Tom Scott On Curiosity, The Power of Story & The Lost Art of Conversation

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“Storytelling is a big part of what I do, but it’s all driven by curiosity.”

Tom Scott

There is nothing more powerful than a story well told.

Built into the very fabric of what makes us human, this ancient art holds the power to transform not just the individual but humanity at large.

Nobody understands this better than Tom Scott — a man devoted to the idea that when curiosity, conversation and community converge, the world indeed becomes a better place.

A graduate of Brown University with a Masters of Divinity from Yale, Tom is perhaps best known as the co-founder and original CEO of Nantucket Nectars. Founded in 1989 — long before it was cool to be a start-up founder — the fruit juice venture quickly grew to national prominence, making the “Inc. 500” list of fastest growing U.S. companies five years in a row and garnering Tom accolades, including the Mercury Award for Advertising and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

After selling Nantucket Nectars in 2002, Tom reinvented himself as a film and television producer. In 2004 he formed Plum TV, which owned and operated a network of stations around the country and received more than 14 Emmy awards. He produced television ads for companies like Nike and BMW. He created and produced the HBO series The Neistat Brothers with 3-time podcast guest Casey Neistat. And in 2010 he won an Independent Spirit Award for producing the feature-length film Daddy Longlegs (also with Casey).

Tom’s current passion is The Nantucket Project. Akin to TED but much more intimate, TNP is both an annual event and a movement — gatherings large and small (plus a new podcast, The Neighborhood Project) that bring together thought leaders across a wide range of disciplines to explore the most relevant, cutting-edge ideas and the implications such ideas pose for the betterment of culture, society and business.

I have known Tom since 7th grade. We attended junior high and high school together. These were not my favorite times, so it was incredibly healing to revisit that era with someone who was there. We discuss Tom’s entrepreneurial success. What he aims to achieve with The Nantucket Project. And the power of story to inspire wonder, cultivate community, ignite change, and unite us in this most divided time.

I’ve been waiting 30 years to have this conversation. Honest, intimate and personally meaningful, it’s exactly the exchange I always hoped it would be.

You’re in for a treat. Enjoy!

For the visually inclined, the podcast is viewable on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/tomscottandrich

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Peace + Plants,