Brad Feld

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Interviewing Jerry Colonna About Heart – His!

Feb 26, 2018

If you are a regular listener of the Reboot Podcast, you’ve heard Jerry Colonna masterfully interview many people. And – if you aren’t a regular listener, go sign up and give it a try.

In Episode 78: When Did You Start to Listen to Your Heart, I turned the tables on Jerry and interviewed him. We’ve been close friends for 22 years and I felt like it was time someone interviewed him on his podcast. I suggested it to him and his team, who either rolled their eyes or jumped for joy. Either way, it is now up.

I listened to the final version during my run yesterday. I smiled a lot, snickered a little, and grimaced a few times. If you want a taste to entice you to listen, here are a few of the quotes from the show highlights that jumped out at me.

  • “What I’m trying to do right now is pull myself into the present and be really real.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “I have always given a shit about people.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “Things are fucked up all the time like every day, continually. You can either just react to it, or you can deal with it.” – Brad Feld
  • “I think that there are two things that I would get excited about as an investor. People and product.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “Better humans make better leaders.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “I don’t want to spend minutes with people who I don’t feel are good humans.” – Brad Feld
  • “Good people do shitty things all the time.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “If you’ve got that inquiry process and you remain curious about human beings, you can, with compassion, understand and therefore protect yourself from the bad things that even good people do.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “Men at 40 learn to close softly doors to rooms they will not be going back to.” – Jerry Colonna
  • “This idea that people are fundamentally willing to work on themselves and that they’re there for each other especially when there’s a struggle.” – Brad Feld
  • “When I’m dust and dried up, and I’m dead and whatever, please just keep paying it forward.” – Jerry Colonna

It’s all Jerry for an hour with a little bit of me nudging the discussion along. None of it is scripted. We didn’t discuss anything in advance. Just two guys, who have known each other, worked together, and have had a deep emotional intimacy together – for 22 years – talking about some things that come to mind about what they think matter.

If you are a reader instead of a podcast listener, the transcript for Reboot Podcast 78: When Did You Start to Listen to Your Heart is also available.