Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
    A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
    A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
    Audiobook5 hours

    A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life

    Written by Charles Fishman and Brian Grazer

    Narrated by Norbert Leo Butz

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    2016 Audie Award Finalist for Business/Personal Development

    #1 New York Times bestselling author and Oscar–winning producer Brian Grazer has written a brilliantly entertaining and eye-opening exploration of curiosity and the life-changing effects it can have on every person’s life.

    From Academy Award–winning producer Brian Grazer, New York Times bestseller A Curious Mind offers a brilliant peek into the “curiosity conversations” that inspired him to create some of the world’s most iconic movies and television shows. He shows how curiosity has been the “secret” that fueled his rise as one of Hollywood’s leading producers and creative visionaries, and how all of us can channel its power to lead bigger and more rewarding lives.

    Grazer has spent most of his life exploring curiosity through what he terms “curiosity conversations” with some of the most interesting people in the world, including spies, royals, scientists, politicians, moguls, Nobel laureates, artists…anyone whose story might broaden his worldview. These discussions sparked the creative inspiration behind many of his movies and TV shows, including Splash, 24, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Arrested Development, 8 Mile, J. Edgar, Empire, and many others.

    A Curious Mind is not only a fascinating page-turner—it also offers a blueprint for how we can awaken our own curiosity and use it as a superpower in our lives. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your management style at work, uncover a new source of creativity, or become a better romantic partner, this book—and its lessons on the power of curiosity—can change your life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateApr 7, 2015
    ISBN9781442382091
    Author

    Charles Fishman

    Charles Fishman is the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller One Giant Leap, A Curious Mind (with Brian Grazer), The Wal-Mart Effect, and The Big Thirst. He is a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award, the most prestigious prize in business journalism.

    More audiobooks from Charles Fishman

    Related to A Curious Mind

    Related audiobooks

    Business For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Curious Mind

    4/5

    152 ratings15 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Surprisingly moving. Very inspirational. Full of great ideas on how to bring a curious spirit into your life. Really great insights on the power of asking questions vs telling people what you already think, and prioritizing truth-seeking over being right. Highly recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This was a very rare perspective on curiosity! I really loved the tie in to leadership and curiosity and romantic relationships too. Such a refreshing book!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Hats off to the narrator. Curiosity is going to be a part of my life.
    • 5/5
      Great .
    • 4/5

      Really good ...
    • 5/5
      Great way to learn and discover - Thank you Brian
    • 1/5
      Its sweet :)
      I enjoyed listening the real and interesting account of curiosity episodes.
    • 4/5
      I think I was curious to know what made him write this book and was also curious how so many of his traits match mine
    • 1/5
      It is truly inspiring. I enjoyed listening the real and interesting account of curiosity episodes.
    • 3/5
      3.5 Stars, truly. The title and cover prompted me to impulsively grab this from the Popular Picks shelf -- not even knowing who Brian Grazer was (duh). I'm just not up on Hollywood stuff, nor do I gravitate toward non-fiction, but this was a good find. I am interested in learning, and curiosity seems an important component of that. According to Grazer, it is the single most important thing. His entire career and success is founded on his inherent interest in ideas, other people and what makes them tick. The book is part memoir, part sociology, part how-to and though it rambles a bit and has minor riffs on a theme, the content is interesting and thought-provoking. Originally headed to law school, Grazer got a summer job with a movie company (through his curiosity, aka nosey-ness) and that altered the trajectory of his life. Now a major movie producer and co-owner with Ron Howard of Imagine Studios, he has won numerous Oscars and Emmys and has hung with some of the most amazing people in the world. His summer job was to deliver movie contracts to people. He decided he actually wanted to meet these people, rather than drop the envelope at the front desk. That was the beginning of his "curiosity conversations" and his upward climb through The Industry. Since then, he has sought out some of the most influential people of our era just to spend some face time and learn what makes them tick, including: the Presidents of the last 20 years, Princess Diana, Fidel Castro, Margaret Thatcher, F. Lee Bailey, Jim Lovell, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson, Jonas Salk, Andy Warhol, Isaac Asimov,Carl Sagan, Salman Rushdie, David Byrne and literally hundreds more. Some anecdotes are more in-depth than others, but there is a complete list of his interviewees at the back of the book -- all walks of life and varying degrees of fame and success, but all fodder for Grazer's own creative process and movie-making genius. According to Grazer, curiosity is free, available to everyone, and an excellent foundation for success in life. It is "a tool for discovery, a spark for creativity and imagination, a way of motivating yourself, a tool for independence and self-confidence, a key to storytelling, a form of courage..." a basis for human connection,a way to transmit values, and a great management strategy. Conversely, "familiarity is the enemy of curiosity," and he gives some perfect examples in family life of thinking you know someone and how that leads to stilted relationships."To be effective, curiosity has to be harnessed to 2 other key traits: the ability to pay attention to the answers to your questions .... and the willingness to act." "Nothing unleashes good storytelling like curiosity ... nothing inpsires storytelling like the results of curiosity." If you find any of these quotes intriguing or inspiring, you'll enjoy this book. "Being curious and asking questions creates engagement." It made me think of our educational system, among other things!
    • 3/5
      Interesting at first--but became a little repetitive. I had the feeling this would have been a great long form essay rather than a full book.
    • 4/5
      A book on curiosity that acts as biography for the author. There are no studies presented, just a series of anecdotes. That said if the book encourages you to investigate something you would have not normally done then Grazer will have accomplished his mission. Grazer believes that curiosity can benefit all areas of your life, from the way you listen to person to the way you manage your company. While I disagree with his belief that religion discourages curiosityI agree with most of his book.
    • 3/5
      I dashed through A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. The author is a quite-famous producer of movies (including Splash and Apollo 13). The secret of his success, he reveals, is his explorations of things he is curious about. And that's the whole book. Lots of little stories about his interviews with other quite-famous people, if you like that sort of thing. But really, if you want to save time, just read the title. That's all you need to know.
    • 3/5
      It was the title of the book that drew me to it; and in that sense it was a disappointment. Grazer talks extensively about his propensity to ask questions and how it served him in his career and perhaps even in his life. I'm not so sure the strategies mentioned will work for others. The book started off well with a quote from Einstein : "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."Yes, Einstein's curiosity did indeed serve him well.
    • 4/5
      I received a copy of "A Curious Mind" by Brian Grazer, through the Goodreads First Reads program. This was a three hour read but well worth the time. Based on the premise that curiosity is both an undervalued trait and a key to his personal success, Grazer details his personal history of "curiosity conversations" with famous and/or important people and briefly explains lessons he learned from a select few of these folks. Very well written, I assume mostly by co-author Charles Fishman, the book is essentially a collection of interesting stories mixed with Grazer's self-help advice. I found the book light-hearted and fun, and certainly worth the time and effort. Most importantly, Grazer makes me want to better exercise my curiosity by approaching and meeting new a different people. In that sense the book is a complete success. One personal footnote regarding his list of conversations at the end of the book - it contains few literary figures. Plenty of magazine, newspaper and academic authors, but very light on the heavyweights of modern literature.