Episode 6: Van Jones

An interview with Van Jones, the host of “The Van Jones Show” on CNN, about how we can all come together as a united America, the impact he wants to make on the world, how he overcame a struggle in his career, how he deals with critics and his best career advice.

Welcome to the sixth episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.

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This episodes guest:

Van Jones was born in Jackson Tennessee. He studied political figures as a child, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. He majored in communications and political science at the University of Tennessee at Martin, while working as an intern at Jackson Sun and the Associated Press. After deciding he didn’t want to be a journalist, he attended Yale Law School and while a student, he was selected by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights to serve as legal observers in the trial of four officers charged with attacking Rodney King. From there, he wrote his first book “The Green Collar Economy”, which led to an appointment as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Jones eventually became the host of a series of CNN shows including “Crossfire, “The Messy Truth with Van Jones” and now, “The Van Jones Show”. Van has been recognized as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, one of TIME Magazine’s “Most Influential People” and one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People”.

The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:

What mistakes have we made as a country and how can we make positive change?
What impact do you want to make at CNN?
Can you discuss one struggle in your career, how you overcame it and what you learned as a result?
How do you deal with your critics?
What are your top three pieces of career advice?

Follow Van’s journey: