very successful in the in the world.

She was a really tough mother, Brian. And the reason that I became a writer is in significant part in an effort to distinguish myself from my mother to have some calling

a part of my own because she took up a lot of oxygen. And I wanted to be able to do something individual creative.

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