International investment banker, bestselling author, political economists and economic analyst. By my guess you are 60 years old. But you dont look 60. So i dont know how that works. You are not 60. Not yet. Somehow you get all of this great life. The experiences. Two books, articulate the experiences of other examples of your journey to this time in your life command it is really amazing you are a talented writer and a good storyteller, and this is a good week. I thoroughly enjoyed it. First, lets talk about the book generally. Inspire you to write this. It is an honor to be hear with you. Thank you for everything you do. One of the most intelligent questions we get was what happened next. It stops very abruptly in 2,000. I wanted to try to give equal weight to both those two stories mina and the other who is now in your 14 pages the Correctional Institution in maryland. And so when i thought about this idea i knew that theyre was know way i could talk about my life since then because it is impossible to give equal weight to my story. I can i can write about his life since 2,000. Thats his life. The decisions that he made in the life that he looks forward to every single day. When i said why do you write about your time in afghanistan by doing these things and what that has meant it actually caused me to pause for a 2nd. What that actually means. I felt like over the past decade it was not so much an easy line to define where i was aware i would be but it was this constant search to find something that matters, matters, find a sense of impact find a sense of its greatness that you can latch onto and have it be all of your own. What i then tried to do is understand this idea is not necessarily your occupation. Your your work is when the greatest gifts and your greatest joys begin to start overlapping with the worlds worlds greatest needs and then you actually choose to do something about it. So with this story what i want to talk about with my adventures and misadventures is to celebrate what the work is and so many workers and people who arent so many Different Industries and have found a. Which makes life exciting. Well, you go back and forth, people in your lives that you talk about in chapters and then you weigh in on the experience. But the couple of things i want to talk about today one of the things i really like, you talk about that work and how you can make it meaningful for your life and others is to have passion. I am a big believer in having passion for your work in fact so much so that i have talked people out of jobs because they did not have passion for their work. And its not an effective contributor as an employee in the case is that im referring to it is the fact that they did not have the passion for the place they were in. They can move into another place and have great passion and become an outstanding contributing team member. I think about, and of course millions of americans who are volunteering with our support as a federal agency in partnership with nonprofits. But one of my Board Members that one time the wife of the senate president. Passion, but the passion and action. I think that is what you are referencing often times and throughout this book with if you are passionate about something your going to be successful. Another thing we dont talk about his passion and it is to me if you find someone who is passionate. Wow, you sure are passionate about your work. You are authentic, genuine the real deal. I dont think you can fake passion. How do you feel about some of the images you write about . To feel like that is true, that they are authentic people . I feel i feel like it is one of the only unifying themes that we feature. I have come to really believe that if you look at people who are really great at what they do, i mean really really great at there work there job what they take on , there is only one thing that all of them have in common, not where they came from, the family history. The thing that every that every person that has in common falls into that great category of what they do, they are incredibly passionate about it. I have never have never met anyone who is great at what they do and when you ask him if they enjoyed they say, its okay. Its only people who wake up in the morning thinking about it and go to bed at night thinking about what they do because it drives them is the lifeblood. My time as a white house and i went to go see a mentor of mine former president at Johns Hopkins university and asked me what a you doing next. I told him of going back into the world of finance and he said, really . And thus it is not the answer i was expecting you to give me. Just tell me why. Why did you choose to do this . And i told him i feel like its an important skill set and i was good at it. Rejecting and supporting my family in ways i had never been able to support them before. He said, listen im never going to judge you on this decision, particularly things that you think are best. But i just ask the moment you feel like that you can leave leave because every day you do something that you are not passionate about the become extraordinarily ordinary. Well said. And that hit me like a ton of bricks because we all are striving to do something special. We strive to make a mark on this world so the long after we are gone our impact is still around and it is impossible to do that if you find yourself becoming extraordinarily ordinary because you dont care. Passion turns into authenticity, caring, and success. Would tell him that story how mother would tell father dont have tell me they are so small adopt kel kids those story is father was saying they would have to hear it we had to live it, it goes to show the importance of making sure that story is are then passed on people understand the nature what have we are talking about the humanity behind what we talk about sometimes we think we dont share things because we are sparing. They dont need to hear in a they adopt need to know that but if they dont know their path they dont know their history how are we supposed to keep that in sense of contest the story he how we should think about future and stories