Best Job Ever

From multi-millionaire football player and businessman, to having $4 in his pocket, Marques Ogden is the definition of perseverance. A naturally gifted storyteller, Marques joined me on the podcast to share his incredible journey, from making the NFL when the odds were heavily against him, the highs and lows of one bad business deal that left him nearly broke, to once again rise up with tremendous success as a public speaker and executive coach, with a goal of helping others achieve their own success.

A solo mission for this week's podcast, where I share a few words of wisdom, along with some content that I've been reading and very much subscribe to. The random richness includes:

• Embracing authentic conversations
• Speculating whether email is still an effective messaging channel
• Learning to take accountability (one of many lessons from Gary Vee)
• And a very quick chat with my #1 fan

Long-time friend of the podcast and digital builder, Scott Heron joins me for a catch-up from Melbourne. We tap into his success leading growth at London-based agencies within the massive WPP network, and the importance of relationships and people in his career journey. We also discuss how to become master of your own destiny, breaking down the story of how Scott and his partner both left big roles to start their own agency, Sonar Group.

Emmanuel (Manny) Samoglou is a Canadian journalist living in the Cook Islands, who has crafted that perfect blend of career and adventure. Manny and I caught up to discuss his pivot from an early path in finance, into his now decade-long career as a writer, all while taking time out to continue travelling across the globe with his family. Welcome to the good life.

Emmanuel (Manny) Samoglou is a Canadian journalist living in the Cook Islands, who has crafted that perfect blend of career and adventure. Manny and I caught up to discuss his pivot from an early path in finance, into his now decade-long career as a writer, all while taking time out to continue travelling across the globe with his family. Welcome to the good life.

Growing up, Dave Ebner had an early passion for writing and reporting, fuelled by his fascination with reading the newspaper and a subscription to Sports Illustrated. Dave joined me to break down his 20+ year journalism career with The Globe and Mail, his somewhat unanticipated stretch as a sports reporter, and what life is really like inside a news room.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the multi-talented Anne Forkutza, to discuss her early days in the digital/tech space, an incredible story from her appearance on Dragons' Den, and her current leadership role in the cannabis industry as VP Strategic Partnerships, Brand Officer at Cova Software.

Everything you always wanted to know about Big Tech in China, but were afraid to ask. I was thrilled to get the chance to catch-up with the humble, tech-savvy star, Helen U. 

10 years on from our days working for a media company in Macau, Helen shares her experience working for two massive tech companies in China, at Alibaba and now at Tencent as Head of User Grow and Operations.

He's #1! The first guest on Best Job Ever is the very talented design leader, Cameron Wu!
After 15 years since we worked together, I had a chance to sit down and discuss his adventures in Silicon Valley, working for Facebook, Airbnb, and now as Head of Merchant Design at DoorDash.

Some of the many highlights of our conversation:

• 7:52 Vancouver to Silicon Valley
• 13:18 From agency into product
• 19:00 Managing the hype of Big Tech
• 22:50 Hanging with Mark Zuckerberg
• 26:52 Office space dreaming  (for those craving to go back)
• 32:38 The move to DoorDash
• 46:30 Proudest design moment (so far)
• 51:12 Advice for those getting started
• 55:14 Random Richness - Invent vs. Invest

Best Job Ever, hosted by Rich Morgan, will connect you each and every week with extraordinary people, doing extraordinary things. We’ll cover off how they got started on their journey, the blood, sweat and tears to get to where they are today, and tap into the secrets of their success to help inspire your own career path. Our first episode is coming soon!