#65 Creating the Life You Want: Former President of Hearst Magazines Michael Clinton

What this episode is about

In this discussion, Michael Clinton, former president of Hearst Magazines and author of "Roar," shares insights on creating a fulfilling life through the principles of reimagining oneself, owning personal identity and circumstances, and developing actionable plans for future success. His unique perspective draws from his diverse experiences as an author, traveler, and entrepreneur, encouraging individuals to actively shape their destinies at any age.

Key takeaways

• Reimagine your favorite future: don’t leave your life plan to chance or whimsy.
• Own your story, including your health and finances—self-awareness is the ultimate power move.
• Action plans are not just for projects; they're essential for crafting a meaningful life trajectory.
• Reassess relationships: the right people can propel you towards your dreams or weigh you down.
• Reflect at 90: what legacy will you leave? Live today with the end in mind.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Michael Clinton (Guest) · 15 min speaking
• Lynn Tomman (Host) · 10 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Hurst Magazines, Food Network Magazine, Oprah Magazine
2. 15:00 – 20:00: International Center of Photography, Starlife Foundation

Notable quotes from "#65 Creating the Life You Want: Former President of Hearst Magazines Michael Clinton"

• As president of Hurst magazines today he's going to give practical advice about creating the life you want he's just written a book called Roar on how to do that at any age…

  about Roar · at 0:36

• Photographers I went to the photography auctions I went to photography galleries I ultimately got involved in the International Center of photography of which I'm on the board…

  about International Center of Photography · at 15:19

• Advice I ever received was I'm going to go back to the seat because when I was a young success I was the youngest publisher in the magazine industry at 34 I was the publisher…

  about GQ · at 19:24

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Michael Clinton — Person · Main guest · 2 mentions
  Interview subject discussing his ROAR framework for reimagining life at any age, drawing on his media career and personal “life layering” approach.
  Today I'm delighted to be with Michael Clinton...

Books & papers

• Roar — Book · Primary recommendation · 2 mentions
  The book discussed in the episode, providing practical advice on creating the life one wants.

Companies & orgs

• Hurst Magazines — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at 0:36
  Micha Clinton's affiliation as president, mentioned in the context of his professional background.
  Start several magazines including o the Oprah Magazine and Food Network Magazine as president of Hurst magazines today he's going to give practical advice about creating the…
• Food Network Magazine — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 0:34
  Mentioned as one of the magazines Micha Clinton helped start, highlighting his professional achievements.
  Tomman hi everyone it's Lyn toen welcome to another episode today I'm delighted to be with Micha Clinton Michael helped start several magazines including o the Oprah Magazine…
• Oprah Magazine — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 0:34
  Mentioned as one of the magazines Micha Clinton helped start, highlighting his professional achievements.
  Tomman hi everyone it's Lyn toen welcome to another episode today I'm delighted to be with Micha Clinton Michael helped start several magazines including o the Oprah Magazine…
• GQ — Company · Referenced work · 2 mentions
  Mentioned as part of Micha Clinton's early career achievements, illustrating his professional journey.
• International Center of Photography — Company · Affiliation · 1 mention · first at 15:26
  Mentioned in the context of Micha Clinton's involvement in photography, showcasing his layered life.
• Starlife Foundation — Company · Affiliation · 1 mention · first at 15:52
  Mentioned in the context of Micha Clinton's philanthropic activities, illustrating his layered life.
  But I'll do a popup if it can be a fundraiser for a board that I'm on which was the starlife foundation which is like make a wish and we did it and we had a great evening and…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 welcome to the three takeaways podcast which features short memorable conversations with the world's best thinkers Business Leaders writers politicians scientists and other newsmakers each episode ends with the three key takeaways that person has learned over their lives and their careers and now your host and board member of schools at Harvard Princeton and Columbia Lynn tomman hi everyone it's Lyn toen welcome to another episode today I'm delighted to be with Micha Clinton Michael helped start several magazines including o the Oprah Magazine and Food Network Magazine as president of Hurst magazines today he's going to give practical advice about creating the life you want he's just written a book called Roar on how to do that at any age Michael himself has created an extraordinarily rich and multi-layered life he's an author a photographer a traveler he's been to 124 countries and he's run marathons on

