Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership When we look at successful people, we tend to focus on the tactical stuff — the deals, the connections, the pedigree. What we don't ask nearly enough about is how they managed their heads through the failures, rejections, and passed-over promotions that inevitably came first. Today we're re-airing an audience-favorite conversation with a legendary podcaster who has interviewed hundreds of successful founders — and who has a rich failure story of his own. Note: this episode originally aired in January 2025 and we're bringing it back because so many of you loved it. Guy Raz is a pioneering podcaster and the host of How I Built This, Wow in the World, and The Great Creators. He's also the author of a book called How I Built This. In this episode: – Why failure is the secret through-line in the stories of nearly every successful person Guy has interviewed – Guy's own list of failures — rejected from every major paper in 1997 – Being introverted and using journalism as social armor ("Clark Kent going into a phone booth") – The lucky NPR internship that only happened because someone else dropped out – Getting passed over for anchor jobs — the brutal feedback he received about "not being warm enough" – Being told he wasn't a Scott Simon or Susan Stamberg — and how it eventually became a gift – How to actually view and respond to failure in the moment – Why taking small, uncomfortable risks matters more as you get older – The Brunelleschi story — a Renaissance dome that only got built because the artist lost the doors competition – The Robert Altman / David Foster Wallace insight that everyone else is the star of their own movie – How Guy met his wife (and what he's actually proudest of — hint: not the business) – How hard should you actually work? The generational conversation – Listening as the underrated superpower – The Dominique Ansel cronut cautionary tale on scale vs. sustainability – Why you can have a great life with modest career ambitions – Guy's mother — the happiest person he knows, teaching yoga in Venice on $1,000 a month – Why "How I Built This" is actually a misleading title (nobody builds anything alone) Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: https://www.youtube.com/tenpercenthappier Follow Dan Harris on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/danharris/ https://www.tiktok.com/@danbharris https://www.facebook.com/DanHarrisABC https://twitter.com/danbharris https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harris-91ba5716b/ #10PercentHappier #GuyRaz #HowIBuiltThis