Raise your hand it you like to travel. Everyone? I see. Now, raise your hand if you like to spend time with your boo thang. Everyone that has a boo thang (sans those who just got in an argument right before reading this)? Just as I suspected. We’ve interviewed for a lot of fun and desirable jobs on Half Hour Intern, but how about getting paid to travel with your boo? That’s gotta be the best job in the world…tied at the very least. Getting flown around, wined and dined, free stay here, free tour there, not too shabby. We all know that travel blogs exist and we’ve probably all wondered, “who the hell are these lucky people and why not me?!” Today we meet the lucky travel blogging couple of Roamaroo. They’ll explain how they got so lucky and what life is like on the other side of the rainbow.
Food Writer (with Emma Christensen)
Nothing brings people together quite like a good meal. This makes today’s guest somewhat of an important person. You could say that Emma is a food writer and that she comes up with amazing recipes for a living. You could, in a more indirect way, say that Emma is a happiness dealer that knocks over the first domino en route to good times and lasting memories. I mean, without people like Emma over the years we’d all probably just be eating the same damn thing every day, and there’d be nothing happy about that. Today she tells us how she comes up with her wonderful recipes and gives us a behind the scenes look at the food writing world.
Catalog Buyer (with Sarah Plovanich)
They say that what you own owns you. If that’s the case then I sure do hope that whatever owns me comes from the 167 year old Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. Consider being owned by a batman golf cart that shoots flames out the back…I’d be okay with that. Or how about a personal submarine, that’s also a sports car? Not too shabby. Yep, thanks to people like today’s guest, Sarah Plovanich, Hammacher Schlemmer, 167 years after it’s creation, is still a hub for high quality, very unique gifts. Sarah is a buyer for the catalog where she does everything from evaluate invention submissions to travel the world in search of the next great products. She’ll tell us all about what it’s like to have the coolest job ever.
Moveable Feast Retreats (with Laura and Tim Sullivan)
Life is a journey best spent with your whole heart and mind invested. Hold nothing back. Love fully. Travel far and wide, and learn and experience with an open mind. Eat great meals with people that make you smile. Experience deeply. Through all of this, live with a light heart that is focused on the present. These beliefs were the foundations of a wonderful idea and are now the blood and bone of a wonderful company, Moveable Feast Retreats. Uber amazing couple Laura and Tim Sullivan come on the show to share their grand vision for the ultimate vacation, and tell stories from the recent inaugural retreat.
Author (with Michael Goorjian)
Nothing beats a good book. A great fictional story can sweep us up in a make-believe world, blurring the lines of reality and the extraordinary. A great nonfiction book can disseminate wonderful ideas that we can logically digest and grow from. But why limit our lessons to the work of nonfiction? Perhaps the best of all book genres is the highly under appreciated philosophical fiction. Sewing seeds of growth while wearing the disguise of entertainment. When we are wrapped up emotionally in a narrative both sides of our brain can interpret a lesson, and a level of deep growth can occur that is difficult with nonfiction alone. Today’s guest understands this concept well and has written an amazing piece of philosophical fiction that speaks to the collective struggle of our time. He’ll discuss why philosophical fiction is such a great medium for distilling down complex topics, and explain what the whole book writing biz is all about too.
Vacation Rental Mogul (with Ryan Bradley)
They say that home is where the heart is, but what about when you rent a home on vacation? Suddenly your heart becomes more vulnerable. You want a home that treats your heart like the love of your life…but even better. Dare I say, like how your grandma would treat you. Anticipating your every need, and always having more in store than you could ask for. Homes like this are what today’s gust specializes in. Ryan saw the need for a home rental company that went the extra mile for both home owners, and guests on vacation alike. He pairs up amazing properties with people looking for a “grandma home” (damn I’m good at marketing). He’ll explain the ins and outs of the luxury rental business and tell us about his decision to quit the corporate life and pursue his own business.
Auto Mechanic (with Steve Honaker)
For most of us having a properly running car is a necessity. If our car isn’t functioning correctly, our lives can’t function correctly. We’d be late to just about everything…if we even had any chance of making it at all. Luckily for us there are wonderful people like today’s guest. Car not starting? Engine overheating? Bizarre clicking noise that you’re afraid might be animal living in your undercarriage? Steven has you covered for all of this and more. He’ll find out what the problem is and have you back on the road in no time.
Medical Device Rep (with Sam Kim)
If we ever get hurt, or our body has some sort of hiccup in proper function, it’s likely to take a whole team of specialized individuals to get us back on our feet. Physicians, physicians’ assistants, nurses, and the often unheralded medical device rep to name a few. If you have ever needed a procedure done to improve your body’s health or performance, there was likely a medical device rep involved somewhere down the food chain. Reps, like my friend Sam, make sure that the products and devices being used in a procedure are being used in the best ways possible. They can also help troubleshoot problems that could arise during or after use. As they say, it takes a village, and we should all be glad that people like Sam are part of that village.