1:01 seven continents in addition he's a pilot and part owner of a Vineyard in Argentina welcome Michael and thanks so much for our conversation today Lynn so great to be with you and thank you for the invitation I'm excited to have this discussion me too Michael what does the acronym Roar stand for and what was the inspiration behind it well the first R of Roar is reimagine yourself before others do it for you and I think there is this whole new group of people who I call the reimagine years who are in this constant state of reimagining some of them start in their 20s some of them start in their 30s some of them don't start until they're in their 60s but determining what is your favorite future and how you get there and the steps are really critical o is own who you are own where you came from own your numbers I like to say your health numbers your financial numbers own your final number which is we're all going to leave this

1:58 earth someday and are we prepared for we can talk about some of the Practical things on that front a is the action plan and a chapter devoted to what I call Life layering which is a lifelong process I've used since my 30s to build a very diverse and excited life as you just described it and then R is reassess your relationships because the people around you your family your friends your colleagues are the ones you were going to ultimately be the facilitators to let you move and grow and expand into new ways so the Genesis of the idea really came from a lecture that I gave to my management team at her magazines when I wanted to leave them with some thoughts and wisdom about their professional and personal lives and it kind of took on a life of its own and it turned into a book and is now turning into a speaking circuit and so I think that many people especially coming out of the pandemic

2:51 are going through a lot of introspection as to what might be next for me in any part of their life we're all in this Collective rethink and so I think this Roar is really the manifesto the timing is extraordinary Michael what does it mean when you say reimagine your favorite future one of the things that a lot of people don't do is put in the work to decide what is it that they want you know and a good example of that I'll just go for a moment to people who are about to retire and you know you say to them what are you going to do and they say well I'll figure it out when I get there which is the wrong answer all of the 4 people who I interviewed all put in the time a year plus to think about what was it that they wanted to do what did their favorite future mean to them and it could be professional it could be personal it could be lifestyle but they really put in the work to really self-identify the things that were

3:49 important to them and also what they were good at and what they weren't good at and so you have to spend the brain power to really think about it and I think that was a real important key in all the very interviews that I did you say imagine yourself as a 90-year-old looking back and did you live the life you wanted to can you elaborate on that yeah I mean I think if you're 30 It's probably hard to go to 90 so I always say let's start by going to 50 because you're going to be on a life Journey but if you're 50 and you go to 90 here's the thing Lynn if you're 50 and you're healthy based on life expectancies and projections there's a good possibility that you could live to be 90 so what are you going to do with that Incredible Gift of time that our parents' generation and our grandparents generation didn't have and that is an enormous amount of time that we're going to be able to spend in productive things

4:43 that are important to us so if you go to 90 and you say I'm going to write my own obituary what do you want them to say about you what contribution have you left what lessons have you left what things have you done for your community your family your world at l large and I think it's a good way to map out a plan based on the end game of 90 pick a number as a good long lived life Michael you did so much research on this on how to reimagine and actually live the life you want you interviewed 90-year-olds what did they wish that they had done differently the thing that many people did if they were a little later in life is the number one thing that always comes out as I wish I had been more true to myself I wish I had made decisions about my life that were true to what I wanted to do versus what my parents wanted my spouse wanted my community wanted my neighborhood wanted a great example is a fellow who I interviewed

5:48 who his father said I'll only pay for college if you study business and he really wanted to be a social worker and at 50 he sort of had a meltdown and said I've spent 25 years as a businessman a successful one but he was totally unsatisfied so he took some time off and he ended up going to Peru in one of his travels and he did the iasa ceremony which you might be familiar with it's a hallucinogenic drink that peruvians do and he said he had that drink and he looked across the pond and he saw his 16-year-old self and he said I'm so sorry that I abandoned you and that was his sort of aha moment he came back to New York quit his job and he started a nonprofit and he works in the social justice social work space and he's now seven years in he said I probably spent all my savings but it doesn't matter I absolutely love what I do every single day so I think being true to yourself and what you really wanted to do is

