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Mike Rowe Interview (Full Episode) | The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)

Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) is perhaps the best storyteller and pitchman I’ve ever had on the show. You might know Mike from his eight seasons of Dirty Jobs, but that’s just a tiny piece of the story. His performing career began in 1984 when he faked his way into the Baltimore Opera to get his union card and meet girls, both of which he accomplished during a performance of Rigoletto. His transition to television occurred in 1990 when — to settle a bet — he auditioned for the QVC Shopping Channel and was promptly hired after talking about a pencil for nearly eight minutes. There, he worked the graveyard shift for three years, until he was ultimately fired for making fun of products and belittling viewers. Now, he is a massively successful TV host, writer, narrator, producer, actor, and spokesman. Enjoy! Intro [00:00] Dirty Jobs and the surprising respectability of biting the balls off a sheep [7:22] Developing the skill of impromptu performance [15:40] How Mike started working at QVC [18:30] The QVC audition process and selling a pencil [21:00] The distinguishing characteristics of the best sellers on QVC [24:12] How Mike was fired from QVC three times [29:18] American Airlines and unlimited access to first-class travel [32:57] On being a sanguine freelancer from the age of 28 to 42 [39:24] When hubris led to a change [42:44] On selling Dirty Jobs to Discovery and the authenticity critical to the show’s success [46:22] Constraints, antagonists, and parameters for creative projects [57:06] The Ford project [1:00:31] Pursuing opportunities when you’re not passionate about the projects [1:02:41] Daily practices or morning rituals [1:07:27] Procrastination and managing distractions [1:09:38] Most gifted books [1:13:34] Most astonishing narration work [1:24:16] Why William Shatner was always ahead of his time [1:29:06] Why great storytellers find it hard to tell their own stories [1:33:07] On starting The Way I Heard It, Mike’s podcast [1:39:22] When you think of the word “successful,” who is the first person who comes to mind and why? [1:50:02] If you could have a billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say? [1:50:55] If you could have every high-school graduate in the US read/watch/consume 2–3 things, what would you prescribe? [1:55:41] Advice to your 30-year-old self [2:10:56] Connect with Mike Rowe: Like Mike Rowe on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe Follow Mike Rowe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks The Importance of Being Dirty: Lessons from Mike Rowe Show notes: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/05/04/mike-rowe/ SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 200 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://bit.ly/2rYjUBr Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: http://bit.ly/17jDHw3 Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/1avYUxq Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/17d94TE Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/2IfH37J Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/2IfH37J

Tim FerrisshostMike Roweguest

Jun 9, 20162h 21mWatch on YouTube ↗

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WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Mike Rowe on Pencils, Dirty Jobs, Passion, Work Ethic and Storytelling

Mike Rowe recounts a career built on lost bets and crashed auditions, from the Baltimore Opera to talking about a pencil for eight minutes at QVC, a freelance mercenary stretch, and an American Airlines travel show that came with a must-fly pass.
Rowe says Dirty Jobs grew out of wanting to do something on TV that his skilled-trades grandfather would recognize as work, and it led to the mikeroweWORKS foundation and its work ethic scholarships.
He argues that 'follow your passion' is bad advice, saying happy workers like septic-tank entrepreneur Les Swanson went where others weren't, got very good, and learned to love the work, so you should bring your passion with you.
Rowe criticizes pushing teenagers straight from high school into debt-funded college, and suggests a year of work or apprenticeship, while Ferriss shares his own year off and optimism about free learning tools.
The two swap book and voice-performer recommendations and discuss Rowe's podcast The Way I Heard It, which tells five-minute stories about famous people's turning points, using Bruno Mars as an example.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Take one beats take two

Rowe insisted on no second takes on Dirty Jobs because he felt the second take is always a performance, and he applies the same instinct to speeches, posts and podcasts.

Constraints and antagonists fuel creativity

Rowe says the blank page scares him because it has no antagonist, and he credits the rigid structure of QVC and Discovery's expectations for making his difference stand out.

Bring your passion with you rather than following it

Drawing on Les Swanson, Rowe says the happiest workers found work nobody else was doing, committed to being good at it, and then learned to love it.

Aggressive transparency can replace expertise

Uneasy about faking expertise, Rowe pitched himself to Discovery as a fan with access, and he says the only way to be authentic while ignorant is to be aggressively transparent.

Hubris of the mercenary career led to a reckoning

After years of freelancing without caring about the work, Rowe was moved by his grandfather's illness to want TV work that looked like real work, which led to Dirty Jobs.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

So all, so always follow your passion, for me, became never follow your passion, but always bring it with you.

— Mike Rowe

Just because it's futile doesn't mean it can't be fun.

— Mike Rowe

And just because, just because you love something doesn't mean you can't suck at it.

— Mike Rowe

We are lending money we don't have to kids who will never be able to pay it back to train them for jobs that don't exist anymore.

— Mike Rowe

Advice is that thing you, um, you ask for when you secretly know the answer and wish you didn't.

— Mike Rowe

QVC and selling a pencilDirty Jobs origins and the Discovery pitchFreelancing and the American Airlines D3 passPassion versus opportunityWork ethic scholarships and the skills gapCollege debt and gap yearsThe Way I Heard It podcast and peripeteia

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

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