Author Alex Banayan on seeking mentors for life (and writing) guidance

“You cannot change your reality until you see your reality.” – Alex Banayan

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Alex discuss mentorship (3:00); the genesis of Alex’s book The Third Door (10:00); “opportunity hurdles” (30:00); structural storytelling, and the art of learning (54:00); and the importance of thinking differently (1:11:00).

Alex Banayan (@AlexBanayan) is the bestselling business author of The Third Door, which chronicles his five-year quest to track down Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Warren Buffett, Maya Angelou, Steven Spielberg, and dozens more of the world’s most successful people to uncover how they broke through and launched their careers. Alex has been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, Business Insider’s Most Powerful People Under 30, and been featured in major media including Fortune, Forbes, and Businessweek. For more about Alex, check out https://thirddoorbook.com/.

Notable Links:

• Tim Ferriss (entrepreneur)
• Bill Gates (businessman)
• Lady Gaga (singer)
• Maya Angelou (poet)
• Warren Buffett (businessman)
• Steven Spielberg (filmmaker)
• Elliott Bisnow (investor)
• Cal Fussman (journalist)
• Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss (book)
• Tribe of Mentors, by Tim Ferriss (book)
• The Odyssey, by Homer (epic poem)
• Aaron Sorkin (screenwriter / director)
• Elon Musk (entrepreneur)
• Kurt Vonnegut (author)
• Steve Jobs (businessman)
• “Think Different” internal meeting (video)
• Jerry Seinfeld (comedian)
• Jane Goodall (anthropologist)
• Macbeth (Shakespeare tragedy)
• Hero’s journey (narrative template)
• Pitbull (rapper)
• Jessica Alba (actress)
• Quincy Jones (producer)
• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (book)
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi (movie)

This episode of Deviate is brought to you by the Paris Writing Workshop, which features a one-week Big Idea Book Bootcamp, which teaches people with expertise in a specific professional field — business, medicine, science, sports, finance, etc — to channel that expertise into a book-length narrative that inspires, enlightens, and transforms readers’ perspectives of the world, and of life. 

This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks, and AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, and can customize the route to fit your journey.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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