Why Not Now? with Amy Jo Martin

Van Jones is a CNN political contributor, NY Times best-selling author and he worked in the White House as an advisor to President Obama. He's known for being the voice of reason for both red and blue states during the 2016 election. Van has a brand new book out called Beyond The Messy Truth. He's a social entrepreneur, a Yale-educated attorney and he's been deemed one of the most influential peop...

In this episode Christian Schauf and I dissect his experience on Shark Tank to pitch his Uncharted Supply Co. From the steps he took to get on the show to his strategy for making it in front of the sharks, what it's like to be standing behind those intimidating double doors before you walk into the tank and what the process was really like behind the scenes. Christian has been to Iraq 40x bringing...

Ross Martin has one of the most creative and strategic minds out there. He spent 13 years as a top executive at Viacom and recently started his own agency, Blackbird. Ross has guided countless household name brands, helping them innovate and create impact. I never know what guests are going to say when I ask them to share their Why not now moment. In this episode, Ross exercises a "Why Not Now?" m...

Dan Reynolds is the Imagine Dragons front man and lead vocalist. The band has sold more than 27 million singles and 9 million albums. Their recent album, Evolve, went gold in less than a month and it continues to rise as they tour the globe. They're kinda a big deal. But they haven't always been. Dan shares things in this show that he hasn't talked about publicly before. If you want a glimpse behi...

Three of my favorite Renegades, who happen to be women. Arianna Huffington, Founder of Huffington Post and Thrive Global. Dr. Jen Welter, the first female coach in the NFL and Sophia Amoruso, founder of NastyGal and GirlBoss. Arianna Huffington talks about Silicon Valley's "bro culture" and her solution for changing the "always on" celebrated mentality. Arianna talks about the moment she knew it w...

JP Sears is a brilliant blend of comedy and spirituality. He has generated over 100 million views on his "How to be Ultra Spiritual" parody videos. In this episode JP gives us a peek behind the curtains and talks about how this ultra spotlight happened. JP shares a Why Not Now? moment that resulted in his very first comedy video. Advice for those who only let certain aspects of themselves show up...

Former Navy SEAL and base-jumping world-record holder Andy Stumpf is an expert in calculated risk. He shares how his years of military SEAL training and his fearless livelihood applies to the question of Why Not Now? Andy tells us how Why Not Me? and Why Not Now? are common themes in SEAL training. What do combat leadership and business leadership have in common? What's a wing suit!? And how does...

Mel Robbins is an expert on leadership and defeating doubt. She's a thought-leader on thinking less and taking more action. Mel is an Award-Winning CNN Commentator, Best-Selling Author, and Motivational Powerhouse. She shows us how counting down from five can help you tackle your Why Not Now? and literally change your life in five seconds. Mel shares exactly when her Why Not Now? moment hit as she...

Rehan Choudhry is all things beautiful. He's the founder of  A Beautiful Perspective and the Life Is Beautiful festival. As his good friend, I've witnessed him experience life's beautiful mess. He's seen some very high highs and very low lows over the past few years. We've been on a similar rollercoaster ride and both found ourselves no longer aligned with the "founder" seat we created. We discuss...

Tom Jolly is responsible for overseeing The New York Times newspaper as the Associate Masthead Editor. He's witnessed a great deal of change over the past two decades at The Times. We talk about everything from the evolution of journalism to alternative facts, real-time fact checking and how to disconnect and keep your mind healthy. Tom led the committee charged with reorganizing the newsroom to s...

Siri is a former 2x World Champion and #1 ranked triathlete in the world. Yet this episode has nothing to do with swimming, biking, running or winning medals. Siri explains how athletics have helped her get out of her own head and learn to love herself. At age 23, she could barely swim and she entered a race and now realizes it stemmed from an intense hunger to be comfortable being alone with hers...

Co-founder of Tory Burch LLC, founder & CEO Burch Creative Capital, a private investment company. Chris has also partnered with Ellen DeGeneres to create her ED by Ellen fashion and home goods brand. He's is a creative wizard. Now a billionaire, Chris shares his life-long entrepreneurial journey and some advice for people who pitch him their ideas. We talk about his areas of focus for future inves...