Goat Farmer (with PJ Jonas of Goat Milk Stuff)
There sure are a lot of animals out there that get a lot of recognition for their greatness. Dogs are a man’s best friend. Chicken’s are coveted for their delicious, healthy eggs, and their equally delicious and dynamic meat. Cows stand at the apex of the red meat world, and are also the standard for dairy products everywhere. But what about animals that are just as awesome and somehow fly under the radar of acclaim. What about the goat? Or should I say G.O.A.T? Their dairy…very low in lactose and S1 casein (another often inflammatory component of cow milk). Their meat? Gyros. Their size? Cute. Their temperament? Did you know that goats wag their tails when they’re happy? Yep, they’re pretty darn great. Today’s guest knows all about the greatness of goats and how great their dairy can be. PJ is the owner of Goat Milk Stuff which is an amazing, family run, goat milk business. They started with soap and now make just about everything you can think of. PJ is nice enough to offer a free bar of her REALLY good soap to Half Hour Intern listeners. Just visit http://www.goatmilkstuff.com/InternSoap to find out what all the hype is about.
Gemologist (with Hannah Powers)
They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. I’m more of a pet rock guy myself…but today’s guest has me considering expanding my horizons. Hannah Powers is a gemologist which is a person that looks at gems all day and, among other things, grades them on their value. She’ll tell us all about what makes a gem a gem, what makes said gem valuable, and why diamonds are in fact pretty darn cool.
Working Holiday (with Yue (Monica) Yang)
Last year I was traveling with my wife and I said, “It’s just such a bummer that you can’t visit places for longer. A travel visa only allows you to stay somewhere for a few months. Think of what the experience would be like if you could stay longer than that.” Cut to a month ago when I get an e-mail from a listener of the show in China, Yue. Yue went on to tell me a story about this amazing program she had just been a part of called a ‘working holiday’. It is a visa that you get from the government of a country, similar to a travel visa, only it allows you to stay there for one to three years! Forget just saving up tons of money and going to some place for a few months, with a working holiday visa you can go to a country and get a job and live there. Truly immerse yourself in the culture. And no, you do not need to be sponsored by a company, or even have a job lined up for when you arrive. If this has piqued your interest at all, listen to the interview with Yue to learn more about the program and hear about her year long experience living in New Zealand.
Data Analyst (with Dr. John Johnson)
Did you hear, studies say two cups of coffee a day will give you a healthier heart?! I hear you, you can only drink coffee in the morning though. Never fear, didn’t you know that studies show that two glasses of red wine a night are proven to make you live longer?! I know, it’s the perfect one two punch! If only there was a study that supported my love of unhealthy food, like, oh, I don’t know, that eating grilled cheese sandwiches will make you more likely to have sex. This new world of studies is so great! Just start the Blake Fletcher patented ‘Coffee, wine, grilled cheese’ diet and you’ll be banging your way to a longer life in no time! (Please don’t actually do that or you’ll probably get an arrhythmia, alcoholism, and clogged arteries) It seems like studies are coming out every day that say…whatever the heck they want to say, and that new ones are always contradicting old ones. What does it all mean? Can we even trust studies and data at all anymore? Dr. John Johnson, data analyst extraordinaire and co-author of the new book Everydata, is here to help us sort through everything.
Brik Book Founder (with Brett Miller)
Have you ever had the dream that you invented the next big thing? That you made the next ‘must have’ product that people all over the world wanted. That you were finally the person that made something that made everyone say “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Today’s guest, Brett Miller, is one of those people. About a year and a half ago he created Brik Book, and after being featured in everything from Gizmodo to Oprah magazine, he is now in the middle of living that dream. Brett will tell us all about Brik Book’s launch and the lessons he has learned on the road to success.
Culture Manager (with Tom Freeman)
Culture is a difficult thing to define. It’s an even more difficult thing to influence and legislate. What makes one culture thrive and another flounder? What makes one artistic and another scientific? In the workplace, what do we even really mean when we say workplace culture? And once we get that defined, how do we try to influence that? Does hiring pretty much take care of everything, or does it go much further than that? Thankfully I don’t have to answer any of these questions. Today’s guest, Tom Freeman, is the Culture Manger for the wonderful meditation app company, Headspace. He’ll tell us about everything being a culture manager entails, and how he strives to keep a great culture through rapid growth.