6:43 critical and by the way you can course correct at any time in your life and if you're 50 or 60 you might in the past have said well I can't course correct now but you're going to have this long life ahead of you assuming you're healthy and you're in good physical shape you can course correct at any time so that was probably the big lesson when is the best time for people to assess their life goals and direction is it an ongoing process or is it an intermittent one how do you think about it I think you start wherever you are right now whenever you are I think you can start that in your 20s you can start it in your 50s you can start it in your 70s if you haven't done it and if you can start at younger and it becomes a lifelong process of constantly reimagining that is a great tool and skill that will serve you well my mother was an amazing woman we lost her just before the pandemic she was a about to be 89 she

7:39 had many iterations of her life that at one point she was a nun she was then in the Air Force she then had six children with my father she then decided in at almost 50 to become a travel agent and learned that from the ground up it was really her first job really of any meaning after raising children she was a homemade she's a high school graduate at 64 she decided she wanted a divorce from my father because she was going to live a different kind of life in her mind and what he wanted so she was constantly reimagining who she was and she didn't have a big education but she had a great imagination and she's inspired all of us in our family but I think you can do that at any time in your life wonderful to have a mother like that yeah Michael so the r is for reimagine your life and the next letter of your acronym is the O for own who you are what do you mean by that so the O is really own where you

8:40 are right now own your realistic moment in terms of where you are we've all made good decisions bad decisions in our past and there's not much you can do about that but you can own what your present situation is and many people think they're somewhere in a realistic way but they really aren't so you have to go through that assessment you have to own your health numbers it's amazing to me when you talk to people who are 50 plus don't know their blood pressure their heart rate their cholesterol numbers those are fundamental things to a well-lived life and an important good life own your financial numbers because especially for younger people where there are no more pension plans and who knows about the future of Social Security 401ks you should take advantage of but how do you want to live your life after your main earning years and will you have enough money and cash flow to do that so what's your prescription that

9:32 you have for yourself and then own your final number at some point especially those in midlife have to think about well if I leave planet Earth someday what's important to me do I want a party do I want something more Solem do I want to do not resuscitate do you have living wills do you have power of attorneys all of those things that we like to not think about but are important to really make sure that we're putting into its proper Focus so owning yourself and owning all the things about yourself are really critical I think in order to move forward so our for reimagine yourself reimagine your future o for own where you are now for how to get there a is for ACT can you tell us how does someone get there how do they drive an action oriented approach so they actually can achieve the future that they are reimagining the action plan is obviously the critical piece of all of this and there are a lot of tools and resources

10:33 that allow you to develop what you want is your own personal action plan and you know that takes courage and that takes editing out the extraneous things in your life that no longer matter that takes a deep focus on what it is that you want to change one woman I interviewed wanted to change everything she wanted to change her career her lifestyle her love life she wanted to change everything that was a big order she called at the year of change and she did it all and she does tell the story but I like to say pick the one thing that you're focused on and go very deep on it and examine what it is and commit yourself to that one of the Practical ideas this was an interview with a woman who was a working mother who was a single mother and she had gotten divorced and she had shared custody with her ex-husband of the kids and she had a free weekend every other week and she was in her late 40s and she had 48 hours

11:33 every other week and I was like wow what a gift now what are you g to do with that take those 26 weeks times 48 hours and what's the math 1278 something like that and call that your project 1278 for the year what are you going to do with that time that you have now that's just for you because the kids are with the father and you're on your own and so some practical steps that go through that process in terms of using time in an effective way I also like the idea of every year in the beginning of the year I have a physical Journal where I write down all the things that I'm hoping to accomplish that year in all aspects of my life and the first week of every month I go check that journal and see how I'm doing it keeps my own feet to my fire so if it's in July and in January I said I want to learn how to speak Spanish and I've done nothing to learn how to speak Spanish then I go aha I'm really who else can I blame it myself so

12:35 there are different tools and different approaches you can take those are just some off the top and the other thing is layered life which is this notion of Life layering where you build out layer in areas that you're really interested in and that becomes a lifelong Pursuit that layer so you treat that layer as if you would treat a business or a professional career whatever that layer might be for me it was travel Adventure travel it was photography it was philanthropy and you never give up on those layers and then you end up building this big beautiful delicious layer cake I like to say of life so basically what you're telling people is don't have a single layered life don't be 100% focused on your job or your marriage or any one thing but build in different layers different parallel lives I guess absolutely because if one of those things goes away or implodes on you the example I always

