Today’s guest loves solving the hardest puzzles, from crosswords to jigsaws to the meaning of life. He is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, including “The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World” and “The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible.”

His TED talks have been seen more than 10 million times. He writes for popular publications, including The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and New York magazine. He has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN. Please join me in welcoming A.J. Jacobs.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is a suitcase word – it can mean a whole bunch of things. My favorite kind of leadership is mentorship.”
• tips on how to engage a mentor, including adding a bit of humor.
• how curiosity and openness made him a better leader. the experience of being friends with and navigating very different social circles.
• his origins of wanting to be a writer and his start as an author.
• his journey of reading the encyclopedia Brittanica to try and learn everything.
• the process of pitching his first book, including almost not pitching it.
• how relationships and networking led to his first TED talk, and how he almost deleted the invitation.
• finding his 12th cousin – another email where a “crazy email” led to something great.
• how he pitched “sex advice from the bible” to Glamour and not only did it get accepted but received millions of views.
• his cadence for creating projects in his life and business. the need for social interaction and why it’s so important.
• how he nurtures and sustains the outer layers of his network.
• what he is looking most forward to in the next year.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com.