Australian Special Forces (with Tim Thomas)
Each of us has something to give this world, and we often plan how we are going to do this. Ironically, while we try to follow this plan we often find that there is another, completely different plan waiting for us to set it in motion. Oftentimes, this alternate path that finds us is a far truer calling than the one that we set out on. If we allow ourselves to change course and give this new plan some momentum, it often unfolds in ways we never could have conceived or anticipated. We grow, we learn, we develop. Only inflexibility, stagnation, and fear of growth can prevent this cycle. This may sound like an easy choice to make, but fear and inflexibility are very real forces. Both of these forces are deeply rooted to our ego, and therefore carry far more weight than they should. As today’s guest, Australian Special Forces Vet Tim Thomas, speaks to during the interview, it is only when he made the decision to “take the ego out” that his true path opened up before him. From that moment Tim’s life in the Special Forces got better, the lives of Tim’s fellow troops got better, and they even became better soldiers for it. Tim maintained this approach after leaving the Special Forces and now lives a life of servanthood developing a safe space for veterans to heal and feel normal again.
Corporate Lawyer (with Eric Hobbs)
Luckily, for the majority of us, there are very few jobs that carry with it an assumption of who you are. Values, ethics, personality type, all there wrapped up neatly with your job title. Can you imagine if every time you mentioned what you did for a living people made an immediate judgement about you? Not too fun. Today’s guest, Eric Hobbs, carries around one such title with him. Eric is a lawyer, and he is well aware of the snap judgements people like us make about “people like him”. In Eric’s email to me detailing what he does for a living he even went so far as to say “Wait! Wait! Hear me out; yes, lawyers kind of suck (I’ll be the first to admit that), but I’m not one of those sucky lawyers”. First of all, that is really funny and shows what an honest and humorous perspective Eric has. Second, what is this non-sucky type of lawyer that Eric is referring to? Why a corporate lawyer that is, working for a company that makes outdoor recreation equipment, a huge passion of Eric’s. He’ll tell us all about what it is like to work in an industry that is related to your hobby, and what sorts of crazy things people try to sue his company for.
Independent Bra Designer (with Elyse Kaye)
I know I know. I’ve started several of these out by saying something like “fill-in-the-blank, isn’t it great” or “fill-in-the-blank, is there anything more loved”. But please, bare with with me one more time. Today, finally, we have an episode dedicated to the topic of boobs. If there is anything more loved than boobs…I’m not too sure what it is. Women love em’, men love em’, babies LOVE em’. They’re a real catch all. A great reminder to not see ourselves as so separate and divided all the time, and that at the end of the day we really are all one. One great big boob-loving family. In the interview I speak with Elyse Kaye who developed a sports bra specifically for the underserved and growing demographic of well-endowed women.
Insomniac / Sleep with Me Host (with Drew Ackerman)
Sleep is a such an incredibly important part of life. We all know that. Strangely, it may also be the most universally taken for granted part of life that we all share. When we are sleeping good and able to fall asleep easily we hardly give sleep a second thought. It’s just…something you do. When we can’t sleep, our bed can become a source of anxiety, our mind a prison, and our life a nightmare. It’s the number one foundational cornerstone to both physical and mental health. Today’s guest, Drew Ackerman, is very familiar with the pains of not being able to fall asleep. He has struggled with insomnia since childhood. Four years ago he decided to do something radical, and incredibly interesting, to help people like himself. He created a podcast where he tells bedtime stories for people struggling to fall asleep. Not too exciting, sometimes downright boring, the exact type of thing you would naturally fall asleep to. Drew’s podcast has since exploded and he helps hundreds of thousands of people fall asleep every month.
Group Fitness Instructor (with Mauro Wilder)
Most people in the world don’t get enough exercise. It’s just…so…hard. It’s like work. And we already have to work for a living. Who wants even more work to do when we get done with work? Many of us that do exercise tolerate it for the benefits, and we manage to maintain discipline long enough to get us to the gym or out the door for a run. Others constantly look for more ways to spice up exercise to make it more than tolerable, more than just work. Something, dare I say, closer to fun. Today’s guest is a group fitness instructor and his whole goal is to help you have a good time while achieving your fitness goals.
Nonprofit Influencer Manager (with Bri McKoy)
If I had a dollar for every time I wished I had a dollar, I’d be the Bill Gates of dollars. Is money really where it’s at though? John Lennon and The Beatles sure didn’t think so. Mark Zuckerberg recently decided to begin the process of giving 99% of his Facebook shares toward learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities. That is A LOT of dollars! It seems for many people that make it to the top financially there’s still a longing to do more, to give back. One of the best ways to give back is to find a great non-profit that you believe in, and support it. Today’s guest, Bri McKoy, just so happens to work for a great non-profit that you can believe in. She’ll tell us all about it, and the way her incredibly unique job helps support its goal.