13:37 like to use is the seat that we all sit in from a professional standpoint is generally a rented seat you're a person who is a Hired Hand regardless if you're the CEO or you're an assistant you are a hired help and too many people have their identity wrapped around their professional seat and when that seat goes away they get lost and if you have multiple layers then you have an identity that you've created for yourself where you self-identify in lots of other ways and I think that is a great way to build a rich life because you have when I stepped out of my day-to-day seat as the president and Publishing director of her magazines I had a whole other self- defin that I had created so that was a great professional experience but now I was an author and a runner and an traveler and a pilot and a this and a that and I was able to segue into a very different kind of life and I think that's an important takeaway

14:37 Michael I think you have one of the most richly layered lives of anybody I've ever met I think you have at least 10 layers and the key seems to be to spend time thinking about each layer and then slowly building it out is that right what are the keys to building those layers that's right let me use an example it wasn't until my early 40s that I really started really thinking about photography as a hobby and a layer and so I started taking some classes in New York City at different institutions and started to learn photography and the photographic techniques but at the same time I also studied the great photographers I went to the photography auctions I went to photography galleries I ultimately got involved in the International Center of photography of which I'm on the board of Tres today and so I really jumped in head first and I started when digital came along I taught myself digital photography and started

15:38 producing digital photography and through all of that process I had a friend who was an artist and she said you should do a photography show and I said well I'm not a great photographer but I'll do a popup if it can be a fundraiser for a board that I'm on which was the starlife foundation which is like make a wish and we did it and we had a great evening and we raised a lot of and sold 150 plus photographs and I was like wow this is interesting and that led to some other shows which ultimately led to someone asking me if I would consider doing a Photography book and I was sort of not on my radar but another friend and I think this is relying on friends who know you're interested in a subject connected me with a fine arts publisher and I did my first book of Photography which has now become eight books of Photography and and other photography shows and selling prints to people but this was over an

16:35 arc of 202 plus years 25 years is so if you stay with your layer and you keep mining it and expanding it and molding it you end up having a very rich experience within your chosen area that is of interest to you so that would be a good example of how I would describe it so the final letter of Roar is are for reassess your relationships and you say including personal professional and Community can you tell us about that the influences that we have in our lives change and morph as we live longer don't they and we all know those College friends that we had who now 25 years later may or may not be the best influence in your life and those relationships may have may be sunsetting may have to be finished off because they're toxic and it's a hard decision to make but you have to find the people during the course of your life who are supporting who you are what you want to do and what you want to

17:42 achieve I always say I've met great people in every decade of my life who become great friends and those people are meeting you at a point in time that is not your 25y old self it might be your 45y old self and so it's important to have people that are constantly coming into your Universe taking people out of your universe and by the way that includes family which is hard to do but we all have got to do it because we know the family members who drag us down that posy of people that you create around yourself are the ones who are going to be allowing you to move into the next phase of your decisions and what you want to do and so I did an interesting interview with the psychologist and she talks about how often times in midlife people get really bogged down with negative selft talk because oh I didn't get that promotion or I lost that love in my life or I should have done that and am I really as smart as I think I am

18:43 and etc etc and this negative selft talk can get Amplified and one of the techniques she says is to surround yourself with those people who give you positive talk the people who it doesn't matter who it is it could be a neighbor it could be someone your community it can be someone at your office who just say you are the greatest surround yourself with those people because they're the ones who will help you get out of that negative self talk and move forward and so the relationship piece of this is really important in terms of your desire to evolve and change and that's what those subjects are about those topics Michael what is the best advice that you received wow the best advice I ever received was I'm going to go back back to the seat because when I was a young success I was the youngest publisher in the magazine industry at 34 I was the publisher of GQ incredible fun magazine and I had just come back from a