how kidnappedness can truly change the world. I tell you i dont understand people walk around and withdrawn, makes you feel good i am someone that talks to strangeers, in elevator you know, so i am wrong one to talk to about this will you tell it lifters me up when you think of your another, individual influencing one man i think met in maybe his late teens, real young and he actually worked for an interpreter, and he had an interesting some tragedy story on his own, but it was uplifting to hear your connection, with this young man, and how he helped your unit at great risk himself, to himself, and others i am sure what is so special . I would argue ab do you agreea had more risk than even us. There was a Single Mission we went on that abdullah wasnt right there there wasnt a signel operation we conducted, and in some pretty dangerous operations, that abdullah wasnt right there because we couldnt do our job many ways without him we needed him spoke all the local languages whenever communicating with people he was the person with us helping us understand what people are saying when we had things to let people know it was him passing on the messages. The thing that was really was so amazing for us abdullah when we were done with missions turned back to the bases, we had all of our soldiers around us that kinds of things in areas abdullah went back home there were things called night letters in afghanistan what night letters with letters left on doors of people working for coalition whatever would say we know that you are working for the coalition we are going to kill you and your entire familiar by whatever groups inside the area. And abdullah was getting these letters all the time everybody knew who he was who he was working for. And every single day, he showed up for work. Amazing. Every day despite knowing that risk showed up for work father killed by taliban he did it because he felt i dream of a future in this country would you tell taliban when they are no longer a present force we can life our life in a sense of freedom that is why he did it he fought answered did it because he believed in something, bigger, and to see level of courage and bravery that he brought on was just remarkable to me because i deeply have a great admiration for soldiers paratroopers i serve with the admiration for abdullah all other people risked their lives every day is tantamount o so that. You didnt give yourself about your influence on abdullahs life if we interviewed abdullah i imagine he would say one of my mentors, you played a role maybe others in unit as well let me shift to another theme in the book it seemed like every individual in the book including yourself all had a Guardian Angel someone in their live that kind of helped steer them not necessarily many had lots of problems with relations articulated so well but there was always a theme of someone like my brothers keeper the talking a lot about for all young boys and girls, that we need to really as adults we need to be a Guardian Angel for, young boys and girls if you think about a country that always had someone to guide them, i really think it would make difference and now Statistical Research that meantoring really has so many positive effects on individuals, now we know by research it is legitimate we know now legitimate. That is right. I think so you dont give yourself enough credit dot dont mention in the work my guess is abdullah would say yes my block as well. Really i think we expand the definition of family and i think that is something we collectively have to do that familiar is not just someone who you are born to or born around or someone dna runs through your veins familiar is someone you love and respect protect like anybody else i bring i see a perspective to it as well like if we are all gods children by definition, we are all brothers and sisters, and i think we then need to treat each other that way. The world would be a better place and i think wr making progress i really do i think i just came from mentor conference here in warrant it was a largest attended they have had since they started this summit so that is really encouraging, what is encouraging is the actors are pretty interesting now we have corporations involved in mentoring at a very structured successful kickcurriculum, amazing work with colleagues having fun doing it too, and nonprofit, still included government leaders, so you know were getting a lot of people in organizations of all types, because the community has been there a long time i think, you know there stepping up all of our leaders are, so i think this is going the right direction with this i think this is something that is again, volunteerism in america part of our dna part of how we can serve others, the service in perspective. How we think about it right because part of the beauty of it is it is weird we think about the world, that we want to life in the only way we are going to have the world we want to life in if we can have a broader more inclusive conversation everyone feels a invested interest in suck everything feels they are part of the conversation a couple things interesting about idea of service one is you know the best way to think about service is even if you are not going to do it will to be selfless do it to be selfish, because it creates a better world that you will life in your familiar will life in people i was talking about a friend of mine an engineer wander to speak to kids we work with in baltimore involved in Justice System tell literally a what you do every day i want our kids to understand that kind of thing he was telling me listen i really admire the work but to be honest my service is i work with my daughters even amazing father for his daughters, and my point back to him was i completely respect that, but to be very honest, how are you helping your daughters when they go to a school has a 54 Graduation Rate how are you helping daughters at a sirn time at night they need to be home because streets are no longer safe to walk down how are you helping daughters at some point he this will look for a partner to send life with if you look at young people young men inside