So often mission and purpose driven folks have fascinating stories about where they draw their inspiration from. Often it’s a historical figure and so we’ve highlighted some of those conversations around historical figures and what some of the best and brightest have learned from them.

Caleb Roche

One historical figure I really admire is Benjamin Franklin. Not just for his accomplishments—although those are impressive—but for his mindset. He was relentlessly curious, constantly learning, and always experimenting, whether it was with science, business, diplomacy, or personal growth. I think that kind of intellectual humility and lifelong learning is rare, and it’s something I try to carry into my own life. Read more>>

Cameron Cole Christman

In advertising, it’s certainly Howard Luck Gossage. AKA the: “The Socrates of San Francisco.” He was one of those true, and rare eccentrics that was absolutely ahead of his time. He was an iconoclast in many ways compared to his Madison Avenue contemporaries. Gossage was one of advertising’s most brilliant critics. He wasn’t just skeptical of the ad business, he was downright nauseated by the laziness, manipulation, and derivative mentality of the time. He was a real advocate of social and environmental causes long before it was à la mode. In his firehouse turned agency, he curated elaborate spectacles on a regular basis. Read more>>

Harold Blake Hoss

When working in entertainment (a term which, in itself, always strikes me as overly broad) there’s an emphasis on sudden success. We see it in the way we talk about celebrities. We describe actors as being discovered (as if we’re talking about gold or oil) or becoming overnight celebrities. For some reason, we like to think of successful artists as bursting onto the scene fully formed. It’s this sense that fame and fortune could strike, like a lottery, that drives so many people to move out to Los Angeles without a plan every year. Read more>>