Known as the face of the wildly successful Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, shares stories and ideas you’ve likely never heard. Whether you’re a fan or not, this conversation will get you thinking. It’s one of my favorite conversations yet. In effort to seek inspiration to write new music, Billy is spending 30 days on the road traveling in an RV to visit small towns and connect with people who see the world just a little bit differently.

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Notes:

• Billy shares a profound Why Not Now? moment when he was 25 years old. (This had me in tears.)
• What happened the morning Billy wrote “Today” which became one of his biggest hits.
• The ironic impact Nirvana and Pearl Jam had on Billy’s personal and professional trajectory.
• What led up to a moment when Billy unlocked his own creative genius and resulted in a decade-long creative “dizzying” run.
• Billy’s thoughts on mind over mastery and the importance of perspective.
• How Billy keeps his mind healthy.
• The #ThirtyDays project. What it is and why Billy set out to travel the country for 30 days in an RV.
• What Billy considers to be the measure of true spirituality.
• Billy’s literal experience of “rockstar” happiness. One of the three components of happiness according to scientists. How it evolved to a more sustainable happiness and sense of purpose.
• Billy’s creative process. How he engineers an environment that fosters a creative state.
• How Billy views empathy and the most effective way to become empathetic.
• Billy shares his current Why Not Now? It will take place when he turns 50 years old on March 17. 2017.
• Billy’s favorite book.
• What keeps Billy up at night?
• Pirates or Ninjas? Who is tougher according to Billy.
• What advice Billy would give to his younger self.
• What Billy would say to someone who might be experiencing a very dark moment of despair, similar to what he went through 25 years ago. (His Why Not Now? moment mentioned at the beginning of the show.)