Scooter Braun: Bringing Light to Darkness
TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- How to fight for the light in the darkest times.
- The value of giving yourself a break once in a while.
- How Scooter infuses his values into his work.
Before I do an interview I normally write out more than a hundred questions. Then I walk around looking at them – almost as if I’m inhaling them. Then I rip the questions up. That allows me to walk into the conversation without a pad or paper. I feel light, I feel free.
The process is what I call preparing to improvise.
But I had a unique experience when I showed up for this podcast with Scooter Braun. I had only one question.
I wanted to know what Scooter had learned in 2017.
Most of the world knows Scooter as the manager of talents like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Many know that he reps Kanye West. Some might be aware that his company, SB Projects, is behind the television hit Scorpion. But I see him as a guy who loved Superman as a kid and to this day is compelled to be a force for good in the world.
That’s how I knew that 2017 was an extraordinary year for him.
A difficult year, at times, very dark. But it was the light that he brought to the darkness that made it extraordinary.
Our talk covered the suicide bombing at Ariana’s concert in Manchester last May.
And the One Love Manchester concert in June that responded to the attack.
It covered the devastation brought by Hurricane Harvey.
And the HAND IN HAND telethon that Scooter helped organize, which has raised $66 million for those affected, and counting . . .
The question covered Donald Trump’s first year in the White House. It covered Justin Bieber singing Despacito in Spanish – a song that has now been streamed more than 5 billion times. It covered the shoe empire that Kanye West is building with Adidas.
It covered the #Metoo movement.
It covered how he responded to the California fires that came very close to his home.
I’ve known Scooter for a few years now. Trust me on this: A listen to how Scooter reacted to 2017 is a window into all the great things he’s going to do as he moves forward.
Thanks for coming along on the journey.
Cal