Mental health and suicide. Topics we rarely discuss. I share a personal story, a unique clip of Chris Cornell sharing his thoughts on the topic and the most powerful Why Not Now? conversation I have heard yet by Billy Corgan which saved his life. Why Not reach out if we need help working through something?  Why No t reach out if we notice someone could use our help working through something? Why N...

Suzy Welch is a co-founder of the Jack Welch Management Institute, Today Show contributor, New York Times best-selling author of three books and she's on the board of the National Humane Society of the United States. Busy! Suzy talks about how most of her Why Not Now? decisions have been made in tandem with her husband Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric.  Show Notes: Suzy shar...

Danielle LaPorte is a No BS kinda gal. That's why I dig her. Through tough love, wit, comedy and compassion, Danielle helps you help yourself. Americans spend $11 Billion a year on the pursuit of happiness. Danielle and I talk through how you can decide for yourself exactly what's needed in your life. She's a best-selling author, speaker, entrepreneur and Renegade. Show Notes: Danielle shares how...

More than 27% of the internet is powered by Matt Mullenweg's creation. Matt is the Founder and CEO of Automatic, the parent company of Wordpress. At age 33, he's a tech powerhouse yet he remains humble and willing to share his learnings along his journey. In this episode Matt shares takeaways from growing his company, tips on when to consider raising money and the filters questions he uses when ma...

We're sending one Why Not Now? podcast listener to Brazil for an opportunity of a lifetime! The scholarship recipient will receive travel and tuition for this immersive experience that will enable you to make that idea you've been thinking about a reality. More info here:  http://amyjomartin.com/ scholarship /   To learn more about monday dot com, and for a free trial, go to  http://hey.monday.com...

Oprah calls her a hero. At age 19, Amy Purdy was given a 2% chance to live after being diagnosed with meningitis. Due to a lack of circulation, she lost her legs below the knees. After this life-altering experience, Amy, now 37, has gone on to become a Paralympian snowboard champion, ABC's Dancing With The Stars runner-up, author, speaker and co-founder of non-profit Adaptive Action Sports. Amy kn...

Liz Powers is the co-founder of ArtLifting, one of the most innovative companies out there (in my opinion). She's also a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur. Her for profit, do-good and do-well, company helps homeless and disabled individuals sell their artwork so they can put a roof over their heads and access new opportunity. ArtLifting has built the solution to a problem into their product....

IN-Q is a multi-platinum winning songwriter, National Slam Poetry champion and incredible spoken word performer. He's written songs for Disney, Selena Gomez and many other artists. In-Q, short for In Question, writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge his audiences to look deeper into the human experience and ask questions about themselves, their environment, and the world at large. Show Notes:...

Jim Kwik teaches people how to learn. He's a world expert in speed-reading, memory improvement, and optimal brain performance. Jim had a brain injury when he was very young which caused learning disabilities and then he went on to become a master of the brain. His clients include Nike, Harvard, GE, Virgin and Singularity University. As the CEO and Founder of Kwik Learning, Jim even taught me how t...

She's the woman behind Huffington Post, founder of Thrive Global and author of countless books. Arianna Huffington is one of the world's most powerful & influential women according to Forbes. In 2011, AOL acquired Huffington Post for $315 million and Arianna recently stepped down from the company to start a new company. Arianna shares the Why Not Now? moment when she decided to leave the company t...

An unexpected prompt caused Lane Wood to change nearly every aspect of his life in a matter of months. He came out as gay, moved, became healthy and transformed his outlook. Born in conservative Oklahoma and once a pastor at his church, Lane shares exactly how he navigated out of the closet.  Turns out, we are all in some sort of closet. Coming out is just a difficult conversation. A closet is no...

He's one of the most accomplished sports business execs. Scott O'Neil is the CEO of the NHL's NJ Devils, NBA's Philadelphia 76'ers AND the Prudential Center. (Yes, all three at the same time.) He's spent time as the President of Madison Square Garden and SVP at the National Basketball Association. I met Scott while working in the NBA and I've always been drawn to his contagious energy and unique l...

Erik Wahl redesigned his internal operating system in effort to live the American Dream instead of continuing to live the American Nightmare. Erik is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, TED speaker, No 1 bestselling author and creativity scientist. He's one of the most sought-after corporate speakers on the circuit today. On stage, Erik's speed painting and audience engagement acts as a...