the area that 61 are in some form of supervision by the state, if you want to help your daughters, create a society that they can be safe and prosperous happy in if not to be selfless do it to be selfish i think about i talk in book Harry Belafonte i get a chance to intu him msnbc withstand day he was like a huge ledge end growing up part is because he is amazing talent my grandmother was attracted to him akonik he made a celebrity mean something there are a lot of people once they continue to rise they stay away from controversial issues they are afraid people wont see he movie by books, and Harry Belafonte never did that he was head first into controversial issues of the day evenk things that would potentially sacrifice his career i remember i asked him that question i said why was it so important for you to get involved in issues that other people stayed away from and he said interesting, he said because it just there was a he said it helped me to life o more interesting life, and he said he said he said you know some people wake up in the morning, and they call their accountants, i wake up in the mornings i call Nelson Mandela whose life do you think is more fun. Oh, that is a good one. A way of thinking about it because we serve both because it is right thing to do but we serve because it just makes life more interesting. And you know we actually have, research linked help the benefits to volunteers fantastic we know it makes you happier if sponsoring, Health Benefits like you live longer reduced isolations irendorphins kicking in instead of levels reduced as if necessitate to go study how human bode responds to voluntaryism, who would know . You know we do have Something Interesting recently because you talk about being selfless or selfish or selfless we have some new respectful that shows, that if you unemployed, and you volunteer, your increased likelihood getting a job by 27 . Absolutely. If you life in a Rural Community that likelihood shoots up to 55 . So now i am talking to young and old, but a lot of the High School Graduates, those in college who are worried about getting a job saying you know, consider volunteering you are going to expand, gain network is going to be increased you are going to gain skills so we are you know i kind of touching it like not only is it good for nonprofit people on receiving end, it is good for your contemporaneousareer kind of makes sense. So powerful when you think about it i think some of the most important professional ratepayers that relationships because of service side or things that you voluntary organizations that you voluntaryed with whatever the case maybe or just the way it helps you think differently, about something. All that stuff matters. Yeah. I want to go back i am going to continue to switch between characters in your book and things i want to go back to somebody i know and admire that is mayor Michael Hancock, i did not know that he was one of 10 children with three sets of twins. I mean i dont know anybody that is wild. And to listen to him i was with him recently we were working through he was very helpful cared deeply about working with this situation we are working with in denver but he was working with me on he brought me and never one of 10 struggled, growing up father divorced his mother he actually had help from an older sibling that helped raise he and along with his mother i mean really it is amazing, that he is a mayor of a major United States city. That is right. So about incredible talking about your impressions of mayor hancock. You talk about someone we have had so many lined against him one thing i love about his story was he really had you know, almost a singular dissatisfaction of success definition of success you associate everything negative with hometown denver like an inherent flaw in the city you know even when i think about it. In community. Blaming the community for what happened. And then so i think he told us to think now he is mayor of that city amazing what he did he took his greatest hurt and his greatet pains, and instead of spending time running away from them, he actually turned and did a 180, ran right into it. Right. When goes to show not only personal internal vision that he thought the only way im going to conquer this is actually by facing it on instead of turning away from it but the other thing i think he realized was there is Michael Hancock coming up behind me there are right now there are there are thousands of Michael Hancocks growing up in my city who would i be to turn my back on them . Who would i be to know that i could make an impact and i then chose not to, and i remember something my sister told me talking about definition of health, and she said my definition of health will be one day god showing me everything i could have accomplished had i only tried. Wow. Everything i could have accomplished had i only tried. And so so Michael Hancock mayor hancock basically said i know i can make a difference. In the lives of these young people behind me he can relate i know what their struggling is you are me and i am you. And by not doing that, by not taking on that responsibility not internalizing it making it permanent for who you then would he be how can you be grateful for the opportunity that you had to overcome above it i love that story because i think it receivers as svbz as reminder what we do with pain pain disappointment are coninstant companions that is human nature going to happen if it hasnt happened wait it is coming the question then becomes what do we do with it well counterpartlize it or we can look at eyetoeye and see who flinchs first he had passion for leadership role i know now more i didnt know this about him now you helped me understand it is really amazing. Lets talk about the expanded military thing our veterans. The Corporation NationalCommunity Service amere core senior, embrace other ways to support veterans but we embrace supporting not only veteranstive military personnel but also their families the families to a especially they see children who are seeing their parents father or mother period of time i think there is probable larger issue there than we