In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Jeremy Goldman, author of the bestseller Going Social, host of the Future Proof podcast, and Inc. columnist. Goldman shares a formative high‑school story about the cost of procrastination, emphasizing the need to stay ahead in a competitive world. He explains his approach to "future‑proof" marketing, blending consumer psychology with futurist thinking to anticipate what will succeed or fail. He advises entrepreneurs to constantly monitor industry trends to become disruptors rather than victims of disruption. When reflecting on advice for his younger self, Goldman stresses taking life seriously, using a five‑year backcasting plan, and making concrete steps toward that vision. He defines happiness as discovering one’s “reason for being” and aligning daily actions with that purpose. Goldman recommends Red Notice by Bill Browder, highlighting how spotting overlooked trends can generate massive wealth and societal impact. He cites a Chris Cornell quote about the disconnect between thoughts and words, which inspired his company FireRounder to challenge the status quo. Finally, he directs listeners to his Twitter handle @JereMarketer for ongoing conversation. The episode blends personal anecdotes, strategic marketing insights, and motivational advice.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I'm with Jeremy Goldman. He's the author of the number one social media bestseller Going Social as well as Getting to Like, uh, host of the Future Proof podcast and Inc. columnist. So welcome to the show, man.
Thank you so much, great to be here.
Of course, grateful to have you here. Uh, we'll jump into the first one, Jeremy. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, actually, it's kind of funny. I think probably my biggest, uh, story that I could share on that is oddly enough just not working and applying myself in high school. You know, if you think about the fact that, uh, I spent so much time then kind of clawing my way to get to a, a better college, and then working, you know, with a chip on my shoulder, it kind of taught me the lesson of, you know, you don't want to play any game from behind. You want to do as best as possible to not leave things to the last minute, and you need to consistently try to make sure that you've got a lead, you know, in the competition, because it's a very competitive world out there.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, I think probably for me it's about the ability to see the future of marketing and communications. It's not to say that I've got perfect clarity on it, but at least I try. I take a combination of consumer psychology as well as basic principles of futurism, and that's kind of what I talk about on my podcast Future Proof, is that, you know, much like you can't entirely fireproof your life, You can't entirely future-proof yourself either, but there are ways to get better at figuring out what is going to succeed and what is going to fail in the future, and it can help you get a leg up on the competition as well.
That's really cool, man. I like, I kind of like how you came up with that, like what your podcast is all about. That's awesome. The next one I have for you is, what's your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Probably my biggest advice for people is to constantly stay abreast of trends within their own industry. Too often I see, especially with entrepreneurs, people who kind of put their heads down and they just try to function and execute as best as possible. But then there's a trend or there's something changing within their industry and they're not paying enough attention to the fact that they're about to be disrupted. It's a lot better to be the disruptor simply by being able to see the writing on the wall as opposed to being disrupted because you were too busy executing on a day-to-day basis with your head in the sand.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I think honestly it would probably be taking life seriously. And now I take it ridiculously seriously, probably too much so. And then there was a point where I just kind of said, well, you know, when I'm 23, What are the odds I'm gonna be alive at 26? Now, if you do the math on that, you would say, well, actually, there's a really good chance that I'm gonna hit that, right? But when you're 23, you don't exactly imagine yourself in that person's shoes. So I challenge everybody now that I talk to to kind of say, what is their 5-year plan? And then let's backtrack from there to figure out how you're gonna get there. And it kind of makes the fact that you're gonna be alive and needing to function 5 years from now, it makes it more of like a real thing for people.
Hmm. And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I think really the key to happiness is finding your reason for being. Why are you here? And then, you know, for some people it's doing stand-up comedy, and for some people it's just taking care of the kids, and that's totally fine as well, you know? But figuring out your reason for being and then constantly saying, well, am I pointing myself in that direction? A little bit closer every day, or am I getting a little further away from where I ultimately want to be?
And what is the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
You know, actually, in a weird way, I'm going to recommend something, uh, that I just read, which I thought was really, uh, interesting, uh, a little unexpected, but Red Notice by Bill Browder. And it's actually a story of, uh, how this guy made a lot of really big enemies in Russia and essentially became a big enemy of the state almost. And what was interesting to me about it is that this is a guy who had the ability to make a lot of money. We're talking tens of millions in Russia as they were privatizing their whole economy simply because he identified a trend that everybody else didn't identify. It's thinking outside the box. And not being afraid to look a little crazy, you know, for a time, because often the crazy ones are the ones that really change the path of where we're going as a society.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
You know, I think probably actually there's a great old Chris Cornell from Soundgarden quote. I used it even in my yearbook in high school, which is, "Words you say never seem to live up to the ones inside your head." And I think a lot of people, what they find is, you know, you have certain thoughts and you don't quite share them and you repress things a little bit. And I think life is too short for that. If you have a certain thought, there's sometimes a nice way to say it, but still getting across exactly what you mean to say. That's why I started my company and called it FireRounder, because we want to be a rabble-rouser that challenges the status quo.
Yeah, man, I love it.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for coming on. A lot of valuable insights in this one. The last question I do have for you, and I'm sure You're everywhere on social, if I had to guess, but where's the best place for people to find and connect with you online?
Oh yeah, best place. There's so many places, but I would say really, if you're into Twitter at all, follow @JereMarketer. Sounds exactly like it sounds. Jere, J-E-R-E, marketer. And I'm on there 24/7 tweeting away, and I'll link you up to my podcast or my books or any other questions that you want answered. I am an open book, so Everybody feel free to tweet me later.
Awesome, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Yeah, thank you.
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