Guest: Chris Schembra is the bestselling author of “Gratitude and Pasta: The Secret Sauce for Human Connection.” Forbes ranks his book as the #2 book of 2020 to create Human Connection; USA Today calls him their “Gratitude Guru,” and he’s a Founding Member of Rolling Stone’s Culture Council.

He is the founder of the 7:47 Gratitude Experience — an evidence-based framework used to strengthen client and team relationships in profound ways. He’s used the principles of gratitude to spark over 500,000 relationships around the dinner table, serving Fortune 50 CEOs, Olympians, Academy Award Winners, Grammy Award Winning #1 Recording Artists, Super Bowl Champions, and more.

He’s been selected #5 on the “10 Motivational Speakers that will Rock your next event” by Marketing Insider Group. He was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Smart Hustle Magazine and “People of 2017” by Clientele Luxury Magazine. Recently, he was honored alongside Michael Phelps, Chris Evans, Kid Cudi, and several others as “6 Successful Men Smashing the Mental Health Stigma” by Good Men Project.

Episode in a Tweet: Resilient people are people that have a purpose. They are chasing a North star such as be less shitty tomorrow and solve other people’s problems. If this is your purpose in life, then you will weather that next storm.

Quick Background: I met Chris from my fellow YPOer Ben Wright, founder, and CEO of Velocity Global. Chris and I hit it off immediately, and I asked him to do a gratitude experience for my employees at StoneAge and it was a hit! I’ve joined him on his show: 7:47 Conversations (you can listen here), and now the tables are turned.

Chris shares a raw and deeply personal story of growing up in a bubble that caused him to be entitled and a troublemaker. His doctors put him on meds at a young age which numbed him and dumbed him. Not remembering much of his childhood, anger and resentment ripped through him like a hurricane, destroying relationships and driving him to addiction. Rehab and jail set him on a new path, but there was still something missing. After coming back from working on a Broadway play in Italy, he found himself miserable and alone. Deciding he was not going back down the path of destruction, he started cooking, creating a signature pasta sauce. Then he began hosting dinners. And before he knew it, people from all over were joining his Gratitude Experiences, talking about who and what they are most grateful for.

At every experience, Chris asks his signature questions – “If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you DON’T give enough credit or thanks to, who would it be and what would you say?” People connect deeply on this question and the ensuing conversations, which forever changed Chris’s life. He is now called the gratitude guru and is making headlines wherever he goes.

You can find Chris on LinkedIn or on his 7:47 Club website.

Like this? Check out my blog on why being kind matters.