When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Jérôme Jarre: I make my bed. And I dance! And that’s how I want the rest of my day to feel. Some actions and some celebrations!!
TG: What gives you energy?
JJ: Being balanced. Until a couple years ago I was really extreme. Either extremely happy or extremely sad. That takes a lot of energy out of you. I find enormous energy in being balanced.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
JJ: I have so many. The most important one is cold showers. A day where I have a cold shower is always a good day. The cold shower is such an uncomfortable moment, especially as soon as you wake up, that your day will automatically get better!!!
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
JJ: DO IT! By Jerry Rubin, one of the co-founders of the Yippie movement. A political statement and instructions for anyone interested in revolutions or evolutions. I am more interested in the latter.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?JJ: My iPhone is my super power. Every person that I reach online, and every project or business that I have ever done have all happened through the iPhone. But like any strong weapon it has a double edge. I always make sure the phone works for me and not the other way around, which means that I set the boundaries. Never on the phone when I am talking with someone IRL. Never on the phone when I am eating. Never on the phone after 10 PM.
TG: How do you deal with email?
JJ: One of my goals for this year is to get rid of emails. They are so formal. They take too much time. They are not quite relevant in time. Voice messages through iMessage or Whatsapp are my new favorite way to do business.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?JJ: Dance naked.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
JJ: I feel burned out about once every 4 years when I am done with a challenge and I need a new one.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
JJ: I try to fail every day, my friend and I call it the law of rejection. If you don’t get rejected today at least once then you probably didn’t try hard enough and stayed inside your little comfort zone. Sit in business class with an economy ticket, ask strangers to give you a hug, offer to hold the hand of a grandma crossing the road, those are all little things where you may get rejected but if you don’t, life instantly gets a little bit better, for free!
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
JJ: “You are gonna die.” Best quote ever.
Jérôme Jarre is a French entrepreneur, Vine star, and Snapchat star.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com