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Isn't summer supposed to be for relaxing? I kinda remember it being that way once. But I suppose that was before I had a magazine, two kids, and now THREE podcasts to manage. News about that third podcast coming at you real fast, below.

I hope you're having a relaxing (or productive!) (or both!) summer. This edition of the newsletter should help you do a little of both, because we've got...

1. Money makes life awkward, so we're going to talk about it!

2. Work should be more fun, and Shaq is here to help you!

3. Leadership isn't for everyone, and that's OK!

4. This billionaire has some lessons for you!

5. This non-billionaire (me) has a lesson for you!

Ready for it? Here we go.
 

1. Let's talk about money! 💰💰💰



I'm so, so excited to finally share this: I have a new podcast called Hush Money and you can now subscribe and listen to the first episode!

Hush Money is a show designed to talk about all the tricky, awkward, difficult ways that money screws with our lives. In each episode, my cohost Nicole Lapin and I take on a question like "Do you give your friend a loan?" or "Is debt a dealbreaker?" or "Who pays on a first date?" We hear from a real-life person struggling with this question, debate the answer, and then bring on a celebrity judge to decide who's right.

If you're a long-time reader of this newsletter, you may remember me soliciting stories from people about their tricky money problems. You'll hear some of those results on the show! And we're now planning for Season 2, so seriously -- reach out anytime with great questions you've wrestled with, or your own surprising and interesting money-related stories.
 

2. Make Work Fun!

Remember Spuds MacKenzie, right? The dog from the Bud Light commercial? When Shaquille O’Neal saw Spuds on TV in the 1990s, he thought, Hey, I could do that. “Why do people like this ugly-ass, Little Rascals looking dog?” O’Neal says he asked himself. “Because his commercials are fun.” Spuds wore sunglasses and a Hawaiian-print shirt. According to his commercials, he was a “party-loving, happening dude.” 

O’Neal thought: If I ever get the chance to market myself, it has to be on that. There always has to be humor, and there always has to be something that makes people remember. In that moment an alter ego was born: O’Neal dubbed himself the Doctor of Fun.

And this, I'd argue, is why O'Neal is so successful today. He isn't just a former basketball player. He's a guy who knows how to bring fun and joy wherever he goes -- and that's made him the kind of guy people love to love, and that brands want to be a part of. It's a lesson for all: Give people something to remember!

This insight comes from Entrepreneur's cover story on Shaq, in which we tell the tale behind how he became the new face of Papa John's. The whole thing is fun and delightful, and definitely worth your time.
 

3. Leadership isn't for everyone, and that's OK!



Is leadership right for everyone?

It feels like I’m supposed to say yes. It’s an insult to say someone can’t lead! But I recently talked to leadership expert Scott Miller, who has a totally different way of thinking about it. Here’s what he told me:

“I think that people too often are lured into a leadership role, not led. In the US, the badge of honor is to become a leader. How do you earn more money, get a corner office, have a better tile? It’s to move into leadership. And I think too many people become leaders when they just should have stayed an amazing individual producer.

“I would caution people—is moving into leadership of people the right role for you? There’s no shame in saying, 'You know what? No thank you.' Because I have seen too many extraordinarily productive, influential, individual performers move up into leadership and they crumble. And then they end up flaming out. And they often times leave the organization. Now you’ve lost your new leader, and your highest performer!”

His argument: If you’re going to promote someone into a leadership role, be very deliberate, and be very upfront about the inherent challenges. And if you’re facing a leadership role yourself, it’s OK to not take it! There is, as Scott says, no shame in being a great individual.

Want more? I had a long conversation with Scott for my other podcast Problem Solvers. Here's the episode.
 

4. Three rules, a billion dollars.



Want to know a billionaire’s rules for starting a business? Here’s what Blackstone CEO/chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman calls his “three basic tests,” which he believes any new business must pass:

1. “Your idea has to be big enough to justify devoting your life to it. Make sure it has the potential to be huge.”

2. “It should be unique. When people see what you are offering, they should say to themselves, ‘My gosh, I need this. I’ve been waiting for this.’”

3. "Your timing must be right. The world actually doesn’t like pioneers, so if you are too early, your risk of failure is high. The market you are targeting should be lifting off with enough momentum to help make you successful.”

I found these in his upcoming book, called What It Takes.
 

5. What everyone else sees.



You work. You struggle. You persevere. And if it pays off right, people will look at what you’ve done and think it just came naturally. They’ll think it was inevitable. It wasn’t, of course. But they’ll see what they’ll see. And you’ll know what you know.