Ordinary Greatness Hosted by Tak Shoji and presented by Gnarly Project

The final episode of this mini-series features American talk show host Conan O'Brien.

How many times have we pursued something, only to have it end in a spectacular failure? And guess what - more will come, because disappointments are inevitable in life.

Everyone looks up to an idol, role model, or pursues an ideal self. We start out by trying to become the very people we revere, or imitate things we see in others we'd like to see in ourselves.

Conan wanted to be like the legendary talk show host Johnny Carson and host the prestigious Tonight Show. But things happened along the way which tested his perceived ideals and challenged his definition of success.

"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. Its not easy. But if you handle your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention."

It's in his nature to be self-deprecating (and humble), so no matter how high he's brought up - as a Harvard graduate, famous writer, or social media sensation - he always brings himself back down to earth by claiming he's only an awkward, pale, lanky redhead from the small town of Brookline, Massachusetts.

So without further ado, we present "The Brookline Ginger".

For more content like this, please visit our website, gnarlyproject.com.
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Music in the podcast:

Intro - "pleased to meet you" by jinsang
Outro - "her smile" by jinsang
Check out jinsang's SoundCloud here - soundcloud.com/jinsangbeats
Support jinsang via Bandcamp - jinsangbeats.bandcamp.com

Episode 4 features Tony Hsieh (pronounced "Shay"), CEO of Zappos.com.

Zappos is widely known in the United States as a big online shoe retailer, but to them it's not about selling a lot of shoes - it's about delivering the best customer service.

On top of training employees to offer the best customer service, Tony does his best to make Zappos the best place for his own people. From an earlier business venture, he knows what it feels like to lose the joy and motivation of working. So he provides his people free lunches, paid healthcare and even hires a life coach - all to ensure he can be nurturing presence instead of an overbearing one.

If we make happiness the number one priority, Tony guarantees life will be more interesting, fulfilling, and most importantly - fun.

Happiness is the key to everything.

Without further ado, here is "The Happiness Chaser".

For more content like this, please visit our website, gnarlyproject.com.
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Music in the podcast:

Intro - "pleased to meet you" by jinsang
Outro - "her smile" by jinsang
Check out jinsang's SoundCloud here - soundcloud.com/jinsangbeats
Support jinsang via Bandcamp - jinsangbeats.bandcamp.com

For episode 3 of Ordinary Greatness, we present Elon Musk - CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

Elon could've retired and lived comfortably for the rest of his life when he became a multi-millionaire at the age of 24, but his vision of the future involved something greater than himself.

He had aspirations of helping humanity reach a higher level of sustainability and survivability.

It's easy to forget just how skeptical people were of a man that was trying to make electric cars cool and viable while also privatizing space exploration.

Even the people in his circle questioned the highly likely financial catastrophe that was to follow if he went through with SpaceX.

How many of us would be willing to risk $100 million of their hard-earned money on a project that had at best a 10% chance of success?

When we accumulate wealth, we tend to stop taking those risks we used to take in the past - because we have a lot more to lose.

This is what makes Elon so different, because he doesn't see the point in holding onto wealth if he can't use it to fuel his dreams.

It's not always about gaining something for yourself. He believes it's okay to fail if he can inspire others to try and succeed where he couldn't, or to motivate others to take leaps of faith for the sake of their dreams.

For the sake of progress.

When a man of fiction - a superhero, nonetheless - is modeled after you in a Hollywood film, you know you must've done something spectacular.

But Elon Musk has no intention of slowing down.

Without further ado, here is "The Real Life Iron Man."

For more content like this, please visit our website, gnarlyproject.com.
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Music in the podcast:

Intro - "pleased to meet you" by jinsang
Outro - "her smile" by jinsang
Check out jinsang's SoundCloud here - soundcloud.com/jinsangbeats
Support jinsang via Bandcamp - jinsangbeats.bandcamp.com

Episode 2 of the series features Arlene Dickinson - CEO of Canadian marketing firm Venture Communications and a judge on the hit TV show "Dragon's Den".

Arlene's story is a lesson to all that self-affirmation and believing in your own potential can take you to unprecedented heights - even if you don't have a degree from university or if you're a broke, single parent of four kids at the age of 30.

Dragon's Den is a reality show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to convince the Dragons to invest. Kevin O'Leary is a Dragon known for his bluntness and ruthlessness in his criticisms and assessments - and his personality reflects the public perception of the business world and corporate culture in general.

We're often told emotions have no place in the world of business.

Arlene strongly disagrees with that sentiment. It's actually her very capacity to observe behaviours and emotions, and her ability to empathize with others that allowed her to excel in the business world.

Her kindness and endearing personality made Arlene one of the most popular Dragons in the show's history. And especially in Canada, she is one of the most recognized and respected figures.

Without further ado, we present "The Kindest Dragon".

For more content like this, please visit our website, gnarlyproject.com.

Music in the podcast:

Intro - "pleased to meet you" by jinsang
Outro - "her smile" by jinsang
Check out jinsang's SoundCloud here - soundcloud.com/jinsangbeats
Support jinsang via Bandcamp - jinsangbeats.bandcamp.com

Episode 1 of Ordinary Greatness features Kobe Bryant - former Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA legend.

Whether it's his insane pain tolerance or his relentless work ethic, Kobe is known to be superhuman - even among the circle of world-class athletes.

Some of us might not understand or appreciate the world of basketball and sports, but we can all learn a thing or two about how he approaches the subjects of career and life satisfaction.

What ultimately determines how hard we'll work and how persistently we'll chase our dreams?

Willpower.

It is the greatest asset we have in realizing our goals. Laziness is simply a lack of willpower, and not getting things done ultimately falls on us. No excuses. Honest and to the point, this is exactly what Kobe would say if he were talking to us directly.

Kobe is often criticized for being a selfish player that consistently took heavily contested shots instead of passing to his teammates for easier buckets.

To these comments, Kobe replied: "Too much is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions ... he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary."

So without further ado, we present to you "The Mozart of Basketball".

For more content like this, please visit our website, gnarlyproject.com.
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Music in the podcast:

Intro - "pleased to meet you" by jinsang
Outro - "her smile" by jinsang
Check out jinsang's SoundCloud here - soundcloud.com/jinsangbeats
Support jinsang via Bandcamp - jinsangbeats.bandcamp.com