19:43 trip to Europe and I had been having dinner at Georg Armani's house and I had been meeting Carrie Grant who was on our cover and been shot and others and a very wise person who is older than me said you have to remember one thing the only reason you're experiencing all of this is because of the seat that you sit in it's not because of you and I was like ding ding ding ding ding absolutely and at that point I always knew that I had to keep my feet on the ground and not drink the Kool-Aid of my intoxicating seat and I could tell you many many many incredible experiences that I've had but it was because of the seat I sat in versus who I am as an individual and that was really a huge piece of advice that I've always followed since those early professional years that is wonderful advice Michael if I can ask what mistakes did you make um let's see I'm a very thoughtful human being about decisions and so when I make

20:48 a decision I really put in the time to think about it and not necessarily think about was the decision right or wrong after I made it so I'll give you an example of something that it's not quite a mistake but when I was in my late 20s I was offered the job of being the European advertising director for a company that I worked for at the time and I would have to live in Paris and travel all over Europe and you can imagine how that appealed to me just based on my own interest I like H I think I was all of 29 years old and I was like but I was going to graduate school at night I had a focus on wanting to become a publisher and I knew that if I took that lifestyle Choice which is really what it would have been there was no formalized path that in two three years I would come back and become a publisher it was sort of a side experience and plus I would have to give up the graduate school program Etc and I

21:49 made a decision to turn it down and at times in a wistful moment I always say I wonder what would been like to go live in Paris for a few years so it wasn't a mistake per se but it was a choice that led me to the life that I have and who knows what that path would where that path would have taken me so I would use that as an example Michael before I ask for your three takeaways is there anything else you'd like to mention that you haven't already discussed no I think you're great Lynn I think we covered so much I think you have the opportunity throughout your life to always engage and change your circumstances whatever they are if you put in the time and put in the thought process and once again I'll say these 40 stories really inspired me and inspired so many to say that it can be done regardless of where you are how old you are what your circumstances are there's always a way you can do it and

22:49 so I think that would be the message that is a powerful message what are the three takeaways you'd like to leave the audience with today the three take ways I think the number one is always be true to your own North Star regardless you can take a a left turn and you take take a right turn but at the end of it all being true to oneself is really the North Star and that's a very personal individual decision so stay with your North Star the second thing I would say is don't identify Yourself by the professional seat you sit in build that multi-layered life that we talked about and really create a multiple sense of who you are because it will serve you well in all periods of your life but particularly as you're in outside of your first career and you're thriving and living a different kind of life and then the third thing I would say is own your life own all of the dimensions of your life and be your own captain of

23:52 your own ship and make sure that you're making the right decisions about your health your financial wealth wellbeing and all of the things that are important for owning your own life and so I really pulled out three things that are the core messages from Roar the book and I hope that your listeners and viewers will enjoy reading about all the stories that these 40 amazing individuals told us Michael thank you for our conversation today and thank you for doing all of the work on Roar and the Practical advice for people who want to reimagine their lives and live their life to to the fullest this has been great thanks Lynn I've really enjoyed it and thank you for inviting me if you enjoyed today's episode and would like to receive the show notes or get new Fresh weekly episodes be sure to sign up for our newsletter at 3 takeaway.com or follow us on Instagram Twitter and Facebook note that three takeaways decom

24:48 is with the number three three is not spelled out see you soon at 3 takeaway.com

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "#65 Creating the Life You Want: Former President of Hearst Magazines Michael Clinton"?

Michael Clinton (Guest), Lynn Tomman (Host).

What is "#65 Creating the Life You Want: Former President of Hearst Magazines Michael Clinton" about?

In this discussion, Michael Clinton, former president of Hearst Magazines and author of "Roar," shares insights on creating a fulfilling life through the principles of reimagining oneself, owning personal identity and circumstances, and developing actionable plans for future success. His unique perspective draws from his diverse experiences as an author, traveler, and entrepreneur, encouraging…

What is mentioned in this 3 Takeaways episode?

8 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Michael Clinton, Roar, Hurst Magazines, Food Network Magazine, Oprah Magazine, GQ. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "#65 Creating the Life You Want: Former President of Hearst Magazines Michael Clinton"?

The episode runs 25 min; the transcript is about 4,510 words in 26 timestamped sections.

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